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Most Improved Photographer - SNOW 2011

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blizzard_22 - 19 June 2011 12:49 AM

My problem is I don’t know anyone I can photograph in the park. So all my photos are gonna be scenery type.

Might ask around my friends, maybe they know someone!

Must admit I am scared to take the DSLR to the snow confused

Just ride around with your camera and when you see someone who rides really well that you think would be great to shoot, just approach them and offer to take shots of them. If they’re doing park laps just find out what trick they’re going to do, and get them to wave at you before they drop in. You can position yourself better when you know what trick they are going to do.

For carrying your camera around here are some recommendations (from least to most recommended):

burton zoom
http://au.burton.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Burton_AU-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=236578&start=49&cgid=mens-bags-luggage-packs

dakine sequence
http://www.dakine.com/snowboard/packs/photo/sequence/

f-stop guru
http://fstopgear.com/en/guru

f-stop loka
http://fstopgear.com/en/loka

I originally had a Zoom, upgraded to a Sequence and have since upgraded to a Loka. F-stop bags have an internal frame which the others don’t, which really lets you ride. They all have sufficient padding. With the F-stop bags you can choose which size icu you want, so if you only intend to carry the body and 1 or 2 lenses then the small icu is all you need. You can use the rest of the pack for whatever.

 


IMG_2229-1 by alexh2182, on Flickr

 
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^^^^^ Cool pic alex!!!!!

And welcome to BW!!!!!  shaka

 
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alexh - 03 July 2011 12:29 PM


IMG_2229-1 by alexh2182, on Flickr

Hi Alex,
welcome to BW!

Cool pic! miniature mode on a p&s or a tilt shift lens? whichever, the buildings in the background look cool. Great colours too. Only one problem, imo, and that being that the first chair is blurred. The people sitting there are so bright, and it’s nearly the middle of the photo, so my eyes are drawn to it…but it’s blurred. A good tilt shift will draw your eyes to the spot that’s in focus. I guess this shot would have been better if that first chair had been shot a little earlier when it would have been more towards the center, and in focus. But then that would change the entire composition too, so I can’t say if it would work better.

Look forward to seeing lots more from you!

 
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Gamblor help! When I put the boards like this it looked really good, but came out crap in the photo! :-( What can I do to make it better?

 
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hmmm. what made it look good to you?
also, do you mean it looked good to the eye or in the camera?

 
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Good to the eye…

 
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ok. what’s lacking in the photo?

 
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k, I gotta go now, but for starters your white balance is off. The snow is grey and the photo looks washed out. in most editing programs all you need to do is click the dropper onto the snow, or the white bit of your board and it will adjust. In photoshop you can do it with levels.

 
Gamblor - 04 July 2011 02:48 AM
alexh - 03 July 2011 12:29 PM


IMG_2229-1 by alexh2182, on Flickr

Hi Alex,
welcome to BW!

Cool pic! miniature mode on a p&s or a tilt shift lens? whichever, the buildings in the background look cool. Great colours too. Only one problem, imo, and that being that the first chair is blurred. The people sitting there are so bright, and it’s nearly the middle of the photo, so my eyes are drawn to it…but it’s blurred. A good tilt shift will draw your eyes to the spot that’s in focus. I guess this shot would have been better if that first chair had been shot a little earlier when it would have been more towards the center, and in focus. But then that would change the entire composition too, so I can’t say if it would work better.

Look forward to seeing lots more from you!

Cheers mate,

To be honest this photo was to test a concept that I have been thinking about for a different location around thredbo. It was shot with my mates 60D which is not my camera so was a little unfamiliar with it (I am sure you know what I mean) I agree with the fact that if it was shot a little earlier the guys on the chair would look better.

The tilt shift effect was my first try at using it in photoshop I couldnt seem to get the reflective gradient to be wide enough to get the buildings right down to the guys skis/boards to create that as the focus point, overall I think this shot worked out really well, certainly in comparison to how crap of a photo it was before I edited it. Edit was simply a gradient/levels and blacks adjustment plus a little saturation. Interestingly after reading your comments on saturation adjustments in the start of this thread I think I achieved some good colours without creating radioactive skin etc.

Will certainly be getting lots more very soon!

 
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Here you go Gamblor I have added it in.

Looking at this photo now the white balance is definitely not right with the blue snow!

Western Tiers

 
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I have a few cool ones I got from the weekend.

Will upload tonight, hope you all enjoy smile (And that they are an improvement over my last attempt lol)

 
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maxwell_cimus - 20 July 2011 04:11 AM

Here you go Gamblor I have added it in.

Looking at this photo now the white balance is definitely not right with the blue snow!

Western Tiers

The main issue I can see is that the light behind the trees clashes and therefore draws your attention away from what is happening :(.

The blue snow doesn’t help and the guy in the background looks like he is trying to hold up the snowboarder which is kind of weird…

 
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Thanks for your comments tj.

Shooting in between the trees like this turned out to be pretty hard work!

The guy in the background that you speak of (not actually in the background)  is holding his snowboard over his head while the other guy is riding it like a box/rail after hitting the kicker.

 
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maxwell_cimus - 20 July 2011 06:03 AM

Thanks for your comments tj.

Shooting in between the trees like this turned out to be pretty hard work!

The guy in the background that you speak of (not actually in the background)  is holding his snowboard over his head while the other guy is riding it like a box/rail after hitting the kicker.

Ahh I see it now… (I thought there was something like that but couldnt see it hahaha)

Probably due to my colour deficiency and all the dark colours in the shot there. smile

In that case, jumping the dude looks cool!