First photo with the 5DII

Ok obviously this is not the first SHOT!

it's the first photo I've took with the Idea of taking something good!

This is a Pano made of several photos (8 IIRC) with the Canon 17-40 f/4.0 L...

That is an amazing lens!! Awesome!!

This shot is the third re-post processing try^_^ The first one had a wrong PoV chosen in Hugin; The second was too less contrasty... so I went back in Bibble and re-developed the shots, later I's increased saturation, joined the shots in Hugin and, to end it alla added some vignetting in the shot as I liked it most^_^

The EXIF reads:

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Date Taken: 2009:08:08 09:31:37

NO other data? that's strange O_o

Have a Good Light

Naples By Night - NTL Second Shot

After having taken a shot in the day... how could I not take another during the night?

So I took my Benro tripod to the balcony and framed this shot trough Live View.

Ok.. honestly I took several shots (6 or seven of them^_^) and took the one I liked the most^_^

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Date Taken: 2010:07:26 03:54:46

Exposure Time: 30 sec.

Aperture Value: 6.00 EV (f/8.0)

ISO Speed Rating: 100

Focal Length: 75.0 mm

Have a Good Light

Naples by Day - New Tamron Lens First Shot

The first shot I took with the new lens I got this July has been taken from my balcony as I liked the light that very same day I shot from my balcony ^_^.

There's not rally much to say... it the shot right out of the camera (Ok ok it has been cropped for the web!).

Exif Reads:
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Date Taken: 2010:07:26 02:40:16
Exposure Time: 1/320 sec.
Aperture Value: 5.38 EV (f/6.4)
ISO Speed Rating: 100
Focal Length: 75.0 mm
Software: f-spot version 0.6.1.5

Date taken... there's something wrong here they cannot be the 02:40:16... it was afternoon!!

Have a Good Light

Panorama from Gentiles' Wedding

This is one of the most worked on photo I've EVER taken EVER!!!

I was at the wedding of a friend as a guest and decided to take a shot of the night pano from the restaurant...

IT WAS f*ing difficult...

I was with a D300 and the AF-S 18-200 f3.5-5.6... I was unsure if I could crank ISOs too high and there were no place were the lean or were to rest the camera in order to frame the shot as I liked!

I took maybe 30 different takes of this same shot and each time I had to chimp at 100% zoom in order to comprehend if the shot was blurred... in the end I decided to go with an higher ISO and later clean the photo in Noise Ninja... after that I cropped the photo in order to have a 2:1 aspect ratio... and It was not enough.. I had to print it 2 times as the printer get several "banding lines" on the print (obviously as it was not my fault I had not to pay twice for it^_^).

In the version of the shot I have here there's not info in the EXIF so just enjoy the photo -_^.

Have a Good Light!

AIDEA Giovani - 2

This is the second shot (the one I prefer^_^)

This time I got an EXIF at least^_^
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2009:02:21 16:44:07
Exposure Time: 1/1000 sec.
Aperture Value: 6.00 EV (f/8.0)
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Focal Length: 105.0 mm

Have a Good Light!

AIDEA Giovani 1

These are two shot made on Commission for AIDEA (Associazione Italiana Dottori in Economia Aziendale) Giovani.

They were to have a conference in my university and asked me for something "Naples" to use as a banner on the conference poster...

I proposed to shot something for them and  I got out to shoot something classic "Vesuvio" the sleeping volcano near Naples... I proprosed two different shots...
I really prefer the second one... it has stunning details and a broader perspective you can fall into... but they chose the first one.

Both shots were taken with the Nikkor AF-D 28-105 f3.5-4.5 an astounding lens I was lucky to get cheap^_^.

Postprocessing them was easy than before as I used Hugin^_^ After joining the shots I just used some filters to enhance colors and contrast and make them more post-card like^_^

I do not know why but I have no EXIF embedded in this shot... :(

Have a Good Light

Naples like Tokio...

... or maybe are just the clouds^_^

I know the fuji is far different but that was my idea at the time... so sue me^_^

This is a simpe shot taken with my old Canon PowerShot A630 I was looking at the old photo's archives and this shot captured my attention^_^.

Exif reads:

Camera Model: Canon PowerShot A630

Date Taken: 2007:10:07 06:06:35

Exposure Time: 1/250 sec.

Aperture Value: 6.00 EV (f/8.0)

Focal Length: 29.2 mm

Have a Good Light!

Mergellina

I believe it was July when I decided one morning to take my cheap tripod, and go haveing some photo fun at the first rays of light....

That morning I took several shots of boats, ships, seagulls BIF.. and tried my hand (and the tripod) to a Pano... it has been one of my favorite shots ever since!

It's a huge pano made of 5 shots (or maybe six) taken with the AF-D 50mm f1/1.4 and composed togheter BY HAND in GIMP... FAR MORE DIFFICULT than I tought it would have been

I needed the whole morning (5 or 6 hours!) just to align them correctly... luckily the AF-D 50 mm f1/1.4 has not that much distortion to correct^_^

This panorama is high 2532 pixel... so in the original there's far more detail than in this scaled down version^_^

PhD

This shot was taken and thought with the help by a colleague Daniele Russo (he is the man in the photo!)

The Idea was to give the viewer the essence of the PhD Student...
We're not saying that we are used to xerox things... but that we are ready for unusual chores at unusual time of the day...

In particular IIRC this was taken AFTER we got a session of exams in Economia e Gestione delle Imprese (Business Administration).

We have toyed for sometime with several WB setting to end with the following ones.

Exif Reads:
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2009:02:12 20:22:45
Exposure Time: 6 sec.
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Focal Length: 40.0 mm
Software: Bibble 5 Preview

Have a Good Light!

Capomiseno

This shot is the last I've taken in that same afternoon.

It is a sights from a sightseeing near Monte di procida.

These are the beaches of Capomiseno (near Naples). 

In the summer they are used by several hundreds thousands of locals to go at seaside (mainly families and youngsters).

Some months later I've discovered another photographer on the same photo forum I write sometimes on have taken a photo on the same spot.

To say it all it is my favorite shot of the day AFTER the Italsider one.

EXIF Reads:

Camera Model: NIKON D300

Date Taken: 2009:04:13 16:43:15

Exposure Time: 1/400 sec.

ISO Speed Rating: 200

Focal Length: 28.0 mm

Have a Good Light

Fazzo's Scape

This is hte shot designed by Fazzo...
It's a good one for me... the three is used as a frame and  recall the horizontal line of the wharf...

I was in error THIS is the second shot the previous one was the third.

EXIF reads:
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2009:04:13 15:30:17
Exposure Time: 1/250 sec.
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Focal Length: 60.0 mm
Software: f-spot version 0.6.1.4

Have a Good Light

Maietta's Wharf

The second keepr of the day was from a sightseeing over Pozzuoli.
This is the Maietta's Wharf a place where the largest Naples yachts can moor.
This is private and not public so it is fairly expensive too!!


Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2009:04:13 17:38:35
Exposure Time: 1/1000 sec.
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Focal Length: 70.0 mm
Software: BibblePro 4.10

Have a Good Light

Urban industrial decadence

It was the monday after easter... usually you go to have a great picninc somwhere but that day my friend Enzo and me didn't had anywhere to go... so in the middle afternoon we decided to go on a photo trip...

The first stop was for a pano from Via M. Caravaggio... but nothing has come out of that... the second one... was at the old industrial site: ItalSider!

They are demolishing the industrial complex to create something more turistim-oriented.... maybe my grandsons and grandoughters will see it...

So here the first the few shots we've taken in this trip...

A side note... while we were taking this shot... we've met il Fazzo (another friend of mine) and he has decided to come along (he's the designer of one of the shots!)

EXIF Reads
Camera: Nikon D300
Date: 13th April 2009
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/1000 sec
Focal Lenght: 40mm
Software: Gimp 2.6.1

Have a good light!

There's still hope

Ok... I usually see things in my photos many other pepole doesn't see... but I think this is an exception as several persons share my own reading of it^_^.

Ok so this leads me to change the usual order... first I'll show you the photo and after it I'll briefly give you some info on it...

Here it comes...

The exif is:
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2009:01:31 15:55:11
Exposure Time: 1/80 sec.
Aperture Value: 4.97 EV (f/5.6)
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Flash Fired: Flash did not fire.
Exposure Program: Manual
Focal Length: 300.0 mm

This title givew away my own reading of the shot. The fisherman looking in the sky at the tip of the fishing rod hoping to see it move revealing the catch of a tasty treat... so here it is... it not too far off a normal reading and I think there's a clear message in it...

Have a good light!

When the fish doesn't get the bait.... (Color)

As already said this is the same exposure as before just with a color post-processing

When the fish doesn't get the bait....

In the same day of the previous photo I shoot another fisherman... it seemed more "sad" as he usually looked bown on hte waters near the shoreline...

I recall easily the shooting conditions of these few photos (there are 2 shots and three images from this same man^_^) as I was stopped by the Carabinieri as I was shooting near U.S. Ambassy in Naples.

This same shot has been post-produced in b/W and in Color (next photo on this blog) as I'm still today unsure on what I like best (troublesome to be me!!).

P.S. This was shot with the SIGMA 70-300... not the best glass in the world but still plenty useful!!

Exif Reads:
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2009:01:31 15:49:43
Exposure Time: 1/400 sec.
Aperture Value: 6.00 EV (f/8.0)
ISO Speed Rating: 200

Red Sky, Black Castle

Ok this is the last shot from the previous series... this last three shots were all taken in the same morning only a few minutes from the other two.

IIRC this was the first one... I was going for a classic photo... the silhouette!

But a single silhouette is a boring one... moreover is a flat photo... I needed something to create a sensation of depth...

The main subject was the Castel Dell'Ovo A monument in Naples linked to an ancient myth... The depth was provided by the boat in the lower right...

I'm happy of this shot as it has come out exactly as I figured it out^_^

The right exposure

This is not one of my best shots... meybe it can be considered one of my worst!
But I keep looking at it as it is one that has teached me something...

This shot has been made several minutes before the previous one... and it is the best of three or four try!!
The contrast in the image forced me to choose or a washed sky or silhouetted boats!

With the same lights only a couple of minutes later... I shot the photo from the previous post... and that has a good exposure... why? as I turned my back at the rising sun! (there's another thing I could have done as I'll show you in the next post).

Exif reads:

P.s. I've already scheduled the next post before leaving...

The Regatta

This is the last of the photos taken to sailboats in regatta or training for them (they are an easy subject here in naples).

It has been taken only some minutes after the first two (IIRC obviously as we're speaking about something from more than a year ago!).

I used the Sigma 70-300 APO as for all the others... but I've cropped the image a little in order to get a stronger composition.

Exif Reads

Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2009:02:21 16:22:12
Exposure Time: 1/1250 sec.
Aperture Value: 4.97 EV (f/5.6)
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Flash Fired: Flash did not fire.
Exposure Program: Manual
Focal Length: 300.0 mm
Software: Bibble 4.10.1

P.s. With this post I'll try the "Write Now, Post Automatically later approach". If it goes well you'll have the chance to read it on Wednesday!

First post of 2010

I've still to take any photo in the 2010 as I'm working on refining a research text...

But I've still plenty of photos from the last 2 years to upload^_^
So... why not to start the new year with a street photo? a photo bombing done to me (not by me!)

I was taking the photo of our P.zza del Plebiscito new decoration the phrase "Love Difference" writtin in many languages (there are several I do not know).

I put the camer on a street light (the base not the top) and choose a 1 second exposure... While I was shooting a man walked to the center of the frame (while texting!) and stood there for a little (2-3 seconds) b4 going away...

Near perfect center! [you can see the whole picture without the man at http://sightsandlights.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html

Exif tells me:
Aperture: f/22
Shutter Speed: 1 sec.
Focal length on lens: 20mm
ISO: 640
Camera: Nikon D300
Date: 04 Jan 2008
Time: 09:54 PM


P.S. If I had to reshoot this photo today it would ave been a little different... it's good to see my old photos knowing I can do a lot better than that. It tells me I've still much to learn