One way I can improve my photography
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- Опубліковано 17 січ 2024
- I love photographing the classic beauty spots but most of the time I visit my local haunts to capture the majority of my shots. I always find it a challenge shooting in areas where there are no obvious 'winners' but I also learn the most from these short trips.
Equipment Used
Bronica SQA-i
Kodak Portra 800
Velbon 655 tripod with Manfrotto MG460 head
Preview App
Mark II Artists Viewfinder (iOS only on the App Store)
Vlogging Equipment
GoPro Hero 10 and Rode Smart Lav
iPhone 14Pro
Incidental Music - Epidemic Sound
Softspoken 3
Etsy Shop
steveonionsphoto.etsy.com
Contact Details
Email: youtube@steveonions.co.uk Twitter: Steve_ONions / steve_onions Instagram: steveonions1 / steveonions1
UA-cam: / @steveonions
I do a lot of photography in my back yard. Now, I am photographing wildlife, not landscape. I have fruit trees and a walnut tree and I put out bird feeders. So I have new and interesting animals every day. For mammals, I have racoon, possum, squirrel, our cats and dog. There are many beautiful birds as well. So I have the world's shortest trip when I choose to photograph in my backyard. Of course, other things require trips, and I have a state park less than two miles away. At any rate, trips of hundreds of miles are nice, but not always necessary.
Nice
& true..
Daily walks are a great source of excersise & possibilities, carry your Camera & its availible when eye is drawn
Sounds like you are spoiled for choice and it’s unlikely anyone else will have images of your back yard!
Lovely, just right to inspire me to get off my backside and get out, thanks mate 👍
Glad it was useful John.
Portra 800 is my favorite film! Have read that Portra 160 and 400 are more modern emulsions are very well suited to scanning. Portra 800 is from the late 90's and is magic printed in the darkroom! The dyes in the paper give the subject a 3D appearance when processed with RA-4. The best picture I ever took and printed in the darkroom is taken with this film...a keeper! Too bad it's so expensive...but at times more than worth the effort! Love your channel, a loyal follower.
Thanks Eric. It may be an older film but it digitises very well and has a special look to it. Expensive but worth it.
That log looked like a horse's head in the photograph. Loved it. Last month I got a DW-4 finder for my F3. Love it. Its like using the WLF on my Hasselblads. You are right Steve, nothing like WLF.
I saw the same.
Love the reflections at 11:31
I recently ordered an old Praktica Fx to shoot 35mm with a waist level viewfinder. I love them. And much easier on the knees! Arrives Monday!
Hope you enjoy it Carl.
I get happy from this video. There is always a posibility to shoot in a dull forest. Thanks for sharing. Expensive that colour film though. I'am thinking how these beautiful images look in black and white (Ilford Fp4)
It isn’t cheap but very rewarding Ruud. Lots of possibilities with that high ISO too.
Animal head with its tongue out in that 3rd image, cool stuff Steve.
Indeed, amazing what we can see in nature 🙂
Great video, Steve. Looks very like the Delamere Forest near Frodsham . . .
You are correct!
Great explanations of your creative process and the resulting images were all winners. I love the WL finder on my ETRS. They are hard to get hold of, probably because people enjoy using them so much. Local resources like your Wood are good, because there isn't that barrier to getting there compared to something 40 or 50 miles away. I have one near me which, as an abandoned quarry also has water, boggy pools, moss and a rock escarpment.
I used to complain about my local landscapes but I’ve come to appreciate what I’ve got now. They aren’t dramatic but they change constantly and I’m able to visit whenever I feel the need.
Thank you. Thank you. I am reminded that slightly over-exposed images leave something to the viewer to negotiate. I absolutely love it when you have to take your eye off the horizon.
It is interesting that you made the comment about the medium format viewfinder. I find exactly the same thing.
I think that feeling is even more intense on large format ground glass. I do believe that a large part of taking nice photographs is enjoying the process.
The bigger the format the better, 8x10 is amazing.
A wonderful Winter shoot! Magic colors! Medium format! Thank You for sharing! Bravo!
Beautiful work! The final pond shot is my favorite.
The best shots are always in your head. I wish i could say that about the price of film 😱📷👍
Film was never cheap! But now, mmm!
You and me both!
Square format is ideal, there's a sense of balance to the picture. And the collection today has a strong sense of Zen and calmness in them - very nice, especially the pond framed by flowers at 11.38. And you've got yourself the Mindshift Backlight 18l by the looks of it. I've been using mine for some years now, practically bombproof. Great stuff. Thanks
I’ve now got two backpacks from thinktank, the 26L Mimdshift and an Urban Access 13. Both are superb and have made it a lot easier to carry equipment all day without tiring as much.
never used that film maybe add that one to my list really like the water photo.
Well worth a try.
As photography UA-camr Gavin Hardcastle says: ‘Lichen subscribe’! 👍📸
Great photos Steve. I love taking photos like these, the less obvious compositions. Yes, you can't beat a ground glass screen when in a waist level finder, it's far more real and organic.
Thanks Simon. That’s another thing I love about square format cameras, no need to tilt them and force me to use the prism.
This was most enjoyable. Really love medium format as well.
I feel like these are the types of images that make photography fun. You don't have to travel to new and exotic places, just take a walk down the street and look for intimate scenes.
Very true Harold, little planning required and always accessible.
I like this type of subject matter and photograph it at every opportunity; well done.
Thanks 😊
Always a treat to see your work. Square format is one of my favorites! The film did a great job in your hands.
Thank you very much!
Lovely images. A place worth exploring through the year.
Thanks Brian.
Great videos, Steve..
.
Fabulous that you're so close to Delamere enabling you to get to know the terrain. Which car park do you prefer ?
I use a couple of different parking points, Gresty’s waste for this video but more usually it’s Barnsbridge off Ashton Road.
Lovely images on this trip. Especially liked the pond as it was so colorful and contrasty. That's a bag full of fun with both the 150 and 250 in it. I have the 250, but rarely use it due to its heft. Thanks again for your time and effort.
I wish the 250 was smaller and lighter as I love the focal length. It tends to come out when I don’t have far to walk.
Thank you for this video. I have watched your video in the middle of a working day and it is just the interest and relaxation I need. I too like phographing winter woodland.
Thank you 😊
I presume you scan your negatives. If that's the case you get some really good results. Lovely images 👍
Yes, thanks
Good work Steve thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it Steven.
Hey Steve,
Amazing photos, as usual. Portra 800 is my absolute favorite color film for a few years now.
Just an observation - I don't think I've seen you with the PS 110mm at all? I think the ETR 100mm macro has now surpassed the 75mm as my most-used lens. With your skull at composition and abstracts, I'm just surprised not to see a bit more with the macro.
Cheers
I’ve looked at the 110mm options and almost got one last year. I decided not to go for it largely due to me not shooting many closeups and the 80mm does a good job here. I did however pick up the shorter S-18 extension tube and have started carrying that now (sadly still unused!).
@@SteveONions I have a short extension tube as well. Much like the 1.4x TC, I found it just annoying enough to pop on that I didn't use it. Oddly I've ended up using the 100mm > 45-90mm > 75mm these days. Never saw that coming, but the wide end of the zoom is better than the ETR primes. Cheers.
Lots of shots there that few would ever find. Do you find the use of the preview app indispensable for making your compositions? mark
Thanks Mark. The preview app is a must for me, especially if shooting B&W as it immediately tells me if a shot will work or not. Even with colour and digital cameras I prefer to work out a shot before getting the camera out. Before getting it I could shoot 5 rolls of film in a day whereas now it’s rarely more than one.
Thanks Steve very helpful and informative as is all your stuff
Beautiful images and loved the subtle colours of Portra 800. Pleased that you didn't succumb to 'focus stacking' nor did you reach for a *circular* polariser - favoured by most vloggers - Grrrr! (presumably you stuck with the traditional triangular one). Atb.
I nearly did focus stack (and I’ll admit that an upcoming video has a shot done this way 😲).
@@SteveONions Oh dear, well I'll forgive you on this one occasion provided you tell me which Seral waist bag you purchased, please. Thank you.
Very difficult to come up with something new. Seen so many close ups of rocks, leaves, trees and water. You tube is full of the same stuff, how do you stay motivated ? I am struggling to watch photography on UA-cam these days.
I always take the view that if somethings not worth watching then don’t. Go with your instincts and only do what you really want to.
There's much to be said for pushing yourself to find good images in less than dramatic conditions and you found them in your local preserve, and midge-free, to boot. I loved the second algae shot at 2:25. It almost has a look of a tilt-shift lens. And great color of the pond at 11:35. You definitely had that polarizer dialed in. You decision to tilt the camera to create those diagonals for the rock face at 13:00 was a very good one. And did I detect the use of a new GoPro and lav mic?
Thanks Bob, the forest is a challenge but I like the results and it makes me work harder. The GoPro is my regular 10 but I was using a different wireless mic this time, a Holyland Lark.
About the cost of medium format film + development...
I read a review of camera + lens for a digital medium format camera that was $13,000. That would pay for a lot of film, and the images would be of comparable quality.
So hey, compared to some choices, film is a real bargain.
It simply not the same! I use and love digital! One doesn't need $13,000 camera! The iPhone may surprise you! Film, tactile, organic and a miracle!
For the amount of film I shoot the cost isn’t prohibitive, I take a lot more time before pressing the shutter button these days which is no bad thing.