D750 shoots Booroondara Band through roses Norwegian National Day Melbourne

[karlreed]

Friends of Norway Melbourne have events at the Swedish Church in Toorak. If you're visiting Melbourne, and have time, its worth a peek, 21 St. Georges Rd, reachable by tram.

They hold celebrations for their National Day (17 May) at this location, and, this year it was on 14 May. I was asked by the Pro who normally covers the event to be the official photographer.. something of an honour, she is very good, but she was tied up selling tickets for the hot dogs, drinks and waffles that ate a must on such occasions..

I think this is the best shot.

I am still learning to drive the D750 with 28-300mmVR, and, I am not convinced this all that sharp.. need to do some focus adjustment I think..

Any comments welcome, there has been a bit of LR6.10 PP to lift the shadows, and to crop it..



--
karl reed

 

[wasserball]

Friends of Norway Melbourne have events at the Swedish Church in Toorak. If you're visiting Melbourne, and have time, its worth a peek, 21 St. Georges Rd, reachable by tram.

They hold celebrations for their National Day (17 May) at this location, and, this year it was on 14 May. I was asked by the Pro who normally covers the event to be the official photographer.. something of an honour, she is very good, but she was tied up selling tickets for the hot dogs, drinks and waffles that ate a must on such occasions..

I think this is the best shot.

I am still learning to drive the D750 with 28-300mmVR, and, I am not convinced this all that sharp.. need to do some focus adjustment I think..

Any comments welcome, there has been a bit of LR6.10 PP to lift the shadows, and to crop it..



--
karl reed

Wait, You are the official photographer and this is your best shot? Maybe she should be taking the pictures and you should be selling tickets for the hot dogs.

 

[karlreed]

Friends of Norway Melbourne have events at the Swedish Church in Toorak. If you're visiting Melbourne, and have time, its worth a peek, 21 St. Georges Rd, reachable by tram.

They hold celebrations for their National Day (17 May) at this location, and, this year it was on 14 May. I was asked by the Pro who normally covers the event to be the official photographer.. something of an honour, she is very good, but she was tied up selling tickets for the hot dogs, drinks and waffles that ate a must on such occasions..

I think this is the best shot.

I am still learning to drive the D750 with 28-300mmVR, and, I am not convinced this all that sharp.. need to do some focus adjustment I think..

Any comments welcome, there has been a bit of LR6.10 PP to lift the shadows, and to crop it..



--
karl reed

Wait, You are the official photographer and this is your best shot? Maybe she should be taking the pictures and you should be selling tickets for the hot dogs.

Thanks, could you be precise about what you don't like about It? That way, I can learn to improve. I should point out that the band was moving..

--
karl reed

 

[JacquesC]

Karl, it looks like there is some blurriness in your image.

I've done my fair share of shooting events so have a few suggestions for you:

• Firstly you should check your lens for focus accuracy and fine tune it if necessary.
• Even with VR switched on, I suggest you use shutter speeds no slower than 1 / focal-length - eg. at a focal length of 250mm use a shutter speed of 1/250 or faster.
• With a VR lens you need to give the VR mechanism some time to 'settle' and stabilize, which takes about a second or slightly longer. This means that once you have focussed, wait a tad for the VR to settle, then shoot.
• If you're not already using it, I would highly recommend that you start using back-button focussing (AF-ON focussing technique), it will make life a lot easier for you when shooting events where you need to alternate between shooting static and moving subjects.
• Last but certainly not least - practice, practice, practice!

 

[karlreed]

Karl, it looks like there is some blurriness in your image.

I've done my fair share of shooting events so have a few suggestions for you:

• Firstly you should check your lens for focus accuracy and fine tune it if necessary.
• Even with VR switched on, I suggest you use shutter speeds no slower than 1 / focal-length - eg. at a focal length of 250mm use a shutter speed of 1/250 or faster.
• With a VR lens you need to give the VR mechanism some time to 'settle' and stabilize, which takes about a second or slightly longer. This means that once you have focussed, wait a tad for the VR to settle, then shoot.
• If you're not already using it, I would highly recommend that you start using back-button focussing (AF-ON focussing technique), it will make life a lot easier for you when shooting events where you need to alternate between shooting static and moving subjects.
• Last but certainly not least - practice, practice, practice!

--
Jacques
apple-and-eve.com

--
karl reed

Jacques, thanks for that.. it is very helpful, yes, its a bit blurry when looked at closely. And, I'm a bit disappointed, I have an EM1.2 and, seem to get sharper images with the 12-100mmf4.

I intend ti calibrate the lens this evening, need to make a calibration rig, plus, I am not sure whether I was using C-AF or S-AF.. And, yeas, even after 58 years of taking pics, more practice is needed!

 

[afoton]

Thanks, could you be precise about what you don't like about It? That way, I can learn to improve. I should point out that the band was moving..

The first that strikes me, is the rose in the face of the guy to the right.

 

[karlreed]

Thanks, could you be precise about what you don't like about It? That way, I can learn to improve. I should point out that the band was moving..

The first that strikes me, is the rose in the face of the guy to the right.

Yes, however, they were marching, and, I had to squat down.. couldn't ask them to stand still..there were 200 marching vikings armed with women and kids in strollers behind them....

 

[afoton]

Thanks, could you be precise about what you don't like about It? That way, I can learn to improve. I should point out that the band was moving..

The first that strikes me, is the rose in the face of the guy to the right.

Yes, however, they were marching, and, I had to squat down.. couldn't ask them to stand still..there were 200 marching vikings armed with women and kids in strollers behind them....

I am not asking for excuses, that doesn't make the picture any better. I see only 4 guys where one of them is hidden behind an unsharp rose. I am just telling what is ruining the picture.

Better timing could improve the picture. Some seconds earlier or later, and the guy would not be hidden behind the rose. Knowing what will happen, and planning both the pictures and where to stay for getting the pictures, is also helping a lot.

 

[karlreed]

Thanks, could you be precise about what you don't like about It? That way, I can learn to improve. I should point out that the band was moving..

The first that strikes me, is the rose in the face of the guy to the right.

Yes, however, they were marching, and, I had to squat down.. couldn't ask them to stand still..there were 200 marching vikings armed with women and kids in strollers behind them....

I am not asking for excuses, that doesn't make the picture any better. I see only 4 guys where one of them is hidden behind an unsharp rose. I am just telling what is ruining the picture.

Better timing could improve the picture. Some seconds earlier or later, and the guy would not be hidden behind the rose. Knowing what will happen, and planning both the pictures and where to stay for getting the pictures, is also helping a lot.

Actually, I went to some trouble to get the roses more or less where they are, I wanted them to be the feature against which the band was shot, and, had to crouch to get that shot, had onlya few secs. But, your comments are interesting.

 

[lickity split]

Friends of Norway Melbourne have events at the Swedish Church in Toorak. If you're visiting Melbourne, and have time, its worth a peek, 21 St. Georges Rd, reachable by tram.

They hold celebrations for their National Day (17 May) at this location, and, this year it was on 14 May. I was asked by the Pro who normally covers the event to be the official photographer.. something of an honour, she is very good, but she was tied up selling tickets for the hot dogs, drinks and waffles that ate a must on such occasions..

I think this is the best shot.

I am still learning to drive the D750 with 28-300mmVR, and, I am not convinced this all that sharp.. need to do some focus adjustment I think..

Any comments welcome, there has been a bit of LR6.10 PP to lift the shadows, and to crop it..



--
karl reed

I think it would have been better to get closer and shoot wider to exclude the flowers in the foreground , another thing is and it has nothing to do with your photo but ditch that lens if you can and I'm sure your photos will start to improve greatly.. Pretty much every photo I see from this lens is blah ((

--

Lickity Split | Flickr

www.flickr.com

 

[Lenseroti]

I use this lens on my D810 and get very good results.

Frankly, there's a lot wrong with this photo:-

The flowers just get in the way.

The awkward framing of the fence left and right.

There is nothing to guide the eye to the focus of attention.

There is no selective focusing on the main subject.

Colour balance / white balance is off (look at the faces and the colour shade of the leaves in the background)

The image is soft.

Contrast / clarity lacking - the image doesn't pop.

My advice would be to stick with the lens and concentrate on technique.

I hope you find my comments and that of others constructive.

 

[karlreed]

I generally got great resullts on my D700, if you also get them on a higher res camera than the D750, I am encouraged.

I use this lens on my D810 and get very good results.

Frankly, there's a lot wrong with this photo:-

The flowers just get in the way.

That was actually intentional.

I took heaps of shots of the band unimpeded by foreground, and, they looked boring to me.

The awkward framing of the fence left and right.

I considered removing the fence, but, there were police present and my backhoe was at home. which was about 3hr round trip.. And, I wanted to get the roses in front of the band

There is nothing to guide the eye to the focus of attention.

Agreed, however, I am not sure what that could have been.

There is no selective focusing on the main subject.

See above

Colour balance / white balance is off (look at the faces and the colour shade of the leaves in the background)

Could very well be..

The image is soft.

Yes, I'm not sure why , 'hope to calibrate the lens before I go away on Friday.

Contrast / clarity lacking - the image doesn't pop.

I agree, but, I'm not sure I like that myself.

My advice would be to stick with the lens and concentrate on technique.

Absolutely!

I hope you find my comments and that of others constructive.

Generally yes, but, the people I shot the event for love that shot, we'll also see what the band says.

 

[afoton]

Actually, I went to some trouble to get the roses more or less where they are, I wanted them to be the feature against which the band was shot, and, had to crouch to get that shot, had onlya few secs. But, your comments are interesting.

The roses could work if it wasn't for the one twig covering the face.

 

[wasserball]

Thanks, could you be precise about what you don't like about It? That way, I can learn to improve. I should point out that the band was moving..

The first that strikes me, is the rose in the face of the guy to the right.

Where are some of the other photos? It seems to me that they would be worth seeing.

 

[wasserball]

Karl, after taking photos for 58 years? I love your honesty. You seem to know how to operate a DSLR camera, and you talked a little about post processing software. I know we could be a little harsh in our critique, but there is much to learn to improve. I am retired and photography is also my passion. In return, I get a lot of compliments. You can too.

 

[karlreed]

Karl, after taking photos for 58 years? I love your honesty. You seem to know how to operate a DSLR camera, and you talked a little about post processing software. I know we could be a little harsh in our critique, but there is much to learn to improve. I am retired and photography is also my passion. In return, I get a lot of compliments. You can too.

I get lots of compliments also, and, i'm always keen to learn, however, there were all kinds of things that made that shot tricky, For a start the band is marching on a curved path, and, actually, the roses are not in front of them, they are on the side of the path., if you can visualise that. Plus, they are actually marching, at a good pace. I've posted the uncropped version, so you can see what the problems were..



I also think the lens is back focusing a little, but, I'm not sure. If one wanted a properly frame shot, the roses were out..

Some of the criticisms are at variance with the real word scene. I could not clip the roses. I'd have been shot, plus, there wasn't time. As you can see, the roses ARE NOT in their path.

Oh, the one below wasn't taken with a FF, but, you may like it never-the-less.



The red cast is from the safety light, and, some of his shirt is a but mottled due to NR.

The shot is via OV3 with no pp, lexp lifted 1.6 in LR6.10.

--
karl reed

 

[Lenseroti]

Nice portrait; well framed.

However, the liquid in the glass looks questionable.

 

[karlreed]

Nice portrait; well framed.

However, the liquid in the glass looks questionable.

Thanks for the nice words..

Actually, knowing my younger brother, the liquid is unquestionably either burobon or scotch.

Actually, its cropped, and, checking, the jpg fro OV3 was adjusted quite a bit in LR6.10.

Temp -2, Tint +28, Exp +1.6, Highlights -100, shadows +53

--
karl reed

 

[afoton]

Nice portrait; well framed.

However, the liquid in the glass looks questionable.

Thanks for the nice words..

Actually, knowing my younger brother, the liquid is unquestionably either burobon or scotch.

I think it is his thumb, seen through the liquid, that makes the liquid looks questionable.

 

[karlreed]

Nice portrait; well framed.

However, the liquid in the glass looks questionable.

Thanks for the nice words..

Actually, knowing my younger brother, the liquid is unquestionably either burobon or scotch.

I think it is his thumb, seen through the liquid, that makes the liquid looks questionable.

Isn't that interesting! I'd NEVER noticed, I'll try to remember that when taking portraits like that in future.

Wow, there IS a lot t remember..!