Tuesday, November 20, 2012

More Coast Pictures

Went back out to the coast to get some shots of the stormy waves and sunset. Well, the sunset didn't happen. There were way too many clouds in the way to get anything substantial.

It was a good opportunity to practice low light outdoor stuff. I learned the limits of my lenses and camera.

I did some with the wide angle, some with my telephoto, and most with my kit lens. I just needed something inbetween wide angle and zoom. The kit lens did the trick as far as focal length, but I would've liked something a little better to get rid of the noise I had. And my camera is a limiting factor there too. And I was trying to get fast shutter speed to get the cool wave movements, but it was too dark to get anything decent.

I started out in the rain, so I covered my camera with a trash bag and stuck the lens out of a hole. It worked well. Except that I had to keep cleaning my lens. That added a different challenge for me. I've never had to deal with water droplets on my lens before.

At any rate - here are some of my better shots from the outing.

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The ending of the storm

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big waves crashing on the rocks

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Was trying to get the large waves and the people standing on the rock.  Disappointing with grain and lack of sharpness.

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A few "God Rays" poking through

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I thought the contrast of the gull in the serene tide pool with the raging waters behind it was funny.  

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Hazy and misty view

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Love the silhouette of the people on the beach with the waves in the background with the calming clouds.  The storm has passed and the sky was clearing up as the sun was going down and it was getting dark.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Wide Angle Lens

I have two lenses for my DSLR.  I have the kit 18-55mm lens, and a cheapish 70-300 telephoto lens.  Neither one is super fancy.  It's really alright since I'm not out to make a living with my photography, just take some fun and pretty pictures and get better.  But every time I come up to the coast I wish I had a wider angle lens.  The kit lens is pretty good for my basic needs, but photographing the ocean and the redwoods really calls for something better.  So I rented a moderate (ok ... one of the cheapest) wide angle lenses for my vacation on the coast.  I don't know how I discovered borrowlenses.com, but I love them.  In addition to the great tips and photos on their blog, they have a great selection of lenses.  This really isn't a review of them or their service, just a quick unsolicited plug.

I rented a Sigma 10-20mm.

I'm not too experienced with wide angle lenses or landscape photography.  But the best way to learn is just to go do.  So I'm doing.




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