http://www.chaosreigns.com/gallery/index/201007.html


I think when I first photographed fireworks, I used a tripod and mostly long exposures. Last time I realized I much preferred the results of very short exposures. So most of these were around 1/180th of a second, ISO 1600, auto f-stop with a 50mm f/1.8 on my Canon 40D. I think next time I won't bring the tripod (1/60th of a second is generally fast enough to free hand).

Parties, fire, poll dancing, sun and moon rising, arc welding.
http://www.chaosreigns.com/gallery/index/200909.html

http://www.chaosreigns.com/gallery/cambridge_cdr_1.jpg.html

I took 9 photos, ranging from 30 seconds / iso 800 / f/4.0, to 0.5 seconds / iso 100 / f/22.6 (14 stops?), merged them to a high dynamic range image, then reduced the contrast back to the LDR here. Not perfect, but fun. Software used was qtpfsgui (open-source) (using save preview, not tone mapping!).

Pending water and radon testing, closing is on the 23rd:

http://www.chaosreigns.com/gallery/index/200806.html

Property line is in the middle of the stream.

Update: Tests came back. Everything looks good except the radon in the water is high. My current plan is to pretty much ignore it.

http://www.chaosreigns.com/gallery/Space_Station_and_Shuttle.jpg.html
http://www.chaosreigns.com/gallery/Space_Station_and_Shuttle-2.jpg.html

They were separated and orbiting together. Shot with a 50mm lens, 13 second exposures.

Thanks to golux_org for the info that made it possible for me to take these.
Relevant info can be found on http://www.heavens-above.com/

I haven't uploaded a shot of my fish tank since February 2005, so here is an update:
http://www.chaosreigns.com/gallery/CRW_4715.JPG.html

mangosteen was raving about 50mm f/1.8 lenses, I've been drooling over shallow depth of field images and fast lenses as long as I understood them (which hasn't been very long). And this one is relatively very cheap. And everybody else raves about them too. So I decided to pick one up to use on cathijosephine's camera which I've been using a lot until I decide if I want a Pentax or a Nikon.

This lens rocks. I haven't ever been able to get pictures of my fish anywhere near as good, and the improvement is similar for closeups. Adapting to a prime (non-zoom) lens hasn't been hard so far.

Although I've been starting to consider giving in to Canon just because of the ability to swap parts with every damn DSLR owner I know (including cathijosephine).

Up until about a week ago I was a Canon whore. I assumed that when I finally got around to buying a DSLR, it would be a Canon. The price, performance, and my ability to justify the expenditure had not quite met.

I discovered HDR - High Dynamic Range photography, largely thanks to sensesurfer. ( Read more... )