D 223 - I kept them waiting a little more

I kept them waiting for me a little more, so I could change my lens to tele-zoom and shoot from across the street.

D 219 - Orchis

D 216 - Seeing Double

Old facade, High-Definision TV.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.

D 215 - Inferior power

Snapshot at a crossing.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.

D 213 - "α"

A black belt.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.

D 212 - "Y"

Parking Lot.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.

D 211 - "2"

A factory wall.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.

D 210 - Twin-Valve

Some derelict hydraulics outside industrial complex now turned into offices.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015

D 209 - Too gloomy to fly today

Pigeons at a rooftop.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015

D 208 - Ungothic

City cathedral being renovated as seen from across the street with a tramway line in-between.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.

D 207 - Beggar

Pigeon in a gateway.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.

What I learned

I've attached the kit tele-lens zoom the my Olympus and try to keep it on at all times. I've strongly neglected this focal length range before and so I feel that only forced practice can give me the feel of it.

D 206 - Z

A relief.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015

What I learned

I never agreed with the opinion that harsh sunlight and clipped shadows and highlights are a no-no for street photography. Some of my favorite shots were black and white lo-quality urban shots made on clear summer days.

D 176 - Pretty far, dude...

Some guys were filming capoeira on the roof. It was raining most of the time and they stayed there for hours. Those two took a cigarette break.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.
RAW edited in Lightroom.

D 170 - Handset

A doorphone handset shot in a DIY light tent made from a recipe found on the net.

Equipment

E-510 with both kit ZD- lens interchanged.
RAW heavily worked on in Lightroom.

What I learned

I bow before accomplished product photographers. I thought it was a no-brainer to make some clean and appealing product shots.

I was very wrong. Achieving a barely satisfying result was quite a hard work for me.

I didn't make it easy for myself and used only household and DIY equipment to make the photos. It took my well over 3 hours to make a makeshift photo tent and set it up under a lamp with extra bright bulb (do they still call that name those new fluorescent energy-saving things?) and than make the shots.

I approved 12 out of 42 photos, which all-in-all is quite a good ratio but on the flip side, I know that next time I could make the shots way better.

I wish I've had: black backdrop, dense fabric for tent walls (or a light tent), two or more lamps giving exactly the same light, a good tripod, external flash(-es) with a reflector or soft-box.

Additionally I must remember to compensate exposure bias when photographing white object on white backdrop. I had to brighten photos in Lightroom to a point when even ISO 100 gave away some noise.

D 149 - Flooded in Spring

One of new houses built in my neighborhood. It was built right next to a small park, opposite half-ruined buildings from Running Down the Gutter.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.
RAW edited in Lightroom: contrast, saturation, noise/sharpness and slight crop.

What I learned

Colors on rainy days have a particular quality, they seem brighter, more saturated because of the air having been cleared of dusts and because of contrast with blue-gray sky.

D 147 - Creepy Guards

Ivy planted at a poplar trunk.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.
RAW developed in Lightroom; corrected contrast, sharpness and added green b/w filter.

What I learned

The same story happened to me twice this weekend: I shot a frame, thought I could correct it and shot some more photos. Than while choosing which photos to post I went for the first attempts in both series. I liked them the most.

D 146 - Dandelions O.M.G.

I spotted this field while on a short bike trip, then I fetched my camera and went back to get the photo.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015 (a strange lens for such a shot, I know).
RAW file developed in Lightroom: red filter, stronger contrast, sharpening.

What I learned

I was without a tripod and day was rather cloudy, so at f/16 and 40mm (80mm after crop) I wasn't able to get this sharp as I went down to 1/6 exposure time. In effect, the trees on horizon and the rock and the first row of dandelions are slightly out of focus.
I do tend to neglect the fact how much longer I need to expose to get proper photos at small apertures. Tripod isn't that heavy, is it?

If I used wider lens, than the DOF would get bigger and the trees on horizon would become apparently smaller, but the rock would grow too big.

D 143 - Bird Receivers

The same location as the last time. There are patches of satellite dishes every few dozens meters on the backyard walls of the mansions.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.
Developed from RAW in Lightroom.

D 142 - Running Down the Gutter

A gutter and a walking path all-in-one. This is a place running 3 meters below street level just next to my block. It is situated between a row of mansions and a thin parked passage. The neighborhood is quite shady.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD4015.
Developed from RAW in Lightroom using Green color filter.

What I learned

This is a second photo for the last few days when I choose to brighten the leaves with a green filter effect. It takes the scene somewhat away from realism. But this is for the better.
I look at my photos and I must admit that the subjects which I chose are not extraordinary. They are mostly mundane objects and scenes. The only way I can make them into interesting photographs is to capture unusual lighting or perspective.
Filters are the third tool which can add "interestingness" to a photo. It changes the way light is present in the scene.