~ Castle(berry) Grounds ~
Welcome to another visually extended post! I decided to save the third post of the last round of photos for another time since this one has so many mushrooms too.
Here, are some shots from a walk i went on over the weekend. I hope you like them. I did include some shots that i normally wouldn't have in order to give you a couple of tips.
Within walking distance from where i am now there is a cool place called Teleborgs Slott or Teleborg Castle. You can read a bit more about the history and such at that link if you like.
It's a really cool place to go and walk around... so we did. This day was a very overcast and chilly day, so I must say the lighting was not good for the majority of this walk.
I don't usually try to shoot the castle when i am there because i can really feel and see the restraints of what i want to achieve compared to what my camera is capable of. Either way, it's great practice to get the most out of a limited tool.
I titled this section Castle(berry) Grounds because of those last two shots. My name is Castleberry and we don't see too many castles back in Texas and in order to get the shot i had to lay on the ground on my back and click the shot upside down pointing the camera backwards.
Those last two shots are the exact same image. The one upside down is the original orientation and the first one was the rotated version. So technically, Castleberry was on the ground on and of the Castle Grounds.
I tried to progressively get closer but approaching from the same angle to give the appearance of zooming in.
My eyes are meticulous when it comes to alignments and perspectives. I always try to consider this when i am framing a shot. Where is the horizon? What is parallel to the horizon? What is vertical compared to the horizon and how does that align with other vertical objects in the shot?
When curating this awesome Photography Lovers Community, there is nothing worse than a crooked horizon or ground level being not level to ruin a great photograph.
Look at the triple arch at the very top of this next shot. Look at the balcony above the arches lining up precisely with the edge of the photo.
This is a skill that takes time and the eye to develop... not to mention more patience than most people have. It's well worth the effort to hone as a skill though. However, it is most challenging with architecture in my opinion.
When our lenses are round... straight lines won't all be straight. So, you have to find a spot to anchor your alignments to. For example, in the next two shots which are virtually the exact same shot... the only difference is where the orientation was.
If you look closely at the wood door under the stairs you will see the bottom of the photo aligns parallel to the bottom of the door. Unfortunately, the stone lines at the bottom right are now not parallel with the bottom of the image. The outline edge of the corner tower is pretty vertically straight though.
Now, compare all of those same things to this picture below. The stones are lined up but the door bottom is not. The corner tower even looks like the leaning Tower of Pisa.
Not everything will always line up but being able to see how and when and why they will or will not line up is a crucial skill to learn in framing the best shots you can. Out of those two castle shots... the first one looks much better overall in my opinion.
This next image is a great example of when to make sacrifices in framing to focus on what you want to emphasize. I wanted the lion's paw at the bottom right to stand on the bottom of the photo. However, to achieve that shot i had to compromise the angles of the castle in the background.
~ Room for Shrooms ~
So, it had just rained the day before we went on this walk (which is good for shrooms) and there are many lakes around here with surrounding forests and footpaths. This castle has one of those lakes and some forests right next to it with plenty of shrooms.
Sometimes you can see the glitter effect some of these shrooms give off and sometimes you can't. Usually, it's because they are wet or have such a fine fuzz or skin on the cap it shines. I find it very similar to flower petals. I hope to get better at capturing this photographically.
More faces... (i left some out for the sake of brevity)
Texture...
Some glistening snail or slug snot. If you look at the far left where the snot connects to the bark... it's transparent. Now, if you look in that same spot in the second shot, it has become translucent and you can see the sheen. Unfortunately, i couldn't get the color or the glitter effect very well.
~ Staying Focused ~
Sometimes i can't tell if the shot was in focus or not, due to the digital nature of things and the angles i have to shoot at for these macros, until after i come home and go over the captures. And sometimes this can be a cool thing or you can miss some great opportunities because you only took one or two snaps and moved on.
The next three shots are an interesting progression. The first one has the focus on the moss behind the mushroom. So, the shroom in the foreground and background are totally out of focus and the moss in the middle is super focused and crisp.
The second is getting the shroom more in focus and the some of the moss is good... but overall it's a meh photo. If i cropped it in tight and had that one lonely moss sprig that is in focus as the main focal point then perhaps this could be an intersting shot.
The third shot has the mushroom and the moss in focus and overall it's a much better shot. I wouldn't have gotten the good one if i didn't take multiple shots from different angles.
Sometimes, the best shots are more based on your focus as a photographer than the focus settings on your camera. I think many folks miss their best shots now because they are too much in a hurry to get to their next shot.
This next one was a first for me. It was yellow and fuzzy on the ruffled edges... but a dark red brownish juicy fleshy-looking inner area. Because of the green cast in the forest and the overcast lighting i didn't really capture the color as well as i would have liked but check it out.
This next one looked frosted and super cool. You can also see some Finger Mushrooms holding a leaf where the frosted one connects to the bark of the tree.
This next one was super strange-looking too. I was told it's a type of coral fungus but i don't know. That pine cone was tiny too. This was just like one tiny looking tuft of yellow fluff growing on the cone and bark.
~ Anthropomorphic ~
Seeing faces or mouths or other parts of the body when looking at mushrooms is interesting to me. Kind of like seeing things in the clouds. Sometimes i would like to know what you see when you look at some of these shots... and sometimes i probably wouldn't like to know.
Blue turtle shell from Mario....?
The light was literally glowing through those eyes and mouth...
...
The Three Amigos...
~ Home Stretch ~
So, towards the end of our walk i saw a giant knocked over puffball mushroom that shoots out spores. They don't have a stalk but are just bulbs on the ground. This one wasn't ready to spew forth it's spores and i felt bad it got separated from it's mycelial network.
You can actually see some of the mycelium still attached. There were others near by so i didn't feel too bad.
That leaf is cool looking.
The sun did come out a little towards the end.
The irony of a fungus eating a fungus.
This next one was in the hollow of a big stump. This was the only good shot i got because it was so dark inside the stump and i don't like using the flash when i shoot macro. That shroom is probably the size of your pinky nail.
This next one was just growing sideways out of a hole in the side of a tree pretty far off the ground.
Everytime i see red... i always look to see if it's the Super Mario Mushroom.
It wasn't looking like i was going to see any on this trip. If i did see some they would probably be all mangled or decrepit.
~ Final Fungus ~
But alas, at the literal last leg of the walk and in the least suspected place i found a few! I found some next to the sidewalk and a few other grassy areas on the local university campus.
They were lone beauties standing tall with wonderful structure and very interesting characteristics.
A few of them were more and less red than others.
This next one reminds me of a person for some weird reason.
These next two shots are probably two of my favorites out of the whole day's collection.
I thought those red ones would be my final fungi to find but they weren't. Right at the end of the row next the sidewalk in one of the last patches of grass there was this fella which is probably a poisonous Panther Cap.
~ Final Thought ~
My first final thought (that's an oxymoron) is that i am glad you made it this far... rather you are still reading or just looking by now. I have really appreciated the comments and support on the last few posts i made. Thank you for taking the time to comment and see what there is to see. I do hope those tips made sense and are helpful to some of our fellow photographers here!
My last final thought is that i would like to know which of the castle shots you liked the most or least and which of the fungus shots you liked the most or least. Thanks again for stopping by and i hope that you all have the best week ever!
I am sorry I missed this one while it was still under the 7 day timeline for upvote. I am impressed! The architectural shots with the finer points of alignments, all in-camera, are something else. I just shoot wildly and then try to fix stuff in Photoshop with alignment and lens-distortion tools. But it certainly is better to not be sloppy aligning the shot in the first place.
This is a keeper, though my reaction is late, I reblogged it anyway.
Hope I catch your next one in a more timely manner!
No worries, i am just glad you liked the post and the content within. With all there is to see here and all of it being on a timetable... it's EASY to miss good stuff... so please don't think of it. Thank you too by the way! You would be even more impressed if you knew how shitty my camera is! hahaha
I learned long ago that the better you get the shot originally the less work there is to do in the editing process. I learned that the hard way! Thanks again for stopping by and taking the time to comment. It means a lot! Cheers
That is another way to do an upvote: via comment!
As for camera: I have 5 by now (that I still use), but I find the large ones too cumbersome to lug around and use them only on special occasions. I got a Canon Powershot TX1, which was introduced in 2007 and after that, disappeared from the market. I was intrigued by the unusual design and function, and my spouse got it for me as a birthday present. I used it off and on, but at one time some years ago the focus was not working anymore, but instead of tossing it out, I kept it around. At that time I was already in Austria, and tried to take it to a Canon shop, but they said I would have to send it to Canon in the US to have it fixed, they cannot do it here in Vienna. One time last year I fired it up again, and to my surprise, it worked perfectly again!
So now I carry it with me (220 grams) when I don't want the bulk of my Canon EOS 30D (700 grams body only!). I had a couple of small Nikon pocket cameras also that worked reasonably well, but didn't last long since I am rather rough handling, and they are just cheap plastic.
For zoom function, I do like the Canon PowerShot SX540 HS I bought 2 years ago (it was on sale, much cheaper than the MSRP). It is my choice to lug with me on a photo safari: much lighter than the other DSLR's I got.
But it is not all about Megapixels: what counts more is the lens. My two large DSLR's have 8MP only, but the images are superior, so I use them mostly for taking photos of my artwork.
Cheers 🍺
Yes, i just found out that comments are a post of their own with the same 7day payout window... even when commented on old posts that have paid out already. That was nice to discover... and thanks again for the support.
Those are some cool cameras and i know what you mean about the bulk. I have never really cared for the side grip design of the digital cameras... but maybe it's because of my lack of experience with them. You are going to get a laugh at the two cameras i use. Unfortunately, i have a scratch on the lens of my Canon which i preferred and it obfuscates especially in macro shooting. I mostly use my Nikkon now. Here are the links to check my specs!
Canon PowerShot SD1100
Nikkon COOLPIX S4300
That's super cool that yours still functioned after so long. Time to make an old thing new again... and they definitely don't make them like they used to.
Not laughing at all at the cameras you use - the Canon Powershot SD1100 is from the same family as my TX1, and your Nikkon Coolpix S4300 is the next generation of the Nikon Coolpix S3200 I used for several years until I broke it by dropping it while it was turned on (can't remember what happened to the first one). It made some good images, and I even used it recording some of my artwork, as you can see in this here on Flickr: ENTWOOD - NOT JUST ANOTHER PRETTY LANDSCAPE - zoom in and see the quality of the image! I actually was looking for a replacement, since I had, as mentioned, two of them before, and at the times I bought them, they came with spare batteries, so now I have batteries galore, but not the camera to fit.
My other "ancient" camera is a Samsung Pro 815 which I also use on occasional photo safaris - I bought it when it came out in 2005. It still works great. It survived some grueling Canadian Winters, outdoor shots at well below -25°C: EXAMPLE.
Man, you have some great photos... and you already know great artwork as well. Those were some really good quality images and the details were even better when zoomed in.
That frozen landscape looked really crisp and was well composed. I know i had to continually put my cameras in my pockets to keep them warm when not in use when i would take photos in Sweden during their winter.... though i don't think we ever got quite down to -25°C. Sometimes i thought i was going to lose my clicking finger or two... but i am probably just embellishing how cold it felt. You probably could have at those temps! ahhahah
Glad to hear that my stuff isn't as outdated as i thought. I bought the Canon PS for myself as a Christmas present in 2012 if i remember correctly. My sister gave me her Nikkon when she upgraded... so i have been pretty fortunate.
One day it would be cool to take rewards from some photography posts and buy some upgraded equipment. Until then... i will make do. Thanks for all the interaction lately. It's always a real joy and pleasure connecting with you. I did see that Giger influence in some of those Flickr arts!
About Sweden: when I was a kid, I read books about south-sea islands, pearl diving and adventures. I always wanted to go there. Instead, in my late teens I went to Sweden and lived there for almost 5 years, and subsequently Canada for the better part of my life. Going north, instead of south. Taking leave of Canadian Winters only occasionally to fly to Hawaii the odd January, for a quick warm-up for a week or two.
Worse, for the most part in Canada, I worked for the railway, the last 20 years in the mechanical department, mostly outdoors, and in Winter, we had often derailments we had to go to attend to.
Scenes like this I was used to - got snowed in quite often:
OMGGGGG such pretty pictures!!
I'd like to learn composition like you. What would you recommend?
This one was my absolute favorite, especially the colors. So inspiring!
Thank you again for the engagement and your kind words. This was a good shot for a few reasons... but that ivy turning red was superb. For me, the composition is really important. The frame would be all you can see in your image and the composition would be how it's all arranged in your frame.
So, i guess my tip would be to imagine what you want to see and how you want to see it before you take the shot. I tend to think of how i can do less cropping and editing my making my composition more efficient. Rather than cropping off dead space around the edges... just shoot where what you want is framed to the edge.
There are professional tips or rules like the rule of thirds and other elements that lead to more interesting photos. Don't put the subject directly in the middle of the shot or frame. Compose it so that it's off-center just a bit. In the first or last third area of the image.
Headroom is pretty important and leading. Headroom is exactly what it sounds like... space around the head. Some folks don't allow much room and it can make the image feel cramped. Headroom gives some space for the imagination to guess what is out of frame and of interest to the subject.
Here is an example of not enough headroom for the lion...
Leading is where things lead the eye in and out of the photo. So, having interesting colors or shapes in the corners or edges can give more interest to the main subject as the eye is roving around the image to see what the focal point is.
Here is an example of leading and headroom. What is that lion looking at and how does the staircase direct your eye... to the lion or back out of the frame where it started from?
That last one would have been more successful if the lion was in better focus like the staircase but composition-wise it's an example of both elements. Leading is also leaving extra space or giving extra space. Think about trying to hunt a moving target. You lead your camera in this case ahead of the subject to be in the proper position in advance. If you apply that same logic to photographing... you can create the effect of motion for still things or make things in motion look still etc.
I hope that made sense. I am sure there are better explanations and technical terms... hahaha
How magical is this post!! You were very creative both to take the inverted photo and to make the wordplay for the title hahaha.
Thanks for the alignment tips <3 Really appreciated.
Here is my fav photo of the castle (it was hard to choose, tho)
And this one is my fav from the fungus because it makes me feel sooo small... like I'm now a Gnome and I live somehow inside that strong fancy mushroom! hahaha
Thanks for sharing!
those shots you picked are really straight out of fantasy! that shroom is asdasdoaijsdasd awesome woot
Thank you for your kind words! I am glad you appreciated the word play too. That inverted shot was super fun to take. I am also glad the alignment tips helped you out a bit too. That castle one you chose was one of the more creative angles of the staircase.
I think the mushroom shot you chose is also my favorite one too. I always feel small when i am shooting the shrooms. I guess i wished i lived down in there and i try to imagine being that small and what it would all look like.
Thanks for taking time to check out, read, and respond to the post. I am glad you chose to share which were your favorites of the ones i asked for! It's funny, some think of living in the castle and others think about living in the mushrooms. hahaha =)
beautiful photographs friend, I liked the castle a lot, and there is a great variety of mushrooms, thanks for the photographic advice ... are you sure you were taking photos or were you looking for the smurfs? hahaha congratulations
Thanks for your appreciation and kind words! I most definitely was trying to find photographic evidence of Smurf activity in the area....
Hahahah, just learning about the smurfs, I wonder if they're based off gnomes
Hi! I was surprised by your incredible photographs! In my country you hardly ever see castles guarded by stone lions and magic mushrooms.
In this wonderful environment, as beautiful as a fable, I celebrate your encounters with the fungi masters. Especially that beautiful specimen of Amanita Muscaria 🍄
Thanks for taking time to come check out my post and photographs. Also, thank you for your thoughtful and kind comments! I appreciate you. =)
Do love a good castle! enjoyed those, even the trippy mirror shot, that one really made me look and think!
Who doesn't love a good castle!?! I am really glad you mentioned the mirror shot. It was the most difficult of them all to pull off and i think it was pretty successful. I almost used the upside-down one for the thumbnail but i didn't want to throw people off right out of the gate! hahahhaha
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
You're very welcome and thanks for the tour of the colourful mushroom kingdom too!
And yeah the shot really was successful, worked a treat. For me it really made me stop to look and consider what was involved here.
I am super glad to have invoked some thought by the images. After a second thought the only thing else i would have done on the mirror shot is to flip or reverse the image once it's rotated right-side up, Then it truly would have been a true mirror image. Thanks again for stopping by.
Awesome shots, but why are you creeping outside of my house? You could have at least knocked on the door and we could have eaten the mushrooms together.
Damn... why didn't i think of that?!
Just knock next time. Don't be scared.
did you already eat all of castleblerry's shrooms? o.o
hahahahahahahah 🤣😂
Besides the photos of mushrooms, which are always very particular, because I find it fascinating to see in detail things that are very small, sometimes not visible. The fact that the day was cloudy was a good thing, it creates a nice atmosphere of mystery for your photos. Well done.
Thanks a lot for the considerate comment. I didn't edit the photos in my last post... but i did edit each of these to tweak the lighting a little bit. The color was washed out a bit before i tweaked them. I am glad that i edited them well enough to get the atmosphere across well enough.
Thanks for stopping by bro!
Yep! Cloudy days are so good for taking pictures. Sunny days, on the other hand, can easily ruin your pics hahah. One would think that because there is more light, pictures will turn out better, but nope. I think it's because of the sharp vs. soft light.
Yes, this can be true. I think it depends on your equipment and settings. I have limited settings and inferior equipment... so then that is when editing comes into play! hahaha Thanks for your engagement. =)
The butt mushroom was by far my favourite one, I do have an affinity for butts though so it's no surprise.
I too am partial. Here's a special one just for you then... i like to call them Honey Buns
Fascinating! Honey Buns is quite fitting.
I have a really important question now: Did you touch the butt? 😁
learning today that there's tenor gifs embedded in peakd..
proceeds to only speak with gif for the rest of his/her life
lmao
Gifs are like the modern sign language...
Well you are right about horizontal perspective being important. Especially with water. As Bob Ross always says, if your water is not horizontally level, it will look like it will roll right off the canvas lol. I really miss that man.
That really is the perfect quote and it was 100% fitting for the tip. I really miss him too. Thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment! =)
That is a great tip 👍
I have found it to be very helpful. A frame of reference can make a big difference in the consistency and quality of some shots that require alignments and such. Thanks for reading and commenting on my post. Glad to have been helpful. I just gave some more tips in another comment you may find interesting. Thanks for stopping by!
nice !
I love castles and shrooms :3
Thanks for taking time to stop by and comment! I am glad you loved them! =)
I'm obsessed with fungi and mushrooms, so these are amazing. That castle is so dreamy and especially with the Autumnal coloured vine twining it's way up that amazing stonework.
I have become quite enthralled with fungi myself! Glad you enjoyed seeing what all i got the privilege to see, capture, and share. I thought the color-changing vine was visually captivating and the castle is extremely cool. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment! =)
Incredible album! What a lot of work and dedication, and so nicely presented.
Thank you very much for the kind words and the appreciation of the post. You have some excellent photography yourself! Welcome to Hive and to the Photography Lovers Community! I appreciate you stopping by and taking time to comment! =) Cheers!
Really amazing Photography.
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I am glad you liked the photos. Thank you also for the reblog. =)
Love that reflected water shot
Thanks for taking time to stop by and comment. Glad you loved that shot. =)
Very beautiful castle and very beautiful photographs! Congratulations and keep up the good work! Cheers! :)
Thanks! I am glad to share the beauty and happy you appreciated it. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment and for the support in a reblog! Cheers! =)
You're most welcome! Keep up the good work in the future as well and may Bob Ross be with you! Cheers! :)
Hehe, funny indeed! Mega like for this wonderful image! :)
I am back to the Wonderland!!! XD I love the mushroom shoot very much!
Reveal spoiler
I can really take a shelter from rain here. 🤩
And thank you for the tips on how to take architectural photo. I really suck on that! Thank you for sharing this my friend! Looking forward to your next post! Have a good day!
Thanks for your kind words and i am glad the tips were helpful. That one you picked had some cool lighting. It glinted off the edge there in the front but if you look you can see the sun glowing through the cap on the back. Take care and see you on the next post. Thanks for stopping by and commenting! =)
You are welcome my friend :)
The castle is superb, I love this place. I liked all the shots, but the tigers and the stairs are excellent. I also really liked the photo you took upside down, and then created a snapshot from two inverted photos. Fabulous.
The photo in which I liked the poisonous mushroom. Especially the one in which the mushroom is photographed from below.
Great level of photos! thanks
Thanks D. I do like to try and see what the mushrooms have going in the one spot i can't see... underneath. Getting the camera down there can be a challenge... kind of like the inverted shot. I liked the castle too and hope to be able to get better shots of it in the future!
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to thoughtfully comment! Cheers!
¡Wow! I loved that castle I have never been in one of them before. I liked the picture of the lion with the watch behind it, and the fungus who seems a person ha ha ha. Good Job.
Thanks for taking the time to read the post. I have never been inside a castle either... yet. They were having a wedding inside... but the outside was free to visit and photograph. That clock above the steps does look pretty cool. And who wouldn't want giant lions guarding their front door?! hahaha
You're rigth, I want one of them hahaha
That's interesting to see many kinds of
mushroomslike that. That's a truly kingdom ofmushrooms.There were quite many. It's amazing how many different kinds there are. You are right... it really is a kingdom! hahaha Thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment. =)
This is definitely me😅😅 I always try to make sure everything aligns. These are really lovely images👌🏾👌🏾
Thanks!
@castleberry bellas fotos, simplemente espectaculares
¡Muchos gracias!
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Tantos ángulos de imagen me marean y me encantan tanto a la vez. Es increíble el trabajo que hiciste siendo muy minucioso con cada toma. Puedo sentir que estoy allí con tan solo ver las fotos.
I am glad the post made you feel included and thanks for your kind words and for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
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beautiful photographs
Thank you very much for taking time to see the photos on my post and comment!
nice work and nice photography well done
Thank you! =)