Identical?

I’ve never been much good at twiddling with the controls on my camera.  I even joined a photography course recently, in an effort to get to grips with apertures, shutter speeds and ISO controls.  But it just made my head hurt, and I reverted to ‘Automatic’ as my default modus operandi.  I decided I’m a snaphot-ist, not a photographer.

d having an hour to spare, I turned to the ‘palette’ settings and took an identical shot using every single one. Though I forgot to take one on ‘Automatic’, so the tale isn’t quite complete. Can’t do it now. This little twig of blossom (cherry?), a chance discovery found in the road, wilted in the night.

Which do you like best?  As ever, click on any image to see it full size.  They’re in strict alphabetical order – no favouritism here.

Bleach bypass.
Cross process.
Dynamic monochrome.
Expressive.
Fantasy.
High dynamic.
High key.
Impressive art.
Low key.
Miniature effect.
Monochrome.
Old days.
One point colour.
Retro.
Rough monochrome.
Sepia.
Silky monochrome.
Soft focus.
Star filter.
Sunshine.
Toy effect.
Toy pop.

This is my entry in today’s Ragtag Challenge: identical

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and living in North Yorkshire, where I walk as often as I can, write, volunteer, and travel as often as I can.

38 thoughts on “Identical?”

  1. Cameras can be tricky… and I don’t want to come over all mansplainy….but if you only try one thing, try this! It will really improve your photography experience.
    The easiest approach away from full Auto is Aperture Mode (AV on Canons) and ISO set to Auto. Shutter is then in Auto mode and by altering the Aperture you control depth of field, (close ups f2.8-f5.6, landscapes f6-16.) That way you only need to concentrate on ONE thing. Have a look at this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtVfC1BPCSY

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    1. Well, thank you. I’ve already followed your tip and watched this clear video, snapping away at the jug on my kitchen table following his directions. I haven’t got such a wide range from top to bottom as he has, but I’m going to download these shots now and see what gives. I love your photos, so thanks for your help.

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  2. Bleach bypass! Blimey I didn’t know all this existed! Hope Malcom is making progress
    Angela xx

    Sent from my iPhone

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    1. As I chose the challenge, Ros, I’m sort of obliged to deliver the goods 😉 Have an excellent weekend and early-next-week, and I’ll try to despatch this cough by the time you get here.

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  4. I’m a snapshotist too and proud of it! I haven’t the patience or the brain power to twiddle, it’s just point and shoot. I feel very fortunate that digital photography makes it so easy during the capture and then assists us afterwards with the many and varied options on offer even on my low-tech little camera. My favourites from the above are expressive and impressive art. Both of which seem to turn the photo into a painting which is not something I would normally expect to favour. It all depends on the subject and the intended purpose normally. The one I’m most impressed by is sunshine – clever camera!

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    1. Sssh. I quite like those too, and wouldn’t normally. But as I said in another response, it really does seem to depend on my mood, which one I choose.

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  5. I like the dark ones–low key and toy pop. This is a fun exercise–I should try it with my camera. And I should try what your first commenter suggested, just to get a tiny bit more control of my camera. I hate it when a camera is smarter than I am and mine is, by miles!

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    1. Yes, I must get brave and Take a Grip. But do try this exercise. It was fun, and you never know, it may suggest things to you as you wear your weaver’s hat.

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  6. I like Toy effect.

    I’d second (or is that third) datz’s idea of setting the aperture and letting the camera handle everything else, but only if you want to get a particular look. The camera can work faster than most of us can in doing the maths for the shot, but it can’t tell what look you are aiming for – a soft, romantic look for a close up of a flower or a portrait, or a clear, detailed look for a landscape.

    I used to do that in the days before using my iPhone as my only camera and I would love to be able to do it now and again. If your camera has a macro/landscape setting that can do pretty much the same thing, with the added advantage that it thinks about the light available for you so you don’t use a setting that means the shot will take too long for you to hold it steady enough (if you are anything like me that is!)

    It is interesting to learn a bit about it though – nothing is lost if you are just experimenting and not risking getting someone’s wedding shots all wrong!

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    1. That’s absolutely right! I have already done a bit of homework – isn’t the blogging world lovely? So much freely given help and friendship, so maybe this is the push I needed. That class I went to was – how shall I put it? A little high-achieving for me. I needed to start in the toddler pool. Yours is the second vote for Toy. I’ve made several votes already – Vote Early, Vote Often!

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  9. What I find intriguing is the totally different names you have for the same ‘lenses’ or ‘filters’ …. But the first is my fave and I like also ‘Star filter’ and the One point colour…. There! And you are a bit ‘nulle’ NOT to have done it on AUTO!!! That would have been the whole point of the exercise, wasn’t it? Apart from playing masterfully with the word IDENTICAL! Well done Margaret, that was quite a great take on this word.

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  10. Haha! What I meant was that I should have taken a shot in ‘plain’ automatic, without any filters. And I didn’t. Yup, I like both your votes. But in fact there aren’t many I don’t like, depending on context.

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  11. I’m like you – default camera setting is automatic. I used to be better but that was before digital photography. Now I rely on photo editing software to make up for my inadequacies. I like your ‘project’ though. I like the black & white/greyscale versions.

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  16. Oh I love these types of experiments and then the diverse responses. For me, after careful scrutiny, it has to be Toy pop. It has drama, crispness and contrast. The biggest problem I’ve found when shooting in manual is when you’re outside with fast-moving, puffy clouds (cumulus?) on a windy day. The sun’s either fully out, or fully behind a cloud and all the combinations in between and by the time you’ve adjusted your settings it has changed again and shots been missed. Sometimes I just give up and switch to automatic.

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    1. I have little patience with fiddling with settings. I had another go over the weekend, encouraged by datz’s comments, but it came to very little. Yes, in this instance Toy Pop works very well, but it can be a little over-assertive in its colour balance.

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      1. I think datz does have a point at the beginning, but it is only with fully experimenting that you begin to realise what’s possible. It is like everything else the more you do the better your get. I won’t ever manage the 10,000 hours to make me an ‘expert’, but there’s a definite improvement when I look back at the truly terrible scarf photos I took five years ago. And the horror is some of them live on in the world of the Internet despite me removing the original, offending data (can’t bring myself to call them photographs).

        Ah, and yes colour balance quite a fine-tuning exercise and very much a matter of personal taste and, of course, same photo/image appears different on different screens. Bane of my online life – and people blithely comment ‘but, the camera never lies’. Hmm. Anyway, just keep on taking your lovely photos of dramatic Yorkshire, vibrant Spain and cultural London, us readers appreciate your posts. 😊

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      2. Oh thank you. I will persist, but I haven’t got a scientific or mathematical bone in my body, and knob-twiddling comes under that heading for me. But it’s my loss, and I need to be more open-minded.

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  17. Clever response to the challenge theme! Its hard to say which I like the best – as you say, it can depend on one’s mood. For some reason, I keep going back to star filter (although I can’t see why its called that?).
    I think that how one uses the camera depends a lot on what one mostly photographs and the sort of light available, so for some situations Auto mode can be absolutely appropriate.
    On the photo course you did, did they discuss the exposure triangle – the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO? I found that way of thinking about exposure quite helpful, as fundamentally all one is doing is juggling these three aspects in relation to the available light and the specific demands of the subject ito of depth of field and how fast the shutter needs to be.
    I can’t remember what camera you have, but I have a Panasonic Lumix and found Graham Houghton’s video tutorials that are available on YouTube really helpful.
    Anyway, I think your photos are really good, and in the end, especially with the cameras we have these days that compensate for our lack of technical insights, it is one’s intuitive and creative “eye” that makes the most difference.

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    1. Star filter? No, I dunno either. Yes, I too have a Panasonic Lumix, so thanks for the tutorial hints. I really will give them a go. I think I need to go at my own speed, and not that of a class!

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      1. Oh I agree about the class, and I find that sometimes such classes can be quite competitive. I also prefer to go at my own pace. Graham Houghton takes an urbane and low key approach and he has a lovely quiet confidence in his subject and in the camera!

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  18. I chose both Star Filter and High Dynamic..I love them both. I felt so good reading that you let go the tech and just took the picture…that is so me!

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    1. Though some commenters have encouraged me to try harder – and I will – I think in the end I will revert to type most of the time. I’m not a patient soul.

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