Latest photography exploits!

[Bradchip]

Everybody...post your latest stuff.

All I'd been taking lately was photographs of frogs, so had to break it up and went down to Sydney to take (non tourist) pics of things aside from amphibians...

And here's a fraction of the frogs I've snapped over the last month or so.

 

[snakes123]

Wow they are really good photos.

 

[mrs_davo]

Once again - WOW - excellent photos.....

 

[grizz]

looks great mate.

 

[MathewB]

Holy hell those are good! What camera do you use? I bet its expensive

 

[snakes123]

Holy hell those are good! What camera do you use? I bet its expensive

I was going to ask the same question.

 

[porkosta]

Those shots are fantastic. Can I ask what are the specs of your rig? Also what lens and exposure did you use for the star shots - they are great.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[CHEWY]

Those shots are fantastic. Can I ask what are the specs of your rig? Also what lens and exposure did you use for the star shots - they are great.

Seconded. I as mad a herper as anyone here and love the frogs, but the astral pics are incredible.
On the frogs, again what were you using? I can see two flashes in some of the shots.

Cheers

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

WOW!!! awesome pics!!!

 

[Mudimans]

Oh wow-there's some AMAZING shots in there!! Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Bradchip]

Thanks heaps guys. At the moment I'm using the Nikon D300 (but you'd get equally as good shots with something like the Nikon D90 which is relatively cheap now). Most of the work is in the lenses though, and the flashes, particularly for the frog work. I use a Tamron 90mm for all the frog shots and all the macro, and a 2 flash setup if I can get away with it. It's not cheap, and macro is still a challenge with good gear, but still rewarding. The off camera flash is the key

Thanks heaps PorkostaThe lens I was using for the stars was the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8. All these shots were taken at 11mm at f/2.8. It takes awhile to work out appropriate shutter times without getting the stars to trail. The only problem is...the shorter the shutterspeed, the higher the ISO. I think I worked out that about 70 seconds, at 11mm, at f/2.8, ISO1600 worked best. Just note that some cameras don't handle high ISO as well as others. The Nikons seem to do ok. The shots above I took when there was some moon in the sky...which is instant light pollution. Not the best thing for this kind of photography.

With a new moon (and no light pollution) and a little editing, and the settings I gave you above, you'd get shots more like this. The wideangle lens that opens up to f/2.8 is imperative though (anything to help get light onto the sensor)

 

[snakes123]

How do you get the night shots so clear without and noise?

 

[Jay84]

Great photography!

 

[Bradchip]

Chewy, most of the frog shots were taken with a 2 off camera flash setup. A nikon SB600 to the left, and a Nikon SB900 to the right, both triggered by the popup flash on the camera (bloody amazing feature if you ask me....totally wireless).

Thanks for looking mate. The comments are much appreciated

Snakes123...it's mainly a matter of going to places with as little light pollution as possible, and going out when there's no moon around at all (full moon would be useless for this kind of photography).

It's hard to find a balance between the noise and exposure time etc. The longer the exposure...the more the rotation of the earth makes the stars appear to move. There's some obvious trailing in some of these shots...it's hard to completely avoid though. It's all about getting as much light on the sensor in as short time as possible. That's where a wideangle lens that opens up to f/2.8 helps...and a camera that can handle noise well.

 

[DanTheMan]

Absolutely fantastic shots! Just superb, well done!

 

[guzzo]

Absolutely fantastic shots! Just superb, well done!

Sums it up to a T......well done fantastic

 

[Snakelove]

I took this photo last night with the new camera. I'm still getting used to the different settings on there but just have to keep trying I guess!

 

[hrafna]

I took this photo last night with the new camera. I'm still getting used to the different settings on there but just have to keep trying I guess!

just a suggestion if you don't mind, watch what else is in the shot when you take it. the blue mat and the red torch in the background detract from the child, which i assume is the main focus of your pic! keep playing around and enjoy.

 

[Wookie]

Damn son. Nice photos mate. Top shelf.

 

[Snakelove]

just a suggestion if you don't mind, watch what else is in the shot when you take it. the blue mat and the red torch in the background detract from the child, which i assume is the main focus of your pic! keep playing around and enjoy.

Thank you for that. Yeah after I took the photo and looked at it on my comp then I realised it was out of focus, and unnecessary things in the background. Thanks mate! =)