Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => Art and Literature for Catholics => Topic started by: Mark 79 on July 17, 2021, 03:21:14 PM
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Any photographers out there?
After many years in the low light level niche (it used to be a big deal to push process film to ASA/ISO 1600, but digital cameras trump that by miles), I would like to start doing panoramic photography. That is… when I am well enough.
I ask for tripod head recommendations. I would like a head that allows both landscape and portrait layouts and, importantly, can be set for rotation around the mid-focal length of the lenses instead of rotating around the axis of the camera body base. Spirit levels to set true horizontal and vertical are also desirable.
I will also use the head for macro focus stacking.
I was pleased to discover that software I already use for my website, Photoshop, does image stitching of panoramas and focus stacking. Any comments on how well Photoshop and Lightroom work for these purposes?
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Inspiring.
(http://www.nwicon.com/saguaro-cacti-and-the-milky-way-at-quinn-pass.jpg)
http://www.nwicon.com/saguaro-cacti-and-the-milky-way-at-quinn-pass.jpg (http://www.nwicon.com/saguaro-cacti-and-the-milky-way-at-quinn-pass.jpg)
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Mark, the pros seem to rely on Photoshop and Lightroom. I am no pro, I use Paint.Net and Darktable and get by.
For stitching panoramas I use a free program called Autostitch.
I can't recommend a good tripod head, I'm inbetween good tripods. I got rid of my heavyweight aluminum classic, and now have a mistaken cheapie purchase that's wobbly with a metal gimbal. I setup a gimbal with a macro rail to try to get panoramas adjusting for that special turning point to avoid distortion. All too heavy and unstable for the wobbly thing.
Most people nowadays seem to prefer the ball heads as being best due to convenience. I like things that smoothly turn instead, but it all gets very awkward and shin bruising rushing out to get a shot with a big tripod setup. So I mostly don't use a tripod at all and just try to hand guesstimate the turning point for quick panoramas. If they don't work out it's fine, my regular photos are fine enough. And while I have a nice macro lens, I never quite got into focus stacking for macro. Though I did try astro stacking for awhile, the light pollution is just too much here for me to get anywhere with it, I really wanted to get into astro but just have to focus elsewhere -- man proposes God disposes. :)
I mainly just do cloud and sky photography and birds, which occassional flowering plants season permitting.
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The array of tripods multiplied by the array of heads is bewildering—even if you stay with one brand.
I have a very stable (= heavy) Manfrotto that I use with a "Hog Saddle (https://hogsaddle.com/precision-rifle/)" for long range rifle shooting. I was planning on pulling the Hog Saddle and replacing it with the panoramic head when I find one. I wouldn't dream of using my lightweight (=flimsy) travel tripod for panoramas.
Since I already use the Adobe software for my website, it is "free" (sort of).
We too have overwhelming city glow. I am still homebound. Maybe in a few months I can make the drive for photo opportunities.
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In the meantime you can do your best with backyard birds, flora and skies.
There's a lot to be found in the clouds.
Even in the best of times and health it can be hard to travel for photos after all.
'Let everything in creation draw you to God. Refresh your mind with some innocent recreation and needful rest, if it were only to saunter through the garden or the fields, listening to the sermon preached by the flowers, the trees, the meadows, the sun, the sky, and the whole universe. You will find that they exhort you to love and praise God; that they excite you to extol the greatness of the Sovereign Architect Who has given them their being.'
St. Paul of the Cross
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(http://jokesandpuzzles.com/personal/temp/birdsrs1.jpg)
(http://jokesandpuzzles.com/personal/temp/cloudsrs1.jpg)
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Good advice and nice pix.
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photo attached
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You composed that shot real nice Mark, near and mid and far and farthest. Nice one!
Looking at those rocks and that water down below I bet there are a lot of great shots with falling water right around there. You can't see that kind of red brown landscape around here. God's landscapes.
I really should get out more, at least as far as the local pond and try and shoot some fish with the camera. I never use the one polarizer I bought, I should sell it or actually use it.
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Thank you. That is Oak Creek, north of Sedona. That red rock country is also quite interesting when dusted with snow.
Many years ago I messed up some irreplaceable pictures taken on the Eel River in Humboldt County CA. On the riverside there was a cluster of snakes catching trout fry. I got some incredible macro shots, but, when I went to develop the color slides, I put in the stop bath before the developer. That's the kind of mistake that you cannot make with a digital camera.
Here's one from a tuna fishing trip off Cabo San Lucas.
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I don't think I've seen lighted rock like that down here, or at least one in a long time on the east coast. Thanks for bringing back some memories with that shot. I used to live down by the shore. Always a magnificent spot for photos when you live oceanside. You could just go down to pray and it immediately gave you that sense of awe and immensity.
But I only rarely took photos back then, always had something special to it for me to capture some beautiful scenes and share that, but it wasn't a regular hobby yet. So no dark room for me, I missed out.. Still I should scan some of the rare quality photos from back then.
I'd like to do the darkroom someday still, wallet allowing, at least while it's still possible, they just regulated out another old film due to 'environmental regulations'. I'd like to get an old medium or large format camera, try something special.
I got into photography seriously only a couple of years ago with a Sony A3000. That really let me let go and get serious, since I didn't have the limitations of a small roll of film, and it was an ILC. Before ILCs my shots were just not ones that paid any attention to depth of field, which is normal enough. Once depth of field and bokeh clicked and the other benefits of an ILC, I knew I had a nice part of my recreation covered and I could take it seriously finally.
Then I stepped up to an A7RII, so I could find photos in photos. With a modern lens, I find birds and planes and things in sky photos I didn't know were there when I took them, and this adds some fun surprises, rather like unexpected developments with film. Happy accidents. Deo gratias.
Here's the full sized shot I later recomposed to be a closer up of the bird. Still dark without detail on the bird but you can't have it all, especially with accidents. I'm still happy with it.
(http://jokesandpuzzles.com/personal/temp/cloudsbirdsrs1.jpg)
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My favorite skies are those with stratocirrus clouds highlighted by the hues of sunset.
The first photographer to impress me with panoramas was Peter Lik. Interestingly he uses medium format film in a specially designed camera from the 1940's.
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BEEEAUTIFUL!! And what perspective harmony!
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That is one fine shot!
I hadn't looked at his work before, I see he's done plane panoramas too, from wing to wing they look impressive. We have an airport nearby I get a lot of planes flying by. We had an airshow once -- before I had my 400mm.. I didn't have to leave the front yard since the airport is so close by, but I had to photograph with a 90mm at the time. However sharp it is, there's a limit.
I don't follow many photographers, but there's one fellow who I have some wallpapers for my desktop from, Greg Martin. He makes some fine ones available for free. Let me see how he's doing now, I see he has an exhibition in the works, 'Views of the Pacific Northwest' (https://www.viewsofthepnw.com/).
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If you check it out, and as far as I can tell as of today the link is fine, check out the 'dimensions' he specifies on those images.
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Awesome!
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That is one fine shot!
I hadn't looked at his work before, I see he's done plane panoramas too, from wing to wing they look impressive. We have an airport nearby I get a lot of planes flying by. We had an airshow once -- before I had my 400mm.. I didn't have to leave the front yard since the airport is so close by, but I had to photograph with a 90mm at the time. However sharp it is, there's a limit.
I don't follow many photographers, but there's one fellow who I have some wallpapers for my desktop from, Greg Martin. He makes some fine ones available for free. Let me see how he's doing now, I see he has an exhibition in the works, 'Views of the Pacific Northwest' (https://www.viewsofthepnw.com/).
Wow! Many of his photos are of the Hood River Valley. I have long said that Oak Creek Canyon is the most beautiful place I have visited in the ISA and that the Hood River Valley is #2. One year I arrived during the mountain Spring and photographed miles of .eadows anf mountain with varied wild flowers. Unfortunately none of those are digitized---another project.
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It's all quite inspiring!
I shall have to get that better tripod setup and try to do a big panorama too. If the sky cooperates next week I'll see what I can do from the backyard. Some very gray days lately. Some of the haze might even be due to smoke from the fires out west travelling here, so I'm told. God help them. I have family out there too.
This has been enjoyable thread. Glad we got to share some pictures and see people enjoy the sights.
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When I was an undergrad, our university museum had an exhibition of aerial photography. For the life of me I cannot recall the name of the photographer, but his work was inspiring. Eventually, though I became a pilot, I was never able to approach, much less exceed the quality of his work. It was just too hard to fly safely while composing photographs. I should have done it with another pilot.
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/80/1c/b7/801cb7cd7f398765d2915a934a5f0a8e.jpg)
Here's one from the Nikon site:
(https://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96RZZo-RRZZFeeMiveET0gpU-PYm90DZMEpiBfbO3-5AzqncaZAUA_8nPDwWqSvNxoqW18EMwakgH5vnUw==/Overview/Carousel-1-001.jpg)
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I read about some photographers paying for helicopter and low flying plane rides to get some shots, I think drones might be taking some of that business now.
I have no cityscape shots -- a missing genre, I'd appreciate having someday.
You've must've seen quite some sights as a pilot.
Since you're a pilot -- Here's two from the air show I saved -- at 90mm. I can't identify the planes, I know I IDed some of them back but memory fails me.
It's been enjoyable looking at the old air show photos.
Well today's my next doctor's appointment. I pray all goes well. Lots of prayers. And you too Mark79. Hope you're continuing to be on the mend Mark, you've been through a lot.
Thanks again for the prayers my friends and family in Christ. I really appreciate it beyond words.
(http://jokesandpuzzles.com/personal/temp/airshowrs2.jpg)
(http:///jokesandpuzzles.com/personal/temp/airshowrs1.jpg)
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:pray: :pray:
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I can't identify the aerobatic plane, but I think the delta-wing V-tail is an F22.
I never even liked doing stall recovery, so was never attracted to tail slides, hammerheads, loops, etc. I was impressed by the guys that did that stuff, but it was definitely not for me. I enjoyed calm weather sight-seeing and navigation and speed :-)
I pray that your doc has good news!
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Thank you.
Yes, I daresay I don't think I'd handle tail slides, hammerheads, or loops if I was in a plane doing them particularly happily myself. It's one thing to watch, another thing to experience oneself.
My replacement tripod arrived today. Initial impression -- quite satisfied. I made the right decision getting a video tripod for the camera rather than a photo tripod. Better weight allowance, already has a smooth panning head, is extra sturdy and won't tip over, and extra tall when needed.
And still lighter weight than my old aluminum tiltall that liked to give me a good knock when I wrestled it out the door. I will put up the old gear at the next garage sale.
No successful photos today for the long run, but a nice time spent with a raggity swallowtail butterfly who had seen better days. Haven't seen a swallowtail out here in a long time, I should grow more parsley. The monarchs occassionaly migrate through here however, give me a lot of good practice. A nice alternative to birds.
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My replacement tripod arrived today. Initial impression -- quite satisfied. I made the right decision getting a video tripod for the camera rather than a photo tripod. Better weight allowance, already has a smooth panning head, is extra sturdy and won't tip over, and extra tall when needed.
And still lighter weight than my old aluminum tiltall that liked to give me a good knock when I wrestled it out the door. I will put up the old gear at the next garage sale.
What brand/model/head did you get?
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PMed the info.
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Thank you for your detailed advice!
Thanks a million for all that!
If I only stitch a few frames, I don't think any extra gear is necessary, but I have in mind some 360° panoramas (I am thinking about some pier sunsets in San Diego and a panorama from the midst of the organ pipe cacti near the border). i think this is what I need for that: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1430217-REG/sunwayfoto_cr_3015a_360_x_180_degree.html/?ap=y&smp=y (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1430217-REG/sunwayfoto_cr_3015a_360_x_180_degree.html/?ap=y&smp=y) (Maybe I can find a Catholic vendor!)
I'd mount the bubble level on the camera body.
(https://static.bhphoto.com/images/images500x500/sunwayfoto_cr_3015a_360_x_180_degree_1539796859_1430217.jpg)
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Yes that looks like just the right sort of thing! :D
And those sound like some great future photo opportunities.
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Bonaventure located these excellent instructional videos for me.
https://youtu.be/9LjPJt9OShQ (https://youtu.be/9LjPJt9OShQ)
https://youtu.be/sxRix0y477M (https://youtu.be/sxRix0y477M)
https://youtu.be/Bm7dNi-mS6s (https://youtu.be/Bm7dNi-mS6s)
https://youtu.be/IFQHoCjFTn8 (https://youtu.be/IFQHoCjFTn8)
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Yeah especially for the ultra panos some kindof tutorial is definitely necessary.
Hope you have some great results to share in the future. :)