Epic scenery there. When I used to off-road my series Land Rovers we used to take pictures of our derring-do scary drives (and they were when you were on-board or watching from the side line) and when you reviewed them later it all looked a bit dull. So to give things real action and movement, and an epic sense of grandeur, takes some skill!
Some new pics - Advice to improve!?
- Thread starter SteveSmith
- Start date
SteveSmith
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tomscott said:No problem at all
I’m trying to take on board what you’ve said in your post!! I took this today (and then nearly got the police called for trespassing!)
SteveSmith
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I’m trying to get lower with the camera for a better angle, I’m also trying to focus more about the background rather than the car (as you say, otherwise it’s just an autotrader photo!).
Factory pic. Love the setting Steve. Not enough Car though. and the light is dead flat. Which suits the setting but doesn't emphasise the car enough. Sometimes a tricky balance. Did you manage several variations, of the same scene, for us to have a bit of helpful fun discussing? See you put the lights on too.
SteveSmith
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buzyg said:Factory pic. Love the setting Steve. Not enough Car though. and the light is dead flat. Which suits the setting but doesn't emphasise the car enough. Sometimes a tricky balance. Did you manage several variations, of the same scene, for us to have a bit of helpful fun discussing? See you put the lights on too.
Unfortunately that was the only decent shot I got because the security guard came out threatening to call the police
Good fun this photo taking malarkey!SteveSmith
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buzyg said:Factory pic. Love the setting Steve. Not enough Car though. and the light is dead flat. Which suits the setting but doesn't emphasise the car enough. Sometimes a tricky balance. Did you manage several variations, of the same scene, for us to have a bit of helpful fun discussing? See you put the lights on too.
This is the original unedited pic...
SteveSmith
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Smartbear said:
Whenever I try this I always think it looks worse!!
SteveSmith said:tomscott said:No problem at all
I’m trying to take on board what you’ve said in your post!! I took this today (and then nearly got the police called for trespassing!)
I really like that image! The car could have been more in the middle of the road and slightly bigger in the frame but great start. Only had the really tiny web file to play with but just 2 mins in PS. Really hate the iPhone 4x3 crop so made it more rectangular added some warmth and vibrance, a slight split tone, painted some light to the side of the building and a vignette which draws the eye in a little more into the car. With the original file and a bit more time it could be a great image
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SteveSmith
Active member
tomscott said:SteveSmith said:tomscott said:No problem at all
I’m trying to take on board what you’ve said in your post!! I took this today (and then nearly got the police called for trespassing!)
I really like that image! The car could have been more in the middle of the road and slightly bigger in the frame but great start. Only had the really tiny web file to play with but just 2 mins in PS. Really hate the iPhone 4x3 crop so made it more rectangular added some warmth and vibrance, a slight split tone, painted some light to the side of the building and a vignette which draws the eye in a little more into the car. With the original file and a bit more time it could be a great image
50A4A759-0E7D-4C38-990F-6B2F10C37221.jpg
That is insane!!! Could I email you the full file!? Pretty please to have a play with! It might just be my favourite picture of my car so far!
SteveSmith said:tomscott said:SteveSmith said:
I really like that image! The car could have been more in the middle of the road and slightly bigger in the frame but great start. Only had the really tiny web file to play with but just 2 mins in PS. Really hate the iPhone 4x3 crop so made it more rectangular added some warmth and vibrance, a slight split tone, painted some light to the side of the building and a vignette which draws the eye in a little more into the car. With the original file and a bit more time it could be a great image
50A4A759-0E7D-4C38-990F-6B2F10C37221.jpg
That is insane!!! Could I email you the full file!? Pretty please to have a play with! It might just be my favourite picture of my car so far!
Sure send it over tomscottphotography-at-hotmail-dot-com
Joneeboy said:
Thanks! My love of image making is probably more than my love for cars.
I use a lot of different cameras depending on what im shooting.
Generally I use Canon, love the lenses and options they give.
In my arsenal atm I use a 70D 7DMKII 6DMKII and a 5DMKIV. Depending on the event i once and a while rent a 1DX II but for the majority of my use the above works well. Previous to that I have had a dual set of 5DMKIIIs which i put around 500,000 shots between them over the 4 years I had them. They shutters are only "rated" to 150,000 each and I didnt replace either. Unfortunately my house was burgled earlier in 2017 and one was stolen so I swapped the other out for a MKIV and bought a 6DMKII to go with it.
Zoom Lenses I use
16-35 F2.8 L MKII
24-70 F2.8 L MKI
24-105 F4 L MKI
70-200 F2.8 L IS MKII
100-400 F4.5-5.6 L MKII
1.4 X MKIII
2 x MKII
Primes
35mm F1.4 MKII
50mm F1.2 MKII
85mm F1.2 MKII
135mm F2
The primes tend not to get used so much anymore because the zooms are so good, use them mostly for weddings. With the 70-200 covering the 85-135mm lengths i usually dont use them but the 85mm gives the most beautiful rendering of DOF so for head and shoulder portraits I do really enjoy it. The problem with the 1.2 apertures is you get around 5-10mm of focus and its super slow so nailing focus is difficult even with the 5DMKIV focus system the hit rate isnt great. If I do use it I tend to shoot at F2 to give me more room but then the 70-200 is a 2.8 and its hit rate is very high so generally it gets sidelined.
For the crop cameras I also use the EFS 17-55mm F2.8
I prefer the zooms because of their versatility also with the newer camera ISO performance the apertures arent a huge problem im happy shooting all of the full frame cameras to 6400 and at a push 10000 and the 7DMKII at a push 6400 and the 70D isnt so good so 2500, 3200 max, use the 70D mostly for video. If im shooting certain race meets I do sometimes rent a 300mm F2.8, for the amount of time I use it its not economical to add it to my kit.
The cameras themselves are super reliable, ive dropped them out of moving vehicles had them through some of the toughest places on earth like the amazon, plains of Africa, deserts, Arctic etc and also drenched them at race meets shooting for 8+ hours in yellow weather warnings with it raining sideways and only had one camera fail, that was at the race meet. Put it in a towel over night and in an airing cupboard and the next day booted back up again. I tend not to worry too much about the cameras but buy the latest lenses as they make much more difference now adays. The upgrades to cameras has become so small these days that if you cant get good images with even entry level DSLRs there is an issue with the photographer not the gear.
Canon cameras are certainly not at the edge of innovation anymore but CPS turns around repairs in a couple of days and its so rare to have to send them in. The big issue atm is dynamic range and the 5DMKIV is the best in my kit but the 6DMKII was slated at launch etc etc
Funnily enough the 6DMKII is my favorite of the above currently. Because I use light modification and expose for the situation and often bracket to ensure I dont have issues i rarely find myself going near the dynamic range limit of any of my cameras (apart from the 70D). The Canon cameras like the 5DMKIII also had issues with banding and purple shadows when using recovering shadows but I have found the 6DMKII to be basically a 5DMKIII with the two main image quality issues resolved and at 50% of the cost.
The main problem for me is the 1 card slot, doesnt leave me any redundancy. Again in the hundreds of thousands of images I have taken, ive never had a card fail (touch wood) and the only issue I had was with one of my SD cards where the lock switch on the side was loose so when you put it into the camera it would lock and you couldnt write to it.
Main reason I love it is because of the flippy touch screen, love them on the other cameras but to have it on a full frame camera just creates new possibilities that weren't available to me before. The wifi and GPS is also amazing being able to send a raw file over to my iphone or ipad and making an edit in lightroom (which is excellent) and then instantly being able to post is novelty and great fun. Also I travel a lot so having the GPS is fantastic to know where I was.
The main reason I like Canon over the others is ive been shooting with them for about 20 years, I have a huge investment in the lenses and camera bodies are just one aspect of the bigger picture. The service for a professional is also one of the main selling points.
I have been very intrigued with the sony offerings and although they are excellent the build quality and weather sealing just wouldn't be practical for me, they break far too easily and sonys servicing is almost non existent with turn around times being 6-8 weeks not a couple of days. They also make most of their cameras redundant every 12 months with new models and the lens selection isnt there yet. But the main factor is that the lenses are similar size to a DSLR and the bodies are tiny, my hands are too big for the body. The ergonomics are the main drawback for me, with a big lens attached to such a small body the balance is so far out that it can hinder image taking as well as straining the wrist.
Apart from my commercial photography which is weddings, events, automotive and landscape my passion is wildlife and travel.
Couple of my faves (if you dont mind)
Gorillas in Uganda after a 6 hour hike though the rainforrest
Few from 3 months across africa
Fish Eagle, Lake Naivasha, Kenya by Tom Scott, on Flickr
Fish Eagle, Chobe National Park, Botswana by Tom Scott, on Flick
Fish river canyon
Indonesia
3 hour trek to find the orangutans
Diving with mantas of comodo island
Comodo island
I went up Mt bromo and when we got to the edge it erupted, apparently there was a 20km no go zone but the guide didnt think it was a big deal.... scariest but most incredible experience
This was at about 4am the next morning
Mt batur
Borobudur
Anyway miles more info than asked for but hope that gives some insight.
