Photo 150 "2022" - Wetapunga |
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posted: 13 January 2022 at 02:28 |
This year I'm aiming for three themes in my 3 images per week.
The themes are telephoto, scenic (wide enough in scope to cover seascapes, landscapes, interesting buildings, maybe even the Milky Way), and 'creative' (again, wide enough in scope to include a simple black-and-white conversion up to more elaborate shots, including video). Week 1: January 4 to 12 In Week 1 I drove out (117km) to the Manukau Heads, partly to take a photograph of the lighthouse and partly to see what the view of the Manukau Harbour is. (For those of you a bit light on geography, Tāmaki-Makarau (Auckland) has two large harbours, the Manukau on the western side and the Waitemata on the eastern. The Manukau is the largest, being 340 square km in size. So the first shot (telephoto) is of the Lighthouse ![]() a7Riii and Zeiss Batis 135/2.8 I was somewhat disappointed at how much regrowth of vegetation there has been, and the absence of any tracks or paths down from the headland to the sea. I probably won't bother visiting again as there are many better seascape scenes and views much closer to home. The second shot (scenic) is the best view of the Harbour I could find (really only the channel into it). ![]() a7Riii and Zeiss Loxia 21/2.8 The final image is a video (<3min) of one of my bike rides, so counts as my creative. ![]() After a serious accident in 2019 that wrecked my bike and gave me a concussion, I use action cameras to record my rides. While it isn't an alpha-mount camera, it is still a Sony (an HDR-AS300). It's not practical on long rides to record the whole trip as a video, as this burns through the battery life and produces hours of footage. So I've taken to creating time-lapse moves as above. This records a shot every second, is much more economical on battery life, and in the event of a biking mishap, I will have photos of the motorist at fault... The images are imported into the free Sony Imaging Edge software and used to create a HD movie (with no sound). I then imported the footage into Final Cut Pro X (FCPX), added a title, a freeze-frame and some 'thought bubbles'. I'd recorded the sound of biking on my field recorder 2 weeks ago, and produced some short wav clips that were generic enough. (I taped a lavalier microphone to the back of my cycling jersey pointed tward the chain, and shielded from most of the wind noise). Then this was incorporated into the clip as ambient road cycling noises, and sped up to better align with the cycling movie. So effectively, a bit over an hour of riding ends up being a movie under 3 mins long. Edited by Wētāpunga - 13 January 2022 at 20:23 |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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4paul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 26 July 2011 Country: United States Location: St Petersburg Status: Offline Posts: 1613 |
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hee hee I need a guide because I'd be riding on the wrong side of the road LOL. I guess it takes a while to get out of traffic. Do bicyclists get rear-ended much? Here people have dashcams on the rear of the bike in case they get rear ended
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There is a difference between a shaky or out-of-focus photograph and a snapshot of clouds and fog banks. - Schrödinger
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
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@4Paul - there's some routes that have isolated bike lanes but the area I rode in has a lot of traffic to contend with to get to countryside. I appreciate these vids can be disconcerting for people who drive on the opposite side of the road, as I get told this a lot!
Most serious accidents between cyclists and motorists in NZ occur at intersections (like my accident) so the forward mounted action camera is the most important. I have another action camera I want to mount facing the rear (to record dangerous/close passes) but so far, haven't found a suitable action camera mount for the seat-post. |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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Howard_S ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 20 March 2008 Country: United Kingdom Location: Oxford Status: Offline Posts: 4546 |
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I enjoyed the video - good to see you're on the *right* side of the road
![]() ![]() (I must get myself sorted for the 2022 challenge too.) |
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
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Week 2: January 10 to 17
It's nesting time at the takapua (Australasian gannet) colony at Muriwai, so you might expect to see a lot of gannet photos in the next few weeks ![]() So the first shot from my first expedition to the colony is my creative shot. I'm attempting a Bird-in-Flight image with the a7Riii and Tamron 150-500. The a7Riii isn't really optimised for bird photography (at least, flying birds) and I struggled with the shutter blackout at times. Basic settings were to use shutter priority at 1/2000s, set the ISO at 400 and let the camera worry about the aperture. I also used a 1-stop reduction in exposure to preserve the highlights in the feathers. I set the camera to wide-area autofocus and had a play. Not a lot of keepers, as the birds were zooming through the field of view very quickly at 500mm, but got some keepers. #1 (Pic 4) Takapu flying (Creative- BIF) ![]() Out of interest, this is what one of my 2008 shots with the A700 looked like. ![]() There seems to be a definite improvement in sensor technology, and back then I could not eliminate the blown highlight on the leading edge of the wing. #2 (Pic 5) Grooming the chick (Telephoto) ![]() Obviously with nesting time, there are a lot of gannet chicks. The nests have moved closer to the viewing platforms as the Takapu popuolation has grown, so you have plenty of opportunities. I selected this shot as the chick wasn't passive and cooperated with its parent to get that "hard to reach" place groomed. For the edits in C1, I used two additional adjustment layers with the magic brush to reduce the exposure on the highlighted area on the dorsal surface, and increase the exposure of the beak. Edited by Wētāpunga - 13 January 2022 at 23:09 |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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4paul ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 26 July 2011 Country: United States Location: St Petersburg Status: Offline Posts: 1613 |
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I guess the camera is okay after Gannet splatter?!
In Florida we use exposure compensation down to -2 or more since many sea birds have white, except for black wingtips (apparently the black pigment makes feathers stronger so the flight-critical feathers are black), it's usually better to crush the blacks than blow the whites, but new sensors can recover most of it. I'm holding my breath until we get sensors with roll-off to protect highlights LOL ![]() |
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There is a difference between a shaky or out-of-focus photograph and a snapshot of clouds and fog banks. - Schrödinger
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
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@4paul - it turns out the gaskets on the 7Riii are good enough in the short run, to protect the camera from Takapu guano... I did use a lot of Isopropyl Alcohol to clean it when I go back, including a fine painting brush to clean around the buttons and dials. Then added some silicon oil back to lubricate and seal. So far the incident hasn't repeated itself.
With it being early in the morning (I stopped shooting around 10.30am) and the much wider dynamic range of the sensor, I gambled that I could get by with just an exposure compensation of -1. I also used the highlight slider in C1 to recover the detailing in the white feathers. So agree, the new sensors do let you recover a lot of detail that would be lost in older tech (hence why I posted that a700 shot to compare). The shutter blackout was probably my biggest problem, so much so I've had a look at a9ii prices already this morning... @Howard_S Glad you liked the video- I thought it wasn't "too long" for viewing. While I do on occasion run into vehicles in cycle lanes, that isn't the problem here. The problem is the cycle lanes are fragmentary and often disappear (usually at the worst possible spots). So none of the cars parked on the side of the road were in cycle lanes. I think the logic here, long ago, was that if the Queen of England thinks driving on the left side of the road is appropriate, that's good enough for us to follow... |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
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Week 2: January 10 to 17 cont.
#3 (Pic 6) Setting Sun at Island Bay ![]() This was also my "Day Prime" shot (15mm for 15 Jan). As noted in the Day Prime post, I was hoping Tropical Storm Cody (downgraded from Tropical Cyclone Cody) would have been stirring up the waves and giving wonderful dark clouds to photograph in some dramatic scene. But it passed too far to the east of us. You can probably tell how calm and clear it became instead. So I set up this shot at Island Bay near sunset instead. |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
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Week 3: January 17-23
I think I might be trickling in pics when I have the chance rather than saving it all for a single hurried batch. As promised, or err threatened, there is more Takapu pics from the colony at Muriwai. #1 (Pic 7) Flying Takapu, Telephoto theme ![]() and a crop from the same, just for added interest. ![]() Edited by Wētāpunga - 17 January 2022 at 22:39 |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
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Week 3: January 17-23
I know focus stacking isn't something I'm unfamiliar with, but this time I'm using a Nisi Macro Rail for the first time. It's pretty good. Smooth and precise action in both directions, plus a very useful Arca quick-release clamp. I've got an LED light below and above the Zeiss lenses on the table. #2 (Pic 8) Big Zeiss, Little Zeiss (Creative shot) ![]() 44 images stacked in Helicon 7 a7Riii and 50/2 Loxia, at f8, ISO 400 and 1/40s. |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
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Week 3: January 17-23 cont
For the third shot I'm going with one of my wild cards. I had spotted this gannet with something in its beak, flying toward Motutara Island. I couldn't see what it was on the camera viewfinder, but I did hope it was going to be interesting. It was seaweed. Nesting material. Ah well. #3 (Pic 9) Takapu with seaweed (Wildcard 1) ![]() |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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Miranda F ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 11 January 2014 Country: United Kingdom Location: Bristol Status: Offline Posts: 4067 |
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Yes, The A900 seemed to have a little of that. I find the same issue with swans here. I end up using -3 EV and +3 DRO, then pulling down the tone curve in PP to make the mid-tones look better. I have tried using centre metering but that's so variable. The zebra is a great help. Brilliant bird pics, though. I'm quite envious! ![]() ![]() Edited by Miranda F - 23 January 2022 at 09:53 |
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Miranda F & Sensorex, Sony A7Rii, A58, Nex-6, Dynax 4, 5, 60, 500si/600si/700si/800si, various Sony & Minolta lenses, several Tamrons, lots of MF primes and *far* too many old film cameras ...
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Howard_S ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 20 March 2008 Country: United Kingdom Location: Oxford Status: Offline Posts: 4546 |
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I'm very impressed by all the Takapu shots. That cropped shot reveals some astounding detail
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Wētāpunga ![]() Senior Member ![]() Joined: 02 September 2007 Country: New Zealand Location: New Zealand Status: Offline Posts: 6382 |
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@Miranda_F - thanks, we are quite lucky with the colony at Muriwai. The viewing platforms are roughly on the same level the birds fly at, and the expansion of the colony has brought the nests closer and closer to the fence-line. So while there's a lot of takapu that are still too distant to shoot, a lot come in close enough to the platforms to view and photograph.
Howard- also thanks, I know the Tamron isn't say a 500mm f4 G lens, but I think with the right lighting conditions you can still get some quite good shots with it. |
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α7riii, α9, FX30- Voigtländer 15/4.5, 110/2.5 M; Zeiss Loxia- 21/2.8, 35/2, 50/2 & 85/2.4, Zeiss Batis- 85/1.8 & 135/2.8; Sony 24-105/4 G; Sigma 70/2.8 M; Tamron 150-500 f5-6.7; Sony SAL 135/2.8 STF
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