Ghatahora Photography: leaves

Showing posts with label leaves. Show all posts

Friday, 29 May 2020

Water Droplets

It is always interesting to take photographs after it has rained, there is a lot of photographic opportunities.

This photograph of water bubbles was taken looking down into the fish tank. The image as been cropped to add emphasis on the larger bubble. This photograph was taken using available light on my mobile phone.

The water droplets are created using sodium bicarbonate ear drops on the surface of a CD. I found that the ear drops were a lot easier to use for creating the droplets, as they created a rounder, 3D water bubble. I tried using water on a glass chopping board, with my tablet placed at the bottom to light it up. This set-up was very awkward, as the water droplets did not have the defined shape and roundness that I was trying to achieve, therefore making it harder to focus. This is the image that I attempted.

This image was photographed at the beginning of the month, and these water/oil droplets have stayed in tact as we speak. This shot was lit with a table lamp placed above the droplets and a blue fibre optic light to add the sparkle in the bubbles.
This photograph was taken using a Nikon macro lens attached to the Sony a600.

The photograph of the tulip was taken using my mobile phone early in the morning after the rain had stopped. The final image was edited in Snapseed, which is a mobile editing software. I increased the contrast of the final image.

The photographs below have been taken using the Sony a6000 early in the morning with available light. All these images have been slighting cropped to tidy around the edges.

The image below was taken with my mobile phone on the same day as the tulip. The colours of the final image have been increased. I used a shallow depth of field and focused on the dew drop.

The image of dew drops on the washing line (below) was also taken with my mobile phone. I set the mobile phone on 'Pro' setting, under exposed the shot by 1 stop and changed the aperture to f11 to get all the dew drops in focus. I was very close to the dew drops, this blurred the background. The dew drops were hanging from the bottom of the washing line, I rotated the final image to have the dew drops sitting on the washing line.

The photograph below is of water droplets pouring out from a bursting balloon, just before the water from the balloon landed on the ground. I have heavily cropped this image to focus on the dancing water droplets.

The photograph below was taken with my mobile phone, focusing on the dew drop, I switched on the built in light bulb on the camera to add light onto the dew drop. I did not use flash as it over powered the final image. This image was not edited.

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

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Monday, 4 November 2019

How to capture Autumn colours

Capture the Autumn Colours

Autumn is one of my favourite seasons for photography as it’s filled with cool nights, misty mornings, golden lighting, dew drops on spider webs, reflections of autumn colours in the water, long shadows and fallen leaves which all create a great atmosphere. But most importantly, the striking colours in the environment.

The main advantage of living around trees, parks and woodland areas, is that you don’t have to travel far to capture the autumn colours. Most of the woodland locations are easily accessed by public footpaths. Local parks provide plenty of opportunities for close-up nature photography.

The colours at the beginning of autumn can be disappointing, it is advisable to wait till they are rich and vibrant, which is usually at the end of October till end of November. However, keep an eye on your surroundings and keep your gear and equipment ready to capture the best lighting.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when taking autumn photographs:

Camera settings:

SLR: To photograph Landscapes, set the camera on Aperture Mode at f11 or f16, the camera will adjust the shutter speed accordingly. For Close-up Nature photography, use an aperture of f4 or f5.6. The use of a tripod is recommended as exposures will be long.

Compact Camera: Set the camera on Landscape Mode. For close-ups use mode. These modes are also available on SLRs.

I took the below photograph using my compact camera. The photograph has been changed to sepia using an editing software. Many compact cameras have an inbuilt facility which allows you to change the tone of your image. (This can be found in the menu settings of your camera). I always take two photographs of the same scene, one in colour and other in b/w or sepia.

Framing:

Trees make dominant focal points and create the finest displays, use ‘rule of third’ to frame the scene.

Catch the light:

The warm light at early morning or evening is perfect to capture some stunning autumn photographs, so get up early to photograph the ‘Golden Light’.

The Golden bench

Bridge on River Thames

Move closer to concentrate on detail:

Instead of just photographing wider landscapes, create a much stronger composition by moving closer to the subject. Focus all the attention on a single subject, such as dew drops on leaves, spider webs, leaves, berries, long shadows, etc.

Rain drop on leave

Dried leave

Grass

Visit the local park or the woodlands:

Take photographs at a local park or the woodlands.

Photograph wildlife:

Photograph horses in a field or wildlife in your garden. Feed the birds - putting food and water out will encourage birds in your garden so you don’t have to travel far to photograph the wildlife.

Use backlighting:

Position the sun behind a tree trunk or branches to capture the vibrant colours of the leaves, long shadows and silhouettes

Photograph the autumn mist:

Man in the mist

To capture mist, it is necessary to get up at dawn before sunrise or wait till it is just about to set. Rivers, lakes and open fields are the most likely locations to have mist. Exposures can be tricky, set the exposure at +1 stop to prevent the mist or fog being recorded as dull murky grey.

Here is a small list of locations where you can take autumn photographs:

Local Parks;

New Forest - for both autumn colours and wildlife

Kew Gardens – autumn colours

Wakehurst Place – autumn colours

Westonbrit Arboretum (Tetbury, Gloucester, GL8 8QS) – autumn colours

Richmond Park (not far from Kew Gardens) – autumn colours and wildlife (herds of deer)

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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