About photography Number 2

[LovelyLadyLux]

Kiya is getting an A+++ and I think I'm barely making a passing grade!

If you have both a UV filter and a circular polarizing filter for your lens - do you use BOTH at the same time? Or is one better than the other?

[Grandad]

Personally I just use a polariser. If you have an SLR, too much on the lens will affect the TTL metering.

Another important thing is that a stack of filters and the lens hood may cause vignetting at shorter focal lengths. So beware

[Ashtree0]

Kiya is getting an A+++ and I think I'm barely making a passing grade!

If you have both a UV filter and a circular polarizing filter for your lens - do you use BOTH at the same time? Or is one better than the other?

I use the UV mainly as protection for my (very expensive) lens. I use the polariser (when I remember to bring it with me) primarily when photographing landscapes (brings out the depth in blue skies) or water (helps prevent too much reflection. You need to experiment with using the polariser - may need to adjust it a few stops to get the right exposure. When using the polariser I just screw it on top of the UV filter.

[Ashtree0]

Personally I just use a polariser. If you have an SLR, too much on the lens will affect the TTL metering.

Another important thing is that a stack of filters and the lens hood may cause vignetting at shorter focal lengths. So beware

Dead right re the vignetting GD and apparently more so with wide angled lenses. I think I mentioned earlier that the newer polariser I have was more expensive than my other Hoya polariser - the difference being that the glass is much thinner and apparently reduces chances of vignetting - despite all that I've not ever spotted any vignetting on any of my photo's yet. Have you ever had vignetting GD?

[Ashtree0]

In situations like this a burst of fill-in flash will illuminate the dark spaces. Another option is to move back a little from the window, tripod mount the camera and set a small aperture and longer exposure. Another situation where a bit of trial and error and bracketing are called for.

GD would you also suggest metering/exposing for the window frame as opposed to the view through the window?

[Grandad]

Hi Ashtree, when talking about stacking I was thinking more of trying to create an effect with several filters....not good practice anyhow.

I agree that a UV or skylight or even plain glass filter should be left on the front end permanently for protection. In the distant past I DID have vignetted pictures. I am going back to roll film days when you didn't know what you had got until processing. I dug this one out from 1990 ish. (Ignore any spots, I had to scan a neg and didn't clean it)



If memory serves me this was caused by a lens hood....forgot to match it to the lens.

On images through openings in walls etc, you really want the view to be exposed correctly. If you try to balance for both the wall and the view you get a combination of under and over exposure in the same image. If you expose for the view you can 'dodge' the shadows on the computer to bring out some detail in the dark areas. Exactly what is done under an enlarger but then you wave cut out masks or your hands under the lamp.

I think Kiyas last effort of adding some light and cropping out the darkest edge was a good compromise.

As I have mentioned earlier I think the darkest and the brightest areas of an image should contain some detail even if it is only just visible.

[Kiya]

Heres 1 I've done today moving individual flowers from several photos & merging tog to make 1 photo then using the filters - artistic - poster edges + a few adjustments to give a different effect + adding border.

[Horus]

Excellent Kiya, it looks very good it has a bit of a van Gogh look about it, you know "zee one with zee big Daisies"

[Kiya]

Glad you like it Horus its worth the effort of all my mornings work putting it tog

I think I may use this 1 as part of my 4 images for class test coming up.

Van Gogh in my dreams

[LovelyLadyLux]

Beautiful Kiya! Am envious! You're doing fantastic!! Keep motoring on! You're GREAT!

[Kiya]

Our Welsh members should recognise this place in Nth Wales, a lovely part of Wales to visit

[Horus]

Lovely picture Kiya, I have been there quite a few times. The Swallow Falls near to Betws-y-Coed is a lovely day out, it was a very popular place for us to go as a family when we were youngsters, although it was a bit more natural in those days and more adventurous for kids.

I see that you are getting into using picture frames and adding titles to them now this one looks very good and matches up with the picture really nicely.

[Kiya]

Horus , I never heard of Swallow Falls before till I told my friends of many yrs in 2005 I was doing some sight seeing in Wales on my return from Luxor, they suggested to me to visit Swallow falls its where he proposed to his wife.
It was a miserable dreary day when I visited but I can only guess its much more nice in summer.
Thanks for your opinion on this picture it took me ages trying varied borders till I got 1 that went well with the pic & type/text

[LovelyLadyLux]

Beautiful Kiya! I'm STILL here and interested in anything and everything related to photography too. I've been going through a series of 'steps' - first have to figure out the camera, then I got Paint Shop Pro x2, then I had to get more RAM for my laptop (cause PSP slowed it to a crawl) and when the RAM came two 2GB cards to up me to 4 from zilch only 1 of them worked and only in certain slots so SOON I'll have everything set to be able to take a photo and play with it! I'm taking photos just not getting them on here with all the quirks and foibles of the program to ask questions about - but be prepared - I'm getting closer! ;);)

And Kiya - your photos are excellent! They're great! keep 'em coming! Can't wait to see Horus' finished calendar and I'm hoping Grandad will put more of his vintage car photos on here - collaged and all!

[Horus]

Glad that you still have your interest LLL Your problem with RAM can get a bit complicated, it does not always follow that you can just add it in any particular way. Sometimes you will find that it has to be in a particular arrangement or size match to work correctly, best to get some advice if you are not too sure about it;)
You will find though that PSP X2 is very resource hungry so best to keep other programs restricted to essentials when you use it.

As for myself, well still having a play around in some areas I have been creating my own picture frames and also things like making my own 'Gold Beading' to use with it. The good thing about doing that is you know that absolutely no one else has one the same as yours, unless they crib it from you

[Kiya]

Glad to see you are still here LLL, I'm so looking forward to seeing some of your photos
Horus I was making some of my own borders in class but boring b/w ones.
My pic below is 1 of my originals from above with a few adjustments

[Horus]

Looking good Kiya, real spooky

[Horus]

Once you get into it, making your own frames is not too difficult. Here are a couple of examples, one is framing my favourite subject, the Swans on a local lake. I deliberately turned the picture into mono then added a splash of colour, the other is just a picture I took of some Honeysuckle in my garden that I cut out and placed into a plain colour background.

Both have frames that I made previously and saved in the 'Frames' folder, they also both use a gold bead that I also made earlier. The Swan frame is made by infilling the space between the beads with a 'leaf' pattern. The Honeysuckle one is done in a similar way, but with more bead frames and by adding 3D effects to the spaces in between them.

[Kiya]

Horus your pictures are beautiful especially the swan 1
I know how to do everything in your 1st paragraph
I've no idea how to try the gold beads or if I have it on the program I use, everything in your 2nd paragraph will have to be trial/error in my case
Oops nearly forgot to say in my The Other Guest pic I moved the figure to show his feet....was told by tutor if doing a "portrait" it usually works best bust size but if adding a whole figure show the feet

[Kiya]

I started off with great intentions to design some sort of border when I got sidelined filling the background the flowers are not mine