Playing around with the phone

[Alien8n]

Firstly a big thanks to VenomVindicta for showing me this site :)

I haven't really played around with photography for years (not since school really) but have always looked out for nice shots. Unfortunately I've been a bit unlucky when it comes to cameras, I have a habit of losing them so I got myself a decent camera phone as a stopgap (SE K800). The only thing I've done with these is resize them so you'll have to forgive any newbie errors.

1. A good friend of mine, she's mad on leopard print so imagine my surprise when I met her for the first time in a pub with a leopard print pool table

http://www.alien8n.net/karler.jpg

2. Sunset at the back of my house. I was hoping for a darker foreground but it gives a good idea of what the area's like. I've missed some fantastic sunsets though so hopefully I'll be able to get some better ones soon.

http://www.alien8n.net/sunset.jpg

3. Difficult choice, but I'll put up the shot of the old canal near where I live.

http://www.alien8n.net/canal.jpg

4. Last one for now. Difficult choice, but I want to save some for later :p A foggy morning where I work. There were some better shots available but I don't think people would appreciate me stopping in the middle of the main road on a foggy morning just to take photos, lol

http://www.alien8n.net/fog.jpg

[purplerose]

Pretty nice. :) Keep playing around. I hope you're able to get your hands on a camera soon. :)

[samsite999]

hi

Im sam, a old hand here with sadly not enoth time to post as much as id like to.
first off. never blame your equipment. its a tool at the end of the day. wile it will make your like most certonly easyer to have the correct equipment, the correct equipment cant mask some one who cant take photos (this isnt directed at you before you jump to conclusions, its a statment)
over all i think that you need to focus some of your compisitions and take more time in thinking wha tyou want to actauly acheve when you taking the photo. The first and last are probably the best of the set, i love people shots and i love landscapes
the main issue with 3 is the simple fact that its a realy buisy photo and im not sure what to look at or how you want me to enjoy your photo

hope that helps?

Sam Oliver

[Alien8n]

Cheers Sam,

Don't worry I won't jump to any conclusions. I actually like my camera phone, I do get some good shots off it but I agree that the equipment can mask some errors. The main reason I want a proper camera though is that the camera phone is limited in it's use, I can't use it for really close macro or long distance zoom photography, things I'd like to try. But it is good for what it does, takes pictures of what is in front of me :)

I agree 3 is a very busy photo however it's an area that has some memories and I like the way it draws your eye to the bend at the end of the canal. Just a shame it's covered in weed, lol

I'll try and get some more up soon with different styles, but at the end of the day each shot is really just me thinking "that looks kinda cool, I'll take a picture of that".

hi

Im sam, a old hand here with sadly not enoth time to post as much as id like to.
first off. never blame your equipment. its a tool at the end of the day. wile it will make your like most certonly easyer to have the correct equipment, the correct equipment cant mask some one who cant take photos (this isnt directed at you before you jump to conclusions, its a statment)
over all i think that you need to focus some of your compisitions and take more time in thinking wha tyou want to actauly acheve when you taking the photo. The first and last are probably the best of the set, i love people shots and i love landscapes
the main issue with 3 is the simple fact that its a realy buisy photo and im not sure what to look at or how you want me to enjoy your photo

hope that helps?

Sam Oliver

[Alien8n]

I've actually got another 6 pics I want to post up so I'll do them 3 at a time.

1. I took a couple of shots of my lawn one morning, this is the one I liked the most. I just like the way the sun had only melted half the frost away :)

http://www.alien8n.net/frost.jpg

2. One of two shots I took of some strange ice formations left by shrinking puddles in a field where I went for a walk. I'll post the other later. The ice was left sort of hanging in the air, gave a very weird effect.

http://www.alien8n.net/ice.jpg

3. I've always liked the way the sun shines through trees :)

http://www.alien8n.net/treelight.jpg

[darkchild]

I really like the sun shining through the trees. Very beautiful. I really hope you get a camera soon and not lose it:) Keep on shooting!

[Alien8n]

I really like the sun shining through the trees. Very beautiful. I really hope you get a camera soon and not lose it:) Keep on shooting!
Well if I get the camera I have in mind it'll need a rucksack to carry all the bits. A bit harder to lose, lol

The advantage of my job is I can afford expensive toys twice a year (gotta love bonuses).

[Alien8n]

Last 3 for now till I can take some more photos.

1. Another ice feature.
http://www.alien8n.net/ice2.jpg

2. Don't ask me why but the industrial estate near me has a plane at the entrance. This was a silhouette shot I tried.
http://www.alien8n.net/plane.jpg

3. The spring blossom on the trees near where I work. Apparently there's a nesting pair of hawks nearby so I'll try and take some shots of them when I get a decent camera.
http://www.alien8n.net/blossom.jpg

[VenomVindicta]

I like the plane one the best out of those last 3 (:

and ive always wanted to take a photo of partly frosted grass like theone you did

now i'll have to find another way to shoot it. damn :P

Keep going (:

[Nike]

Wow, great fotos for a mobile phone! I couldn't do that with ine (my phone cam is very, very blurry).

I like the first two pictures a lot - and the plane siluette...

I think the spring blossoms could use more contrast - and maybe also try to shoot from a different angle.

[Alien8n]

Thanks Nike, it's the SE K800, probably the best sub 5mp camera phone there is.

Not much I could do with the angle on the blossom photo, and I'm at the mercy of the phone for the rest. But glad you like them so far.

Can't wait to get a decent camera and see what I can really do :)

Oh well, only 6 months till next bonus, lol

[Alien8n]

I decided to test the macro function on the camera phone today. Was quite pleased with the results. Here's the best of today's shots...

1. Spring is here. Must be, the daffodils are out...
http://www.alien8n.net/daff.jpg

2. In the middle of nowhere a solitary purple flower...
http://www.alien8n.net/purple.jpg

3. A most charming fellow, stayed still long enough to get a close up...
http://www.alien8n.net/bee.jpg

4. Don't go down there Alice...
http://www.alien8n.net/hole.jpg

5. Looks sharp!!!
http://www.alien8n.net/spiky.jpg

[VenomVindicta]

Aha. I chose these last ones (:

I still like the hole one the best really does draw you in, and gives you something to think about :)

[darkchild]

That purple flower is very nice! Yes, I definitely can't wait to see what you can do with a better camera!

[Alien8n]

The rest of the best of yesterday's photos :)

1. I took 2 shots of this bit of moss, I thought the first one wasn't that good, but it actually came out okay. This was the second shot.
http://www.alien8n.net/moss.jpg

2. A piece of wood that had turned into quite an interesting shape.
http://www.alien8n.net/wood.jpg

3. Again I ended up taking several shots here. I liked this one best though.
http://www.alien8n.net/blossoms.jpg

4. Found a tree with pink blossom on it. Actually only took one shot, I liked it straight away so didn't bother going for another shot.
http://www.alien8n.net/pink.jpg

5. This is where Friday's photography adventure took place. Clear signs of rabbits everywhere, but the only wildlife I saw was plenty of bees, lol
http://www.alien8n.net/field.jpg

[Alien8n]

Strange night last night....

Started with a walk into town where I saw this couple making love in an alleyway....

http://www.alien8n.net/frogs.jpg

Spent the night in a club in Oxford, no idea who this guy is but he was probably the coolest dressed person in the club

http://www.alien8n.net/cool.jpg

Finally at nearly 4 in the morning it was chucking it down so much the drainpipes at the local shops were overflowing. Made for a nice action shot :)

http://www.alien8n.net/water.jpg

[VenomVindicta]

Aha.
Frog pr0n :O D:

That last one is really nice

[Ment]

I like the last one most, it has a mysterious look.

The person in the club isn't sharp and has red eyes, I don't know if you have a software program to remove the red color?

The frogs at work are nice, good composition. The whites in this photo are a little overblown and take most attention away from the real subject ;)

[Alien8n]

For the purposes of this thread I'm just posting the raw files, the only thing I've done is resized them :)

tbh these are just shots off my camera phone, I'm hoping to get a decent camera later in the year at which point I'll also start editing them in photoshop.

[Alien8n]

Some shots from yesterday. I heard there was an old WW2 pillbox near where I worked so I went looking for it. Sorry there's so many in one post but they go together...


http://www.alien8n.net/pill2.jpg

http://www.alien8n.net/pill3.jpg

http://www.alien8n.net/pill4.jpg

http://www.alien8n.net/pill5.jpg

http://www.alien8n.net/pill6.jpg

http://www.alien8n.net/pill7.jpg

http://www.alien8n.net/pill8.jpg

[darkchild]

The interior shots are kind of creepy. Reminds me of the first Blair Witch movie.... *shivers* Creepy.

[Alien8n]

Cheers, I actually have some more shots to upload later, just need to get around to doing it, lol

And 4 days off work, may take a trip up Dragon Hill this weekend and do some landscapes :)

[Alien8n]

Well we had some interesting cloud cover so decided to go up to the White Horse Hill for some landscape shots. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was more cloud than sun so photography was limited, but I still took a few. Didn't get to walk down to Dragon Hill as it started raining after a short while. Very cold, very windy. Will try again at a later date when it's a bit warmer...

1 On the way, a long shot over to the hill.
http://www.alien8n.net/land1.jpg

2 The white horse, pretty much maxing out the zoom capability on the camera.
http://www.alien8n.net/land2.jpg

3 The view from the hill.
http://www.alien8n.net/land3.jpg

4 Dragon Hill on the right.
http://www.alien8n.net/land4.jpg

5 A solitary tree on the hill.
http://www.alien8n.net/land5.jpg

6 Same tree, different angle.
http://www.alien8n.net/land6.jpg

[VenomVindicta]

I like the last of the pillbox photos the best, i just have a thing for walls with single windows.. >.> You'll see when i post up todays photos.

#3 of the last batch is so symettrical, looks almost unnaturall.. but then it probably is.

Nice shots Alien, keeeep shooting (:

[Alien8n]

tbh the hill is actualy an old iron age fort so it probably is more than a bit manmade. However it's several thousand years old so we'll forgive that, lol

[purplerose]

Nice composition in #6.

[Alien8n]

Thanks purplerose

Only 3 today, a shot from last week and a couple of experiments from this morning. Red food dye and daffodils :)

1
http://www.alien8n.net/daff1.jpg

2
http://www.alien8n.net/daff2.jpg

3
http://www.alien8n.net/daff3.jpg

[Alien8n]

Had another attempt at the coloured daffodil and took a shot of my eye for the fun of it. Comments appreciated as always :)

1
http://www.alien8n.net/daff5.jpg

2
http://www.alien8n.net/eye.jpg

[darkchild]

For a camera phone it takes rather good macros.

[Alien8n]

For a camera phone it takes rather good macros.
Yeah, it's not too bad, it is still limited though. the eye shot needed to be zoomed about half way which starts cutting into digital zoom. But it will focus quite well at about 2 or 3 inches. The only problem is the habit of locking the focus on surroundings rather than what you're atually trying to photograph (ie. the bee above). Think I've got that bit cracked now though :)

[VenomVindicta]

Lol. Why did i get some strange urge to grab my mascara? O.o

Your eyes are pretty (:

[Alien8n]

Okay, not posted any shots up for a while, partly due to problems at work (looks like I'll be out of work in just over a week).

Not to mind, gives me more time to practise my photography, but does mean the new camera is on hold indefinitely :(

Good job the phone takes such good pics really...

No particular order, but I will put my favourite one first...

1. I like this shot most, mainly due to the mix of light and shadow. That and the fact it came out so clear :)
http://www.alien8n.net/brook2.jpg

2. Same brook, different angle
http://www.alien8n.net/brook.jpg

3. Keeping the day's shots together, I decided to see how well the phone would handle sky on it's own.
http://www.alien8n.net/sky.jpg

4. Okay, some nature shots next. All of a sudden we're seeing loads of ladybirds everywhere.
http://www.alien8n.net/ladybirds.jpg

5. Took a load of tree shots, but liked this one best, mainly due to the fact it was the only one taken in sunlight. Sometimes I can hate British weather...
http://www.alien8n.net/bark.jpg

6. Similar theme, but taken looking up the inside of a pine tree :)
http://www.alien8n.net/pine2.jpg

7. Needless to say there were plenty of cones lying around.
http://www.alien8n.net/pine.jpg

8. Signs of spring everywhere.
http://www.alien8n.net/red.jpg

9. Sunlight on wet grass. Okay, it's some small blue flowers, but they were wet and the sun was shining :)
http://www.alien8n.net/flowers.jpg

10. We finally got my friend's dog to sit still...
http://www.alien8n.net/star.jpg

11. I was messing around at work, amazed at how hard it is to take a photo of a CD and get the rainbow effect without the reflection of all the lights...
http://www.alien8n.net/cd.jpg

[VenomVindicta]

10 could do with a good crop tbf.

Erm,, Others look good though in general.

ill agree with you on #1 though, my favourite of this batch too :)

Nice work. x

V

[Alien8n]

Okay, for a change I decided to edit a photo, so took the original and turned it black and white. Decided not to edit the 2nd shot.

1. The original shot in colour, unedited
http://www.alien8n.net/church1.jpg

2. The edited black and white version. I adjusted the contrast as well.
http://www.alien8n.net/church1bw.jpg

3. The 2nd shot I took. I don't know why, I just didn't think it would look as good in black and white.
http://www.alien8n.net/church2.jpg

[VenomVindicta]

Oooh, definitely looks creepier on the edit, nice work.

i think i'd crop out the tree on the left on the 2nd one,

Nice shots (:

Hopefully getting some batteries for my camera tomorrowr.

echargable ones :D

[Alien8n]

Believe it or not I took that shot and deliberately made sure the tree was in the picture. I just thought it added an extra bit to the pic, lol

[Alien8n]

Okay, went to pick eldest up from school and saw a few macro opportunities. So here we go...

1. Okay, I'll admit the ladybird didn't start out on the flower, but I thought it would look nicer there and it was very ameniable to being moved.
http://www.alien8n.net/ladybird1.jpg

2. Not quite what I was after, but to be honest I think if I'd tried to move that ladybird again it probably would have flown away, lol
http://www.alien8n.net/ladybird2.jpg

3. Plenty of bees around.
http://www.alien8n.net/bee1.jpg

4. I tried to see how good a shot I could get with a little zoom. I'm actually pleased with this one, it came out really well.
http://www.alien8n.net/bee2.jpg

5. I wasn't sure about this one, I thought it might have been a little blurred (it wasn't as it happened)
http://www.alien8n.net/snail1.jpg

6. So I took another shot. I think I actually prefer the first one, lol
http://www.alien8n.net/snail2.jpg



7. Just to test exactly how good the original was I cropped it. :)
http://www.alien8n.net/beecrop.jpg

[VenomVindicta]

Oi bint, you need to update >:|

So do i.. but my cameras bust so i can't help it >.<

Yeah, update (:

Kaythxbai.

[Ment]

First, I really like your edited version of the church, it gives a creepy feeling to the whole photo.

In all of your bee photo's, the bee doesn't stand out from the background. While you are editing now, you could add some more contrast to the bee to attract more attention.
The snails have both a quite central composition, a little to the left or right makes it more interesting.
Last but not least, From your ladybird photo's I like the second best.