Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Star Trails
First attempt at shooting star trails. Used the zoom lens and shot a 567 second exposure at 18mm and f/22. Since I'm in the city, I was expecting a lot of light pollution.
The resulting image was very dark so I had to use Picasa to change lighting/contrast to see anything. I made sure I was pointing north and you can kind of see Polaris as a single dot (no trail) between the power lines. There's also a few noisy pixels and a lot of shadows, which means I need to clean the lens.
I read online that a lot of the star trail photos, especially ones with really long trails, are composite images. Since my camera takes almost the same amount of time as the exposure time to process each image, not sure how I can shoot multiple shots without long gaps between each shot. Probably a camera body with a faster image processor.
The resulting image was very dark so I had to use Picasa to change lighting/contrast to see anything. I made sure I was pointing north and you can kind of see Polaris as a single dot (no trail) between the power lines. There's also a few noisy pixels and a lot of shadows, which means I need to clean the lens.
I read online that a lot of the star trail photos, especially ones with really long trails, are composite images. Since my camera takes almost the same amount of time as the exposure time to process each image, not sure how I can shoot multiple shots without long gaps between each shot. Probably a camera body with a faster image processor.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Supermoon
The moon is supposed to be closest to earth this weekend than it has been for many years. I went out and tried to take some photos but ended up going out too late after sunset; the moon was already off the horizon and not too super (size).
I used my Sony a55 with a Tamron 70-300mm zoom lens on manual mode: 300mm, 1/250sec, f/11, ISO 100. I didn't have my tripod and it was hard holding the camera steady at full zoom.
Off topic... but the photography website I look at for ideas on settings had a survey asking how many digital cameras you owned. I came up with 7:
- Sony U20
- Sony L1
- Sony W5
- Panasonic TZ3
- Sony a100 DSLR
- Sony a55 DSLR
- Sony RX100
I used my Sony a55 with a Tamron 70-300mm zoom lens on manual mode: 300mm, 1/250sec, f/11, ISO 100. I didn't have my tripod and it was hard holding the camera steady at full zoom.
Off topic... but the photography website I look at for ideas on settings had a survey asking how many digital cameras you owned. I came up with 7:
- Sony U20
- Sony L1
- Sony W5
- Panasonic TZ3
- Sony a100 DSLR
- Sony a55 DSLR
- Sony RX100
Monday, May 21, 2012
Annular Eclipse 2012
For some reason, I didn't find out about the eclipse until Friday. We ended up at my friend's back yard in Palos Verdes which had a pretty unobstructed view west. There were seven of us in total and we had to share on pair of paper solar glasses with mylar lenses. I looked online for photography tips and got a bit freaked out. I know you're not supposed to look at the sun directly with the naked eye but I guess it can also burn out digital camera image sensors. People were recommending on using a very dark N400 neutral density filter which is about 9 F-stops but I only had a 3 F-stop 0.9D (N8) filter.
First attempt using program mode... didn't work that well.
After tinkering with the settings, I took off the UV filter, set the camera to manual focus, and set the aperture (F-40) and shutter speed (1/4000 sec) to let in as little light as possible. This was at 6:19pm.
Full-coverage (for Los Angeles anyway) at 6:39pm. There is still way too much light so the image is not sharp. I really needed a darker filter and a longer lens. This was taken with my Sony a55V using a zoom lens at 250mm. I had another zoom lens that can go to 300mm but I didn't have a filter for it. Unfortunately all three lenses I own has different filter diameters.
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I also tried to take photos using my Panasonic DMC-TZ3 point-and-shoot with the mylar glasses placed in front of the lens. It was hard to hold and the camera had problems focusing.
One of my friends is an avid iPhone photographer so he also tried the mylar glasses. However, without optical zoom the image was way too small. My other friend was trying to take a picture of the iPhone screen at the same time so I took a photo of everyone.
I just ordered a cheapo variable neutral density filter that goes from N2 to N400. It appears to be two polarizing filters that rotate to let in variable amounts of light. It's not the same as a real N400 filter but it should work. I'm ready for the next eclipse visible in LA in 2071!
First attempt using program mode... didn't work that well.
After tinkering with the settings, I took off the UV filter, set the camera to manual focus, and set the aperture (F-40) and shutter speed (1/4000 sec) to let in as little light as possible. This was at 6:19pm.
Full-coverage (for Los Angeles anyway) at 6:39pm. There is still way too much light so the image is not sharp. I really needed a darker filter and a longer lens. This was taken with my Sony a55V using a zoom lens at 250mm. I had another zoom lens that can go to 300mm but I didn't have a filter for it. Unfortunately all three lenses I own has different filter diameters.
imageanchor="1" style="">
I also tried to take photos using my Panasonic DMC-TZ3 point-and-shoot with the mylar glasses placed in front of the lens. It was hard to hold and the camera had problems focusing.
One of my friends is an avid iPhone photographer so he also tried the mylar glasses. However, without optical zoom the image was way too small. My other friend was trying to take a picture of the iPhone screen at the same time so I took a photo of everyone.
I just ordered a cheapo variable neutral density filter that goes from N2 to N400. It appears to be two polarizing filters that rotate to let in variable amounts of light. It's not the same as a real N400 filter but it should work. I'm ready for the next eclipse visible in LA in 2071!
Monday, May 7, 2012
GigaPan
I found this cool website where people upload huge photos that have been stitched together from lots of small photos. Each resulting montage can have gigapixel sized images. The website is hosting these photos so they can advertise/sell these auto-stepping camera mounts that simplifies the task of taking hundreds or thousands of photos required to make a stitched photo.
I want to try this at Imperial Hill using my camera. The only issue is that planes are always taking off and landing at LAX and any movement through the FOV will cause problems when stitching the images together. I guess I'll have to shoot fast. I'm thinking I can get 15 across and 3 down for 45 photos. If there's 33% overlap, then I'll have 15 x 3 x 2/3 x 16.7MP or a ~500MP photo when I'm done.
I want to try this at Imperial Hill using my camera. The only issue is that planes are always taking off and landing at LAX and any movement through the FOV will cause problems when stitching the images together. I guess I'll have to shoot fast. I'm thinking I can get 15 across and 3 down for 45 photos. If there's 33% overlap, then I'll have 15 x 3 x 2/3 x 16.7MP or a ~500MP photo when I'm done.
Monday, April 23, 2012
What Is There in the Darkroom?
I saw this YouTube video while flipping through Flipboard on my iPad:
The idea is to use your DSLR in manual mode, set the aperture at f/5.6, and take a series of four 1 second exposure shots of the "static" on your screen.
Here is my result:
The results are not as good as shown in the related YouTube video where they "reveal" the hidden images. I played the original video on a 21" Acer LCD display; maybe it's better on an old CRT. Still... it's pretty cool.
I also found this website today about HDR photography. There are some pretty stunning photos but all post-processed using the magic of Photoshop. I read through the tutorials and I want to try out some of the techniques, even though my Sony a55 only takes 3 shots (some cameras take 9 shots) when using the auto exposure brackets. However, it does have an Auto-HDR feature which uses the camera to combine the 3 exposures into one and avoids Photoshop altogether.
The idea is to use your DSLR in manual mode, set the aperture at f/5.6, and take a series of four 1 second exposure shots of the "static" on your screen.
Here is my result:
The results are not as good as shown in the related YouTube video where they "reveal" the hidden images. I played the original video on a 21" Acer LCD display; maybe it's better on an old CRT. Still... it's pretty cool.
I also found this website today about HDR photography. There are some pretty stunning photos but all post-processed using the magic of Photoshop. I read through the tutorials and I want to try out some of the techniques, even though my Sony a55 only takes 3 shots (some cameras take 9 shots) when using the auto exposure brackets. However, it does have an Auto-HDR feature which uses the camera to combine the 3 exposures into one and avoids Photoshop altogether.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
777 x7
I went to Imperial Hill again before work and took some more pictures. There was a lot more people today versus last Sunday. Usually I see a lot of small planes but today, there were lots of Boeing 777s.
Emirates
United Airlines with Star Alliance livery
American Airlines
El Al... this is the first time I saw an El Al plane in person
Air China
Malaysian Airlines
Air New Zealand
Actually, I was hoping to see this paint job... I'm planning a trip to Asia this fall and flying EVA Air to Taipei is one of my options!
Emirates
United Airlines with Star Alliance livery
American Airlines
El Al... this is the first time I saw an El Al plane in person
Air China
Malaysian Airlines
Air New Zealand
Actually, I was hoping to see this paint job... I'm planning a trip to Asia this fall and flying EVA Air to Taipei is one of my options!
Monday, April 9, 2012
More Imperial Hill
Since I had to stop by work this afternoon (Sunday), I decided to go to Imperial Hill in El Segundo to look at planes for awhile. I brought my Sony a55 + the Tamron 75-300mm zoom lens. The lens is not all that great; at full zoom, it can only shoot down to f/5.6. Still, I think it's a wider than my 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 lens that costs ~3x as much.
None of the photos are all that exciting or even new. Here are some of the better ones:
British Airways 747 - I saw this take off as soon as I got out of my car.
Quickly followed by this Polar Air 747. It's a cargo freighter and by the new paingjob, it looks like Polar was recently acquired by DHL.
Since Terminal 1 is on the other side of the airport, hardly any Southwest flights use the south runway.
The Southwest flight was quickly followed by an U.S. Airways flight which also typically land on the north runways.
Smoggy wide-angle view of LAX
This plane landed on the other side of the airport and taxied over to the south side. I couldn't tell what it was from far away but through the camera, I saw the SkyTeam markings. It wasn't until I review the photo that I saw the small China Southern markings.
Take off next to LAX control tower
There sure are a lot of Alaska Airlines flights in/out of LAX
Air France Boeing 777
Lufthansa (or as Leon calls them, Luftwaffe) Airbus A340
None of the photos are all that exciting or even new. Here are some of the better ones:
British Airways 747 - I saw this take off as soon as I got out of my car.
Quickly followed by this Polar Air 747. It's a cargo freighter and by the new paingjob, it looks like Polar was recently acquired by DHL.
Since Terminal 1 is on the other side of the airport, hardly any Southwest flights use the south runway.
The Southwest flight was quickly followed by an U.S. Airways flight which also typically land on the north runways.
Smoggy wide-angle view of LAX
This plane landed on the other side of the airport and taxied over to the south side. I couldn't tell what it was from far away but through the camera, I saw the SkyTeam markings. It wasn't until I review the photo that I saw the small China Southern markings.
Take off next to LAX control tower
There sure are a lot of Alaska Airlines flights in/out of LAX
Air France Boeing 777
Lufthansa (or as Leon calls them, Luftwaffe) Airbus A340
Friday, April 6, 2012
iPhone Camera Zoom
I was standing on Imperial Hill on Wednesday waiting to pick up Leon; he was coming in from Munich on a Lufthansa flight. I didn't have my real camera so I had to use my iPhone.
Using Camera+ app, here is 1.0x (no zoom):
The A340 is the big white plane in the center. The EXIF data says 3.85mm (wide!) at f/2.8. I then zoomed in all the way (6.0x) and here's the result:
Weird. It almost looks like I added a film grain effect. The EXIF data is the same as above so it's definitely a digital zoom; there are no moving parts in the lens assembly.
Photo of approximately the same area using my Sony A55 (240mm at f/6.3).
Using Camera+ app, here is 1.0x (no zoom):
The A340 is the big white plane in the center. The EXIF data says 3.85mm (wide!) at f/2.8. I then zoomed in all the way (6.0x) and here's the result:
Weird. It almost looks like I added a film grain effect. The EXIF data is the same as above so it's definitely a digital zoom; there are no moving parts in the lens assembly.
Photo of approximately the same area using my Sony A55 (240mm at f/6.3).
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Paparazzi
Leon called me this morning from his flight that he saw Tyra Banks in first class. He'd better be right... I came home from work to get my camera even though my work is only minutes from LAX. I'm banking on the fact that she will get out first because she is in first class and will let the little people (entourage) handle her luggage. Yet, she not VIP enough to warrant a separate exit so she will need to come out of the LAX Bradley tunnel/ramp/exit. I'm betting $3 in parking that I'm right.
Flight lands in ~an hour so I'd better get going.
==========
So I get to LAX at ~8:30pm, parked, and took some photos of planes from outside the Bradley terminal.
British Airways 747 between TBIT and Terminal 3
More planes on the other side of TBIT, including planes from both Taiwan carriers (China Airlines and EVA Air) = lots of Chinese people waiting in the arrival area
CX880 from Hong Kong is about an hour early and lands at ~8:50pm. The arrival area is about half-full and I find a spot along the long ramp. Meanwhile Leon is texting me (illegally) status updates. I think he wanted to try and exit next to her so I can get a photo of them "together". :)
Random people walking up the long exit ramp
I decided to go to the other side of the exit area and use the zoom lens
Finally, I see Leon walk out... by himself. He is signalling to me that Tyra was exiting behind me through the little used transit exit. Sure enough, we see Tyra exiting after about 2 minutes.
Hiding behind huge sunglasses
She stopped to wave at the CX VIP handlers and gave one woman a hug
Sigh... those are the only non-really-blurry photos. I was actually outside the sliding glass doors since I didn't want to get in trouble. Likewise I didn't use a flash... should have brought a faster lens. Hmm, I guess I'd better keep my day job.
Parking ended up costing me $5 since I was there for over an hour. There was a Ferrari parked next to me... I thought rich people sent other people to pick up at airports.
Flight lands in ~an hour so I'd better get going.
==========
So I get to LAX at ~8:30pm, parked, and took some photos of planes from outside the Bradley terminal.
British Airways 747 between TBIT and Terminal 3
More planes on the other side of TBIT, including planes from both Taiwan carriers (China Airlines and EVA Air) = lots of Chinese people waiting in the arrival area
CX880 from Hong Kong is about an hour early and lands at ~8:50pm. The arrival area is about half-full and I find a spot along the long ramp. Meanwhile Leon is texting me (illegally) status updates. I think he wanted to try and exit next to her so I can get a photo of them "together". :)
Random people walking up the long exit ramp
I decided to go to the other side of the exit area and use the zoom lens
Finally, I see Leon walk out... by himself. He is signalling to me that Tyra was exiting behind me through the little used transit exit. Sure enough, we see Tyra exiting after about 2 minutes.
Hiding behind huge sunglasses
She stopped to wave at the CX VIP handlers and gave one woman a hug
Sigh... those are the only non-really-blurry photos. I was actually outside the sliding glass doors since I didn't want to get in trouble. Likewise I didn't use a flash... should have brought a faster lens. Hmm, I guess I'd better keep my day job.
Parking ended up costing me $5 since I was there for over an hour. There was a Ferrari parked next to me... I thought rich people sent other people to pick up at airports.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Sony a55 Firmware Update
While browsing through some old photos in Picasa, I saw one of the EXIF properties listed for each file was Software. For my new Sony camera, the text was SLT-A55V v1.10. I searched online for "a55 firmware" and sure enough, there was an update. I dug up the original USB cable and I'm going to try and apply the firmware update to my camera. I hope it doesn't brick on me.
==========
It's updating... I'm nervous. The last firmware upgrade I did was for a Linksys wireless router and it bricked on me.
==========
Looks like it worked... the camera now says Ver. 2.00.
One of the main update features is the addition of Picture Effects. They combined it with the SCN (scene) mode so it's kinda hard to get to. The last effect on the list is Toy Camera:
Sigh... that's what Instagram is for, not a $1200 DSLR.
==========
It's updating... I'm nervous. The last firmware upgrade I did was for a Linksys wireless router and it bricked on me.
==========
Looks like it worked... the camera now says Ver. 2.00.
One of the main update features is the addition of Picture Effects. They combined it with the SCN (scene) mode so it's kinda hard to get to. The last effect on the list is Toy Camera:
Creates the look of a Toy Camera photo with shaded corners and pronounced colors.
Sigh... that's what Instagram is for, not a $1200 DSLR.
Random Photos - March 2012
Now that I have a new camera app (Camera+) on my iPhone, I've been taking more random photos. I also just received a tripod mount for the iPhone in the mail so I may try recording time-lapsed movies while I drive around town.
My parents brought me to some hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant in Westminster. The front and inside was pretty ghetto but the food was good. They are still using the old school Chinese Zodiac paper placemats.
I don't even know the name of this dish/soup in English. The main ingredient is lumps of dough. I guess white people would call it dumplings but Chinese dumplings have filling inside the dough.
A few friends and I went to a Korean BBQ place Sunday night. The food was good and they served a lot of banchan (Korean side dishes). Usually restaurants bring out 4-5; they brought out about 10 different sides.
I saw this HUGE tire in the dumpster room at my friend's condo in Torrance. Seriously, who has something like that lying around? I doubt the trash company (or the City of Torrance) will pick that up though it may be worth something to a tire recycler.
My parents brought me to some hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant in Westminster. The front and inside was pretty ghetto but the food was good. They are still using the old school Chinese Zodiac paper placemats.
I don't even know the name of this dish/soup in English. The main ingredient is lumps of dough. I guess white people would call it dumplings but Chinese dumplings have filling inside the dough.
A few friends and I went to a Korean BBQ place Sunday night. The food was good and they served a lot of banchan (Korean side dishes). Usually restaurants bring out 4-5; they brought out about 10 different sides.
I saw this HUGE tire in the dumpster room at my friend's condo in Torrance. Seriously, who has something like that lying around? I doubt the trash company (or the City of Torrance) will pick that up though it may be worth something to a tire recycler.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Friday Night Traffic + New Lens
It took me about an hour to get home tonight, which is not too bad for Friday at 6:30pm.
405 South near Seal Beach
I also got a new lens for my Sony a55. I already have the 18mm-250mm kit lens so I got a fixed length 50mm f/1.8 lens. I really wanted the 50mm f/1.4 lens but it was $400; this one is only $150. I'm going to try and take more photos with this lens; without zoom, I think it will force me to compose my shots with more forethought.
405 South near Seal Beach
I also got a new lens for my Sony a55. I already have the 18mm-250mm kit lens so I got a fixed length 50mm f/1.8 lens. I really wanted the 50mm f/1.4 lens but it was $400; this one is only $150. I'm going to try and take more photos with this lens; without zoom, I think it will force me to compose my shots with more forethought.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Airliners.net
I uploaded a photo to Airlines.net a few days ago. They have lots of great photos of just about every airplane. I found out after uploading that all photo submissions are moderated which keeps out the crappy or mundane shots... I have lots of those. :)
My photo is still stuck in the moderation queue. It's probably the most unique shot I have so hopefully it gets posted.
Singapore Airlines A-380 landing at LAX
My photo is still stuck in the moderation queue. It's probably the most unique shot I have so hopefully it gets posted.
Singapore Airlines A-380 landing at LAX
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