Planned Photos You Took

Okayyou · #1 Posted **Sep 2, 2011, 12:25 AM**

After viewing the Random Photos You Took thread I thought it would be interesting to see some shots with a story behind them and hear the planning that occurred behind the scenes. Feel free to share camera tech details too.

Here is one of mine:

Double Take by Porter Yates, on Flickr

I took this in a temple complex in Chaing Mai, Thailand. I was visiting random temples in the city, this one in particular had a nice courtyard with a small fish pond. There were a few monks idling about. The water feature made a nice reflection of the temple but I knew it would be better if I could get a monk in the shot with his reflection in the water. I waited several minutes and only tourists walked into frame. Right as I was about to call it quits I saw a monk walking into the shot. I took 6 rapid shots, this was the only one with his face somewhat exposed.

I had to bring out some of the shadows in post. Looking back at the EXIF I had my aperature at 3.5. No idea what I why so open, shutter was 8000 which was way too fast. I think I forgot to switch settings when I came out of the dark interior of the temple.

Let's hear some other stories...

Jimby · #2 Posted **Sep 3, 2011, 3:10 PM**

I suppose I could say I planned these shots because I had to set up the tripod and figure out what I wanted to do with a pack of glowsticks. If I had someone to assist or if I had the camera remote with me, or if I had a whole bunch of glowsticks, I could have done lots more.
I used a small LED to light paint the deck floor.

my deck with the glow of Vancouver in the sky by LUMIN8, on Flickr

I thought I would try to make the glowsticks look like glowing straws, but what would I put them in? I had a bottle of Bombay Sapphire in the freezer which I emptied out and stuck the glowsticks in it. The pale blue bottle is still frosted from being frozen.

empty frozen bottle with glow sticks by LUMIN8, on Flickr

This shot had about 2 seconds of planning! What I said about this shot on flickr: "
It was a bit of a set-up. The ultra-orthodox black hats don't like their picture being taken and Susan, the lady in the foreground, had just walked in the door and told me the guy was coming and I should try to grab a candid shot.
There was no time for her to move out of the way, so she stood to the side and I love how it turned out!"

Kabbalah makes magic by LUMIN8, on Flickr

I glanced over and noticed our group's collective shadow on the baked ancient ground but it wasn't an interesting shadow so I pointed out the shadow to Avi and asked her to do something to make it more interesting and she raised her arms.

new shadows in an ancient land by LUMIN8, on Flickr

ThatDarnSacramentan · #3 Posted **Sep 3, 2011, 3:33 PM**

Usually, most of my shots are planned in the sense I know what I want to be shooting and when, but they're still random in the sense that I still mess around and go with the flow based on what's going on. Very rarely do I set out a plan ahead of time and go out there and take exactly the shot I had in my head without some sort of improvisation.

This photo is one of those rare instances. I've seen this view only a few dozen times, but I still knew I had to capture it. I made the 45 minute drive out there, made the climb down the hill to the small plateau, and set up shop. Truly one of the best sunsets I've had the luxury of witnessing.

All Around Town 3 by C.M. Keiner, on Flickr

bulliver · #4 Posted **Sep 4, 2011, 1:09 AM**

I'm generally pretty fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to photography, I just head out the door camera in hand and 'happen upon' my shots. That said, I do do a lot of pre-planning for my model shoots. It can get pretty awkward if you don't as some models will just stand there like sticks until you tell them exactly what to do.

I wanted to explore the theme of 'noir'....and create the look of an old black and white movie. Noir is all about hard directional light, so I made a couple of 'ghetto-snoots' using black poster board and duct tape. Worked pretty good I think.

This shot is probably the most noiry:

Though this was my favorite from the night:

Even with all the planning, some shots come together organically. It was nearing the end of the shoot and I was thinking of calling it a wrap when I thought of a very cool picture by Joe McNally (page 230 of Hot Shoe Diaries if you have it...) and I thought I'd try a homage. Tried a couple different positions for the shadow, and I am still not totally satisfied with it, but I came up with this on about the third frame I shot:

I think my model Robyn did a fantastic job.

I also like doing blue-hour, and although I don't pre-plan specific shots, I do keep a mental list of locations I want to shoot. One such place is the Peter Hemingway Pool here in Edmonton. I arrived on site waaaayyyy too early, and it was bloody cold so I had to wander around for a while and kill time. Once it was time to take the shot some low clouds had moved in, and the red cast from the street lights mixing with the blue light filtering through the clouds gave me a lovely 'purple hour' frame:

photoLith · #5 Posted **Sep 4, 2011, 5:01 AM**

^
Bulliver, oh my God! Very nice in more ways than one.

And Jimby, that Orthodox Jew photo is awesome, I love the feel of it.

ThatDarnSacramentan · #6 Posted **Sep 6, 2011, 4:09 PM**

I had planned for days to see the sunrise yesterday morning from a good vantage point: the Watt Avenue Bridge. Certainly took some planning: waking up on time, leaving the house on time, giving myself enough time to set up once I got to the bridge, etc. Truly one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

River Sunrise HDR by C.M. Keiner, on Flickr

Okayyou · #7 Posted **Sep 7, 2011, 7:55 PM**

Some great shots, keep them coming.

I took this shot in Salvador, Brazil. The friend I was with wanted to buy a tourist T-shirt near the beach and I had no interest in tagging along. I saw my time alone as a perfect opportunity to grab some candid shots of people on the beach. In the distance I noticed a few kids jumping into the water off an old stone pier. They were jumping in one at a time and I took a few shots. They were back-lit and the silhouette made for an ok shot. I noticed the three boys started acting out a coordinated dive, planning from where each one would stand and jump. Knowing what was about to come I got my framing and settings ready. I took maybe 8 shots of the sequence from the run-up to their entrance in the water. I liked this one the best due to the spacing and shape of the suspended bodies. I'm not sure how I feel about the girl at the bottom of the steps. I think she distracts from the cohesion of the divers but also adds a bit of interest once she is noticed. Shortly after I took the shot my friend came back with his T-shirt an we went on our way.

Tri Dive by Porter Yates, on Flickr

diskojoe · #8 Posted **Sep 13, 2011, 1:37 PM**

striped house by DiskoJoe, on Flick

This photo is similar to the OP. I was about to take a picture of this house and saw these folks walking past. At that moment I thought how you would be able to see them much better if I waited for them to pass by the gate for the property. I have always liked how it came out.

King Cobra by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

This shot is not really random either. When I was walking past I saw this bottle sitting there and thought it would make a cool gritty photo but it was sitting back to far and my first couple shots didnt look that cool. So I moved it out to the edge and did it again. Voila!

giallo · #9 Posted **Sep 14, 2011, 2:32 PM**

Cool idea for a thread.

This series of photographs was months in the making.
I had found an apartment building just down the street from mine that was the tallest in the immediate area and had great views of the city. The only problem was that the rooftop (like most buildings in Shanghai) was locked. I'd check almost daily from my window to see if the window-washers were on the roof as that'd be my only chance to get onto the rooftop. The other issues were that I needed a clear day and it had to be at dusk. Finally in October, the opportunity presented itself, and I spent an hour happily shooting.

My apartment was in the short 15 floor box in the center of the photo. I don't live there anymore. That intersection was way too loud.

Robert Pence · #10 Posted **Sep 14, 2011, 2:58 PM**

Beautiful photography!

photoLith · #11 Posted **Sep 14, 2011, 3:10 PM**

Holy crap Giallo, amazing photos of an incredible city. On your second to last photo is that a protected historic district or something? It looks like it would be really cool to walk around in and explore.

giallo · #12 Posted **Sep 15, 2011, 12:27 AM**

Thanks, PhotoLith.

That small section of the city isn't protected. If you look closely, the upper portion of the neighborhood has already had a large slice of it razed. It may look super old/historic in the picture, but I think it was built back in the late 40s/early 50s. I wouldn't be surprised if the area is completely gone in the next few years.

Lipani · #13 Posted **Sep 15, 2011, 2:18 AM**

The vantage points from my old place in Honolulu were incredible. So much so that I felt compelled to buy an SLR and take advantage of the views (ironically the condo from which this was taken is now for sale).

I took several shots around a 30-minute period just as the sun set. This one came out the best -- by far. Needless to say I'm very tempted to buy the condo and have this view again:

Waikiki from Makiki by Lipani, on Flickr

diskojoe · #14 Posted **Sep 15, 2011, 3:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lipani

The vantage points from my old place in Honolulu were incredible. So much so that I felt compelled to buy an SLR and take advantage of the views (ironically the condo from which this was taken is now for sale).

I took several shots around a 30-minute period just as the sun set. This one came out the best -- by far. Needless to say I'm very tempted to buy the condo and have this view again:

Now I understand what you were ribbing Aaron about. Nice view.

(four 0 four) · #15 Posted **Sep 15, 2011, 9:52 PM**

This is on Peachtree Road near one of the water stations following the annual Peachtree Road Race. I took photos at this spot 3 years in a row before I was able to get the shot I envisioned:

diskojoe · #16 Posted **Sep 19, 2011, 9:16 PM**

These shots were from a shoot I did at a new friends place. When I heard how far up he lived I definitely PLANNED to take some photos.

diskojoe - self by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

Disko/Broadfoot by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

The master!

andrew broadfoot by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

Okayyou · #17 Posted **Sep 22, 2011, 4:44 AM**

Great views Gaillo, Lipani and diskjoe. Houston needs to fill in some of those lots

. Gaillo, nice story behind some of those shots. Never thought about using window washers to get access to a roof.

404, I like the shot. I know what you mean about trying over and over to get what you picture in your head. Sometimes I see a shot and when I shoot it, it just isn't what I envisioned.

This one comes from Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I was walking in between temples and saw this groomed road cutting across an open field. The water in front of the road was reflecting vehicles driving past. I shot a few tuk-tuks as they motored past but couldn't get the reflection right and didn't like the slobby tourists in the back. I moved a bit and found an opening in the tree line that would nicely frame any reflection of something on the road. However most of the traffic was heading into the complex and traveling from right to left in the photo. Because of this they were on the far side of the road and their reflections were getting cut off. I waited for a bit and spotted a bicyclist coming from the other direction. I shot a few frames as he entered the reflection zone I liked. This is the best of the group.

Reflection Ride by Porter Yates, on Flickr

1ajs · #18 Posted **Sep 22, 2011, 7:24 AM**

Okayyou · #19 Posted **Sep 22, 2011, 6:34 PM**

^ uh, any story that goes along with that shot?

bunt_q · #20 Posted **Oct 4, 2011, 4:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lipani

The vantage points from my old place in Honolulu were incredible. So much so that I felt compelled to buy an SLR and take advantage of the views (ironically the condo from which this was taken is now for sale).

I took several shots around a 30-minute period just as the sun set. This one came out the best -- by far. Needless to say I'm very tempted to buy the condo and have this view again

I normally wouldn't post in general phoography; mine are unworthy

. But in this case, I love that I could quote exactly what Lipani said to describe my photos. I took a good many series of photos over the 30-minute sunset period from my lanai in Honolulu as well.

It's great in the dark of night too, but I prefer that tinge of color left on the horizon.

And speaking of planned photos - Waikiki does a fireworks show every Friday night. Almost like shooting fish in a barrel for good night shots. This is a lazy shot out the other side of my condo there.

As for buying the view... I let this sucker go, could have had it for $235k. Which, needless to say, for Honolulu, is beyond a steal.