Your Top 5 from 2015

[RobDickinson]

Nightmare said:

Rob....how much, er, cheating involved for those? Cheating probably isn't the word, but obvs you can't just snap those!!

By cheating you mean time effort skill gear and a bit of luck right?

[DibblyDobbler]

RobDickinson said:

DibblyDobbler said:

GetCarter said:

Just fab. Good work that man.

+1 That Robin is one of my top 5 of the year

Photography is a funny old thing isnt it. Its just a pic of a bird. Theres so many average or bad ones when someone nails it like that it really stands out, hits all my points that make a good photograph ( comp, light, timing, creativity).

I keep hoping if I take enough snaps it might happen to me

[2slo]

PBLP said:

Not seen these before, excellent quality

Nightmare said:

Fabulous kestrel shot!!

DibblyDobbler said:

RobDickinson said:

DibblyDobbler said:

GetCarter said:

Just fab. Good work that man.

+1 That Robin is one of my top 5 of the year

Photography is a funny old thing isnt it. Its just a pic of a bird. Theres so many average or bad ones when someone nails it like that it really stands out, hits all my points that make a good photograph ( comp, light, timing, creativity).

Thanks for all the positive comments fellas

DibblyDobbler said:

I keep hoping if I take enough snaps it might happen to me

Had away with yer man Remind me, what's the Flickr view count on that recent 'snap' of the botanical gardens you took? Almost 20k?

[Nightmare]

RobDickinson said:

By cheating you mean time effort skill gear and a bit of luck right?

Absolutely yeah - but how on earth can you take a photograph that comes out like Hidden Beauty? Sorry is meant to be a real question - it's amazing and looks like an impossible photo to me! I mean this in a totally complimentary way sir.

[RobDickinson]

Nightmare said:

Absolutely yeah - but how on earth can you take a photograph that comes out like Hidden Beauty? Sorry is meant to be a real question - it's amazing and looks like an impossible photo to me! I mean this in a totally complimentary way sir.

The astro stuff is pushing technology a bit. NZ has fantastic dark and clear skies, and is far south enough to get some aurora which helps. That photo is about 40-50 frames stitched together into a panorama, individual exposures are around iso 6400, 15 seconds, f2.5 or so, takes about 25min to shoot them all. Then its a simple job of stitching and processing.

[V8Wagon]

Not as fancy as most on here. This has been the first year I've got into taking photographs and posting them online and I've loved it. Thanks everyone, I love checking out your photo's and aspiring to capture something half as good!



Shapes In The Sand by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Pebbles on Hove beach by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Seven Sisters by André Jardinière, on Flickr


1959 Mercury Commuter by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Concentric Circles by André Jardinière, on Flickr

[jonny33]

My efforts don't come close to the quality of previous postings but I think it's a good way to document progress, so here goes. I think my photography has improved this year mostly due to taking the jump from kit lense to an L lense, also a month long trip to japan helped rekindle my intrest in the hobby.










C+C most welcome

[DibblyDobbler]

2slo said:

Had away with yer man Remind me, what's the Flickr view count on that recent 'snap' of the botanical gardens you took? Almost 20k?

Hah - look at how many albums Justin Beaver has sold

[DibblyDobbler]

V8Wagon said:

Not as fancy as most on here. This has been the first year I've got into taking photographs and posting them online and I've loved it. Thanks everyone, I love checking out your photo's and aspiring to capture something half as good!



Shapes In The Sand by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Pebbles on Hove beach by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Seven Sisters by André Jardinière, on Flickr


1959 Mercury Commuter by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Concentric Circles by André Jardinière, on Flickr

These are excellent André - way better than what I was producing in year 1!

[DibblyDobbler]

jonny33 said:

My efforts don't come close to the quality of previous postings but I think it's a good way to document progress, so here goes. I think my photography has improved this year mostly due to taking the jump from kit lense to an L lense, also a month long trip to japan helped rekindle my intrest in the hobby.










C+C most welcome

Nice work Jonny - nothing wrong with the images but strongly suggest you get a Flickr account as the thumbsnap compression is not doing them justice!

[Nightmare]

RobDickinson said:

By cheating you mean time effort skill gear and a bit of luck right?

Absolutely yeah - but how on earth can you take a photograph that comes out like Hidden Beauty? Sorry is meant to be a real question - it's amazing and looks like an impossible photo to me! I mean this in a totally complimentary way sir.

[Chris71]

DibblyDobbler said:

Hmm - well somebody has got to follow Rob and Baz, might as well be me! Great work gents

In chronological order.

1. Was in Venice earlier this year and wow what a place - photography heaven. Could have chosen all 5 from that trip but here's my favorite.


Grand Canal, Venice by Mike Smith, on Flickr
3. Bit of a fluke this one - right place at the right time. No filters, tripod etc so was balancing the camera on a wall and the sunset went mad for 10 minutes, great fun



Forth Bridges (Explored) by Mike Smith, on Flickr

Nice shots. Did you use HDR or any post-processing on those?

Always intrigued to see how people get these results. Maybe some of the experienced snappers on here could start a thread showcasing some of their shots and the techniques/settings used?

[MartinP]

Amazing photos!

Here are my fave 5 of the year, a mix of work and personal shots:

[Top Banana]

DibblyDobbler said:

V8Wagon said:

Not as fancy as most on here. This has been the first year I've got into taking photographs and posting them online and I've loved it. Thanks everyone, I love checking out your photo's and aspiring to capture something half as good!



Shapes In The Sand by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Pebbles on Hove beach by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Seven Sisters by André Jardinière, on Flickr


1959 Mercury Commuter by André Jardinière, on Flickr


Concentric Circles by André Jardinière, on Flickr

These are excellent André - way better than what I was producing in year 1!

I'll second this - seen some cracking shots from you on both here and flickr, Top work..

[DibblyDobbler]

Chris71 said:

DibblyDobbler said:

Hmm - well somebody has got to follow Rob and Baz, might as well be me! Great work gents

In chronological order.

1. Was in Venice earlier this year and wow what a place - photography heaven. Could have chosen all 5 from that trip but here's my favorite.


Grand Canal, Venice by Mike Smith, on Flickr
3. Bit of a fluke this one - right place at the right time. No filters, tripod etc so was balancing the camera on a wall and the sunset went mad for 10 minutes, great fun



Forth Bridges (Explored) by Mike Smith, on Flickr

Nice shots. Did you use HDR or any post-processing on those?

Always intrigued to see how people get these results. Maybe some of the experienced snappers on here could start a thread showcasing some of their shots and the techniques/settings used?

Well - it's a can of worms but here's my personal thinking. I use post processing on literally every shot so the shot answer is yes! I virtually always shoot in RAW so to get a viewable file you need to apply 'processing' so for me it's standard and not 'cheating' or whatever. It's personal preference of course but I read somewhere that the human eye can see 6 stops of dynamic range so even if you're only trying to recreate what the eye can see (rather than produce 'art' which is also valid) then you need to make adjustments to the raw data the camera captures. This has always been the case even before the electronic age with Photoshop and the like.

In the two shots above - the bridge I did very little to, maybe a bit of cropping and levelling, probably added contrast to give it a bit of punch, and maybe a wee bit of sharpening. This is about the minimum I would do to a shot.

The Venice shot was quite a tricky one so needed a lot. In summary I took a series of long exposure shots with the camera on a tripod then blended all the ones with nice light trails - overlaying them effectively to produce a composite. Then a lot of tidying up of messy areas in the water and sorting the verticals on the buildings. This one is definitely closer to the 'art' end of the spectrum.

Most of the guys who post on 'Random' are usually happy to explain so you or anybody else should feel free to ask

[PBLP]

A bit of a quiet year for me compared to previous years. First image has to be in my top 5, as I was lucky enough to get a commended, in this year’s Landscape photographer of the year.

LPOTY - commended by Paul Bullen, on Flickr

Morning Mist by Paul Bullen, on Flickr

Buttermere by Paul Bullen, on Flickr

Kelly Hall Sunset by Paul Bullen, on Flickr

Fletcher's Wood by Paul Bullen, on Flickr

[DibblyDobbler]

I'd love a 'quiet year' like that Mr B! The first one is just

[PBLP]

DibblyDobbler said:

I'd love a 'quiet year' like that Mr B! The first one is just

It was Mike, I usually have plenty to choose from, but I struggled picking a top 5.

[GFWilliams]

Wow, there are some really really talented Landscape photographers in here!

I've shot huge amounts this year, I'd say these are my favourite 5 although it's very difficult to decide:

[nellyleelephant]

Not been out as much as I would have liked this year due to a young son, but all in all, happy with 2015!
Every single one of these shots was taken with the same lens......I have too many lenses, maybe some streamlining required in 2016.

Ha, just noticed that they all have a right weighted composition, need to do something about that too in 2016!

Edited by nellyleelephant on Wednesday 30th December 17:35