Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Keep Shooting!

The title of this post stems from a common question I get (and others I'm sure) when out shooting. That question is "Get any good pictures?". I often reply "I'm working on it". Well, the other day, a man replied back "I guess you'll get something good if you keep shooting long enough".

To a degree, this is true. You can't get a good photo if you don't go out and shoot. You have to "keep shooting". But it certainly isn't blind luck either.

The shot above was taken after two SCUBA dives that didn't yield any "great" images. I then shot wildflowers in the remaining sunlight. Ok, but nothing too inspiring. I then scouted three different locations before choosing my final shoot for the day.

And the sunset certainly delivered! I did get a little lucky with the vivid colors, and the calm ocean and lack of wind allowed for a relaxing session. I did not have to worry much about waves and salt spray on my camera gear. But I kept shooting, and came home with a keeper.

10 comments:

  1. A beautiful shot, it is too! Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you. It was one of the more brilliantly vivid sunsets I've witnessed in awhile. The color kept going for quite some time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing shoot!!
    Any technics used, say HDR etc.?

    really enjoy your images.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jia Han Dong-

    No HDR, but I did use two graduated neutral density filters to hold back the sky. As it turned out, I did blend in a darker sky from a bracketed shot. I brightened the foreground a touch using the lasso tool, feathered the selection, and using the levels adjustment. A slight curves adjustment, noise reduction, and sharpening layer were also used. I desaturated the reds a tad as they were just so vibrant!

    I tend to not use HDR, but I use layers sometimes if the dynamic range is beyond what my filters can handle in the field.

    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  5. Really appreciate the details on the processing.
    Me too, feel HDR sometimes looks bit fake and rather use layers to deal with the dynamic range.

    Great image, same as your other images.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful photograph, Jim.

    I always wonder about how to respond to the "Get any good photos?" question. I know the person asking is well-meaning, so I'm not about to go all "philosophical" on them - but the truth is that I don't usually really know for sure if I "got any good ones" or not. My usual answer? Smile and say, "I hope so!"

    Dan

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dan, that's usually my response, too. Or "I'm trying". I guess maybe if you have a tripod and an SLR, it generates interest in others because they figure you are serious about photography. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. hi just been through your site, photos are ace, proper pro stuff. keep posting

    ReplyDelete