Wowza.
Winter around Alma
- Thread starter FundyBrian
- Start date
If I have the timeline correct, I was photographing this 20+ foot high snow pile the same day as GrouvyGoovy was photographing the pigeons in the park with bare ground and greenish looking grass. At the ski hill the snow base is between 4&5 feet.
Monday at Poley Mountain. Looking up the hill on the chairlift.
IPhone 6, AutoBracket. Cropped tighter afterwards.
IPhone 6, AutoBracket. Cropped tighter afterwards.
Setting up and controlling my GoPro camera with my iPhone 6. I made an elastic neck cord that attaches to my phone case so I'm not always afraid of dropping my iPhone from the chairlift or losing it while skiing.
In this case the camera is attached to a bracket on the front of my left ski. My iPhone mount is not rugged enough and the iPhone too heavy to actually ski with it attached to the ski but the GoPro was made for that sort of abuse.
Watching the camera dance about at the tip of my ski I wondered if any pictures would turn out at all. The shutter speed was typically close to 1/3000 so surprisingly few shots were spoiled due to camera vibration. More like camera thrashing.
The GoPro iPhone app makes it possible to accurately preview the shot and control the camera remotely via the GoPro's built-in wifi network.
In this case the camera is attached to a bracket on the front of my left ski. My iPhone mount is not rugged enough and the iPhone too heavy to actually ski with it attached to the ski but the GoPro was made for that sort of abuse.
Watching the camera dance about at the tip of my ski I wondered if any pictures would turn out at all. The shutter speed was typically close to 1/3000 so surprisingly few shots were spoiled due to camera vibration. More like camera thrashing.
The GoPro iPhone app makes it possible to accurately preview the shot and control the camera remotely via the GoPro's built-in wifi network.
If you think downhill skiing looks a bit scary to try as one is approaching 50, or whatever age, consider this. At the ski hill last time I met someone from Alma I had never expected to meet there - because I usually see her in a wheelchair!
She had never skied before, even before needing the wheelchair. I think that shows quite a bit of bravery as well as an adventurous spirit. Amazing!
She had never skied before, even before needing the wheelchair. I think that shows quite a bit of bravery as well as an adventurous spirit. Amazing!
So inspirational!!
You go girl!!!!
Brian, your photos are stunning. I really can't believe you have taken them with a mobile phone. Are you using the iPhone 6? Also I am very keen to get a good telephoto lens for mine. How are you finding the Moment lens. Your bird shot is awesome.
Thanks! Yes, the 6. I find I mostly shoot HDR to improve the tonal range. Highlights in particular are hard to preserve on a small sensor.
I tend to use the Moment wide angle lens more than the tele for landscapes but that is consistent with all my photography with other cameras.
Even with the tele you need to be very close to a bird to get a relatively full frame shot. For a small bird like a Chickadee that means within a metre and using maybe 2x zoom. The tele is equivalent to a 60mm lens on a 35mm camera. Not much more than a normal 50mm lens. It does help to eliminate the wide angle distortion when taking pictures of people. It also means you don't have to intrude into someone's personal space to get a full frame portrait.
There are optical limitations in designing a tele add-on lens for the relatively wide angle lenses on mobile devices. A common problem is soft focus around the edges of the picture. Most of the time a tele is used to isolate a subject from the background so in that case it doesn't show much. However if you photograph a flat subject such as a brick wall you notice the edge softness.
I think the Moment lenses are better than most others, but they cost a bit more, too. I found I could use the Moment lens adapter plate in my OtterBox commuter case with no problems. The Moment wide angle is one of the few that keep the horizon straight. Most are more like fisheye lenses in that the bend straight lines outwards, not much good for anything with straight lines.
What? No snow in the picture?
This is part of a ceramic water fountain sculpture in the middle of a vegetarian organic restaurant.
There are a series of hand made pottery leaves in a descending spiral pattern around a rectangular post (about 16 x 24"). Each leaf spills water into the one below. This view is somewhat of an abstraction rather than a descriptive view. I know the artist who made this sculpture as well as the decorative tiles surrounding the post. At the bottom are several tropical looking plants. I like the atmosphere it creates and, if possible, I like to sit at a table next to it.
This is part of a ceramic water fountain sculpture in the middle of a vegetarian organic restaurant.
There are a series of hand made pottery leaves in a descending spiral pattern around a rectangular post (about 16 x 24"). Each leaf spills water into the one below. This view is somewhat of an abstraction rather than a descriptive view. I know the artist who made this sculpture as well as the decorative tiles surrounding the post. At the bottom are several tropical looking plants. I like the atmosphere it creates and, if possible, I like to sit at a table next to it.
Here is another I shot today. This time I used a wifi remote camera app Camera Plus with AirSnap. I set up my iPhone 6 with Moment tele lens on a very tall tripod set about 12-14" from the branch. This picture is full frame, not cropped and not zoomed-in. It illustrates how close you have to be to a small bird to get a decent shot.
You can see the bottom branch is not quite in focus but the upper one is pretty good.
This bird on the upper branch is in better focus. Maybe next time I will try a +.5 close-up diopter on the lens.
With an app that allows manual focus the Moment tele lens will focus to about 10", but not closer.
Here's a cropped version of one of the Chickadee pictures and then run through TaDaaSLR to blur the background.
It's beautiful! I love the colors....
Old Man's Beard lichen detached from a tree branch by the wind and laying on the snow. In a vast area of white any detail stands out.
iPhone 6, True HDR.
This morning, after the snowstorm.
iPhone 6, TrueHDR.
This is a view from the carport, evaluating the shovelling to be done. Whew!
Later, we were cleared out and headed to town. As we drove we listened to the radio about power outages, accidents, road closures, etc. The road was already drifting in from the continued wind. Near white out conditions in exposed areas. Several places where the road was less than normal width. We turned around and went back home where it is nice and cozy.
iPhone 6, TrueHDR.
This is a view from the carport, evaluating the shovelling to be done. Whew!
Later, we were cleared out and headed to town. As we drove we listened to the radio about power outages, accidents, road closures, etc. The road was already drifting in from the continued wind. Near white out conditions in exposed areas. Several places where the road was less than normal width. We turned around and went back home where it is nice and cozy.
Excellent++ skiing today at Poley Mountain after the fresh snow. Parts of the road en route were less than 1 lane wide with enormous snow banks either side. Every time the wind blows it fills in with snow again.
iPhone 6 with Moment wide angle lens attached to my ski pole using part of the GoPro bike mount and a spring loaded mobile phone tripod mount. KitCamera app set on time lapse mode taking pictures every 2 seconds. Edited in the Photos app and Simply HDR. Note pockets full of photo stuff.
iPhone 6 with Moment wide angle lens attached to my ski pole using part of the GoPro bike mount and a spring loaded mobile phone tripod mount. KitCamera app set on time lapse mode taking pictures every 2 seconds. Edited in the Photos app and Simply HDR. Note pockets full of photo stuff.
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I promised some ski action shots and here they are.
iPhone 6 with Moment tele lens and PureShot in triple shot mode. Cropped about 30%.
Showing good form. cropped about 40%.
Snowboarder in action. Cropped about 50%
It was very hard to see the screen for these shots. I'm surprised they didn't require straightening.
I missed about 2 runs down the hill while standing around waiting for skiers to come by.
I wanted to try one of those multi-shot apps that make 30 frames/sec but it seems I deleted them all due to lack of use. Should have checked at home first.
iPhone 6 with Moment tele lens and PureShot in triple shot mode. Cropped about 30%.
Showing good form. cropped about 40%.
Snowboarder in action. Cropped about 50%
It was very hard to see the screen for these shots. I'm surprised they didn't require straightening.
I missed about 2 runs down the hill while standing around waiting for skiers to come by.
I wanted to try one of those multi-shot apps that make 30 frames/sec but it seems I deleted them all due to lack of use. Should have checked at home first.
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Excellent action shots Brian!
Up to their necks.
In the grown-in field below the house the tallest plants are about 4 feet high. Now only the tips of the tallest ones show at all.
After the last snowfall it is a featureless white expanse.
iPhone 6, TrueHDR, Photos app, Simply HDR, Kirakira Cam.
In the grown-in field below the house the tallest plants are about 4 feet high. Now only the tips of the tallest ones show at all.
After the last snowfall it is a featureless white expanse.
iPhone 6, TrueHDR, Photos app, Simply HDR, Kirakira Cam.
Wow! So there is 4-ish feet of snow below that plant?
Yup. More now since I can no longer see any plant tops. There's a drift about 6 feet high between the apple tree and rhubarb.
High tide at Alma Wharf today.
iPhone 6, AutoBracket, TrueHDR.
High tide at Alma Wharf.
iPhone 6, Moment tele lens, AutoBracket, TrueHDR.
First sign of spring.
Snow fleas. Actually they are springtails, but called snow fleas. They live in the soil and most of the time they remain unseen. When the sun begins to penetrate the snow on mild days we see hundreds or thousands of snow fleas on the surface of the snow facing the sun. They come up at mating time and then disappear for another year. Snow fleas are very tiny, about 1mm, and unless you know what you're looking at you might assume it is just some dirt blown on the snow. If you look closely you can see they aren't staying still but leaping suddenly, like grasshoppers, from place to place. They are completely harmless to people.
This picture was made at the closest focusing distance on my iPhone 6. I made many shots because it was very hard to tell if the subject was in focus. In the bright sun I couldn't see well enough to tell anything about the focus. Most were completely out of focus. The only way I got this shot in focus was by using the MultiCam app. It makes a while bunch of shots each at a different focus distance. Afterwards you can look through the shots and pick out the best one and save it to the camera roll.
I also tried the MultiFocus app but even though it made pictures and I saved them I have never found where they were saved.
Snow fleas. Actually they are springtails, but called snow fleas. They live in the soil and most of the time they remain unseen. When the sun begins to penetrate the snow on mild days we see hundreds or thousands of snow fleas on the surface of the snow facing the sun. They come up at mating time and then disappear for another year. Snow fleas are very tiny, about 1mm, and unless you know what you're looking at you might assume it is just some dirt blown on the snow. If you look closely you can see they aren't staying still but leaping suddenly, like grasshoppers, from place to place. They are completely harmless to people.
This picture was made at the closest focusing distance on my iPhone 6. I made many shots because it was very hard to tell if the subject was in focus. In the bright sun I couldn't see well enough to tell anything about the focus. Most were completely out of focus. The only way I got this shot in focus was by using the MultiCam app. It makes a while bunch of shots each at a different focus distance. Afterwards you can look through the shots and pick out the best one and save it to the camera roll.
I also tried the MultiFocus app but even though it made pictures and I saved them I have never found where they were saved.
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Huh! Who knew? I like their teeny antennas. 