The Stare

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I've read on several forums of "the Stare" a female characteristic stare meant to put down "Male oppositions"...
I really believe my sister's kitty has it.... lokk at this photo!!!

I swear not to have altered the eyes in any way... alla the PP was only to increase the contrast and add a little vignettin on the right side in order to focus viewer attention on the cat itstelf...

EXIF is still in the Photo that was "developed" with Bibblepro 4.10 and retouched with The GIMP under Linux

Main shooting information are:
Camera Model: Nikon D300
Date/Time: Wed, 24 December 2008 10:19:49 PM
ISO Speed Rating: 250
Aperture Value: f/5.0
Exposure Time: 1/240 sec.
Flash: Flash fired, compulsory flash mode, return light detected
Lens: AF-D 28-105,, 1;3.5 - 4.5

I would have wowed for shooting this with a SB-600 but I can't find any trace of it in the EXIF...

Enjoy the photo!

Sleeping Cat

During Christmas Holidays my sister has come back to our home... she carried on a little surprise...
A CAT!!!

Surely I knew that my sister had a new cat I was not expecting to see it...
It was a very small, good kitty it just had a very naughty stare!
Look at this photo...

It's exif reads:
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2008:12:24 22:24:31
Exposure Time: 1/249 sec.
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Flash Fired: Flash fired, compulsory flash mode, return light detected.
Exposure Program: Manual
Focal Length: 98.0 mm

To say it all this photo is not straight out of the camera but there's a little PP to enhance the eyes and to soften the tissue.. but nothing serious!!

Enjoy the Picture...

The Champagne Knight

When several people that you should consider at least a little bit off like me and my friends get togheter to party (a birthday party in this case)... uhmm we have laerned to wait for something unusual...

Last year one of us decided we could have abirthday party al together with his family, a luscious dinner I'll not speak of here^_^.

The dinner was going on well till we got to the champagne and after the ritual drink some of us started play with the wire that hold the cap of the bottle in place...

After a while we got a Knight with lance and shield... while I was searching for the camera the shield was lost to another statue... so I found only a shieldless knigh posing for me and my 18-200!^_^

This photo was sent to Fotolia as a Stock photo bu rejected so I feel is fair to post it here!

Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2008:02:24 00:25:18
Exposure Time: 1/3 sec.
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Flash Fired: Flash did not fire.
Focal Length: 44.0 mm

A Monument in Bologna

From the same research trip I've taken the attempt to HDR I've shot some other monuments that where in places of Bologna I've not been before as I was searching for the Business Adminsitration Department of the Alma Mater Studiorum (the Latin Name o the University of Bologna IIRC).

It was a sunny ad the end of June and I had my Nikon AF-S 18-200 f3.5-5.6 on... a perfect travel lens if used on a DX camera as the D300.

That was the second day of a nigthmerish travel (Broken Car, Costly Train, Wrong Hotel and Lost some of the opening gigs to the JP concert...) and I needed to relax so traveling around as a tourist instead as a scholar was a good way to restore my energies^_^

In order to shoot this photograph I've put a CPL on the lens (above the UV Filter I had always on at the time) and,after searching for a composition I liked more, I come up with a shot that needed some more cropping later (so I had not chosen wisely!)

Te exif reads:
Date Taken: 2008:06:30 14:01:18
Exposure Time: 1/249 sec.
Aperture Value: 6.00 EV (f/8.0)
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Focal Length: 24.0 mm
Software: Bibble 4.10.1

After this little while... enjoy the image^_^

Night in Naples

I really like this shot... maybe because it is the first one I've sold, or as it was the result of "just being there at the right moment"!... honestly I can't tell the real reason.

I was driving back home after a game night in Castellammare (30 km to Naples) and while I was looking an Naples' Gulf I've seen this shot... just had to lug off the camera bag from the car and shoot this (ok ok I needed 3 or 4 shots to have it as I liked it^_^
The shot was really like I wanted it so I've not needed to crop it!


Date: 31st of May 2008
Camera = Nikon D300
Focal length = 18mm
Lens = NIKON AF-S 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VR
Shutter Speed = 5 sec
Aperture = f/3.5
ISO = 200
Converted trough Raw-Therapee

An Attempt at an HDR image...

To say it all this is the third or the fourth attempt at this same image^_^

I feel I can get a good HDR from it...
Someone would call it a false HDR as I was using only a 14.bit image... I really disagree Asit clearly shows more DR than the original Image (there are 3 different "exposures" of the same image!)
So... here it is

The subject is P.zza Maggiore in Bologna... the statue you can see in the middle of hte Photo represents Neptune... enjoy^_^

Some Lessons from a Pro..

NO! This is not about Photo tips... it's more about "creating a cover".

I believe it is easier to show than to explain.

I was "hired for free" at the thesis discussion of Univeristy pal as a photographer for the session.
I felt really honored for the trust he had, and so I happily agreed on shooting the session (182 photos!)

[YEAH I know I've not published anything in several months... But my camera has not settled on a shelf collecting dust!]

So this post is about the real difference a professional (or serious amateur) editor can make on a photo^_^
I'm not talking about photoretouching (ok ok there a little of it there) the real focus is on the "Cover" composition...

Cover?

Yeah! cover!
I've created a blurb photobook of the session and I needed a "pro" cover... so I turned out to my dear sis in order to have some work...

Ok so before starting the usual information from Exif.
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon AF 50/1.4
ISO: 200
Aperture: f/1.4
Exposure: 1/25s

The real tricks behind this photo was to call my friend while the other were turned the other way toward the official photographer^_^




Obviously this photo was not "ready" for becoming a cover, moreover I did not tought it as a cover!
So I called for help and my dear sis come out with the following setup... just astonishing!



TO publish some more photos soon^_^