An horizon for my first real project?

    So, once again, I find myself at 11:30 pm writing this. I didn't honestly want to, but I knew that after the first few words I won't be able to stop writing thiss post.
    So here's the deal. For the first time in a while, if not for the first time ever, I had the confidence to shoot pictures at a smaller focal lenght. Also, inspiration came from everywhere. This is odd in comparison to the booring days when nothing really attracted me. Still, that is not the point.
    Before I get to the actual pictures, I have one more thing to say. So, I take a picture of camera and see it on the small LCD screen. I sync it to my laptop and copy it. When I want to see it, while it's loading, it shows colors beautifully vivid. After the picture clears up, the colors become way duller. When I open open them for the first time in Lightroom, for example, it does display them right. It's quite weird, so, if you have any idea on what problem do I have or how could I solve it, don't hesitate to leave a comment.
    Getting back to business. Here are the shots I took on the streets of Cluj the other day.

This picture of the old man was pretty lucky, I might say. I was adjusting the settings on my camera when I saw him. The luck came where the settings were just right, so the photo turned up quite nice. Also, it's probably one of my first street photos shot an 18mm focal lenght. I am really getting the "guts" to get in closer, so, for me, it's a big improvement.

I did pick this one just for the personality of this man.His face is so expressive...

Now, the story of this picture is this. I saw on 500px.com a picture of a bike handlebar. I really loved it. So, I started looking for theese kind of details. Bike components, scutters, and so on. Lately, I've taken quite a lot of pictures like theese. Sure, not all are keepers, but that's not the point, is it? No photographer comes home with more keepers than 10.(at least from what I raed)

This one, again, had some source of inspiration. In an IMTP (Internet's most talented photographer) show hosted by digitalrev tv, I say this picture of a billboard with a girl looking down at a real cycllist. Since then, I kept looking for such opportunities. Finally, I found it. by now, you probably know what I'm talking about...

Last one. Once again, a picture of a bike. Honestly, I love shooting Vespa scooters. This is my opinion, but I think they have a kind of distinct personality. That big front light is like a big eye, and the overall shape of it fascinates me.(ok, maybe not that much)

Theese pictures of bikes gave me an idea. I learned from a photographer's youtube videos (Eric Kim) that you should allways find projects to work on. I tried graffitti, but quickly quit. It just wasn't my thing. But now I found something that combines my passion for photography with my passion for cycling. So, what do you think, should I start this projects about bikes in an urban environment?

Once again, thank you for reading, and you can find all my pictures on my google plus account.

Long time no shoot

    So I took theese pictures on Thursday, but, untill now, I hadn't even had time to see them. So after a bit of post-processing, here are my shots for today.
    I usually shoot in Ae (Aperture priority) or, rarely, in full Manual. The second choice has the problem that I can't set the camera fast enough for quick thinks that require "reflexes".

    I like to call this picture "The beauty and the beast" for obvious reasons. I shot this one at f/9.5. In order to keep that aperture and a shutter speed of 1/750, I almost allways used ISO 400. Basicly, I think that I'll better keep my ISO high than have slow shutter speeds in varying lightning conditions.

        Settings are the same for this one, except, this time the shutter speed was 1/500 of a second which was enough.

    In this picture, I found that f8 gave me enough details for this type of photograph.

    Being a still and having time to take the shot, I was pleased with a smaller speed of 1/180 of a second.

    Not speaking technically anymore, I love the man's face expressions. Also, the modern lady and the background, and the dog, and everything in this picture, to mee, gives it a special look.

    Theese being said, you can find all my pictures on my google plus account.

Difference ain't bad at all!

    I was walking on Saturday evening by the local river with, of course, my camera. I found a concert that I had no idea before it actually existed, but I took a couple of (honestly quite rubbish) shots. While walking back, I started to photograph the river. You don't get many ocasions to take nice photos of it because it usually ain't big enough, but since the last week has been continously raining, the river was high enough. So yeah, I took a couple shots here and there and then I decided to wait for the sun to come down. Really interesting, the power just went out(in the moment I'm writing this).
    At evening I started to feel the lack of a tripod and I couldn't really compose the shots. So, the next, I had a tripod with me and did all things all over again. No more talking, here are the selection of shots for today. Don't forget to check all of them in the link to the g+ account at the bottom of the post.

https://plus.google.com/photos/117323268606776694097/albums/5867132348407072097

I just found out that I am able to resize all photos! Thanks google for solving that issue!!!

At the ending, for my happiness provoked by the resizing thing, a picture that I took the same day.

Tried a project... And not...

    So, I looked on the internet to some cool shots with grafitti walls. I found interesting the whole art in art concept. So, I decided to try it. And, quite fast, I got bored. I mean, I really like situations where those graffitti paintings combine with the environment or interact with humans. For example, this is what I tried in the first picture, but the situation (the placement of a stupid car) ment that nobody passed through there for the whole 10 minutes I waited. I think I'll just stay to street photography, maybe lansdcapes or action shots...

    This is quite a short post, but in the next one I'll show you some nice landscapes that I've just done and I'll also put my camera settings and so on... Without any more bla bla bla, here are the two shots for this post.

Less is more?

    Well, once again, I hadded out on the streets to capture some shots. Weirdly, I did not feel as certain on what I was doing than in other days, so, at the beginning, I hesitated a bit... Also, at the end of the day, I didn't feel like I got enough good shots. But still, there were some moments out there that I think made a great. Also, as you're going to see, small details really can transform a picture. That detail that I'm talking about is something I saw only in the post processing part.
    Also, today, I started wishing more and more for a tele. I feel like there are so many things I am missing just because I cant't reach them. Also, being a beginner, I haven't got the guts to get so close to my subjects yet, but I think a tele would help me not miss those shots. Plus, I'd also like to start doing a bit of street portraiture, for which a tele is a must have.
    By the way, here are my shots for today. To see all of them, just go to the link at the end of the post.

The detail I was talking about is the about to fly pidgeon in the down left corner.

https://plus.google.com/photos/117323268606776694097/albums/5862346484363234577

First steps to post processing

    So, starting from now, I learned how to post edit my pictures. I currently use Adobe lightroom 4.3 because I like the general UI of it. So, all the pictures presented were adjusted... But I think you can create some extraordinary pictures with the whole post processing thing without making the picture too cartoonish.
    Otherwise, nothing new. Again, just a walk in the center of Cluj taking some shots. The weather has been quite nice for photography, being no harsh light or really deep shadows. Actually, there was something new theese days... I went to a friend in "Dambu rotund", a neighbourhood best known for its less then friendly people... So, basicly, this neighbourhood is situated right across the railway crossing the town. I decided to take a few shots on the road to this friend, and, without realizing, I crossed the railway. Next to a shopping center, I saw a bunch of gipsy kids. Here, in Romania, that's not such a good sign... So i rapidly crossed the road, untied the camera from my wrist, stuffed it in my bag, and continued my road. I can't describe those feelings, but they were interesting, in a nasty way. Going back to the shots, here are my two selections. Of course, you can find them all on my google plus account, to which I'll put a link. I'll make a new album for every new month of street photography, so that I'll stay better organized.
    Thanks for reading this and enjoy the pictures!

https://plus.google.com/photos/117323268606776694097/albums/5862346484363234577