Tag Archives: lighting


Photo: Row Echelon

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Row Echelon

The arrangement of these streetlights reminded me of how the 1’s line up in a mathematical matrix in reduced row echelon form. Or maybe I just couldn’t come up with a better title. I’ll never tell.

This photo is very grainy… grain adds character, right?

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/160, F2, 50mm, ISO400, 2008-11-02T18:54:29-05, 20081102-235429rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: 800 Miles

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800 Miles

On the highway at night. Just 800 miles to go!

This photo is low quality, but I decided to use it anyway. Anything taken at F1.8 is blurry. It was raining a lot which made the road slick, though that may look like distortion here.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/60, F1.8, 50mm, ISO800, 2008-11-02T18:31:31-05, 20081102-233131rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: White Christmas

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White Christmas

Christmas is here early! The trees are frosted with ice.

Actually, this is Daytona Beach, Florida, where it doesn’t get cold enough to frost the trees over. I saw this tree in the parking lot at the grocery store; the stark contrast with the background caught my eye. There was a streetlight right near it.

I didn’t have a tripod with me, so I had to hold the camera. The first thing I tried was setting the camera on the ground pointing upward, but I couldn’t get the right composition. My 28-135mm lens only goes down to F3.5, and I didn’t want to go above ISO800 to avoid too much grain, so I held the camera by hand pointing upward, really still, and fired off ten shots. This was the best one. It came out clear even though I had to use a 1/3 second shutter speed due to the darkness. The image stabilization gyroscopes in the lens helped.

Most of the leaves have fallen off this tree. Winter must be here!

Merry Christmas everyone. It’s just 34 days away.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 28-135mm, 1/3, F3.5, 28mm, ISO800, 2008-11-19T18:04:58-05, 20081119-230458rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Yellow Leaf

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Yellow Leaf

A yellow leaf, partially eaten by bugs, lit by sunshine, floating on a background of dark green leaves, greatly out of focus.

I was walking around my yard and saw the sunshine hitting the leaf like this. It was quite dramatic because the background was so dark. I set my camera’s focus point to the center of the lens and shot this.

On the computer, I darkened the background and sharpened the leaf.

Enjoy!

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 28-135mm, 1/160, F5.6, 132mm, ISO100, 2008-11-17T13:32:07-04, 20081117-183207rxt

Location: Thripp Residence, Ormond Beach, FL  32174-7227

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Day’s End

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Day's End

The dishes are washed and the kitchen is closed. This was lit by a beautiful sunset outside my door. It was at dusk when I shot this, but I balanced the camera on the counter for a 2.5-second exposure to give the sensor enough light.

What goes on around the sunset is often a lot more interesting than the sunset itself. Or the solar eclipse, or full moon, or the big thunderstorm. Take shots of everything, or take shots of something and focus on it. Usually for me, the first shot I take of an object or scene is the best, and then it goes downhill as I tweak and experiment with different angles. So trust your instincts.

This shot is wide-angle (18mm). It seemed better than backing up and going telephoto.

Canon Rebel XTi, EFS 18-55mm, 2.5″, F3.5, 18mm, ISO100, 2008-10-09T19:01:34-04, 20081009-230134rxt

Location: Thripp Residence, Ormond Beach, FL  32174-7227

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Hello

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Hello

Jenna says hello. She was studying chemistry.

It’s hard to get my models to be serious. Most of them just start laughing when I tell them to look serious. This is as close as I got w/ Jenna.

For editing, I took out some lines under her eyes and made her brighter. Since the sunlight is behind her, she was a bit dark in the original image.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/100, F2.5, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-10-13T09:23:47-04, 20081013-132347rxt

Location: Daytona State College, Building 410, Schildecker Science Hall, Floor 2, Room 208, 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL  32114

Photo: Talking

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Talking

Jenna is talking on a cell phone. People have all sorts of interesting conversations on these every day.

I told her to look real serious and pretend she was receiving an important phone call, but she laughed instead. That’s how you get a girl to smile. Tell her to be serious. I think the reverse might work for seriousness. :cool:

It was cloudy and raining out, so the light was diffused. The transition from light (on the left) to shadow (on the right) works well.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/50, F2.5, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-10-08T12:39:36-04, 20081008-163936rxt

Location: Daytona State College, 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL  32114

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

You can use the model’s likeness for anything not defamatory. You are one of my “licencees.”

Photo: Studying

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Studying

I met this girl at the college. She was studying some book about history, at least till I found her. She’s not actually studying in the photo, but it reminds me of how someone would look at you if she was busy studying. This is posed, though.

For editing, I brightened this a lot, which helps because she was dark compared to the background. Now the sky is just white. I took the lines out from under her eyes, made her lips a bit redder, and dilated and reshaped her pupils. She looks alive now. I think it was reflections from the glass building nearby that made her pupils seem non-existent in the original. Eyes are a tricky thing, but you can improve them if you’re careful and precise.

The focus is on her hair instead of her face, darn it. It’s still a nice photo though. I’m going to watch focus more closely in portraits, because it’s really important to keep it on the eyes instead of what’s in the middle of the frame.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/500, F3.5, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-09-26T12:04:15-04, 20080926-160415rxt

Location: Daytona State College, 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL  32114

Download the high-res JPEG or download the source image.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

You can use the models’ likenesses for anything not defamatory. You are one of my “licencees.”

Photo: Night on the River

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Night on the River

Nighttime at the docks, under the bridge over the river. This was a fun shoot, though anything at 3 A.M. is. I did three versions: one at 1/6, one at 3.2″, and this one at 30″. In the slower versions the water looks rippled and ugly, but with a longer exposure it’s beautifully smooth, and the streetlights turn to stars. You can see eight points to each light because my lens has eight aperture blades. If I’d have opened up all the way there would be no spikes, and if I opened up further they’d be less prominent.

The number of spikes is equal to the number of aperture blades if even, and double the number if odd, though they’ll be half as bright. They are often a nice touch. For editing, I did simple contrast and color adjustments.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 30″, F9, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-07-21T02:50:56-04, 20080721-065056rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Real Beauty

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Real Beauty — fake pink flowers

An arrangement of beautiful pink flowers and green fern leaves with perfect lighting. All synthetic, of course. But whose to say that makes them less valuable? They sure last longer, for one thing.

Editing involved adding contrast and burning the edges. It was hard to keep the colors in gamut as these are hard to print, but I solved it by toning them down and then selectively re-adding saturation where it would turn out best.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/80, F2.8, 50mm, ISO400, 2008-07-12T10:24:02-04, 20080712-142402rxt

Download the high-res JPEG or download the source image.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.