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I love shooting plants indoors because I never have to worry about wind. And I love shooting plants outside on a cloudy day because the lighting is perfect. So naturally, when I get the chance to take the best of both worlds, I go for it.
click to enlarge, or see it on Flickr
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/8
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 100mm
Tripod
I'm not sure what this plant is called; it's some sort of succulent my mom is growing on a windowsill. And after I took a few shots like this one, I busted out my friend the spray bottle and tried some water ones... they didn't turn out. I don't think it was the water, just other things went wrong. So I may revisit this one with the water droplets again sometime.
Other than being maybe a little bit too busy, I'm pretty happy with this. At least I can say it was composed pretty well and there's a definite point of interest. The the lighting. Oh, the lighting.
I was upstairs yesterday when I noticed the light was coming through a window pretty horizontally and shining off our chandelier. When I got everything set up to take the photos, I noticed that various parts of the walls, ceiling, etc. were creating symmetrical natural framing at the angle I was shooting at to get the sun's reflection.
click to enlarge, or see it on Flickr
Aperture: f/5.5
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 80
Monopod
So I'm pretty happy with this photo. I cooled down the temperature a bit in Photoshop, because I like the facets of the glass when they're a cyan-ish blue. I also had to clone out some gross cobwebs. I guess you don't notice them until you're photographing them.
In other news, I borrowed a Canon Rebel XSi from the yearbook class at my school to take photos for my article in the upcoming issue of our school paper. I mostly borrowed it to try it out. Holy cow. I can't wait for mine to get here.
It's frustrating to go on a shoot with some really good ideas in mind, and come home to find that all your shots are duds. On the other end of the spectrum, It's great to go on a shoot feeling rather uninspired, take some obligatory exposures, and return to find a gem upon uploading from your card.
I can't claim credit for the way this photo turned out. The lighting happened all on its own, and it looks awesome.
click to enlarge, or see it on Flickr
Although the area behind the tree is rather overexposed, it's small enough not to be too distracting. The colors go together really nicely, and I love the way the sun sort of wraps around the trunk. But really, the only thing I can take credit for in this photo is the composition, which, quite frankly, is about two steps (or stops, if you appreciate nerdy photography humor) above mediocre.
I prefer to do my photography on cloudy days. The clouds diffuse the light wonderfully, making for "open shade" lighting everywhere. Unfortunately, I don't control the weather, and the percentage of days like this is relatively low. But sunny days are great too, if you know how to use the light. Front lighting, back lighting, side lighting, and anything in between can all make for great shots.
click to enlarge
This shot is fun - the color of the leaves and the lines all make for a warm, peaceful, happy shot. But be warned: this is cutting it close. You should never point a camera directly at the sun. It is extremely bad for your image sensor - too much direct light at that intensity will destroy it, rendering your camera useless.
