A 366 day photo adventure - February 2012

2012.02.01
As you read yesterday, I have been spending the day cooking and preserving. I decided tonight I'd take today's shot of the Piccalili relish after it was cooked with the vegetable ingredients. I am not an arranger of anything like flowers etc, so trying to set this us was very difficult. I'd love to be more creative that way. Earlier in the afternoon I had thought of taking the bottles out into the garden and placing the board under them in the zucchini bushes ... maybe I should have! Being set again on the Scene setting, Food, I had no control over the depth of field [at least that I know of] ... I should have used Aperture Priority and set it for a great depth of field, I think.

f/4.5, 1/13 sec, ISO 1600, Matrix metering, Scene setting: Food

2012.02.02

Having spent another day in the kitchen creating a freezer overload, I only got to my camera after sunset but while we were having our wonderful Tassie twilight. I had the macro lens and the tripod as well as the remote for the shutter. I also experimented with the 6 different picture control settings in the shooting menu: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape. Plus I was doing manual focus using live view as I had the tripod very low. I had more failures than not!  Probably for this I needed a higher F stop as one of the outer petals is out of focus [but I must have bumped the dial as it was on manual priority and not aperture anyway ... sigh!]. Monochrome worked better with this than any of the other settings!

f/11, 1/6 sec, ISO 1600, Centre Weighted metering, Manual  Priority

2012.02.03

I went into the garden early this morning with the macro lens as I need so much practice with it and the manual  focusing. I had to use the Action setting as the wind was blowing everything about.

f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 800, Matrix metering, Program setting: Action

2012.02.04

Sometimes photos are more of a record of events than artistic endeavours. Today we went for a long trek through the coastal scrub and when we had slogged [read I had slogged] our way to the top of the sand dunes I knew I would never get up again if I went the long way down to the beach. Although I could see the waves crashing in West Coast style, my sense overcame the desire to photograph them. While I waited for Steve at the top of the dune, battling the wind and the blowing sand, I enjoyed experimenting with different settings on the camera and different angles from which to take a photo. This was on Shutter Priority to capture the grass which was being swayed about erratically and I also used a wide F stop to get the movement of the waves in the distance. I have a tendency to be heavy handed when pushing the shutter and this moves the camera down to the right ... rather noticeable when the horizon is involved.

f/20, 1/125 sec, ISO 250,  Matrix metering,  Shutter Priority

2012.02.05

Today we went to "the Edge of the World", a point where the tannin stained Arthur River meets the pristine Southern Ocean which is often whipped up by the very strong winds known as the Roaring Forties. The wind was strong enough that I could not hold the camera still even when on the speed setting, so I got the tripod and still had to hold onto it! I was thrilled with this shot of both the pristine salt and the tannin stained fresh water meeting.

f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 500, Matrix metering, Program setting: Action

2012.02.06

After the rain of the previous day, we went for a climb up a hill in a very damp rainforest. Even having knocked a leech off previously I just had to kneel down on the forest floor to get close enough to these little fungi which were barely half a centimetre in diameter. I used my macro lens and focused manually and only after I had this on the computer did I see the two yellow fungi that were even smaller! My tripod was a necessity!

f/22, 1 sec, ISO 450, Spot metering, 60mm focal point, Aperture priority

2012.02.07

We had a ball today going on the Abt Railway from Queenstown to Strahan. Steve and I were like a pair of kids as we stood at the rear of the train taking photos! I found that if I had it set on Aperture priority I got shots that gave the impression of going through a tunnel but if I wanted tourist bureau type shots like this one I had to use the Action program.

f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 800, Matrix metering, Program setting: Action

2012.02.08

With no sign of the previous days' inclement weather we travelled through Hydro country and stopped for a cuppa above Lake Plimsoll, part of the Anthony Scheme. One could not wish for a better advertisement for the beauty of the South West or the glorious Tasmanian summer weather than this!

f/22, 1/50 sec, ISO 100, matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.09

Being another day of preserving, I only got to the camera in the evening. The vegie garden was the only place to go, so I took this, again a record more than anything else as we have never had such an abundance of golden nugget pumpkins as we have on the vine this year. Can you see 8 pumpkins in this frame alone? I also really like the contrast of the orange and the green. I have tried a number of shots in the past days using the Manual exposure program, choosing both the shutter speed and the aperture. Because I have the shooting menu set to Automatic ISO if needed, the camera compensated to the maximum I've allowed.

f/22, 1/60, ISO 6400, matrix metering, Manual exposure program

2012.02.10

As I was cutting up the ingredients, and then placing them in the boiler for cooking, and then bottling, salsa today I was struck by the beautiful simplicity of the red, white and green of the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili and capsicum, so before I added the spices and put it on to boil I experimented with shots using different exposures, different program settings and the scene setting for food. The one I have chosen for tonight is the one for food where the aperture, the shutter speed and the ISO is chosen for you. It has really highlighted the vibrant colours although it has picked up the reflection of the kitchen light above.

f/4.2, 1/60 sec, ISO 1100, Matrix metering, Scene setting: Food

2012.02.11

The inaugural Devonport Pub to Club swim was on today, supposedly 2 km down the Mersey River and around the point and through Bass Straight to the Bluff, although it was probably more. The participants had to handle waves in the river today. I had put my 55-300 kit lens on so that I could get some of the action. I used manual priority and chose f/22 for depth of field with very high shutter speeds as it was such a sunny day. I still have my shooting settings with the Auto ISO turned on.

f/22, 1/1000 sec, ISO 2500, focal length 300 mm, Matrix metering, Manual priority

2012.02.12

Another superb summer day with activities happening throughout Devonport gave opportunity to capture different types of images to that which is my norm. I again used the manual setting with an aperture of f/22, but brought the speed down to 1/640 sec. Some of my images on higher shutter speeds had far too dark a sky. This is something I will need to work through to find solutions. Maybe I should take some without having my Auto ISO switched on. I had set the ISO at 500 but this was over-ridden. I don't know what would have happened if the Auto had been turned off ... something else to find out in this learning process. I loved this kite, and I especially like the translucent look of the body as it approached the clouds around its head.

f/22, 1/640 sec, ISO 1600, Focal length 55 mm, Matrix metering, Manual priority

2012.02.13

Yesterday I had found that many of my shots using manual setting of both aperture and shutter speed had far too dark a sky. I put it down to having the ISO sensitivity being set to Auto so tonight I tried both manual and Aperture exposure settings with it set on "off". I think I might have made a wrong assumption ... something else to work through! My sunset shots using Manual and Aperture were mostly okay ... just! I had forgotten my tripod as I'd changed my mind as to where I wanted to go and that took extra time getting there. Although I was able to balance the camera on the wall at Braddon's Lookout it was not as still as it should have been! I put the camera onto the Scene setting: Sunset and took this shot of the Forth Valley.

f/5, 1/100 sec, ISO 400, focal length 98 mm, Matrix metering, Scene setting: Sunset

2012.02.14

It's Valentines Day so I decided to have some fun with our wedding certificate and rings. I used the macro lens, the tripod and us crawling around the floor trying to get our hands in too ... that didn't work so the rings came off ... after 38 years Steve needed soap to do so. I'm not artistic but I finally got our rings in good focus [manual focus] and after uploading I used Picnik to put a fancy Valentines border. By using this program the size of the photo diminishes but this is just for computer fun, not for printing. This really does get me out of my comfort zone as I am not creative with arrangements etc ... give me the God created environment to work with any day!

f/22, 1/100 sec, ISO 100, 60 mm focal length, Matrix metering, Flash, Manual priority

2012.02.15

I was up early so that I could do some cooking and bottling before school. I went outside at first light to pick more tomatoes and I looked up to see wispy pink/orange clouds. Naturally I grabbed the camera which still had the macro lens on it, but couldn't change it in case I woke Steve up. I was struggling with the aperture and shutter speed in the dawn light so chose to put it onto the "program" setting which adjusts to the appropriate settings quickly [this is different from the "Auto" setting]. The different movements within these clouds appealed to me.

f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO 100, Focal length 60 mm, Matrix metering, Program setting

2012.02.16

We had visitors from interstate staying with us, and being a beautiful summer evening, we took them down to the shores of the Mersey River to show them the great sight of the Spirit of Tasmania leaving Devonport. While walking near the mouth of the river I looked back towards the setting sun to take a series of shots with the depth of colour in the sky, the subtle reflections of light on Bass Strait and the silhouetted trees along the shoreline. I ended up using shutter priority as I was finding the aperture priority very dark, even with making many adjustments. This result is a true reflection of the sky as we saw it.

f/14, 1/100 sec, ISO 100, 32 mm focal length, Matrix metering, shutter priority

2012.02.17

Sometimes a photo just has to tell a story and nothing else. Tonight, while we were having tea, the heavens opened and it poured as if Tassie was in the tropics. I left my tea, grabbed my camera and took some shots from the front and back verandahs. As the rain became heavier I knew that the tripod was the only way to go as I couldn't hold the camera steady enough in the gloom of the cloudburst. The neighbours' guttering spouted like a waterfall, the street was flooded as the storm water could not get away fast enough, and we had a shower running off the back verandah roofing. The colour in this shot is correct as it was just prior to what would have been sunset if we'd had a sunset! The cloud was a sickly pale yellowish, greenish grey. I had changed the ISO to a much higher reading to enable the photo to be taken in the deepening dark.

f/22, 1/13 sec, ISO 1250, 26mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.18

After last night's 58 ml rain I  knew we had to get to the tomatoes first thing this morning before they could be grabbed by the snails! We picked 8 and a half kilo of lovely red tomatoes and before I prepared them for bottling I took a couple of snaps. Being f/22, I needed the tripod as the time was more than I could hold but i had forgotten to change the ISO back after I'd need a high ISO last night because of the  late shooting time. Sometimes the old brain forgets that I am no longer a point and shoot user! The tomatoes that are red with green stripes are a heritage variety [don't remember the name] and they are just like tomatoes were when we were kids ... scrumptious!

f/22, 1/2 sec, ISO 1250, matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.19

This photo of the window in the Don church was taken for a friend today. I took it from inside with the tripod, making sure that I had changed the ISO this time! I tried the white balance on Auto, shade and cloud but the Auto brought out the colour more accurately.

f/22, 1/13 sec, ISO 100, 55mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.20

We had visitors staying. Steve's sister does not like having photos taken and so I began to take some portraits of Steve with her, but concentrating on her. I used the portrait setting on the camera with the macro lens. I am very happy with the way this one came out, very natural.

f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO 800, focal length 60 mm, matrix metering, Portrait setting

2012.02.21

Our apples have started to be ready to eat and this morning I took some close-ups with the macro lens of one that had been picked. It was on the dining table and I took it from various angles. Because the only light was through the kitchen window and I wasn't using the flash, I needed to use the remote shutter release. This afternoon I had some fun playing with the exposure and colour of a couple of the shots. The following are the original and the one I've played around with on Windows Live Photo Gallery.

cropped with exposure and colour adjusted

Original: f/22, 10 sec, ISO 100, 60 mm focal length,
Centre-weighted metering,  no flash, Aperture priority

2012.02.22

Steve found and unwelcome visitor this morning and as he was going to take it outside, he showed me. It was rather pretty, even if it was very, very small. I grabbed the camera and he placed the spider on the kitchen bench where I was preparing breakfast. The shots I took on Aperture priority were okay, the ones on Action when it decided to more around were not!

Macro lens, cropped
f/22, 1/4 sec, ISO 800, 60 mm focal length, Centre-weighted metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.23

I had awful ones tonight! Why? I forgot some basic things! I did not change the shooting setting to 'Portrait', nor did I remember that four adults cannot sit still for the length of time I had the camera set and I forgot to take the White balance off "sunny"!!! I did change from f/22 to f/14 after a while and upped the ISO, but I really am not happy with any of them. Mind you, I left this till really late in the evening which does not help! I used the tripod and the remote. This is the best of a bad lot!

f/14, 1/5 sec, ISO 3200, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.24

After school today we all went out to Hawley Beach as I did not want Jenny and Mike to return to Sydney without seeing this special part of Tassie. One of the things I tried was to get the camera lower that I could get and use Live View to position it ... I was proud of myself that I could actually get the horizon straight, although that is not obvious in this shot.

f/22, 1/40 sec, ISO 100, Focal length 38 mm, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.25

After we took Jenny and mike to the airport at Launceston we proceeded to Evandale for their Evandale Village Market and National Penny-farthing Championships. A brilliant day and one where there were many of us who were wandering around with cameras around our necks! It gave me the opportunity to experiment with manual priority as I needed shutter speed for the action taking place, but I also wanted DoF for the 'feel' of the crowd [although in this shot i don't have the huge crowd that was there]. There were electric lines and PA system lines everywhere, but the corner on which I was standing was a tight one for these old bikes to negotiate and it was action I wanted. This shot is during the final of the championship.

f/13, 1/1250 sec, ISO 800, Focal length 55 mm, matrix metering, Manual Priority

2012.02.26

Steve was preaching at Stanley today, so after the church lunch we went walking with our cameras on Godfrey's Beach - going in different directions looking for different things! I have taken many photos of the Nut, but none from down at beach level, so I took a number today. This one has too much sand but seems to me to be aesthetically quite pleasing. I think I really needed a wide angle lens ... I used the widest angle I could make with the kit lens.

f/22, 1/50 sec, ISO 100, Focal length 18 mm, Matrix metering, Aperture Priority

2012.02.27

I was chuffed this morning when I had some of my photos developed at Camera House to have Phil, who takes the adult ed classes as well as working there sharing his expertise, critique my images very positively indeed. It was very encouraging! This afternoon I again tried different settings with my macro lens, and again, I have a long way to go! This photo  is cropped to portrait of one I had taken in landscape. It is of one floret of a newly opened nerine.

f/22, 1/50 sec, ISO 100, focal length 60 mm, Matrix metering, Aperture priority, (cropped)

2012.02.28

Well, this is a learning challenge and today I learned something important ... if a human is involved they just might move away from what they are doing and put a ghostly image into your shot if the shutter speed is slow. Our friend was building the new framework for our new oven [the old oven was bigger than the new one] and he was in the space vacated by the old oven. I had the camera on Aperture priority and it had the speed at 10 secs and no sooner did I release the shutter than Jack crawled out. I then did some experiments with different shutter, aperture and ISO settings using the manual priority until I reached the ones I thought best for the continued pictorial diary of the oven installation - hence the 2 photos tonight.

f/22, 10 sec, ISO 100, 18mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

f/9, 1/30 sec, ISO 2500, 18mm focal length, matrix metering, Manual Priority

2012.02.29

Well the last day of the second month has come on my 366 day journey this leap year. Being a school day it was after 6.00 pm that we went down to the rocky end of Coles Beach, our local beach. I had my macro lens on and I took some scenes as well as some interesting seaweed. I was using the tripod and the shutter release. When I arrived home I fiddled with this photo on Windows Live Photo Gallery, having to straighten the horizon a little [water is unforgiving when it comes to horizons!] and I applied the orange filter to give this monochrome effect which I happen to like better, even though I hadn't thought of shooting in B&W when I was down there.

f/22, 1/15sec, ISO 125, 60mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

Thus ends my second month of trying to extend my photography; thinking about the way I take photos and practising things that are new to me. I would love some feedback about my photos if you feel so inclined.

Cheers until the new month begins tomorrow!