Saturday, April 14, 2012

on CS6, Tunnels and Portrait #30

One photo will make your day...

You can quote me on that statement above. I have said it before and always say it when shooting models or clients. I just need one photo to make my day. Everything else I shoot will just be for posterity sake. I mean, I am already there so might as well shoot some more right?

And last night I really thought I had a lot of time to edit an entire photoshoot set from a month ago. But then I selected my first photo, I didn't stop tinkering until I got what I really wanted out of it. I spent about an hour and a half doing stuff I normally don't do in photos like removing stray hair and all those portraiture stuff. Well, I guess there is a first for every thing.

Oh, and I did it in Adobe Photoshop CS6 Beta release. And I had so much fun because everything was faster and smoother. I learned how to use the color mode in the clone stamp tool and the new feature which is content aware move tool. But I didn't really move the subject around with the tool, I just extended the photo a bit to look more pleasing (in that rule of thirds kind of way). And the action scripts I use don't freeze my laptop anymore.

For those wondering how this shot was done. It was shot using my trusty Nikon D7000 and a Nikkor 85mm 1.8 AFD @ f1.8 and ISO 500 in ambient light. This was shot in a tunnel and I wanted to get the right light to expose my subject as well as the light from the other end of the tunnel for that starbust like effect. I am really liking the 85mm 1.8. I hope I can get one by the end of the year.

The model by the way is Mary Claire whom a co-shooter met while walking his dog. she does professional modeling here in the city. One this I really like about her is her confidence and easy going attitude. Well, come to think of it, those who get into my 100 Portraits project are all easy to work with.

 Portrait #30: Mary Claire

pano portrait (1 of 1)

PS: Special thanks to Karina Asetre for the makeup and styling and as usual the Photobomber Crew for the Shoot. Do like the Photobomber Crew Facebook page.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

on Black Saturday Hunchback Fly Sighting

I had nothing to do today because it is Black Saturday and decided to go look for macro subjects again. I was disappointed to see that the neighbor flattened my usual macro hunting grounds to have a parking lot. Technically the land doesn't belong to them but they decided to use it anyways. My macro search area shrunk by a couple of square meters.

Anyways, I found some aphids and beetles but I got drawn into shooting another hunchback fly. It is only the second time I found this sort of fly. It maybe slow moving but it is definitely hard to spot as it doesn't really move much. What I learned is to go look for unusual black spots in flowers as this fly feeds on nectar and is a pollinator. I got two photos before sunset.

Front Profile
hunchback fly profile (1 of 1)

Side Profile
hunchback fly side profile (1 of 1)

Technical Notes: Shot with Tamron 90mm F2.5 Macro 1:2 plus 55mm extension tube.