Sunday, May 11, 2008

Flare is a disadvantage?

But first the Big News: VallyP and I have made a tiny little ditty for Dale, to celebrate the friendship we feel for her. It is appropriately called 'No Substitute for Dale'.


At the beginning of April VallyP gave me a very impressive wide angle zoomlens for my photo camera. Reading the user reports I noticed lots of praise except its tendency to show flare when pointing at backlit subjects.
For those who have no idea what lens flare is, I have taken this picture in very a very extreme backlit situation. In fact the sun shone almost straight into the lens.
Here it is.
Who's afraid of lens flare
View large version
This reminds me of the good old principle that a disadvantage is only that if you forget to turn it into an advantage. I think this photo looks stunning thanks to this so-called lens fault.

Sometimes a picture I have taken surprises me in spite of the very clear feedback that a digital camera has to offer.
This one had a dreamy quality that I hadn't really noticed at the moment of shooting. In fact to me it looks more like a painting by Carel Willink than a photo.
I sent a little thank you to up the authority in charge and here it is for all to see.
Standing guard
View large version

If you want to see more of my recent photos why not follow the link below.
Koos_Fernhout's Photos on Flickriver
Or the photos most highly rated by users of Flickr.com: Koos_Fernhout's Most Interesting Photos on Flickriver

9 comments:

Vallypee said...

When it comes to your photos, Koosje, there are no disadvantages.

And if anyone's interested, I've just compiled a collection of Koos's Belgian landscape photos into a book. I hope this might do something to bring his beautiful photography to a wider audience. I'll be putting a link to it on my own blog as soon as I've seen a first copy, so watch out for it!

Dale said...

Now that's art!

Dale said...

I'll be watching for it, Val.

Dale said...

Val and Koos, you are the best!

Thanks! You've made my day.

My e-mail is a bit messed up. The address on my profile is correct. It might say it went to my old address, but pay it no mind. I will get it.

Thanks again!

Love
Dale

Dale said...

You are also very talented.

:)

Anne-Marie said...

Hi Koos,
I loved flipping through the pictures. Amazing how tightly the graves are in the communal cemetery. Having just finished a school unit on bridges, I was impressed at how quickly I could identify trusses from arches. I learned a lot giving out those projects. :)

I'm so glad you've got a book out! It will make great summer viewing.

xx
AM

gypsy noir said...

I love your Dale ditty Val and Koos!!, it's so Dale..

and the pictures you gave me the link to are stunning!..I also love that effect on the first picture here so vibrant!

MargieCM said...

Well Koos, presonally I think you could take a great picture with a box brownie, but there's no getting away from the fact that good equipment gives you more to play with. I love the fact that you see magic where others see a flaw. That first picture is almost fluorescent - I think the effect is abstract and beautiful.

And speaking of landscapes, (Vally was), your gift for capturing the beauty in unusual places is very special. The photo with the ploughed furrows ... wow. It's about the line, the texture, the colour, the light. I'm supposed to be in bed, but I must come back and have a better look at the rest of your recent collection when I have more time. I look forward to being able to buy your book! (And I still haven't returned the one I borrowed - bad girl).

Koos F said...

Lovely comments one after the other, and what can I add to them? Well, how about a BIG thank you.

It seems I have now found a way to make posting less of a big job (Blogger combined with Flickr and Picasa), so if I have my way the Blogging frequency can go up, because there is so much on this hard disk of mine that wants to be shared with my friends.