Oslo from Above

Norway is sort of closed from Wednesday through Monday for the Easter Holiday. But I have a friend who  worked overtime in an empty office. And she let me come for a visit with my camera.

Tourist in my home town

Sometimes all it takes is to put on my "tourist glasses" to spot a "new" location.

This type of architectural image I find adifficult to keep free of barrel distortion and converging verticals.
The filter I use in Photoshop is Filter -> Distort -> Lens Correction.

Blue Sky

Winter brings amazing sunsets. Clear skies also bring cold days, like the -10 C below outside as I write this :-)

This is an other shot from the rampant of Akershus Fortress in Oslo.

The composition rule called "Rule of thirds" is about drawing two vertical lines and two horisontal lines across the image, making 9 equal rectangles. According to this rule you would typically have the dark foreground here covering 1/3 of the height of the image. The people would be placed in the left intersection, and the tree in the right intersection.

In some images this rule is broken on purpose, and show only a small foreground like the black area in the image above. If there is enough detail in the sky it makes up for the "mistake".

Here of course you could argue that along with the dark area of the sky it actually covers a third of the height anyway. :-)

Another Tram

It was snowing in Oslo on monday night - which inspired me to browse through some earlier winter shots. This image is taken with slow shutter speed - I think it was 1/25 seconds - while I was panning the moving tram with the camera. The slow shutter speed and the wet March snow accounted for the snow "stripes".

I discovered last winter that these "snow stripes" were easier to capture if you have the wind coming in from the side. Instead of having your back against the wind.  I usually bring an umbrella and carry a back-pack, and place the handle of the umbrella under the shoulder strap of the backpack, to have both arms free.

Silhouettes in the Sunset

This time of year the sun rises at approximately nine in the morning and sets at three. We only have six hours of daylight now. This also implies that the sun sets in a completely different place than in the summer.

From Oslo Town Hall you can view the sunset on a clear day like today.

In the first image the camera is on ground level. The sea is not visible. The second image is taken from a higher level and you can see the ferry arriving from Nesodden across the Oslo Fjord.

In addition I have tweaked the white balance.

Tram trip through Oslo

The first image shows the tram I am sitting on, reflected in the front window of the bus behind it.

The second image is taken at a slow shutter speed as the tram turns, so only the couple to the right is sharp.

The third image is a baby on a passing tram. I saw the scene come up and couldn't think of an other option but to switch to auto, to manage to capture the scene before it disappeared.

A night at the Opera

A preview from my new series.

The Brain is Alone

A band that had a concert in Oslo tonight has a song called Hjernen er alene, which literally means The brain is alone. I asked the people who set up the light for this dog - if it was for some reason? The lady explained that the dog was called The Brain. And was the dog of the lead singer in the band. I guess I should have known.

Akershus fortress - the rampant

I selected a"Sunny" white balance to get the crisp clear blue. Also remember to set the focus point on the silhouettes and underexpose by 1-2 stops, to ensure that you get sharp silhouettes and avoid a burnt-out sky.

For the second-to-last shot I have converted to b/wh and then tinted the image.

The last one is only converted to s/wh. Simon was my model here and since the picture is taken from a lower level I asked him to come a bit closer so that I actually could see his legs.

Oooooh.... Imbalance!

I'll admit, this is a picture I am a bit reluctant to show you but it helps pointing out the one single composition rule that is most important to me.
The rule of compositional balance. To me, there are two objects with weight in this picture. The first is the three soldiers. The second is the drainpipe. Can you see how it creates imbalance to have them both on the same side of the picture?

Fun in Photoshop

This image was shot on the marble bridge over to the Oslo Opera, just after sunset.

Motion Blur

Sports pictures are often taken with a fast shutter speed of, say, 1/1000 seconds to freeze the action. This is what will happen if you use the Sports Mode on your camera.

An alternative is to use a slow shutter speed and to follow the moving person or object with the camera. This is calle panning.

Set your camera to Shutter Priority (Tv) and 1/30 second. Choose a single focus point and place it on the head of the subject. Also select a muliple shots setting, and AI Servo so that the camera will refocus for each shot.

Place your feet in the same direction as the object is headed, turn back towards the subject. Pin your elbows to your body and fire away. Concentrate on fixating the focus point on the persons head while you turn.

Cyclists are easier objects for practicing than for example a jogger, as the cyclist only have movement in one direction.
If it is difficult for the camera to refocus you could alternatively choose a point where you know your object will pass, and then switch to manual mode.

Sunset at Akershus Fortress

This type of shot you achieve by exposing for the sky. Underexpose by 1-2 stops and check your histogram. Use only one focus point and it must be set on the people to get a sharp silhouette. A low camera angle is important - here I was on my knees in the mud.

The streets of Oslo

Another reflection shot with the dolls inside the shop and a woman passing by behind me. For this to work there has to be an even amount of light on the dolls and the person passing by.

"Jump!" discussed in podcast

My favourite photography author is creating a series of 20 podcasts. In episode 14 he discusses my picture "Jump!".

The picture is taken on the roof of the new operahouse in Oslo. The sun comes in from the side, which is why the two shadows to the left are almost mirror images of the two jumpers.

I underexposed to get the silhouettes and to make sure the wall was not "burnt out".

All Within the Frame Podcasts

Car hood reflection

An early sunny morning after a rainy night. Reflections generally work better when what is reflected is lit up by the sun. In this case the low sun lights up the building.

What I like about this shot is that in addition to the car and the building, there is a third "level", namely the water droplets.

Reflections are often best if the focus is set on the reflection and not on the object where it is reflected. Use one focus point. Do not leave the responsibility for focusing to the camera, that is your job.

See more pictures from the Hus og Bolig competition. 4.200 photos were entered into the competition. 100 was picked out for the final round. After the Gold, silver and Bronze awards, 15 images got a honorable Mention and this image was amongst them. On the list I counted at least four names from Oslo Kamera Klubb!

The "Vika Boy" got a silver award

This is from Vika in Oslo, where some scenes from the film Max Manus was filmed. The story is from the war years 1940-45. I think the background with the truck and bicycles adds to the war time mood.

A smoke machine had been used, which made the background more diffused.

I added a sepia treatment in photoshop using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

Tick Colorize, then set Hue to 35 og Saturation to 20.

I received a Silver Award in the digital class in the spring competition 2009 of the Norwegian Photographic Society (NSFF) with this picture.

1029 pictures were entered, by 156 amateur photographers and 26 clubs.

But there was more:

Highly Commended (Hederlig Omtale):

JUMP! (Hopp!)

Accepted (Antatt):

SPRAY PAINTING (Spraymaling)

ON THE TRAM (På trikken)

AUTUMN OF LIFE (Livets Høst)

Especially pleased since this was the first time I entered in the competition. I got no 6 in Norway!

See all the competition pictures on Flickr.
See the result list at NSFF.

A snowy evening

This is another example of how your choice of white balance can add to the mood of an image. The snow in the foreground is more blue than white. "Correcting" the white balance would completely have ruined the mood in this image.

The colour of light

During the winter months it is dark when I come home from work, but I still love to go out and make use of available light.
Light comes in many colours. When the light comes from different sources, with differen colour temperatures I usually shoot in Raw. In this picture the street lamp that lit up the snow had yellow light.
Back on my PC I selected a white balance by clicking on the snow, and then the blue light from the building in the back of the picture became very distinct.

Spray Painting

The temperature in Oslo is below the freezing point through most of January. Sometimes this playground is generously transformed into an ice skating range.

The reflection is only there as long as the water is actually wet. As the water freezes, the reflection disappears.

The building across the square is reflected in the water, luckily made possible by the rising sun lighting up the building across the square.

Compositionwise I wanted the man to balance the reflection, so I waited until he was in place in the bottom right corner.

The post processing in Photoshop is mainly Saturation, and sharpening with the High Pass filter.

Remember to resize pictures to your print or presentation size before sharpening.