Category Archives: Urban

Brenizer Panorama, Pentax K200D, Tair-11a, Urban

All You Can Eat

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All You Can Eat, originally uploaded by jezza323.

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Saturday Morning Photography

So here is another Tair-11a brenizer method shot from my Saturday morning pre-rain wander down University Av. I spotted this little sign and phone off a side street and decided it was interesting. I wanted to get this in 1 shot, but some objects in the foreground meant I had to get closer, which turned it into yet another Brenizer method photograph.

Failure

It actually took me 3 goes to get this shot right. It really has been a while since I have been out shooting. This image is made up of 12 photographs, all taken at f2.8 with my Tair-11a 135mm lens on my Pentax K200D body. I made sure the body was in manual mode, this is to ensure an even exposure across the panorama image. I set the manual aperture on the lens to f2.8, for minimum depth of field, then set the exposure to suit the part of the scene which I was most interested in (the phone in this case). Finally I started shooting the panorama images required. For some strange reason on my first attempt I forgot to focus the image properly, it must have looked ok through the viewfinder, but as I was walking away I did a quick check on the camera screen, and promptly returned for a 2nd attempt.

Fail Again

The 2nd attempt failed because I was rushing, and the shutter speed was too slow, meaning I had a bit of blur from my shaky hands messing up the images. Again I noticed this as I went to walk away whilst checking the image on the camera.

Success

Finally on the 3rd attempt, I adjusted the ISO up from 100 to 200, giving me a faster shutter speed. I slowly and carefully shot the panorama, keeping my hands steady and relaxed. This time I checked the shots before I started walking away, and was finally happy with the results.

Processing

For processing I used Lightroom to export the original RAW files to TIFF format, which I then stitched using Autopano Giga, and then made a few minor levels adjusts and cropped the image after re-importing into the Lightroom library. Enjoy!

Brenizer Panorama, Pentax K200D, Tair-11a, Urban

Newspaper?

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Newspaper?, originally uploaded by jezza323.

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I managed to beat the rain out and about in Toronto this morning. Its been a while since I been out just to take photos. Its good to be back on the horse!

This is a Brenizer panorama I took of some newspaper and magazine stands near St Patrick Subway Station in downtown Toronto. This one was 93 separate shots, all taken with my Pentax K200D and Tair-11a 135mm f2.8 lens. I set the camera to Manual, dialed in the correct exposure and then started shooting.

I imported the RAW files into Lightroom from the SD card. Next I exported the images as TIFF files to a separate folder (to make the stitching process quicker, I exported the TIFFs to only 1280×1280 max size), which I then ran Autopano over to generate the final panorama. Finally I imported the panorama back into Lightroom, made a final crop, distortion and level adjustment. The image is still slightly distorted, but this comes from the projection of the panorama, and I wasnt quite able to get it spot on.

If you like this shot, check out my Tair-11a lens review and my post about the Brenizer Method / Bokeh Panorama technique.

Pentax K200D, Sigma 10-20mm f4.0-5.6, Urban

A New Lens

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Winter Morning at Southbank, originally uploaded by jezza323.

And a Winter Morning at Southbank! This is the first shot posted taken with my new Sigma 10-20mm f4.0-5.6 lens. Got up early to go down to Southbank and take some IR long exposures with it, only to discover i left the IR filter at home….

So here it is with a CPL.

The was blended using Photomatix Exposure blender, and shot at +/- 2.0 EV at 10mm with my Pentax K200D

Maybe ill get those long exposures this weekend, its been a while!

Pentax DA 18-55 AL II, Pentax K200D, Project 52, Urban

Project 52 – #11 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

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Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Originally uploaded by jezza323

This is the major local football stadium in Brisbane – Suncorp Stadium (previously known as Lang Park). Just a few minutes from the CBD it is the home of 3 major teams competing in national competitions. The Brisbane Broncos (Rugby League), The Queensland Roar (Soccer) and The Queensland Reds (Rugby Union).

This is a HDR composed of 3 shots, taken at +/- 2.0 EV and blended in Photomatix using the Details Enhancer. It is also cropped in a 16:9 ratio.

Pentax DA 18-55 AL II, Pentax K200D, Project 52, Urban

Project 52 – #10 – Brisbane Riverwalk

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Brisbane Riverwalk
Originally uploaded by jezza323

This is looking down part of the Brisbane Riverwalk. I took this shot from next to the Riverside Centre building, the main building in the shot is the Riparian Plaza and the building at the left is Waterfront Place.

Taken using Pentax K200D, Pentax SMC DA 18-55 AL II and Slik 500 DX Pro Tripod. This is a HDR Panorama, composed of 5 HDR images (I overlapped them a lot), each composed of 3 images shot at +2, 0, -2. Blended and Tone Mapped with Photomatix batch processor using Details Enhancer, and stitched using Autopano.

Pentax DA 18-55 AL II, Pentax K200D, Urban

Ghosts in the City

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Ghosts in the City
Originally uploaded by jezza323

This is yet another stack, this time with ppl in it as well. Taken looking up Creek St in the Brisbane CBD on Thursday afternoon. The shots were only 1.6 sec exposures as it wasnt very dark yet, but the effect seems to have worked out ok.

There are no people directly in front of the camera as they were walking too fast past there to really show up in the shots.

I like the look of the people in motion here, so I think I will try for shots like this again in the future. It may be easier to get these shots during the day if I can get the shutter speed slow enough. Maybe it is time to order that Hoya ND400 filter I have been keeping an eye on.

Pentax DA 18-55 AL II, Pentax K200D, Project 52, Urban

Project 52 – #6 – Brisbane General Post Office

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Brisbane General Post Office
Originally uploaded by jezza323

The Brisbane General Post Office. Located on Queen St, facing Post Office Square is landmark #6 in my Project 52 Brisbane Landmarks for 2010.

As you can see it is lit up at night with red lights (Australia Post uses a red logo).

I’m not 100% happy with the stitching on this. It is a HDR Panorama (yes again…) composed of 4 HDR images, each HDR is 3 shots at +/- 2.0 EV. Unfortunately 1 of the HDR’s came out quite soft for some reason, so the stitching on that 1 is not the best.

This was shot with the Pentax K200D and Pentax SMC DA 18-55 AL II lens at 18mm.

Shoot and Processing was as follows

  • Shot in Pentax RAW (PEF), 12 images
  • Imported to Lightroom 2.5
  • Exported to TIFF
  • Blended with Photomatix batch processor, Tone Mapped using Details Enhancer, resulting in 4 TIFF files
  • Stitched 4 HDR TIFF files with Autopano, resulting in a single TIFF
  • Edited stitched TIFF using Photoshop to correct some perspective distortion, saved to TIFF again
  • Imported final TIFF into Lightroom
  • Minor edits in Lightroom (contrast, clarity)
  • Exported to JPG for Web
Pentax DA 18-55 AL II, Pentax K200D, Urban

Busy on Adelaide St

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Busy on Adelaide St
Originally uploaded by jezza323

This is an example of using Startrail software for something other than star trails. Here I have taken 44 photos from the same location, each with a 6 sec shutter speed, then used startrails.exe to stack all 44 photos together into 1. This gives the sense of speed and action in the shot.

A single 6 sec shot results in maybe 1 or 2 “car trails” which do not travel through the entire shot. If I were to adjust the aperture such that I could get a much longer exposure then the car trails themselves would be dim and barely show up. Also on long exposures noise can become an issue, by stacking the photos, you end up with less noise, although you do get the odd gap in the trails, which you may notice in this shot. This occurs while the shutter is closed between shots.

To make this method of shooting work effectively I would recommend getting a cable remote for your DSLR which has a button lock down feature. This will keep the shutter button locked down, without you having to sit there with your hand on the camera.

Pentax A 50mm f1.7, Pentax K200D, Urban

The Desaturated Look

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Untitled
Originally uploaded by jezza323

This is a shot I took during the week. I quite like this style of shot, so I thought I would share the preset I used.

The preset is called “PH Fashion Shoot II” and I found it at this site. I recommend downloading this set of presets (even if you don’t intend on using them) and just having a look at the settings they contain.

Enjoy!