Bridge photography contest

Aug
26
2011
by Jessy | 0 Comments

The ViewBug bridges photography contest is open for voting.  Please help me by voting for my image!  Click the “like” button on the right side of the page!

Vote

Image to vote for here this bridge at New River Gorge

New River Gorge Image

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Photomatix Contest Winner

Aug
17
2011
by Jessy | 1 Comment

I entered a Photomatix contest on Facebook a week or so ago and I found out this morning (August 17, 2011) that I won!  You’ll have to check it out on Facebook.  This should link directly to the page itself, just read the caption at the bottom.

Award:

Editors Choice Award

 

Prize:

Photomatix Pro Bundle


 

Photomatix software is used for HDR images. It has a great de-ghosting affect and has several presets that will get you very close to the result that you are looking for and leave little work to follow.

The image that won the contest is the inside of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Savannah Ga.

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Feature Photo

Aug
17
2011
by Jessy | 2 Comments

I have to share as this is my first ever featured photo!  In my previous post I spoke about ViewBug and today (August 17, 2011) the photo below is the second featured photo on ViewBug!  (out of 4, not too shabby).  I have also included a permanent link to the photo in case if you want to see it and see the amount of feedback that you are able to get on a single photo.

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/1273350

 


This is an HDR creation (one of my first) taken at Jacksonville beach of the pier. It had been storming that morning and I had to wait till about 9am for the sun to start coming out to get the breaks in the clouds that you see. The beach looked beautiful that day.

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Photography Contests

Aug
15
2011
by Jessy | 1 Comment

ViewBug appears to have several active Photography Contests at all times.  Its a great community with several different photography groups.

Each photo contest has specific types and rules as well as differing prizes per contest.  Many of the contests are free though some cost but you can get around these “per photo costs” by purchasing a membership.  I have found that regardless of winning there is the ability to request critiques and a great opportunity to receive feedback from other photographers!

ViewBug also has the ability to sell your photos online.  Check it out!

ViewBug

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Photographing Fireworks

Jul
05
2011
by Jessy | 1 Comment

Fireworks are the same principle as photographing lightening depending on your distance from the firework and the desired affect.

For the following with a sparkler I used the same settings as the post I did previously about lightening (ISO to 100, WB to light bulb, and Aperature to 5.6), you can see the lightening post here.

The image I really wanted to play with is below, it’s my husband helping me out a little playing with a sparkler.
I love you

This image was only resized, no retouching, I’m not sure how you would go about retouching/fixing an image like this.

I used the same settings on this image:

As you can see this image has the same streaking as the I Love You image above. This is shown due to the settings on the camera and the amount of time the shutter is open. Both of these actions happened within feet of me. Had I altered the settings to cloudy, or a higher ISO there would have been far less streaks and would not have produced these affects.

Unfortunately I was busy playing with the fireworks and didn’t take many different types of shots so I do not currently have another other options to show you at the different settings.

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Lightening Photograph

Jun
25
2011
by Jessy | 0 Comments

Last week it was storming and the lightening was just amazing. I set up the tripod in my garage (so the camera would not get wet), wet the ISO to 100, WB to light bulb, and Aperature to 5.6 and took these images.

I converted them to black and white because I love black and white but they could have been left in color as well. If you look closely you will notice that there are multiple strikes in the images, the shutter was open for an extended period of time due to the amount of light that the camera was waiting for. This helps to create more impressive photos with multiple strikes. These of course are not some of the greatest images out there but they show the point. If you are set up in the right location you could probably get several more strikes and have a more impressive photo.

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Lens Filters

Jun
12
2011
by Jessy | 5 Comments

Back when I used my Sony A300 I just bought filters off of ebay, and very cheap ones at that. I never knew that there really was a difference. When doing sunset pics one of my fellow photographers mentioned that I needed filters for my new camera (Nikon D7000). I agreed but since I’m finally getting serious I wasn’t sure what to get. I did some research before on the Hoya filters because at some point I would like to get into IR photography.

I must say the good Hoya IR filters are expensive and since this is still just a hobby that is on the back burner.

I did some further research lately on the hoya filters again. I wanted a UV and a circular polarizing filter. I will get my ND filters when my funds replenish again. I was able to find that Hoya has a great “introductory kit” for filters. This includes the CP, UP, and Warming filter from Hoya. The kit also comes with a nice little filter case that holds up to 4 filters. These filters were more expensive than some of the others that you find on ebay or other places but after using them only twice I must say that they are well worth the money!

I always thought of the CP being used with water and the sun but then I thought, why not the moon. With my rather cheap 55-300mm lens and the CP filter I got this image!

You can see the detail of the moon with amazing clarity. Taking this photo and seeing the clarity I was able to get with a long exposer, ISO of 100 f/22 I was taken back! Now I just want a new lens to try some more of this, that of course, will be when my funds replenish. Check out the hoya filters and do your research though, you can also find them cheaper on Amazon, but I would say they are well worth the money!
Hoya Filter Kits

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First tripod

Jun
05
2011
by Jessy | 1 Comment

So I finally got my first tripod!

This has been a difficult purchase as they can be so expensive.  Still being a new photographer I wanted to get something cheaper (as I’m not sure what I will want/need) and something still very portable.  As you can see many of my images are done outside and I wonder around a lot.

I finally found a site called B&H, they have so many tripods it’s unbelievable.  After reading several reviews I finally settled on the Vista by Davis & Sanford VIRV Ranger Tripod. It was very cheap in terms of tripods and has worked out very well. My first image using the tripod is below. I took one with the tripod and one without just to prove to myself how much I needed the tripod. Needless to say, on the same settings (slow shutter) I’m not going to post the pic without the tripod.

I must say that the controls on the tripod for positioning and holding the camera are made out of plastic and thus it’s difficult to hold the exact position that you wanted, but for an amateur like myself it’s fine. For the $27.00 I spent on this tripod it will last plenty long enough for me until I’m ready to buy a higher price tripod.

Image using tripod
Orange Sunset

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Butterfly Festival

May
01
2011
by Jessy | 0 Comments

Yesterday I had an opportunity to go to the butterfly festival at Tree Hill.  It was a  great opportunity for me as I was able to take some pictures of the butterfly release as well as some close up shots.  There were so many people and so many butterflies just the images of the children who caught butterflies and were holding them was great.  I have some added shots in a new gallery that I called Nature as it has the butterflies and the dragonfly I took earlier this week.  As always please provide any and all feedback so that I can continue to improve!

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Event Photography

Apr
10
2011
by Jessy | 0 Comments

Saturday I went to take some photos at an event for Plan Ahead Events.  I think it went very well.  I had some great people to work with and was thankful it was a small event so that I could get more time to concentrate in a small area.  I will be processing the images over the next few days to provide back to Becky to use for her site.  I can only hope that she appreciates them as much as I appreciate her giving me the opportunity to take the images.

If all events were set up with vendors like this particular event I think I would enjoy going to different events a little more.  The event was a baseball tournament and all the vendors had items specific to baseball!  I have never seen something so specific for the audience before, I was very impressed!

Once I have a change to get them processed and speak with Becky again I will post a few on the site to share my new work with the  world.  I hope to have the opportunity to process the images that I took while my parents were here as well.  There should be many new coming soon!

 

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