Thursday, February 5, 2009

Peter 027 - Rick



Rick does sell Bric-a-Brac. He reckoned it would be alright if I took his photo, because he had a receipt for everything on his stall. He'd sold a block of land recently so didn't have to work, but likes to sell bargains to people so the world is a nicer place to live in.

While we were there a customer purchased a record clearly marked $3.00. He kindly told her that that was the original price, not today's value ($5.00) but since it was Sunday he'd give her a 40% discount.

See, there are still people who are happy to give genuine customer service!

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Exposure Time : 1/200
F Number : 5.0
Exposure Program : Aperture-priority AE
ISO : 200
Max Aperture Value : 4.8
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Flash : Auto, Fired, Return detected
Focal Length : 62.0mm
Focal Length In 35mm Format : 93

11 comments:

Julie said...

A wonderful line in confusion he wanders!

Now how did you get rid of the background? And why?

Was it the flash because he was under an umbrella and you needed flash otherwise he would have just been a silhouette?

I went and identified my photo data last night. It does not give it for RAW shots as my camera and my canon software dont work together with Vista. Must persevere with the drivers tonight.

bitingmidge said...

No real tricks with the background, just a carefully positioned shot! It's a metal truck body, hence the stripes and it's in full sun.

I asked Rick to stand under his umbrella so he'd be in full shade, and fired the flash. Without the flash the face would have been really underexposed.

You can see the sign of heavy flash shadow where his hat meets his forehead if you want to be picky.

Ann said...

Okay, you used the flash but you don't have the reflections that I get. Is that because its turned down or are you further away and zooming in, 62 is fairly close, isn't it? What lens/s do you use?
For that matter, what camera have you got?

bitingmidge said...

I have a Nikon D80 which I think is the next step up from the Canon D400.

My walkaround lens is an 18-200 which gives an extraordinary range.

60mm is a middling telephoto, I was probably two or three metres away for this shot.

I have a small flash unit (SB400) which mounts higher than the standard one, and can swivel to "bounce" flash. I usually use the onboard one for daylight stuff but I'm fairly certain I had the "big" on one for this shot.

You can overcome the reflection by either "bouncing" or diffusing the flash. I'm working on an invention at the moment (actually I'm waiting to empty a milk bottle so I can rescue the plastic) which might just do the trick.

Here's a commercial one, but I can't see that it's $50 worth of value! http://www.stofen.com/Info/omniflip.htm

Ann said...

I love those super zooms. I have only one lens - Tamron 18-250 and I love it. I want their new 18-270 but can't justify the expense as I've only had this one for about 18 months. I only have in camera flash so I guess that's the problem.

bitingmidge said...

I don't think it's a problem so much as this exercise is really making us all aware of the limitations of our equipment.

I think it's too easy for me at least to say "I don't have this or that, so I can't get such and such a result".

This project is really making me think about how to get a result, preferably the one I want, with the equipment in my hand at the time.

A separate flash unit is certainly terrific, and it gives wedding photographers consistent results, but it's another thing to carry, and if you can consistently find a work around then you can consider yourself to be "accomplished" I think!

Try an experiment: Take a piece of white translucent garbage bag and drape it loosely over the face of your flash and take a photo. See if the small amount of diffusion it gives makes a difference.

Julie said...

I had this 400D fall in my lap. I get my own S3 back this evening but will still have the SLR for a while longer.

I am learning so much and really dont give a twig about what I am using. I have only just scratched the surface. My head gets blown away each time I go out. I am only just now getting the out-of-body experience whilst I am actually shootiing that lets me think about all the techo stuff while I chat up the subject.

Loving it ...

Ann said...

I like that Opanda. Wish I could put it on my work computer. I'm learning heaps as well but am really noticing the limitations of the p&s. Still, I think I've improved with the p&s as well.

bitingmidge said...

Re: the point and shoot. I am taking my life into my hands by "talking" to you blokes instead of packing the camping gear, but I've just heard a photographer called Steve Holland talking about you guessed it:

In summary, he says the most important part of the camera is the first 12 inches behind the lens.

He has a gallery of shots taken on a $100.00 camera here:
http://www.takebetterphotos.com.au/hundreddollargallery.html

It's worth poking around, and realising that he too pushes the limit of the camera but there aren't any high contrast shots there. He has used a trick I've used often too, by holding a pair of polaroids over the lens he's got an instant polarising filter.

He also suggested turning the flash on every time you go out into the sun.

I'm off!

Julie said...

Enjoy yourselves ... don't do anything I wouldn't do!!!!!!!

Ann said...

Just saw your link, Peter (wasn't at work the day you posted). I know what I'm going to be doing as soon as I've finished the housework. Which is what I should be doing now instead of being in here.