Been a long time since I posted anything, or even taken photos for that matter.
Started messing around with my Canon Sx510 and sending images back to my phone for editing…basic editing at that. So this is one of the images.
It’s a bit over exposed in parts, need to learn photography all over again…. Lol.
I went out today looking for something to photograph as I haven’t been out for while. Unfortunately it was typical Irish weather i.e. wet & miserable so Landscapes were out due to the poor light and even worse sky. However, there were swans down around Fahan, So I decided to have a go at photographing them.
They were sitting in the fields, taking off and flying overhead every now and then, unfortunately the shots I took were crap – so I deleted them ones. There were also swans down at the lake swimming and diving for food. I managed to get a few shots of these which where pretty decent, and once edited, brought a bit of life to them.
Due to the poor light, I decided to put the ISO on Auto, especially as photographing birds can be unpredictable. This however added a little noise to the images due to the higher ISO settings. Some of this noise I was able to get rid off using Lightroom.
Below is one the images I took, Which is actually of a Black Swan – which is rare for here. It’s not perfect – but that’s what learning is all about…isn’t it?
~ Keith ~
Last Wednesday, the Foyle Camera Club went down to Lisfannan beach to catch a sunset. Afterwards we decided to do some paint by light images using Steel wool.
This is done by inserting some steel wool into a wisk with some cord through the handle – to enable us to swing the wisk around. The steel wool is then set on fire while it’s being spun around. NB – This is quite dangerous and requires certain safety precautions i.e. Whoever is swinging the wisk must wear safety glasses/monogoggles, gloves and long-sleeved tops. This must also be done in a safe environment so as not to cause a fire. Everyone else must be a suitable distance away as there will be a lot of sparks.
This was a great nights craic. It was our first time trying this out. Not sure if there are any specific rules, but you can spin the wisk around in one direction to create a circle of light, or spin it erratically for other patterns. We did both.
From a photography point of view, we used different exposures lengths to try to capture the images, eg 10 -30 secs at various apertures. Ideally its better to do choose an environment with interesting features which are also captured (and safe of course). We done it at the beach, with no real background. as it was our first attempt. Some of the more experienced photographers used wide-angle lens to capture star trails along with it. Unfortunately I was out earlier in the day with the camera and still had the telephoto lens (55-250mm) on. I never even thought about changing it, as the craic was that good. Still,there’s always next time, and igad a few interesting pics.
Check out a few others over on Flickr
~Keith~
It’s been a while since I’ve posted (6 months) – but that’s not to say I haven’t been taken any photos. I’ve just been busy with my other hobbies i.e. Music and Computers and haven’t had time to post or even get around to editing photos which I had taken. That’s something I need to work on – I’ve never been one to go out shooting photographs, diving home to check them and get them uploaded etc..It normally takes me a little while to get the courage to look at them.
Anyway, I’ve started to try and catch up on everything, so I’ve started with a another photo shoot up at Muff Woods ( I must get the proper name of the place again), which I went to with a friend of mine from work, back in November. We went looking for the little red squirrels again. Luckily, there were 2 little devils running around the place – unluckily, they were going a little too fast for me to get many good shots. I did however get this one, which I quite like.
There are also a lot of little birds fly about around the woods – these boys are very hard to photograph, as they move that quick. However I was lucky to get a shot of a Chaffinch sitting of a branch. Quite happy with this shot.
~ Keith ~
Time for the Foyle Camera Club monthly print competition. Entries have to be for the 21st August. Originally this month was supposed to be on the Theme of HDR (High Dynamic Range), but as a lot of members don’t know a lot about it, it was changed to an open round. I’ve an image in mind, so I must make sure it’s sent in.
I’ll post the image here after the competition is over with the position I came. I don’t expect to be near the top, as long as I don’t came last..lol.
Update (03/09/11) : As I mentioned above, I said I’d post my image when the competition is over. Well, I initially had a different pic in mind for the competition, but at the last-minute changed my mind and entered another. Below is the image I entered. Oh…BTW – I won this months competition with this image. A good boost for my confidence.
~ Keith ~
On the 13th June, a few members from the Foyle Camera Club and myself went on an impromptu outing to Malin, Ireland. It was a lovely evening, although you wouldn’t have thought it out on the cliff edge where it was quite windy and rather chilly. Getting there was quite an experience also, trouping through bog land – good job I found the wellie boots before hand.
Whilst waiting on the sun to go down, I took a few shots of Stookaruddan Island trying different exposures. Mark (Nolan – from the club) gave me a tip, to shoot in Manual – which I did. Shooting in manual only seems scary (who am I kidding – it is) – but Mark told me to set my f-stop then adjust the shutter speed on the camera using the exposure compensation scale, to get a good exposure (where the reading is equal to 0). As the night grew darker – I was able to try longer exposures – to smooth out the water. I was quite pleased with the results.
As the sun lowered in the sky, you could see the colours changing in the sky through the clouds. When shooting sunsets, obviously you’re shooting into the sun, this can cause problems based on what type of picture you’re after. As I found out, the sun made the everything look like a silhouette. To combat this, I need to use filters, which will allow me to adjust my exposure in the future and get a more balance photo.
~Keith~
I was out with the camera club on the 4/5/11 down to Neds Point & Fr Hegarty’s Rock, Buncrana. It was getting late, not too mention very overcast. To be honest, I didn’t think it was even worth taking the camera out of the case. It was one of the lads in the club showed me a photo he’d taken – using a long exposure. That got me thinking – I should try that.
So I did, after a few shots which were either too dark or bright – I got a cou
ple that (I think anyway) were not too bad. See what you think. Will definitely give it a go again.
~Keith~
Hi
Foyle Camera club had their weekly meeting tonight which involved our monthly print competition. I don’t normally enter, but decided to enter tonight – just for the fun of it.I came 12th out of 14 – 🙂 . This month’s theme was Abstract – there was a variety of images, showing everyones interpretations of what abstract is – each of a high quality. Mine (pictured) is of the tiled roof of my local church which is a triangular shaped building.The angle taken makes it look like floor tiles – but judge for yourself.
Abstract Image
We also had a presentation talk from a photographer called Andy McInroy. He talked to us about his project work around photographing caves for a big project he did. He showed slides of the caves, explained the technique he used to photograph them, what inspired him to take them. He also show a range a landscape photos.
You can check out his website www.andyinroy.com to see his galleries – well worth it.
~ Keith ~
Keith Doherty - Photography 