The Author – Bart Busschots
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Mar
29
Photo of the Week 58 – Connolly’s Folly at Dusk
Filed Under Photography on March 29, 2009 | 2 Comments
A somewhat controversial technique I’m very fond of is tonemapping single RAW files. Tonemapping is more normally applied to a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image generated by combining multiple shots of the same scene at different exposures. A RAW file contains much less information than an HDR image, but it still contains enough to allow tonemapping to bring out hidden detail quite effectively, though only to about plus or minus a stop and a half. I find this is a really effective way of processing sunset and dusk shots like this one.
I took this shot from just outside the derelict graveyard at Donaghmore next to Pike’s Bridge along the Royal Canal between Maynooth and Leixlip. The obelisk you can see against the dramatic dusk sky is the top of Connolly’s Folly.
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 55-200mm
- Exposure: 1/320 sec
- Focal Length: 75mm
- Focal Ratio: F4.5
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Post Processing: Single RAW file tonemapped with Photomatix Pro
Mar
22
Photo of the Week 57 – Hoverfly on Brambles
Filed Under Photography on March 22, 2009 | 2 Comments
This is one of many shots that I’ve taken while mountain biking along the towpath of the Royal Canal in and around Maynooth. This particular shot was taken between Pike’s Bridge and Deey Bridge (just outside the Intel plant in Leixlip). On this section the towpath is not paved in any way, there isn’t even a gravel path, it’s just a grassy trail. There’s a lot more nature to be seen along these un-developed stretches of the towpath, so I enjoy cycling here the most, even if that does mean getting muddy sometimes.
I’m not really sure exactly what insect this is, but I’m assuming it’s some species of Wasp (if anyone does know please post a comment). The flowers however I can identify, they’re Bramble/Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus agg.) blossoms.
Update: Tom Gleeson has identified the insect as a particular species of Hoverfly – Helophilus pendulus, thanks Tom!
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 55-200mm
- Exposure: 1/160 sec
- Focal Length: 200mm
- Focal Ratio: F20
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Bias: -0.67
Mar
1
Photo of the Week 54 – The Moon over Maynooth
Filed Under Photography on March 1, 2009 | 1 Comment
I fell in love with this shot the moment I saw it importing into iPhoto. I’m not even sure it’s technically a good photo, but I just love it.
I took this shot from St. Mary’s Square on the grounds of St. Patrick’s College (AKA the NUI Maynooth South Campus). For those of you who’ve visited the campus, that’s the square with the cool water garden in it next to the College chapel. I’ve always loved the architecture of the buildings around this square, and in particular these little sun-roofs. You have these little sunroofs on both St. Mary’s and St. Patrick’s House, but these ones are on St. Patrick’s House. It was quite hard to get this shot without getting a wet foot, but I eventually managed to line everything up correctly and get the shot, even if I was at quite a stretch.
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 55-200mm
- Exposure: 1/400 sec
- Focal Length: 200mm
- Focal Ratio: F22
- ISO: 800
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Bias: -0.76
Feb
18
Photo of the Week 52 – Fire & Ice
Filed Under Photography on February 18, 2009 | 5 Comments
It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing these weekly posts for a year now! I’m so glad this idea worked out, it’s really helped my keep blogging and keep taking photos.
This shot was taken in St. Joseph’s Square on the St. Patrick’s College Campus (AKA NUI Maynooth South Campus) in Maynooth, Ireland. It was taken later the same day as the photo I used for Photo of the Week 50. After it stopped snowing we got a really dramatic sunset over the freshly whitened landscape. It was an amazing sight to behold. The shot was taken from the middle of St. Joseph’s Square looking west towards St. Patrick’s House, and shows two of the campus’s best known landmarks, the President’s Arch (the door between the two towers), and the Gunne Chapel (AKA the College Chapel).
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 1/160 sec
- Focal Length: 18mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 800
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Processing: This image was generated from a single RAW file converted to a pseudo-HDR image and then tone-mapped with Photomatix Pro. You can see the un-tone-mapped version here.
Feb
11
Photo of the Week 51 – Marsh Willowherb
Filed Under Photography on February 11, 2009 | 2 Comments
I’m a little bit late again this week, though I’m a day less late than I was last week … so progress at least 🙂
Anyhow, the photo I’ve chosen for this week is one I shot last autumn along the towpath of the Royal Canal near Maynooth, or, to be more precise, between Pike’s Bridge and Deey Bridge. This is a closeup of a single Marsh Willowherb (Epilobium palustre) flower.
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 55-200mm
- Exposure: 1/200 sec
- Focal Length: 200mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 800
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Bias: -0.67
Jan
25
Photo of the Week 49 – Backlit Butterfly
Filed Under Photography on January 25, 2009 | 1 Comment
When I was starting photography my Dad gave me one very good piece of advice, keep the sun at your back! The vast majority of the time this is great advice, and I pass it on to beginners when they ask me for advice. However, like all guidelines in photography, breaking them intentionally in a thought-out way can lead to great shots. I’ve never really been great at shooting back-lit subjects, it just doesn’t work for me usually, but this shot is the exception.
I shot this back-lit Small White (Pieris rapae) butterfly in the Junior Gardens on the St. Patrick’s College Campus (AKA the NUI Maynooth South Campus) in Maynooth, Ireland.
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 55-200mm
- Exposure: 1/400 sec
- Focal Length: 200mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Bias: -0.67
Jan
11
Photo of the Week 47 – Into the Night
Filed Under Photography on January 11, 2009 | 3 Comments
As a friend of mine put it on Flickr, this photo combines my three nerdy hobbies, Astronomy, Photography, and trains. This is a 5 second exposure of a commuter train approaching Maynooth reflected in the waters of the Royal Canal in the late evening while Venus & the Moon shine over-head. This is a shot I’d tried before, and each time I learned a few more valuable lessons. So, although this is the result of a learning experience, I’m still shocked at how lucky I was to get everything to line up as well as it did. The train, the reflection, the silhouette of the tree, those things I could control, but the positions of the Moon and Venus, those were a pure bonus! Anyhow, if I had to pick my three best photos yet, this is one I’d definitely choose.
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 5 sec
- Focal Length: 18mm
- Focal Ratio: F5
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Manual
- Exposure Bias: -2.0
Jan
6
Photo of the Week 46 – A Winter Night in Maynooth
Filed Under Photography on January 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I shot this photo last December, but since it’s so insanely cold tonight I figured this would be an appropriate time to share it as a Photo of the Week. In summer this same grass is full of people sitting out enjoying the sun chatting or studying or playing Frisbee, but now, in winter, it’s pretty much deserted except for the occasional very determined dog-walker. This area of St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth is referred to as ‘the Graff’, and the building is St. Mary’s House. You can also see the spire of the college chapel, the Gunne Chapel, in the background.
This image is composed of four images separated by 1 stop combined into an HDR image and tone-mapped with Photomatix Pro.
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Focal Length: 18mm
- Focal Ratio: F3.5
- ISO: 400
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
Nov
28
Today’s Fire in NUI Maynooth
Filed Under Photography, 42 (Life the Universe & Everything) on November 28, 2008 | 2 Comments
One of the things I like about NUI Maynooth is that it’s the kind of place where very little excitement ever happens. You get the odd evacuation because some muppet with a JCB has hit a gas main but nothing ever blows up. Life as a member of staff or a student in NUIM is generally a pleasant, peaceful, and uneventful affair. Today however was a little more dramatic, though you wouldn’t think it by reading the official press release from the university:
A small fire occurred this morning in the student restaurant at the edge of the North campus of NUI Maynooth and has since been brought under control …
My definition of a small fire is dramatically different. Surely when you can see the plume of smoke from your office half a mile away and when a building is levelled it counts as more than a small fire?
Nov
23
Photo of the Week 40 – Making Hay
Filed Under Photography on November 23, 2008 | 2 Comments
I generally stick to traditional aspect ratios when processing my photos, usually 4:6 or square in fact, but from time to time I get all daring and go for an extreme crop, this is probably one of the most extreme crops I’ve ever done from a single image, but I have to say I like the results. Oh, and yes, I did have to wait a long time till the tractor spat out a bail of hay at exactly the right moment! I think I shot about 100 pictures that afternoon, and this is the only really good one from the lot.
For those of you interested in such things, here are the technical details of this shot:
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 55-200mm
- Exposure: 1/640 sec
- Focal Length: 130mm
- Focal Ratio: F5
- ISO: 400
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Compensation: -0.33