# 4th PAD Post for the Week of January 15-21, 2007



## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Post your best/favorite image from the previous week. See Rich99's original post (http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/s...ad.php?t=101580) for more info. No explanation of your image should be used. Just post the image. Let it speak for itself. Try to get it posted before the middle of the following week. No more photo posts after Wednesday from the past week.

Remember to ONLY use constructive criticism. Don't simply say you like it or hate it. Explain what you like/dislike about it, then add what might help it to be better image in a positive way. If you like an image and want to know how it was done, just ask. That is a great way to learn as well.


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Guess I'm up first.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Comments/criticism welcome.



Click image for larger version.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)




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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

Best I did this week, I guess.


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Charles - What was going on behind the tree trunk? BBQ'ing, burning trash, someone stoking on a big cigar or what. Gives it a lure of mystery by not knowing what's creating that back lit smoke.

Karen - Interesting hoppers you've in NZ. Have never seen one with antenna that long. I like the image but I blows my mind the depth of field could be so shallow that its right antenna is blurred and out of focus while the left one is almost tack sharp or was it wiggling his right antenna an not the left one. Wish you'd include entire length of both antennas.

Can't believe only three of us submitted this week. Guess the crappy weather has got everyone staying inside. Just remember, there's lots of possibilities inside as well.


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

richg99 said:


> Best I did this week, I guess.


Turned out rather well. Good detail in craters and I like the darkening of shadow detail as it falls into pitch black. Moon is positioned well within the frame. Nice job.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Nothing appealed to me to photograph this week, so I forced myself outside yesterday with my camera and shot the mundane... just happened on that little grasshopper and he was only there for a moment as my son came along and scared him off (needless to say my son got The Look).

These are just my opinions and I am still learning myself, so please keep that in mind when you read my thoughts. 

Ray - I see you've got my favourite browns and greens in your shot. I don't know what kind of flower that is, but it's beautiful and works well with the background colours. (naturally enough lol ) Part of me wants to see the plant lifted a little more into the frame, but I think that's the 'completion' side of me coming forward this week. I like the thin gold line and the dark frame, it suits the photo well. I also like what you've done with the frame - seems like a reverse reflection and looks very pretty. Great submission. 

Charles - the worst part about this photo is that I want to get behind that tree and watch the steam float away. lol You've grabbed my interest by the neck and yanked me forward. Steam (and smoke) seems to create a little mystery and I just love mystery this week.  I notice the red to the right in the photo, but it is not distracting. For a photo that seems a basic shot of a tree trunk, it is deceptive as you have managed to get good focus with the steam and added interest in things beyond. I like this photo very much. 

Rich - What can I say about this photo? It is beyond anything I could ever achieve with the tools that I have so I'm instantly in awe. It's also of a subject that fascinates me. I think it's a very special thing to be able to see how the sun lights part of the surface, how it creates shadows, how it makes the rest of the moon disappear as if there is really only a flat 1 dimensional shape glued into a nightscape. A beautiful photo. I don't know how this could be improved. The moon sits in the right place on the photo, enough to give me the impression I could stand underneath it, and yet whilst sitting here looking I get the 'whole' moon shape still knowing only part of it would fit within the frame you have. Definately a beautiful photo. 

Thanks for sharing everyone. 



(Ray, I think the grasshopper was twitching as my son came up. I was hoping to get more shots but didn't get the chance. Thanks for your comments.  )


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Dorado-Mahi said:


> Charles - What was going on behind the tree trunk? BBQ'ing, burning trash, someone stoking on a big cigar or what. Gives it a lure of mystery by not knowing what's creating that back lit smoke.


The morning sun was causing the moisture on the tree trunk and the fence to steam out. I have a couple of other shots that showed it but I liked this shot and crop the best.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Dorado-Mahi said:


> Karen - Interesting hoppers you've in NZ. Have never seen one with antenna that long. I like the image but I blows my mind the depth of field could be so shallow that its right antenna is blurred and out of focus while the left one is almost tack sharp or was it wiggling his right antenna an not the left one. Wish you'd include entire length of both antennas.


Count me in as amazed by the DOF effect on the antenna, whether actual or caused by wiggling.

Edit -- looking at the focus on the mortar it does look like the result of very narrow DOF, a very interesting treatment.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

richg99 said:


> Best I did this week, I guess.


Nice crescent shot -- as others have noted you captured some good detail.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Dorado-Mahi said:


> Guess I'm up first.


It is an individual preference but I would have liked to see a bit more of the front left section in sharp focus. Otherwise I do like the compostion.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Here's my favorite, taken with a DSLR and diffused bounce flash. I'm not sure if I like it better as posted, or with the blue painting cropped out.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Pocketfisherman said:


> Here's my favorite, taken with a DSLR and diffused bounce flash. I'm not sure if I like it better as posted, or with the blue painting cropped out.


I may be seeing things, but I like the parallel expressions of the subject in the painting and one of the subjects of the picture -- they seem to be giving the same look.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Charles Helm said:


> I may be seeing things, but I like the parallel expressions of the subject in the painting and one of the subjects of the picture -- they seem to be giving the same look.


 I think you just nailed what I was mulling over mentally in my mind on why I like it.


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## Shed Hunter (Mar 14, 2006)

*Snake*

My daughters 10 year old corn snake. CC please.
SH


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

Pocketfisherman - It's a little like those play masks with a smiling face on one and a sad face on the other. Here you play with three faces, and as they say, three is appealing to the eye.

I think the angle of 'his' head is slightly too much, but only slightly.

Thanks for sharing this one. I look forward to seeing your photo in next week's PAD. 

*whew just managed to sneak in an edit on this post*

SH - I had a feeling I hadn't seen the end of that snake. Which brings me to a CC point in a way. I would like to have seen slightly more of the snake's skin pattern in focus (not sure if that's possible from an angle like this). Perhaps at least the whole head in clear focus. I think if I hadn't known what the snake was eating from the other photos, I would have liked to see a little more of its dinner (can't believe I'm saying this lol). My apologies but for a subject I'm not comfortable with, I do think it's a good shot. I wonder what the whole photo would look like, framed. Thanks for sharing this photo and for giving me the chance to move a little out of my comfort zone.


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## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

I really like that shot but it would even be better if cropped a little tighter and sharpen up a bit more like this.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Shed Hunter said:


> My daughters 10 year old corn snake. CC please.
> SH


 I like the focus centered on the eye. That shot just says "Snake". It captures what they are, what they do, and why they're snakes. The sharpened repost is the one I prefer.


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## hooter (Aug 12, 2005)

*this weeks cinnamon teal shot*

taken in the rain


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

hooter said:


> taken in the rain


 Now we know the answer to the eternal question; does water roll off of a duck's back. Look's like the answer is "no". Good focus exposure and composition. But I wish I could see his face.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

*Information Overload*

Just for fun, the EXIF data from my picture:

Full EXIF Info

Date/Time 
21-Jan-2007 09:22:17

Make 
Nikon

Model 
NIKON D70

Flash Used 
No

Focal Length 
105 mm

Exposure Time 
1/100 sec

Aperture 
f/5.6

ISO Equivalent 
200

Exposure Bias
White Balance
Metering Mode 
matrix (5)

JPEG Quality

Exposure Program 
program (2)

Focus Distance

The unretouched JPEG out of the camera (I used the RAW file for my edit):



A couple of other shots from the same morning:





[Click pictures for larger versions.]

I do not know if anyone is even interested in this kind of additional background as a follow-up after the posts. If not, I can stop.


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

I am.  I have a question if you don't mind. Why is the ISO at 200? Did you set it like that, or was it automatic? What does being at ISO 200 help, I mean, in what way does it help?


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Koru said:


> I am.  I have a question if you don't mind. Why is the ISO at 200? Did you set it like that, or was it automatic? What does being at ISO 200 help, I mean, in what way does it help?


200 is the lowest that this camera will do, otherwise I would be at 100. With good light you get pictures with less noise. A higher ISO would definitely make pictures in dim light, especially with action, easier to capture. You do get more noise.


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