A number of topic links on this website
Link to the Just Color page about aspects of color in photography.
Link to the page about using a high ISO in photography.
Link to the Nikon 28-300mm zoom and post-production.
Link to the use of LUTs in photography page.
Link to the Workflow page where I discuss some important aspects of a photography workflow.
Link to my Street Photography book and additional information.
Link to the Black and White photography discussion.
Link to the pretty flowers page.
Link to yet another flowers page!
In this page are topics I enjoy sharing. Ed Ruth teaches digital photography in Bakersfield, California and travels to the Los Angeles and Las Vegas area to lecture. Contact me using: edruthusa@yahoo.com
Image review and discussion
I don’t particularly recommend this image for sake of composition or newsworthiness but I do like it for a number of reasons. I took this image using the Nikon Z 50 which has a “half-frame” or ASP-C sensor. A Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens was attached. So the equivalent 35mm field of view is (24 – 70 x 1.5) or 36mm – 105mm.
The camera was set to “A” Mode (Aperture Priority),1/30s, f/3.2, ISO 500 and the lens was at 25mm. This is far from ideal as I had casually set my camera on the counter of a restaurant, aimed without skill, and snapped the shutter. Had I exercised a bit more thought, I would have set the camera to f/10, ISO 100 and allowed the camera to choose the shutter speed, perhaps 1.6s. This would have provided a tad more depth of field up front, one foot distant, where it is sadly lacking. Is yellow over saturated?
But I did like the very pleasing bokeh the lens provided and the fact that I got an discernible image at all. I have decided to more often use the technique of placing a camera on a flat surface in lieu of a tripod or better lighting. In fact, I now carry around a small block of wood to prop up the front of my lens for such circumstances. All in all, the Z 50 & Z 24-70mm f/2.8 are wonderfully paired.
I like this image taken with the Nikon Z 50 & Nikon Z 50mm S f/1.8 lens. Camera settings are “A” Aperture Priority, 1/1600s, f/4.5, ISO 100. That’s OK for this shot. The Z 50 has no image stabilization, like its bigger brothers the Z 6 and Z 7, so I keep the shutter speed high, but not necessarily this high. As I shoot Raw, I simply set the camera’s white balance to Auto (preserve warm colors) and adjust in post as needed. I also like the bokeh of the Z 50mm lens.
In some ways this highly compressed JPEG, that is only 1600 pixels on the long side, does not do the image justice. At 163 kilobytes, for the sake of efficient internet use, the details look almost out of focus. Of course, this image is only a representation of the actual image. In fact, even the image at its original dimensions of 5568 x 3712 pixels (59.1 MB) as seen on my desktop computer screen is also simply a representation. Only a high-resolution inkjet printer could come close to truly revealing the detail at the moment of capture. Additionally, a backlit image such as this can be very difficult to get just right. I had to work the scene quite hard to get what I did which has its own flaws covered by mother nature.
This Panorama reveals how large an area can be covered by “stitching” four or five shots into one image. Many post-production programs offer a stitching option. I like PTGui for my panorama work. Panorama photography required that the photographer overlap about 20% of the images taken. Greens seem a bit over saturated. All images on this site created by Ed Ruth.
California Transverse Ranges’ foothills creek. Nikon D810 & 28-300mm zoom, using 1/160s, f/3.5, ISO 100. The Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR is a popular lens, very sharp, and very well built.
The Golden Gate Bridge may or may not look better in black & white but here I used B&W to alter an otherwise desaturated set of colors. An overcast day had provided poor contrast which B&W restored at the loss of some detail.
I like the colors and complexity of these traps but, as a practical matter, there is no market for such a photograph.
It is not where you photograph but how you photograph that makes all the difference. But first learn to see rather than look. When you see yourself clearly you will see the world clearly as well. And when you see the world clearly and document it using your camera, you will have become an artist.
Photography can be fun, profitable, creative, and technically superior at the same time. Contact me for a custom one-to-one camera class in Bakersfield, California. Please text me at: 661-303-9210 (preferred) or email me using: edruthusa@yahoo.com for an appointment.
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