Better luck next time

May 30, 2008 3 Comments

Heh – I had been so good lately about planning ahead and recording my video podcasts ahead of schedule and just setting a publish time in WordPress, I got on an automatic pilot routine. When that routine got disrupted from some dental and sleep deprivation issues the other day, I didn’t realize until just a short time ago that the post for Friday had not been scheduled. Not only had it not been scheduled – it didn’t even get written yet!

So, a thousand pardons as I rush to get a somewhat photo-related post out before the end of the day. Since it is on short notice, I will simply relay a funny story that happened to me the other day as I was out walking the dog. I had taken the camera and flash with diffuser attached as the day was actually perfect for photography: late afternon, cloudy skies, and evenly light all around. So, I am bouncing along, trying different settings here and there with various subjects – a flower, a reflection in some water, and I have the bright idea to do a macro shot super close on a flower. But, instead of going wide open to get available light, I figured let’s try the flash here – so I pop the flash on, attach the diffuser and set it to ETTL. Then I dial the aperture down as far as I think it can go on the fill flash setting – f22! I pre-focused on the lower third of the frame, then set the focus to manual. Finally, I shifted the camera up just a smidge, knowing that the lower portion would be in focus and because of the f-stop, I would have a pretty solid dof throughout.

Well…there’s always something you forget, and in this instance, it was the ISO setting. You guessed it – 1600! ARGH! Well, I cleaned it up a little with NN after the fact, and yeah, it’s okay, but imagine how this shot would have been without the noise and tack sharp?

Floral Macro

So, it seems another one that got away from me! I think I am going to tape a label to the back of my LCD and write on it in big fat letters ISO! Long story short – always double check your settings, and always take a few shots. I only took the one, so it’s all I had to work from. Oh well…better luck next time! Hee’s your traditional WTD episode for Friday:

What the Duck

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Happy shooting and watch those apertures!

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Tags: , , , , , Flash, Friday Follies, Lighting, personal, potd
3 Comments to “Better luck next time”
  1. Angelo Jacinto says:

    That’s not too bad, though a lower ISO would’ve really helped the photo jump out a bit more. Yeah, that also happens to me more often than I’d like to remember . Hehehe :)

  2. Jason says:

    I think we’ve all fallen victim to it at least once Angelo…but this was a walk with the intent of shooting. It’s not like it was a potluck quick snap and then later “oh darn, I wish I would have checked ISO…” LOL – Oh well, as the post title said, better luck next time. Thanks for stopping in! :)

  3. [...] of Canon Blogger has a nice shot and reminds us to check our [...]

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