European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

Friday Photography Blog No. 27

by LEP
Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 at 09:25:42 AM EST

Welcome to the 27th edition of the ET Photography blog.
We're going to be busy today. Today's special feature is:

[edit] Planes, Trains and Automobiles, see below the fold for the rest.

Weekend bump for the photography blog - In Wales

Planes

Trains

and Automobiles

Of course, in addition, we will have our Photos as Usual section and our newly popular technical section, Ask the Experts.

Well, everybody have fun today. Please excuse me but I have to run off and get my car out of the Pound.

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Friday Photography Blog No. 27 | 174 comments (174 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

planes, trains, and automobiles

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:25:08 AM EST

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

October, 2006 from the observation tower at Dulles Air and Space Museum.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:04:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 3)

Me being chased by a helicopter.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:57:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

Funny - my instant reading of that, with the caption, was a chopper plunging vertically to the ground.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 06:36:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

Historic (sadly) airplane.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 06:27:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Levitation (4.00 / 6)

The above picture shows a Boeing 727 'jacked-up' for heavy maintenance on the landing gear.

That jacking is a very precise and delicate job often discussed between aviation techniciens.

My son, aviation engineer stunned fellow tecnicians saying: "We use auto-levitation" showing them the picture below.

The struggle of man against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting.(Kundera)

by Elco B (elcob at scarlet dot be) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 10:56:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Levitation (none / 0)

That was mean of him. Nice edit though.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:24:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Levitation (none / 1)

Don't you just love how those 727 wings just come apart. Boeing was VERY proud of those Fowler and leading edge flaps. The big deal involved here is that the 727 with these wing mods brought jet travel to Washington National airport.

"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"

by techno (reply@elegant-technology.com) on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 08:35:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 6)

I have very few pictures of Things With Wheels, so I'm just going to have to go for the bizarre:

by Sassafras on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 12:32:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

lol!

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 12:52:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 3)

More bizarre wheels...

This one is a low-light grab-shot, and it's been over-sharpened to compensate for other inadequacies (Santa looks like he's been photoshopped in).

I did, however, have to jump out into the road to get anything approaching a decent angle (I've cropped out the bike that was heading towards me), so I claim this week's stupidity-in-pursuit-of-a-photograph prize.

by Sassafras on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 01:19:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

ANOUNCEMENT: WINNER!!! (4.00 / 2)

And it is with great pleasure that I announce you the winner of this week's stupidity-in-pursuit-of-a-photograph prize.

Well done indeed.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 01:49:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: WINNER!!! (none / 1)

oops, I lost an N.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 01:51:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ANOUNCEMENT: WINNER!!! (none / 1)

Well, thank you!!!!

I couldn't have done it without....

In fact, if you look at the policeman at the back left, he could be giving me a very severe look...

Expect this photograph to form the basis of my trial for jaywalking.

And my doubtless upcoming entry in the Darwin Awards. :)

by Sassafras on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 01:56:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 4)

From a crap series I made one weekend last autumn, on a walk along the line I commute on daily:

A BDVmot electric multiple unit (EMU), with exceptionally few graffiti (these are the off-peak-hour main workhorses, and in the worst shape inside); with a mini wind turbine and the backdrop of the Naszály mountain:

A V43 loco pulls a zoned train ( = non-stop from Budapest until the first major town, local fom there) with refurbished coaches (plus: graffiti resistant, minus: 'ergonomic' seats that cause back-ache for people above 175cm and doors/section walls that resonate loudly...):

Another V43 pulls an express with Slovakian cars:

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 at 06:24:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 4)

One autumn earlier, my train to Berlin emerges from the morning mist in station Štúrovo/Slovakia (loco is Slovakian, cars Hungarian state railways, but the latter made in Spain):

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 at 06:27:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

photos as usual

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:25:44 AM EST

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

A gorgeous dog. Alas, not mine.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:44:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 3)

Border collie watching the waves because they move.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:22:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 6)

Mumbles pier needs some work doing on it. I love the colours and decay though.

And I have just spotted more dust on the filter/lens.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:47:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

I love the detail of the sand here. Taken with my macro lens.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:05:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Equinox moon. (4.00 / 3)

March 19, 2008.

You can see a touch of blue which is more profound in my other moon photos. I will post some in the technical section.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:18:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 3)

Profiting from margouillat's lesson two weeks ago I put my D-80 on automatic ISO and I've been very pleased with the rsults. Here's some shots of estHer's 14th birthday party with no flash.

estHer and Birthday tartes:

Raphael learning to eat with chopstick without using hands. Me in background. (Shot by estHer)

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 06:14:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

First one is nice. What lens it that though? Same one you're using for the moon shots?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 06:22:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

It was at home and I only had my walk around lens on the camera- Nikon 28-105 af.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 06:25:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Flares something awful, doesn't it? Do you have a filter on the front of it?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 08:46:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

The only filter I have is a clear filter to protect the lens. You're going to have to give a small course on filters soon.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:04:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Do an experiment for me: take some photos of candles set-up the same way with and without the filter. I'm guessing the flare is from the filter. Is it a cheap or expensive one?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:08:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Cheap- 12 euros.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:36:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

That could be it then: if it doesn't have proper glass and proper coatings it's very likely to flare under even minimally challenging conditions. I was surprised to see the flare in the picture of the candles since it didn't seem all that challenging. Experiment with taking the filter off.

I'm not personally a fan of the protective lens filter: we realised a long time ago that we were putting relatively cheap bits of glass in front of our lenses for no obvious reason except to induce extra flare and increase the margins of the people selling us lenses. We've never lost either a filter or a lens.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 01:53:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Maybe that's my problem in the moon shots too. I've only had these filters for two months or so and have barely used them.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:39:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

For wxample, here's a shot of the moon on December 21, without any filter. There is no reflection.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:46:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

Groucho thinks: I wouldn't want to belong to any club that required me to stick chopsticks up my nostrils. Ciao mean.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 06:55:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

the oak and the sun (4.00 / 8)

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 06:59:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: the oak and the sun (none / 1)

Great framing!

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 07:01:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: the oak and the sun (none / 0)

thanks, LEP!

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:06:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

island of blue (4.00 / 4)

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 07:00:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

blue snow (4.00 / 5)

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 07:02:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

snowflakes (4.00 / 6)

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 07:03:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

wild apple blossom (4.00 / 3)

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 07:04:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

spring blossom (4.00 / 2)

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 07:06:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

From estHer (4.00 / 4)

We're scared!

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 08:01:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Good Friday snow (4.00 / 8)

Yesterday, I was complaining how ugly and dirty everything gets between the last snow and the greening up of spring. So this is what I see out my windows this morning. My grandfather used to call March snowstorms "poor man's fertilizer" because it provided nitrogen and moisture for spring planting.

"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"

by techno (reply@elegant-technology.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 09:55:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Good Friday snow (4.00 / 2)

Same expression among peasants in France: l'azote du pauvre = the poor man's nitrogen.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 09:58:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Good Friday snow (none / 0)

Apparently the Swedes got more than a royal family from France. This is VERY interesting to know. Thanks afew!

"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"

by techno (reply@elegant-technology.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 10:27:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Good Friday snow (none / 1)

The Stockholm Swedes also got their affected ululating diction from the French court. It doesn't exist in Finland, where pronunciation is a preserved form of pre-Bernadotte Swedish.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 10:45:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Good Friday snow (none / 1)

Provided nitrogen?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 10:28:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Good Friday snow (none / 1)

Sorry. I once had a high school chemistry teacher explain how snowfall fixes atmospheric nitrogen (lightning also works) but I could not explain it now if my life depended on it.

"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"

by techno (reply@elegant-technology.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:12:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Good Friday snow (4.00 / 3)

I believe it's mostly a trapping effect. There's a constant nitrogen exchange from soil to air in winter, when vegetation is not drawing on the soil's nitrogen resources; this is particularly true of fields left bare, ploughed before winter, etc. Snow blankets the ground and prevents the exchange taking place. Mulch will do the same thing.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:22:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 4)

Figgy on the barge, June 2006.

Taken with a Sony Ericsson k750i mobile phone. Drew was being rude about phone cameras during the week: they're not all terrible. Though the one in my Blackberry Pearl is - mostly because the interface was designed by someone who has never used a camera at all.

Mobile phone cameras are almost all much better than any camera that was available until the 1920s or so. Their limits are not an excuse for not being able to take photos - you just need to learn to work within them.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 10:54:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

Also from a K750i - I think these are both pictures Sam took.

Now, that's been edited and massaged in Aperture - I cropped it, alter the exposure a bit and did noise removal using Noise Ninja, but that's the sort of thing I do to pictures from high end cameras as well.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:03:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 6)

And this - also from Sam's phone:

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:17:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Yep...that's a view from one of those little attic room windows in the top of a Hotel in Knightsbridge...taken c. Jan 2007.

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Oscar Wilde

by Sam on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:51:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

LEP moon as edited by linca (4.00 / 4)

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 11:39:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 7)

Interviewer: What do you believe is behind this recent increase in terrorist bombings? Helpmann: Bad sportsmanship

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:47:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

this time in the right place (4.00 / 5)

Interviewer: What do you believe is behind this recent increase in terrorist bombings? Helpmann: Bad sportsmanship

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:50:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Sunrise in Tunisia (4.00 / 5)

Interviewer: What do you believe is behind this recent increase in terrorist bombings? Helpmann: Bad sportsmanship

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:51:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunrise in Tunisia (none / 0)

Salt lakes with the Atlas mountains in the distance?

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 02:33:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunrise in Tunisia (none / 0)

got it in one.

Interviewer: What do you believe is behind this recent increase in terrorist bombings? Helpmann: Bad sportsmanship

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 02:45:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunrise in Tunisia (none / 0)

It's stunning out there.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 02:54:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sunrise in Tunisia (none / 1)

So stunning I went back

Interviewer: What do you believe is behind this recent increase in terrorist bombings? Helpmann: Bad sportsmanship

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:26:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

I decided enough of talking about photos and off I went to take some new ones. Shame about the weather. Scurrying clouds can make for good photos but these ones didn't really let up on the rain and I find that in brecon without sun shining on the landscape it turns out flat and dull.

I swear these sheep were chasing me up the road.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:25:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 3)

This one does not do justice to the amount of sleety snow falling.

ie you can't see any at all. It was freezing. And so windy. Is there anything that can be done to make the colours richer?

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:27:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 3)

Minutes later, blue sky.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:30:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 4)

Secret #1 when taking pictures in the rain etc. is to give as little frame as possible to the sky. In fact, when the sky is grey and it is raining, the light gets beautifully diffused. This works especially well when taking pictures of made-made objects like automobiles or buildings.

"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"

by techno (reply@elegant-technology.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 10:15:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

Thanks, I'll remember that. Landscape comes out a bit dull though although I know what you mean about the light being diffused rather than too full of contrast and shadows and highlights.

The colours of the brecon beacons when the sun shines on the ground is just stunning and overcast days lack that richness.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 03:58:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

I've seen spectacular photos taken on rainy days. It is the same principle involved as when artists rent lofts with north-facing windows. You'll notice that artists never include their windows in their work--they are simply a tool for illumination. Rainy skies fulfill the same function in photography.

(And yes, I was almost 50 before anyone explained this to me.)

"Remember the I35W bridge--who needs terrorists when there are Republicans"

by techno (reply@elegant-technology.com) on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 08:22:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

I'm very priviledged that you have shared this gem with me!

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Sat Mar 22nd, 2008 at 12:30:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

ask the experts

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:26:22 AM EST

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 10)

Taken in Mumbles in Swansea last weekend. I had an ND grad filter to darken the sky, and two solid 4 ND filters to slow the shutter speed to catch some wave movement.

I wish I'd had my wide angle lens with me, but it was a spur of the moment trip since I was already in Swansea working. It's not an amazing photo but it shows some progress for me.

This photo was done with the same set up - both using a sturdy manfrotto tripod. I played about with the RAW files a little to bring out the sand a little more but I still find both pictures a little dull overall. It wasn't so obvious in photoshop last night but the second one needs brightening.

Better res photos can be seen by clicking on the photos. Any advice on how best to manipulate the RAW files to improve the colours etc would be appreciated.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:40:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Were those the Cokin ND filters? As far as I recall, they're not quite true ND - they're ever so slightly red. Have you tried messing with the colour balance?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:42:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Yes Cokin. I did mess with the colour balance. I tried to bring out the red a little more for the sand in the RAW file but I was just playing. I don't actually know what I am doing.

I find that when I manipulate the colours for a bit, I forget what it ought to look like and loose my judgement on whether or not the manipulation has become too obvious and unreal.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:46:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 6)

Here is a deliberate wonky colour experiment. I wanted more of a sepia look to it though.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:03:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 4)

this is totally classic, fantastic composition, with a huge pull, perfectly enhanced by the sky. i don't know if you tweaked it, if you did, superb job, if not....pure magic!

the wrought iron and weathered boardwalk planks really work well together and the purple highlights in the sky are gorgeous.

stunning, i'd give you a ten if i could. it's great to see your style growing over the months, what an eye you have...

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 08:31:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

Thanks Melo, I tweaked the colours a little.

I am still umming and ahing over whether or not to go out with the camera today. We've had rain and sunny spells so I may chance it. I have just cleaned all my leneses and formatted my memory cards. I have my all weather clothing ready so I have no real excuse not to go out.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 08:45:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

if the wind is anything like here, you'll have tyrouble holding things straight

Interviewer: What do you believe is behind this recent increase in terrorist bombings? Helpmann: Bad sportsmanship

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 10:09:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Yeah it was a bastard out there. Really chilly wind, pelting rain, then sun and then snow with my breath clouding in the air - the temperature drop was in a matter of seconds. No wonder silly unprepared people get caught out by the weather in the mountains.

I ran back to the car and the sun came out in the distance. I didn't get any especially good photos but I'll stick a couple in here in a bit.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 02:38:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

yesterday i took 150 + shots, there was so much going on in the sky, really 'weathering' as a friend of mine used to say.

then my camera died today, talk about the sunset effect!

it was a samsung techwin digimax S1000/kenox 10.1 mb, and i really liked it, though i hadn't got that deep into what it can do yet.

i'm uncertain whether to get another like it, or go for the 12.0 mb cameras that have come out since.

since most of what i try to capture is light effects, and i'm a complete dummy with manuals, i'd pay a bit more to have quality, but don't really need bells and whistles i probably get around to using.

any suggestions in the €2-300 range, anyone?

such a wonderful last day, though...

i had just mounted paddy today to go ride and two falcons started circling above me, quite low. i turned on the camera to grab some shots and it just lights up for a second then beeps at me, and the lens stays out.

gaah

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:26:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

You're sure it's dead?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:29:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

i think the beep is coming from beyond!

it's moribund, there are flickers of response, but after 2 secs it dies. and yes i tried two fresh sets of batteries.

it's odd, because the lens cap had been jamming for a couple of months, i'd have to tap it for it to fully open, then i dropped it the other day, (first time), and the lenscap worked again.

2 more days of normal life then this...

RIP

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:51:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

I assume you changed the batteries.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 12:34:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

This one is so dramatic (none / 1)

Just pops off the page. Nicely done In Wales.

by olivia on Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 at 06:04:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This one is so dramatic (none / 1)

Thanks and hi!

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Mon Mar 24th, 2008 at 03:26:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This one is so dramatic (none / 1)

Hi Olivia. I'm hoping to see some of your beautiful photos over here. Maybe even some of your rejects that don't make it to your own blog :-)

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Mon Mar 24th, 2008 at 05:02:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

lol LEP (4.00 / 2)

Lately all the photos I've taken are of the big mounds of snow we've been deluged with. Here's one taken this past summer when the world was green and warm ... ;)

Click for larger

by olivia on Mon Mar 24th, 2008 at 12:07:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: lol LEP (none / 1)

Thanks, Olivia, for making me happy!

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Mon Mar 24th, 2008 at 01:53:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Very nice. The first looks almost like a painting.

I told Bush; don't play chess with the freakin' Russians.

by LEP (rafifoon@yahoo.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:44:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 4)

Do you mean something like this?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:49:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Yes! What did you do?

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:51:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

Well, if you'd been paying attention in class last week, you'd have seen me muttering about histograms: in the case of these images, the histogram was compressed into the bottom 2/3s of the range. I just let Aperture's auto-colour-levels control expand it out to fill the whole range.

I also changed the tint towards the green a bit because the pink in the clouds didn't seem natural.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:57:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

I did pay attention. I know a bit about histograms and usually refer to them directly after taking a shot, but I get confused with the RAW file manipulation in CS2 since it separates the histogram into RGB and well... y'know?

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:00:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Does it not give you a luminance histogram as well?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:06:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

Is the white area the bit I need to work with?

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:16:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Not sure: I think so, but the yellow and cyan ones are confusing me.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:19:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Well if you're confused....

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:48:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

The white line at the extreme right indicates that your highlights are going to pure white. If this is not a specular reflection, this might not be what you wish.

The white area under the other colors is just an indication of the proportion of black in the image.

Personally I dislike this tool since one can't tell what is really being changed. I would suggest you try to get the same corrections with the curves tool in the main area of photoshop.

There are way to achieve white balance as well as fixing the overall brightness and contrast. Unlike this tool the curve shapes give you a visual indication of what is being modified.

It takes a bit of time to master, but it is worth it, for images you want to look their best.

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape

by rdf (robert.feinman@gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 09:54:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 6)

Using Curves you can get this:

Clicking with the middle (50% grey) eyedropper on the blue-ish hills in the distance tells Photoshop to white-balance to the opposite of blue-ish, which is this sepia, and then clicking with the white eyedropper in the brightest area, which is the cloud centre-left top. It's not quite the same as using a sepia filter or colorize.

If you try to find a more usual mid-grey you'll get a more accurate colour balance. There are auto-mask methods for finding the 50% level in a shot, but it's usually more fun to click around with the eye droppers at random to see what happens.

This is almost a photo magazine shot. You'd need an even longer exposure on the waves to make them even wispier, an even wider lens, and ideally you'd also need to take it at sunrise or sunset to make everything look dramatically pink or orange. This should be followed by even more dramatic Photoshop colour enhancement, until you get something that looks like a rather poetic episode of Star Trek, where the sky is bright pink and misty and the clouds are made of hydrogen.

I'm not suggesting any of these are a good thing, but it's the kind of style the mags seem happy to print rather a lot of.

I'd rather:

which is a slightly less familiar crop, but I think it still captures some of the essence of the scene.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:11:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Thanks for that. I'll have a go and see if I can reproduce something similar. It is amazing what you can do with photoshop when you know how. I like the alternative crop a lot too.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:21:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

That's what happens when the real experts come out of the woodwork.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:38:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Lack of time has been the main reasons for not getting to grips with photoshop a bit better. There are probably digital photography classes somewhere. I'll have to see if I can get onto one that looks at using photoshop.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:32:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 4)

I've got lots of tips on my web site and you don't have to pay a dime.

http://robertdfeinman.com/tips

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape

by rdf (robert.feinman@gmail.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:41:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

Oooh! Consider yourself paid back with happy vibes.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 04:52:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

I prefer, as in this case, to work in Photoshop layers. What I do is make some basic assumptions about the image - what i it that I want to emphasize.

Then I make layers that emphasize these differences - such as a layer to bring out the detail in the rocky cliffs by lifting brightness just in these areas that I have selected by the magic wand. Or distinguishing between the sea/sky and the beach/rocks and making one cooler and one warmer. I used about 6 layers here and then played with the transparency of the layers - most of them just a few percent opacity. So I make raw decisions and then fine time them interactively.

The decisions are always based on telling a story that the audience will accept. The better you know the particular audience, the better you can tell the story.

IMO there is no such thing as a 'true' photograph.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:14:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

IMO there is no such thing as a 'true' photograph.

Did someone say there was?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:15:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

No. I see your aim as to perfectly express the recorded image, whereas the recorded image is already a distortion of the original experience. Whatever you do, you will 'impose' on that distortion.

Acceptance of distortion (starting from the framing) is entirely dependent on the audience - even if the audience is you ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:26:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Which of the possible uses of "your aim" did you have in mind in that first sentence?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:37:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

I am referring to your entirely reasonable pedagogic aim of giving people the gestural tools to ensure that a picture at least conforms to their own aims for the picture.

Art is, after all, a very precise coordination of mind + eye, plus tool and medium. Serendipity can also play a part - like Japanese calligraphy - but serendipity born of the tools, not of the mind.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:50:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 8)

I managed to bring out some details not seen in the original ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:07:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 4)

Now, if you just drop in a Viking longboat and maybe a few Grays you'll be done.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:16:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 3)

Well I do regard raw photographs as artist's sketches - if I've experienced the event myself, I use the sketch/es as a basis for finding a visual interpretation of what I felt I saw, as opposed to what the camera saw.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:34:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

Like my failure to see any difference between drugs from outside or outside the body, I also don't see ANY difference between all manipulations of subjective experience of reality - including the original framing of the photograph.

When you frame a shot you are translating your total experience of an event, or moment in time, into a narrow channel that not only excludes all the other senses, but also excludes 95% of the spherical moment that you inhabit.

The camera, lens and image capture system that you pick up, is already an intrusion into the total reality of theat moment. If you then make a slight adjustment to contrast and colour of that image, you have already further distorted sensual 'reality'. You can add a lightning strike - that is also distortion. This addition is obvious here, since the original from which it is derived is presented also. But in another situation - sitting in a photo library? Is it real or is it not?

The key is, of course, the audience. What do they accept? How do they react? What have they seen before? Have they had a similar experience to which they can compare?

Just taking a photograph is manipulation. I don't see any difference between the moment (the sketch) and any manipulation that may come later (the work)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:00:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

Sure. I just don't feel I experience scenes in the exaggerated manner you feel you do.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:04:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 1)

And if you're doing art (broadly), rather than commercial work, should you be considering any audience other than yourself?

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:08:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

Well that is a whole diary ;-)

It is all art. The story depends on you if the audience is zero (just yourself), and also depends on you if the audience is one million. I don't see how the money comes into it.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:22:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

But my argument depends on your acceptance of the idea that the framing of the picture from the very start is a distortion or manipulation, let alone any manipulation that would be 'emotion recollected in tranquillity'

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:30:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 3)

Looking at the scene is a distortion and a manipulation, if mostly an unconscious one, never mind pointing a camera at it on top of that.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:34:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (none / 0)

And here we enter the Russian Doll zone. I absolutely agree. The selected matrix is always a compromise.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 05:39:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Photography Blog No. 27 (4.00 / 2)

lol!
Ah yes, I wondered what had happened to that streak of lightning. I almost thought I had imagined it.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Mar 21st, 2008 at 03:17:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

how's this, in wales? (