i am happy - with - play time - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

04/27/2004 10:25:22 AM · #1

i am quite pleased with this photo of my dog. she is difficult to get a shot of while carrying a decent expression.

in this shot she had finished burying a dog biscuit, and was scanning the perimeter to see if any other dogs were coming to steal it. ( and yes i have had her awhile, and i do know what she is thinking ;}

personnally it's one of my favorites off the digital rebel. curious if it has appeal to others. or its merely a matter that is my dog...

i have another i can post if i get some feedback here.

thanks,

play time

Sonifo

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

04/27/2004 10:33:31 AM · #2

I really like it, but one thing that bugs me is she blends in to well with the background. Do you have it in color?

04/27/2004 10:35:52 AM · #3

i do have it in color, but was quite happy myself with the blending.

i almost wish i was a few inches to the right so the dirty nose was in the darker area.

i have to resize the color one, will post it in a few

EDIT : changed left to right...

Message edited by author 2004-04-27 10:53:51.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

04/27/2004 10:40:24 AM · #4

justine

Canon EOS-50D

04/27/2004 10:49:49 AM · #5

I like the color picture the most -soup.
There isn't enough contrast in the b&W for me.
Nice looking dog.

04/27/2004 10:53:28 AM · #6

yeah its a bit flat, but not untypical of what i would get from triX 400 film. and d76 developer. at least from my experience.

but the contrast is there between the background, and the sharpness of the dog.

thanks. maybe i'll mess with the contrast a bit more...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

04/27/2004 12:10:07 PM · #7

here is the other image from the set that i was fond of.

karmat

Apple iPhone 7

04/27/2004 12:18:36 PM · #8

Personally, I like the second one a lot better. It gives me a better "feeling" of the dog, if that makes any sense. Though in the first one, you have the "personal knowledge" of the dog to understand why that particular stance is interesting, to the casual, unattached viewer, it just looks like a dog standing there. The second one is much more appealing, broadly, I think.

I do like the first on in bw, better. If the background were a brighter color(s), it might be better, but I think bw looks more interesting.

Sonifo

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

04/27/2004 12:20:37 PM · #9

I like it in color best. He is one cool looking dog.

The second one really shows personality. Great shots.

TG73

Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200

04/27/2004 01:38:07 PM · #10

I like the first one in color better than b&w. But of the two pictures, I like the second better. Do you have the second one in color, too?

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

04/27/2004 01:46:34 PM · #11

Originally posted by soup:

Although the tone of the dog and background are similar there is a colour difference, so you should be able to use channel mixer to bring out more contrast.

I did a quick Google and found a small article here.

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

04/27/2004 03:06:42 PM · #12

thanks for all the comments. she is a husky golden reteiver mix, and though named pete - i got here 2nd hand about 7 yrs ago, and she came with the name of dede - which i wasnt too fond of. she is about 12-13 and i was her 6th owner....

here is the color version of the other photo.

magnetic9999

Canon EOS-20D

04/27/2004 03:08:14 PM · #13

i like the first in black and white .. he doesnt completely blend in and the blurred bg looks really cool

JPR

Sony Alpha a55

Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Super Wide Angle Zoom

04/27/2004 03:45:53 PM · #14

Another vote for the first one in black and white. Great shot.

EddyG

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

04/27/2004 04:18:08 PM · #15

Tim: First, let me just say that I'm glad you got a picture of her with an expression that you like!

But since you asked... I find the bokeh (the out of focus elements) in the photo to be distracting and not very "soft". But that is a personal thing. I just like very "smooth" bokeh.

04/27/2004 04:46:55 PM · #16

well, not too much i can do about the quality of the bokeh until i can afford better equipment... normally i shoot in manual mode, and have control over the DOF a bit more - although i was keeping an eye on the shot settings. i was letting the camera do the work, and trying to see if i like what it did.

the trees in the BG were roughly 200' away, beyond the trees is an open field - the camera chose f:7 @ 1/160 ISO 100.

i would have shot it at f:5.6 @ 1/200 most likely... which would have blurred the BG more, bettering the bokeh - and ensuring ( although already sharp ) a crisp shot of the dog.

thanks, again for the feedback i appreciate it, and to some degree leary of giving much out as i don't really consider myself an expert.

Message edited by author 2004-04-27 16:47:39.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

05/10/2004 12:37:34 PM · #17

i've taken a few more shots of my dog - the only willing subject i have for the most part. i have to sneak in candids when folks aren't paying attention. so anyway - if anyone cares to comment i'd apprectiate it.

Konador

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

05/10/2004 12:39:33 PM · #18

That one's a beautiful portrait, great shot.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

05/10/2004 01:03:51 PM · #19

thanks, been trying to practice.

i have a couple more i may tune up too.

taken in sports mode. slight curves for contrast, converted to BW with hue saturation adjustment layers ( digidaan ), unsharp mask.

if you have good light ( so the camera doesnt choose ISO 400 ) i get decent results with sports mode ( no flash option though ). i am thinking that with the AI servo focus mode, it may help with camera shake. at least thats one thing i have been trying to compare.

Konador

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

05/10/2004 01:08:53 PM · #20

Hmm I've never really played around in any of the modes except M and Tv. Is there much difference have you found?

05/10/2004 01:26:22 PM · #21

well i dont use too many of the other modes either, just AV, TV, and M.

what i am trying to decide is if in sports mode i get crisper focus with the 300mm lense. it seems to be giving me decent results, and consistently, so i am leaning toward yes it does help.

the main thing i dont like about sports mode is it will change the ISO depending on light, and it forces a shutter speed of 1/250th or faster i think ( dont remember for sure if its 1/250th ). if you understand the camera settings in manual mode, the basic modes are just using that knowledge for specfic tasks ie: small f# for a landscape ( in landscape mode ), large f# for portrait ( in portrait mode ). so if you know what you are doing ( and i think you might ;) it becomes second nature to set the camera manually as the basic modes will for you.

sports mode however has the added bonus of AI servo auto focus ( once focus is locked at one of the points ( i set mine to center only ) it will track a moving subject ) or - if you think like me - possibly eliminate some of the shake on a stationary subject.

i could probably answer a more specific question if you have one...

Message edited by author 2004-05-10 17:38:58.