The Photographers thread: Show us your stuff!!

[Americanbeauty]

Matt & KC suggested that it would be interesting, since quite a number of us seem to be passionate about photography, to start a thread dedicated to our very own photos. Well, this is it 

And if you want your uploaded photos not to disappear from the thread after a few months, here's a site where you can host them (forever and ever apparently) www.imgur.com. Matt posted a how-to HERE

For those of you who would still like to continue discussing photographers and photography in general, posting photos found on the internet, no worries, the thread is still THERE 


I'll do the honors with this shot of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (took it last year with my phone)




Equipment: Canon G11, Nikon D80 and Nexus 4

[Matt]

Beautiful shot, AB! And thanks for starting us off with this thread. I'm glad to have you back here to talk photography with. I'll post some of mine later tonight. This thread alone will inspire me to get out with my camera more.

Tell us about when you started, and what type of photography you love. Do you have any favorite photographers who inspired you? Have you studied, or are you self-taught?

I hope others will join in too. AB's photos may be a few steps above my level, but this isn't going to be about bragging or showing off, it's about sharing the LOVE of photography, and helping to inspire each other to be more active and maybe learn a few tips that would help us be better. 

I was glad to see AB start us off with a camera phone photo, which emphasizes the point that this thread is for everyone who loves taking photos... don't be afraid to post your phone photos too.

[Matt]

*Cue Bruce Springsteen's "My Hometown"*

So, I spent the weekend in my hometown... Cherry Hill, New Jersey. We're just over the bridge from Philly (plus a few miles). I'll often say I'm "from Philly" because that was our stomping grounds, and where we went once we got our licenses - either the Shore, or Philly.

But, I'm from Jersey. And pretty much everyone I meet outside of Jersey pulls the old "Oh, you're from JOISEY".  And no, we don't talk like that at all in South Jersey. We don't talk like Rocky either (although my parents, who were from Philly, and all their friends did). The South Jersey accent is closer to a Virginia accent -- it's slightly .... very slightly southern.

And another misconception about Jersey is that it's an asphalt jungle, and a sewer. So, I'm about to show you some picture of where I grew up, and you can see if you can reconcile that with your impressions of New Jersey.

It was a quick trip, so I only got out to one landmark to photograph, and I thought of y'all here. I just had a feeling that there would be some fans here of covered bridges. Yes?

This is Scarborough Bridge, but all of us from Barclay Farms (a section of Cherry Hill) just called it "The Covered Bridge", and it is on "Covered Bridge Road".  I walked through it every single day to school. It was so ordinary, that I never thought to photograph it, honestly. It was just as ordinary as your local grocery store or 7-11.  In time, I realized it was special. And this time, I finally photographed it.

I have so many pictures, and I'm still going through them, but I wanted to get a few up tonight...





Is it as pretty as Roseman Bridge? Maybe not, but this one picture is the symbol of my childhood. Many many days and nights riding my bike under it, walking through it, sitting on the edge, smoking (anything), drinking, and making out here. Now here's the view of the Cooper River from the bridge: 



And here's a little article about Scarborough Bridge.

[Matt]

Flew over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge this weekend. 

[Matt]

Two more from my NJ trip (probably the last from this series)

Like AB, I love B&W photography -- but I couldn't help but indulge in the brilliant fall colors with the barn red bridge. But, it is striking in Black & White also. For this shot, I wanted to get it from ground level, so laid down in the street. In the old days, I would be able to bounce right back up and get out of the street in a second. I realized I'm a little slower now when a car started coming from behind me. Yeah, I've done a lot of dangerous stuff to get the photo I want. Anyway, it was worth it!



And one more of brilliant NJ fall foliage:

[Americanbeauty]

Love that covered bridge, Matt so cool that you used to walk / ride through it when you were a kid.

For the story I started taking pictures and developing an interest in photography when I was in college, about 8-9 years ago. I was attending journalism classes at the time while some of my friends were taking photojournalism classes (it had to be one or the other).

I'm an introvert by nature so I like observing people and things. It's the perfect hobby. I photograph things that catch my eye. I know some people like to go out with a group and take photos (which is totally fine), but for me photography is something I enjoy doing on my own.

I've always admired concert photographers and their ability to capture and freeze that one moment during a concert when you can feel the intensity of a performance. So messy sometimes, but so beautiful. I do go to a lot of concerts, and whenever that's possible I bring my camera with me.

I like streetart and "urban exploration". I'm a city girl

Favorite photographers? I like Winogrand, Steve McCurry, Lee Jeffries, Jason M Peterson (https://www.instagram.com/jasonmpeterson/ go check home out he does wonder with b&w) Plus there are so many talented street photographers on Instagram right now.

Fun fact: I always (always) hold my breath when I'm taking a picture. Which depending on the subject, can become a real problem I'm working on it lol

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[Matt]

Fun fact: I always (always) hold my breath when I'm taking a picture. Which depending on the subject, can become a real problem I'm working on it lol

I tried for about 20 minutes once to get a picture of two giraffes humping. He never quite made it in. You would have literally died trying to get that shot. 

Just looked up your photographers -- Steve McCurry -- love his Afghan Girl photo. It was one of the ones I was thinking of when I mentioned 'Napalm Girl" in another thread as being an image that is indelibly ingrained in the mind forever.

I'm really diggin' the Jason Peterson photography. That's the kind I love.

[Americanbeauty]

Yeah. He's very very talented.
Another one that comes to mind is Henri Huet (war photographer, killed during the Vietnam war).

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[Americanbeauty]

I tried for about 20 minutes once to get a picture of two giraffes humping. He never quite made it in. You would have literally died trying to get that shot. 

Ha! Probably



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[Americanbeauty]

This one dates back to 2010. First time I visited Canada.
It was around the end of October / beginning of November.
I decided to go to Stanley Park and walk along the Seawall. Took me about 4-5 hours

And I took this shot. I was lucky to get that seagull



Such a peaceful view. Kinda soothing too.

I realized afterwards that when you look at it from up close the sky kinda looks like a painting...

Btw, I don't like Photoshop and all that, not very good at it either lol, so most of my DSLR photos are unretouched (except maybe for contrast). For this one what you see is exactly what I saw at the time. No toying around with anything.

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[Christopher]

The whole thing kind of looks like a painting! Beautiful shot, AB! I'm sure that was worth 4 to 5 hours.

[Americanbeauty]

It was

Whether I go to a concert or just go out with my camera I'm not happy until I get my "One Shot".
I get very frustrated if I don't get at least one good photo

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[Matt]

And I took this shot. I was lucky to get that seagull

I like that shot. I took a few similar shots the other night. I'm visiting my father in Florida, and we went to dinner at a waterside restaurant down the road. I had to leave him at the table for a few minutes -- the sun was just setting and I had about 5 minutes of good lighting. You know the feeling -- the shot is happening NOW *dash*.

I always take dozens of shots, even when I used to shoot with real film. And yeah, if I get that ONE shot, I'm happy.

[The Schofield Kid]

I'm no expert when it comes to photography and I took this photo of a double rainbow on my Iphone last year in Rome.

[Matt]

Great photo, SK. I like how the inside rainbow lines up with the candle (or whatever the angel is holding).

As far as I know, there are no experts here, just enthusiasts.

[Richard Earl]

I am a manager in retail and worked Black Friday today and working the sale after Black Friday. I was about to go to bed and stopped by the board and I clicked on this thread. I am glad that I did. AB, Matt and SK those are pure pictures of serenity. I am going to bed with a smile. 

[The Schofield Kid]

I like how the inside rainbow lines up with the candle (or whatever the angel is holding).

Funny. I never noticed that. I only saw the angel looking at the rainbow.

[Americanbeauty]

Nice one SK
And yeah it does look like it lines up with the candle...and that the angel is looking at it

I am glad that I did. AB, Matt and SK those are pure pictures of serenity. I am going to bed with a smile. 

Hope you had a good night Richard!

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[Matt]

Most of the time that I actually get out of my town, I'm visiting someone and not able to do photography -- the time is always too short, and usually indoors. Same as usual, this last trip to Florida. I spent a few days in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S., and the only really good pictures I got were on the drive back - going 70 mph through the Florida panhandle JUST south of Alabama, the sunset was amazing. And then I saw two silos, and this swing. So of course I had to pull over and get some photos. I got eaten alive by the Florida state bird while taking them (mosquitos).

Here's one - haven't had time to go through them all yet to see if I have any better.

[Matt]

Btw, I don't like Photoshop and all that, not very good at it either lol, so most of my DSLR photos are unretouched (except maybe for contrast).

I wish I could take photos with my camera and get them to be exactly the way I want them. That's where I come up short -- the lighting and the aperture/speed settings. Plus, my camera is pretty low-end DSLR and I notice even when I have the lighting, and it's set on Program mode, they come out darker and flatter than what I saw when I was there. So I play with almost every photo to try to make it match what I saw. My goal isn't to improve the original scene, but to capture the beauty of the original scene.

In the photo above, I had to select the entire structure and use the "Dodge Tool" to remove shadows on the barn to remove shadows, and to brighten the grass. I didn't want to use Curves, contrast, brightness, etc. on the entire picture because it washed out the sunset. Then I wanted to add a bit of "vibrance" because in actuality, the colors were much more impressive than what my camera captured. And just since this is an appreciation AND learning thread, here's the original:



I also like to crop my photos, when possible to wide-screen.

Now, I also do darkroom film photography (although I haven't in some time now), and I KNOW that photographers manipulate in the darkroom to get what they want out of the photo. Photoshopping is just the darkroom equivalent for digital media. So, I don't MIND using Photoshop at all, I think it's almost necessary to have the strongest visual impact. But, I personally dislike OVER photoshopping and altering the photo (adding things that don't exist, like the moon, etc.)  And I wouldn't try to create a sunset if there wasn't one, but I think it's fair to do a little dodging/burning, cropping (you'll always do that with an enlarger in the darkroom), and contrast levels.

I don't see it as a cheat, but I DO have a bit of jealousy (or a lot of jealousy) over someone who doesn't need to do that at all.