# photography is not a crime, foo



## Lorielle99 (Dec 10, 2007)

*clears thorat* well i was pretty stoked because i figured out how to manually adjust my shutter spped. thus making some pretty sweet photos. anywho, i wanted to do an attempt at traffic light trails. the only problems were, that it was around 2:30 a.m., wet cuz it was raining, and the highway was about 10 minutes away. well i was like ahhh ill go another time, ill just practice out front. well i got carried away and i found myself at the bridge taking pictures of light trails. oh, my pregnant wandering head. so i was walking around with this bulky ass tripod lookin like a mad woman. im sure i looked like a looney and apparently, the cop agreed. well i was taking pictures of this church on the same bridge and he pulls over and im like ohhhhhhh haiiii im just taking pitcures...for what?...ughhh for fun?....oh okay whats your name?....lorielle i live right down the block....ohhhh i mean just seems a lil odd thats all....yeahhhhhhhhh......well i just wanted to make sure you're okay....yeah im fine thanks. cops always make me sweat even when im not doing anything wrong. well i guess i was, b/c im under 18....
so anway i dont regret because i think i got some really sweet shots. streetlights are really beautiful. well, i this is what i got two soaking slippers and one conversation with a cop later:
























(i got my light trails =D!!!!) pretty bad but i really had a horrible angle, the whole thing was fenced off.




(thats when the popzao came up. the sign said "the perfect church for people who aren't" i thought it was need but i didnt have time to mess with my shutter speed because i sort of wandered out of the house at 3 in the morning with a steakknife and a camera it came out pretty bright but i think it has a neat effect.)
i really tried to focus on what you guys said about not making them "snapshotty". i sat back took a deep breathe and thought about it. do i seem to be getting a better eye? you dont have to answer that. :er:. oh yeah and sorry if i should have posted these in the thread that i already started, im new to this forum so im not really sure. but if thats the case you can move them if you want. 

p.s. dont be afraid to tell me what you like and what you don't, like i said im trying to get better
p.p.s. as for looking like a creep? success.
p.p.p.s. photography is not odd, dick.


and here's one of me, just for fun:


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## LaFoto (Dec 10, 2007)

Well, next step in your "I learn to control my camera"-approach, after having found out how to manually change your exposure times, should now be to learn how to manually change your aperture! For lights at night become nicer (less like big blobs of light) when the aperture is small (that means: the number is HIGH). They then begin to look like little stars. This_thread_of_mine might serve as an example though the lights are not street lights.

I like the one light-trail photo (and I like to think back to the day - approaching night - when also I went to "my first" bridge in the attempt to - finally! - get my own photos of light trails, and guess what? I failed miserably, mine looked cr**!) There must be a bumpy part in one of the lanes, eh? Whoopsy, that one car does a FUNNY trail .


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## JESWAW (Dec 10, 2007)

i like the 3rd and 5th one....and the color of your hair...

3rd- just looks creepy
5th-well, i love these shots no matter what...


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## rob91 (Dec 10, 2007)

I like #1 and #3, pretty awesome glow.


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## Rick Waldroup (Dec 10, 2007)

I like the 4th one and the shot of you.


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## Roger (Dec 10, 2007)

I really like 1,2 and 3, they are good compositions and with a smaller aperture would have been much better as Corinna said. The world needs more nightstalkers, keep at it you can only get better.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 10, 2007)

thanks for everyones imput! good to see im getting better. ill take your advice la foto. and i see what you mean by big blobs of light. but yeah these were taken outside my own little house in new jersey. haha yes the world does need more night stalkers. when i was walking around at 3 in the morning, i felt like the only person on earth. then that cop had to ruin it. anyway please keep the comments coming i love hearing what you all have to say.


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## ANDS! (Dec 10, 2007)

I get the point of #4 but whew. . .the color just distracts.  I would suggest for something like that taking the shot first, and adding the effect in post-processing LATER.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 10, 2007)

i didnt add anything to that one, i just resized it


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## ANDS! (Dec 10, 2007)

Lorielle99 said:


> i didnt add anything to that one, i just resized it



Ok I assumed you had the color off on purpose.  Everything looks a shade away from jaundiced.  If you were trying to go for that color, kudos.  If not, I'd suggest watching your light settings.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 10, 2007)

juandiced?


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## sirsteezo (Dec 10, 2007)

I like the light trails picture!

keep working at it! thats what they tell me.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 10, 2007)

haha thanks. i still dont know what jaundiced means tho


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## LaFoto (Dec 10, 2007)

Too yellow.


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## DSLR noob (Dec 11, 2007)

I've been wanting to get light trails too (ever since that other thread started this TPF trend), I think I will soon. Your pics are improving fast. You learned quicker than I did, which is impressive because a lot of people told me I was picking things up quick.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 11, 2007)

DSLR noob said:


> I've been wanting to get light trails too (ever since that other thread started this TPF trend), I think I will soon. Your pics are improving fast. You learned quicker than I did, which is impressive because a lot of people told me I was picking things up quick.


 
:blushing:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eeee that just made me so happy thanks. but yeah i did want my photos to look yellow.


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## DSLR noob (Dec 11, 2007)

haha glad to hear, you'll probably blow past me in 8 months at this rate, of course, I'll have 8 months to improve as well but you'll be where I am now, I'll be 8 months ahead of that. Christmas eve marks my 1st year with a camera (yes my XT was my first camera period) Yeah you're doing great though, you have every right to be happy. I agree with La Photo, start learning the aperture, it can get a tad bit confusing but after reading on the effects, you start to pick it up really quick in practice, with the camera in your hand.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 11, 2007)

yes apeture and exposure are things that are boggling my mine but i want to learn because i want to play around with HDR. i love the effects. but thanks again. yeah ive had my d40 for about 2 weeks now. ive had my nikon coolpix for about 2 years, altho i didnt really take pictures of anything else but myself hahaha. and congrats on your one year ani! it will be fun to watch everyone progress


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## Grudge (Dec 11, 2007)

number 3 is really good

well done


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 11, 2007)

thank you. it gave my such an eerie feeling when i was taking it


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## ANDS! (Dec 11, 2007)

Lorielle99 said:


> haha thanks. i still dont know what jaundiced means tho



Too yellow.  And not in a good way.  The yellow is too distracting, although with a better hand at post processing it could have been better.

Who knows.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 11, 2007)

word


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## den9 (Dec 11, 2007)

try manually setting your white balance for a true color.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 11, 2007)

how in the heck do i do that?


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## BNSF4924 (Dec 12, 2007)

Lorielle99 said:


> *clears thorat* well i was pretty stoked because i figured out how to manually adjust my shutter spped. thus making some pretty sweet photos. anywho, i wanted to do an attempt at traffic light trails. the only problems were, that it was around 2:30 a.m., wet cuz it was raining, and the highway was about 10 minutes away. well i was like ahhh ill go another time, ill just practice out front. well i got carried away and i found myself at the bridge taking pictures of light trails. oh, my pregnant wandering head. so i was walking around with this bulky ass tripod lookin like a mad woman. im sure i looked like a looney and apparently, the cop agreed. well i was taking pictures of this church on the same bridge and he pulls over and im like ohhhhhhh haiiii im just taking pitcures...for what?...ughhh for fun?....oh okay whats your name?....lorielle i live right down the block....ohhhh i mean just seems a lil odd thats all....yeahhhhhhhhh......well i just wanted to make sure you're okay....yeah im fine thanks. cops always make me sweat even when im not doing anything wrong. well i guess i was, b/c im under 18....
> so anway i dont regret because i think i got some really sweet shots. streetlights are really beautiful. well, i this is what i got two soaking slippers and one conversation with a cop later:


You're lucky its only happened to you once. I've had the police visit me 4 times. Everytime the police come to visit me I miss my subject, the trains. The first encounter I had, there was a train that was just waiting for the dispatcher to give him a signal and when the cop pulled up and started talking to me, the conductor yelled out the window, "He's just taking pictures" and then the cop left. The second time, they cop just asked me questions and then left. The third time, I was next to a railroad crossing that I often visit and the cop didn't belive that someone could find train interesting enough to spend hours standing next to the tracks taking pictures of them. He ended up asking me for my name, age, DOB, height, weight, hair color, eye color, home address, home phone number, Social Security Number, and a website where I posted my pictures. The fourth time really wasn't that bad, the cop originally thought that I was stranded (the place where I take pictures is a dirt patch next to an intersection). I told him I wasn't and explained what I was doing and that this had happened before. He left after a couple minutes.


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 12, 2007)

thats ridiculous. why are the pigs such haters?


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## Roger (Dec 13, 2007)

Lorielle99 said:


> thats ridiculous. why are the pigs such haters?



they're scared that's why and that transfers into a need to control....I could go on but....police are not all bad, they are just not taught these days to be as flexible as they used to. When they hassle just stay calm and alert, be polite and totally aware of your rights. In the end if your not able to get a satisfactory outcome for you, move on is the best policy.


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## The Phototron (Dec 13, 2007)

Roger said:


> they're scared that's why and that transfers into a need to control....I could go on but....police are not all bad, they are just not taught these days to be as flexible as they used to. When they hassle just stay calm and alert, be polite and totally aware of your rights. In the end if your not able to get a satisfactory outcome for you, move on is the best policy.


If they're actually scared, they would just avoid the encounter altogether. It's more of a standard procedure to keep things in-check. It's their job to watch over suspicious activities. Of course they do that in spite of the exceptions like photographers taking photos of night scenes, because it's convenient and effective.


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## ozzono (Dec 13, 2007)

The 1 st the 2 nd and 3 rd I like amount. 
 The one I like the girl also. 

 Greetings from Spain.


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## cameramike (Dec 13, 2007)

best way to ward off a cop.. have a "business" card. they approach you you take it out, snap the shot turn back to them and ask whats wrong. i was at the beach one time cop approached me gave them my card i turned around and they were gone.

light trails are TONS of fun, i live on a busy street and do them all the time. its really good if you can get a few cars all going the same way at about the same distance from eachother, but each car a little different sized (like SUV mini van compact) and then each trail is a bit different. 

your doing much better ! and just start reading up aperature seems confusing now but you'll get it
also the shot of you came out well, even if you were just holding the camera above your head


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## Lorielle99 (Dec 13, 2007)

thanks everyone! and the girl is me =)


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