Sequence 1.5

Sequence 1.5, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Out of pit and landed!

Skater 1.8

Skater 1.8, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Using the arm for the assist!!

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 200

White on Blur...

White on Blur..., originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I think this photo is a good example of Bokeh. Everything is out of focus except the flower. The Depth of Field is shallow and i shot it this way on purpose.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Clouds...

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Sunflower 1.4

Sunflower 1.4, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I love how the center flower is in focus and all the rest are out of focus. The sun was hitting the center flower and it really brings out the color.

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Skater 1.1

Skater 1.1, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Up from the bottom and off the edge!

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Skater 1.2

Skater 1.2, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

In the AIR!! Nice sunny day for this!

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Marigold 1.1

Marigold 1.1, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Located at a local park i drove by today. You can see the beetle on the flower which is strange being on a Marigold. They usually do not attract bugs or insects of any kind. I think that the Bokeh is fine on this photo.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Mountain Biking Wednesday

For any of you that live in the St Louis area, we are going to SIUE to ride Wednesday evening at 6pm

If you live in the area, a good site to check out is GORC

Type: Multiple Loops

Description:
This trail system is made up of nearly 8 miles of tight, twisty, all-dirt singletrack in 4 separate trails, with a 5th trail in the works. Modest elevation gain, thick forest, and smooth hardpack make for rides which will satisfy every rider from beginner to advanced. The trails were designed in such a way that they would be a place not only for beginners to try out mountain biking, but also to allow more advanced riders an opportunity to test their bike handling skills by riding the narrow trails at a more rapid pace.

They are built partially on the site of an old outdoor amphitheater from the 1970’s, better known as the "Mississippi River Festival." The trails are easily accessible from the numerous bike paths that intertwine the Metro-East, so if you live in the area, driving to the trails is not necessarily required. While all the trails are designed to IMBA standards, because of the all-dirt surface, it is recommended that you not ride these trails immediately following rain.

Please download a map and take it with you, so you will be able to find all the loops, as they are spread out among numerous cross-country running trails.

Directions:
Take hwy 255 North past Interstate 270, to New Poag Road. Turn Right or East at the end of the exit ramp. Stay on New Poag Road until the first intersection with a 4 way stop sign. This will be University Drive. Turn Right onto University Drive. The road will immediately bend to the left, at the end of the bend on your right is a gravel road, turn onto the gravel road. Follow the rock road past the hedgerow on the left, the road will make a 90 Degree turn to the right and then back to the left, then it will dead end. The Northernmost Trailhead is located at the 90 degree corner of the woods near that dead end.

View High Res Map in Adobe Acrobat PDF Format

What is your opinion?
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Sitting 1.7

Sitting 1.7, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I love her reflection in the glass I used the "Back Flash" for this photo as well. i like to use it in most of my photography. The contrast between her and the wall is very good and i love her white paws on the window ledge.

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 90 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Flash: Flash fired

Landed - by Sediam

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sediama/

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Turn Them Christmas Ornemants to a 360 Fisheye Lens

As viewed on the website

DIYPhotography.net Photography and Studio Lighting

Wed, 2007-12-19 00:21 — udijw

Christmas it coming. It is a wonderful opportunity to get them shiny tree ornaments out of the storage and decorate your tree.

Have you given any thought to the day after Christmas? Under the tree
there are tons of presents, everyone is opening the presents. Let me
add a DIYP present to the heap. (Click the image to see a larger view)

Reader Simon*B has a great use for the tree ornaments for the day after the sock is empty.

This is a fun and fast project, at the end of which, you'll be able to
take 360 images with your digital camera. (There is a "slight" fish eye
effect that will make Rudolf's nose like a button compared to yours but
that's part of the fun).

Materials needed:

- 1 Digital camera

- 1 Silvery shiny Xmas ball

- 1 Iron wire

- 1 Tripod shoe (not a must)

Here's how to make the ball in 3 simple steps:

1. Connect the tripod shoe to the camera. Don't fasten it all the
way through. Just make it kinda loose. Loose enough to wrap a wire
between the camera and the shoe. Another option it to wrap the wire on
the lens (watch that lens, though).

2. Place the ball on the other end of the wire using some tape. The
wire should be long enough to enable focus so make sure it is longer
then your lens's minimal focus lens. If you are using a point and
shoot, you are in luck - switch to macro mode.

3. Focus the camera on the christmasball - you are good to go!

Here are some samples by Simon, Watch his entire collection here:

Some shootin' tips:

- You don't need to look through the view finder, you can hold the camera a bit further from your head.

- There is absolutely no way to avoid being in the picture.

Painting With Light

As viewed on the website

DIYPhotography.net Photography and Studio Lighting

Tue, 2007-09-11 15:25 — udijw

Painting
with light is a fun technique that gives great results. It is called
painting with light because this is what you are actually doing while
taking the shot - painting with light.

You don't need much to experiment with this kind of shot, just make sure you have the following items:

1. A camera capable of long exposures - film cameras will work OK,
but if you really want to get the most out of the shooting session, use
a digital camera. You will be able to see the results in "real time"
and make corrections as you go.

2. A nice tripod. Since you will be doing some long exposures you
want to make sure your camera sits still. If you don't have a tripod
you can make one in a few minutes (see this article or this one).

3. A flash light - and by flash light I do not mean flash as in a
speedlight, but the flash light or what our British will call a torch.

4. A dark location. This one is tricky. If you are going to shot at
home - a dark room will be OK. If you are going to shoot outside - make
sure that you are not doing this under a street light, or where a car
can come by and "paint its headlight" all over your shot.

Here is how it's done:

Set your camera on the tripod and take a sample shot with flash /
lights on. This will help you verify that your composition is OK.

Set the exposure to a relatively long value. Stop down the aperture
as much as you need. If you are outside do nothing. If you are inside -
this is the time to turn off the lights.

Make the click. Once the shutter is open use your flashlight to
light the stuff that you want to "paint". You can use the flashlight as
a brash, and "smear" the light, just like you would have done with
brush and paper. Or, you can use the light as a pen, and do precise
work. Areas where you go slowly will be more lit then others. Be
careful not to linger to much over the same stop - you will burn it.
(The machos amongst you will correctly identify this as the "I forgot
the iron on the shirt" phenomena).

Once the shutter closes, you are a free person again. Inspect your image and make corrections.

Here are some great ideas to use this technique with:

Product like shot - In a closed (dark) room place your
product on a table and paint it's contour. You can use several colors
to make a strong effect or to draw different (even imaginary) parts of
your object.

Image by Rodrigo da Cunha

Location shot - find a location with some ambient
light. Find an object that is less "hit" by that light. now you can use
the ambient light to capture the background, while painting the object
with light. You will get a nice effect - with some surreal foreground
and a "normal" background. Also the white balance will be different on
ambient and painted - another cool side affect.

Image by hyper7pro

Environmental Graffiti - If you are shooting a wall
(or even on thin air...), you can scribe on the wall. Make funny
graffiti; Write huge love notes; Make a political statement - there
will be no trace left other then the one on your memory card.

Image by Aitor

DIY - Create your own Bokeh

As viewed on the website:

DIYPhotography.net Photography and Studio Lighting

Wed, 2007-04-25 08:22 — udijw

Bokeh
is an adaptation from a a Japanese word meaning blur. In photography
this term is used to describe the quality of the areas in the picture
which are not in focus.

When referring to Bokeh, we can distinguish some of it characteristics:

- Is the light/dark gradient smooth or sharp?

- What shape will a small dot of light take what it is in the Bokeh area? (mirror lenses for example, create a bagel like Bokeh)

We can play with those two variants to create a special Bokeh.

You will need :

• One large aperture lens (a Canon 50mm F1.8 is used here, but Nikon 50mm 1.8 will also do)
• One sheet of black paperboard

1. Cut and shape the sheet to make a fake lens hood. The Diameter is made so that it snugly fits on the lens.

2. In the middle of the filter the wanted bokeh shape is cut out -
in out example a heart is used. I’m not sure how big a hole the shape
can be. But you can check it right away by just looking through the
viewfinder. On the 50mm lens @ F1.8 a 15mm heart gives a metering value
equal to F3.2, so it can probably be a little bigger (you can use a puncher or cut it by hand).

3. Set your camera to its lowest aperture value (completely open).

Here are two shots to demonstrate this technique - one with a bare lens and the other with the hearted hood. see more shots here and here (I leave it as an exercise to tell which is which :)

Here are the parameters for the example shown above:

• Lens - Canon 50mm F1.8
• "Lens hood" Diameter: 70mm (2.75 inch)
• Hole diameter: 15mm (0.6inch)

Here are two more great examples for this technique from RottieLover (note - there only one "real" heart in each picture):

This is an eye opener!

 

 

Just One State This is only one State.... If this doesn't open your eyes nothing will!   From the L. A. Times 1. 40%of all workers in L. A. County ( L. A. County has 10.2 million people)are working for cash and not paying taxes. This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card. 2. 95%of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens. 3. 75%of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens. 4. Over 2/3of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal , whose births were paid for by taxpayers. 5. Nearly 35%of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally 6. Over 300,000 illegal aliensin Los Angeles County are living in garage s. 7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border. 8. Nearly 60%of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal. 9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking. 10. In L. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3.9 million speak Spanish. (There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County . ) (All 10 of the above are from the Los Angeles Times) Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare. Over 70% of the United States ' annual population growth (and over 90% of California , Florida , and New York ) results from immigration. 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens. We are a bunch of fools for letting this continue HOW CAN YOU HELP ? Send copies of this letter to at least two other people. 100 w ould be even better. This is only one State............... If this doesn't open your eyes nothing will ! And you wonder why Nancy Pelosi wants them to become voters!

 

Five in the air...

Five in the air..., originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Five soldiers floating to the ground. The green is a stark contrast to the blue sky and the clouds between them. I was using my 70-300mm lens for most of these photos. I thought about going to my 18-70mm but i wanted to be able to get in really close when they were coming out of the C130 aircraft.

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Praying Mantis 1.1

Praying Mantis 1.1, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Another photo of the Praying Mantis. I found him on the trunk of an Aspen Tree that is located in our yard.

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 400

DSC08038

DSC08038, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Not sure what this is exactly. Perhaps it is a Mosquito hawk? He was in our garage the other morning so i took a photo of him.

Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 160 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Praying Mantis 1.2

Praying Mantis 1.2, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Taken at a different angle using flash.

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Flash: Flash fired

Praying Mantis 1.4

Praying Mantis 1.4, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I was out at an Aspen tree in our cutting some limbs and i saw this little dude on the trunk. I ran inside to get my camera and shoot some photos of him. I love the color scheme that he has going. Brown and Green go well with the Aspen. I used the back flash on several of these photos and this was one of them.

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Flash: Flash fired

DSC08116

DSC08116, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants." The nickname was taken from an entry made in a German officer's diary.

I would have loved to have gotten a full frontal photo of him.

Exposure: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 100 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Mountain Bike Ride

I went and meet a new group to ride with last night.  The trails were located in Edwardsville Il and we got in a 10.3 mile ride.  There were 6 of us on the ride including the lease owner of the trail system. Most of the trails were like Lake View 1-3 in Pocahontas State Park in Virginia that I rode many times.  The group affiliated with the trail system is called

 

I made some great contacts and got some numbers to call if I want to try to get a ride going.  More later and pics to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

RMStringer

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Darkseid: The Anti-Life Equation here is revealed to be

loneliness + alienation + fear + despair +

self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemantion ÷

misunderstanding x guilt x shame x failure x

judgment n=y where y=hope and

n=folly love=lies life=death self=dark side

 

1 Soldier...

DSC08157, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants." The nickname was taken from an entry made in a German officer's diary.

I walked up to the soldier and asked him if he would mind me getting a photo and he said, " It would be my pleasure." I took the photo and then i shook his hand and thanked him for the photo op.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 400

DSC08266

DSC08266, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Free falling...

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 100

DSC08271

DSC08271, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Floating Down To Earth! This was after the 1st pass of the C130. Each aircraft made 3 passes over the field. I love how they are just suspended in the air by the photograph.

Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 100