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Greg's Photos, Reports and creative thoughts

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Greg Sorenson
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Greg's Photos, Reports and creative thoughts

Post by Greg Sorenson »

Hello everyone,

Thought i'd start one of these. This thread will cover various aspects of my photography, including product reviews of my gear, tips that i have found helps, exhibitions and comps that i have entered. So in a nutshell i will cover everything from weather to architecture and all of the above. Always happy to answer questions too.

To kick things off, here is a sample of a backyard photography for a recent work shoot. You should see a couple of these images pop up in some advertising in SA Life magazine, Outdoor Design and Living and i think SA Gardens. I am employed by an architectural firm and part of my portfolio is to do the end product for each of our constructions. Always good fun, but it takes a fair bit of organisation, such as cleaning the space for the shoot, arranging furniture hire & other props etc, and hopefully the weather remaining good.

Image
Image
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Post by rikjpool »

I knew you were well off Greg! But wow!!! :stir: :hahohi:

Nah seriously nice shots. :) I love the clarity in your shots... the crispness, exposure, everything is always spot on. :)
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Post by brayden »

awesome stuff Greg! the place looks immaculate! Is that fake water that really looks real? :laughing:
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Post by Lily »

Funny, I can't remember you coming to my house and taking those photos :?:

:roffl: Yeah, ok, I'll keep dreaming lol. Wonderful shots, I'll look forward to reading more. Sounds like a great job you have there, lucky you! :)
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Post by Greg Sorenson »

You guys are funny:) Nah, i could never afford the work my company does for other people, i don't get paid enough, but my job does come with perks.


If you are ever shooting pools, real estate or architecture in general, got a tip:
Turn as many lights on as you can, and wait for 20 mins after sunset, and then shoot like mad! Of course you should get your shots worked out first,
makes it a little easier when you are running with a heavy tripod and gear. I'm usually stuffed after another 20mins but thankfully the best lighting
in the sky has gone. So in essence you can spend 3-4 hours of prep work just to shoot 20 mins. Also, the first 5 mins, shoot with a warming WB temp,
such as "cloudy" which really enhances the complementary contrast (opposite ends of the colour wheel ie orange vs blue) between the warm tungston
lights and the water, then switch to Auto which will usually go a cooler and will make a water lights go pop. There's a transitional phase in changing
the WB, but you eventually get the feel for it. Just to finish, turn off the pool pump and you'll get glass like reflections and makes pool tiles look like
a computer graphic as Brayden is suggesting. The same rule applies to lakes etc, i don't go out unless there is still air outside which has ben hard here
in Canberra with great sunsets, but too much disturbance on the water. I've been told that Autumn is magic with very still waters, so something to look
forward to.
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Post by AUSSKY »

Great pics!! and great tips - thanks for them - now I have to find water and try....I did a photo shoot in the unit in Bendigo and used the 'turn all the lights on' trick and that worked well..
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Greg Sorenson
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Post by Greg Sorenson »

It certainly does Jane. The other problem that is evolving is the use of LED lights, which i'm all for in terms of energy efficiency, but they can be dull at times and lack a real ambience.
I guess an even exposure is desired. It's a fine balance, esp in outdoor lighting with 'spot' lights, or feature lighting on a particular feature plant /tree/ ornament etc with highlight burnout. Sometimes it's
impossible to expose for all of the dynamic range in a single image without going the hdr direction (which i'm not a fan of), but what i have found is that 20 watt globes are better than 30 watts globes,
with less burn out. It's a minor thing, but can make all the difference.

If anyone is interested in architectural photography, take a little time a look through the real estate section atm. It's pretty much standard now that photographers are shooting during the previously described
time slot. Even better is when you have some light cloud, just enough to create some interest, but not block out those magnificent blues and turquoise that you get during twilight. I never shoot when the sky is black,
except for storms of course:)
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Post by Lily »

Since you haven't been into the "tell us about YOU!" thread (http://www.theaustralianweatherforum.co ... f=13&t=209 - *wags finger at Greg sternly* ;) :laughing: ), what do you actually DO, Greg? What's fills your days? You're a professional photographer? Sorry, I know others probably know all of this about you, but I'd love to hear a bit more :)
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Greg Sorenson
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Post by Greg Sorenson »

Went to Pebbly Beach over the long weekend. I finally got to use my new filters, even though out of the 3 days i had only one good sunrise to work with. (although the colour didn't last long).
Only had a quick glance so far at my images straight off the camera, and i'm pretty impressed by the outcomes. Here's just a quick sample of what 8 stops can do to slow down time:)

I used my 17 TSE Tilt Shift lens, with 2 grad filters stacked (1 x 4 stop Hard + 1 x 4 stop soft with horizons aligned). I believe iso setting was 50, f stop of 22, or aperture priority. Tripod.
Slight cropping in PS, no colour alteration, a little sharpening for web display.
Image

I will show a few more when i get to them later tonight.
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Post by Greg Sorenson »

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Greg Sorenson
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Post by Greg Sorenson »

Image
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Post by rikjpool »

Awesome Greg. I love those types of shots. Can never find anywhere like that around here to try any myself... haha
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Post by Greg Sorenson »

You'll have to get yourself down to the southern coast matey, loads of coast line to work with, in particular with your filter set up. Only prob will be an early start and it's winter soon, so waders is a must.
Tried it once with just wet shoes down at Pt.Cook and froze my arse off.
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Post by Greg Sorenson »

Hey John,

I recently purchase a 17mm Tilt Shift Lens. I know that Nikon is releasing a range of their own soon, if not already. Canon produces 17, 24, 45 and 90mm, and came in response to people struggling with vertical objects such as posts, lines of windows, anything really, in wide angle shots. Horizons arc, buildings lean back, funny things happen at the edges. I'd say 24mm and wider is where you start to see this unwanted effect. You can of course do some correction in PS, but that takes time and effort for what can be avoided by using a tilt shift.

Dp review has done an extensive review of my len's cousin the 24 TSE mkII and it explains the pros and cons of using a tilt shift lens. http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/can ... 5_tse_c10/

One of the cons is price; they are expensive! I bought mine from Hong Kong "Digital Rev" due to the strength of the Aussie dollar and saved about 500 at the time, but still i was pushing the mid 2000's. So it's not a cheap option for many, but you get what you pay for with build quality of an "L" series lens; amazing sharpness and colour rendition. I have doubtless confidence that Nikon will be just as expensive, but will probably be better than Canon's in the long run.

The major con with the 17mm TSE is that the front element (the front glass of a lens) protrudes a fair way out of the front of the lens. Infact, Canon didn't even bother putting a thread for circular filters because the front element stands so proud.

Having a 17mm lens comes with difficulties. Vignetting! Those unwanted objects towards the edge of the frame, such as a filter holder or a lens hood can bleed into the image when at the widest angle. In response to this i went for the largest sized filter holder and filters. So that they would clear the field of view, or be wider than the 17mm itself. Cokin is the company that makes the filter holders in 4 sizes, A, P, Z-PRO and X-PRO being the largest. I have the X-PRO holder & a universal adapter (because i have no thread to screw a filter ring into) that will sit on any lens up to 120ø. They make filters to hold these sizes, but quite frankly i'm not a fan with their filters. Here's the webpage if you scroll down it will show you the sizes: http://www.cokin.fr/ico15-A.html The best you can get is Singh Ray filters but once again come with a price tag. You can only buy them from the company direct: http://www.singh-ray.com/index.html. On their website they specify only up to the Z-PRO size but i asked them to make ones to the X-PRO size, which cost an extra 30 dollars or so each ND filter.

So the filters themselves used in the recent shots were Graduated ND (neutral density) filters and are great for balancing out the sky / landscape. The human eye can see about 12 levels of black, that is the dynamic range. The best cameras in the world can only see about 6-7. This leaves a big gap and is the reason why storm shots can be exposed usually for the cloud only, leaving a black silhouette landscape. esp in low light conditions such as sunset/ sunrises. So, graduated - meaning that they go from dark to clear from one end of the filter to the other, means that you balance out the difference. In these shots i worked out that there was about 2-6 stops of dynamic range on the top image that i had make up. Having the darkest part on the top of the images where the sky was lighter than the landscape meant that i got a balanced image exposure wise. The bonus is that the darker you go, the more light you shut down, the longer the exposure will be - hence more movement in the water captured. There is a fine balance of course, i like a little bit of movement without getting a white washy type of image - i like to capture the water spilling over with undulations. personal preference really.

When i get a chance i will show what my set up looks like so you can get a picture of what i'm talking about.

Here's a vid on you tube about ND filters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPcEezGP_Xc
Also, go down to Vanbar at Sth Melb or Carlton and ask them to show you the filter set up.

Hope this helps cause it is worth every bit of investment.
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Post by Karl Lijnders »

Stunning!!!
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Post by tizza »

Stunning, amazing, beautiful work. I so need to get off my butt and get a camera again. The photos in this forum are so inspirational.
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Post by Greg Sorenson »

I always use to love going to see photographic exhibitions in Melbourne, so many galleries support this medium. I strongly urge those who love photography to make sure you take the full advantage of what you have in your wonderful city. I dearly miss it, but i do have a few options here in Canberra.

In Melbourne i saw Frederick Murray's last exhibition, a wonderful landscape photographer that uses traditional 8" x 10" glass plates. Big old camera, with the most amazing clarity. I've used a 4" x 5" Linhof myself and it was so much fun to use.
Just recently i saw a documentary of Frederick called SALT on Artspace (ABC1), i got shivers. Some of the images that saw in Melb were in this doco. Unfortunately it wont be aired again, but you can watch it here:

http://www.abc.net.au/arts/stories/s2855662.htm

Murray Frederick's website: http://www.murrayfredericks.com.au/exhi ... e-eyre.asp....... but you really need to see his huge prints in a gallery, nothing like it.

Also, recently purchased the documentary WILDNESS, about Peter Dombrovskis (the best landscape photographer to ever live in Australia) and Olegas Truchanas his mentor. The most inspiring photography doco i have seen about the most influential landscape photographers in Aust history. I highly recommend that people get a hold of it.

http://www.filmaust.com.au/programs/def ... ay&sn=8571

Peter's website: http://www.peterdombrovskis.com/index.php
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Post by rikjpool »

Wow, thanks for those links Greg, some amazing work in there!!! :)
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Re: Greg's Photos, Reports and creative thoughts

Post by Greg Sorenson »

Haven't been on for a while, ben bloody busy of late. Working on a photography website that i hope will be up and running in a few weeks time.
Anywhoo, had some quick fire storms pop up yesterday avo, unexpected actually. I was out door as it was happening, and only just got up to my
fav lookout here. Great sunset too, back lighting the underbelly. Fairly active storm, small 2-3cm hail in sth central suburbs, plenty of trees with autumn leaves stripped, 20mm in 10mins, so good rain rates. Very close cg, could see the plasma, packed up the camera pretty quick smart.
Image

We had a line later on at around 8:30pm, but fizzled out on it's approach to Canberra. The Brindies have that affect i have found during night time episodes. Would have been better if i had been out west of wagga, but no real chance to do so.
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Re: Greg's Photos, Reports and creative thoughts

Post by rikjpool »

WOW!!! Thats a great shot Greg. Love it!! :)
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