Some pictures of the newly opened train station ...

[inanedirk]

View from the main entrance into the station hall ...


A broader view of the main entrance area ...


View from the main hall onto the platforms ...


The other platforms ...


This is what the train station looks like to an approaching train ...


Last one is my personal favourite of those pictures. ("View image" to see original size). For some reason I really like taking pictures of deserted places that you'd expect to be full of people ...

Comments

[oldgit.livejournal.com]

Really nice! Those are my sort of photos.

Can I be geeky?

What camera, settings, etc.

Sorry but I like to know these things!

[inane.livejournal.com]

I'll tell you if you tell me how you're doing photos like this one without using a tripod d;

The camera is my Canon Digital Ixus 500.
As to the first two pictures, I didn't use any special settings on the cam. Tungsten light, ISO set to auto, no flash (I think).

As to #3 and #4, there wasn't enough light, so first I tried with flash (who would've thought that those pictures with flash end up being darker?). Then I changed back to no flash and set the cam down on my tripod.

#5: tripod, no flash. 2 second self timer (whenever it's dark and I don't use flash, my camera warns to hold it very still to avoid shakey pictures, so I use self timer to avoid moving the cam slightly while triggering it) ...

without using a tripod

[oldgit.livejournal.com]

I cheat! Well, sometimes. If memory serves me correctly that was taken from a wooden bridge so I used the railing to steady my hands (I'll use anything available to try to steady the camera - railings, walls, lampposts, etc). Plus the lens is also fairly light. But if there is nothing around then it's just a case of breathing out (never in), relax, and gently squeeze.

Of course, having some kind of shake control also helps as it adds maybe a couple of stops. However, I still get a buzz when they are blur free, especially when using the telephoto at 300mm.

BTW at the risk of telling you something you already know, here is the reason the pics come out darker when using the flash.

Without flash the camera will try to set the speed/aperture to suit the available light. Thus the aperture is likely to be quite large and a slowish speed. And ocassionally camera will decide that there isn't enough light. So then you set the flash on and the camera will make some assumptions and will set a smaller aperture and/or a faster speed. So less light gets in and the picture is darker.

Generally speaking built-in flashes are only effective for a very short range. So when taking pics of large open areas (or bands at gigs when you are further back than the first couple of rows) the flash is basically useless! Just had a look at the specs and your flash has a maximum range of 3.5m

Sorry, I went all geeky.The really important thing is that with digital cameras you should have plenty of memory so that you can always try shots that "probably won't come out" because when hey do ...

Re: without using a tripod

[inane.livejournal.com]

I've tried the breathing thing in the past (reading lots of Clancy taught me how snipers do it d;), but that didn't really help much either. I'm totally incapable of holding still for even half a second. My cam doesn't have shake control either, and it's not exactly light anyway.

I've noticed in the past that the internal flash is pretty much useless for anything other than close-ups. Kinda makes sense too. It's just unfortunate that it gets a little difficult making pictures of wide areas in low light ...

Oh well, I'm making it a habit of taking my tripod everywhere I go. It's not a proper big one anyway, just a very small one that you can also clamp to stuff.

And as to memory ... 2GB mem card, and I always have a spare battery pack with me too, so I always spend a lot of time trying to find the best settings and position etc ... d: