The Photographers' Corner 2013-2020

[mathjak107]

nikon d800 105mm vr with extension rings,nikon r1c1 flash system

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[seraphim]

Walt. Really like the worm shot ...

 

[Mr. Paul]

Looking forward to more shots from your adventures, Seraphim. Lovely campspot (I'm assuming you are doing the camper thing?) ... something about that insect shot is particularly intriguing.

Meanwhile, we are not done with snow here.

 

[FIREd]

From my hike in the redwoods yesterday:

 

[Walt34]

Wow - that first shot had me confused until I saw the mirror.

You weren't the only one! Several relatives commented that it threw them too for a moment.

Tried an HDR - 3 shots at regular, plus 2 and minus 2 ev - processed in photomatix. Livingston County courthouse, Pontiac, Illinois on a mini route 66 tour

It has an almost paintlike feel to it. Apply even a modest amount of Photoshop oil paint filter, print it on canvas, and it could probably pass at least at first look.

 

[mathjak107]

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had to finally get the wife a fuji x100s too. just ordered it this morning. she was not happy with her canon sd880 point and shoot shots on the trip.

b&h had a pretty good deal with quite a few things thrown in and 4% reward points.

i find unless i am shooting action or low light i take the fuji more often than my d800 and all the lenses.

she uses a d7000 which will get less use now too.

the nice thing is they look like old film cameras and do not attract the eyes on them like our big regular gear. this is a big plus.

we will go to harlem next weekend and do a photo tour and having un-assuming cameras is a good idea.

 

[Ronstar]

You weren't the only one! Several relatives commented that it threw them too for a moment.

It has an almost paintlike feel to it. Apply even a modest amount of Photoshop oil paint filter, print it on canvas, and it could probably pass at least at first look.

I definitely have to get photoshop. I've been playing with gimp, but need photoshop to augment lightroom for some more effects

 

[johnnyfuego]

Woohoo! Another new toy!

1st post on this thread. Have to preface with the fact that I am a picture taker, not a photographer, he-he. Most of my toys are bought and paid for, but there are still a few I am acquiring that I want before retirement. Now I can scratch a DSLR off of the list! After quite a bit of research and going with a recommendation from a fellow now retired firefighter, I went with a Nikon D3200 combo kit with the body, 55 and 200 lenses, bag, software, etc for $529 at Bestbuy. Also bought the wifi download/remote adapter on sale for $49. Pretty amazing for an entry level DSLR. Man, what a difference between it and my old Pentax K-1000, lol. Gotta keep it for nostalgia! My point and shoot has a Leica lens, which I like a lot, but I'm way too much of a novice to be picky about the Nikkor lenses.

One thing for sure, the more I play with it, the more I realize I have a lot to learn. I plan on taking a class or two or a few. It's a lot of fun just with the auto and programmed modes, so I bet manual modes will be a hoot when I get the hang of it.

Here is my first pic! Taken at the firehouse on auto mode about 7:00 AM CST despite what time the pic caption reads. We keep this old Seagrave war horse here for parts for our old parade truck...

 

[Major Tom]

Welcome to your DSLR Johnny. I used to use a K-1000 too, as well a Spotmatic and I agree - it is quite a difference.

Your first picture is much more interesting than the first one I ever took with a DSLR. Mine was a boring shot of the house across the street. It was simply the first thing I pointed my camera at after I got it out of the box.

Enjoy that camera!

 

[Major Tom]

I definitely have to get photoshop. I've been playing with gimp, but need photoshop to augment lightroom for some more effects

You can download a free and legitimate copy of Photoshop CS2 here. It's not the latest version, and it isn't supported any more, but it has been working fine on Windows 8.1 for me. There is a Mac version available too. It can't hurt to give it a try. I bought CS2 when it came out and then found that my copy on CD became useless when Adobe decommissioned the activation servers for it. It was at that point I downloaded the free version and have been chugging along on it ever since.

If you have a newer camera the raw converter may not work, but you already have Lightroom, so that's taken care of.

 

[Walt34]

I definitely have to get photoshop. I've been playing with gimp, but need photoshop to augment lightroom for some more effects

You can download a free and legitimate copy of Photoshop CS2 here. It's not the latest version, and it isn't supported any more, but it has been working fine on Windows 8.1 for me.

Another option is Photoshop Elements, which is $65 downloaded from Amazon. It will do 80-90% of what the full version of Photoshop will do and the interface is virtually identical to the full version. And since you already use Lightroom the interface will be familiar.

Elements lacks some of the more sophisticated tools in Photoshop, which for me is the pen tool that I use often, and for the most part won't work on 16-bit files. But if you do most of your processing in Lightroom and then go to Elements that may not matter much if at all.

Not being familiar with CS2 I don't know what is not there but by now I'd wager that Elements has options that CS2 does not. But you can't beat the price!

 

[FIREd]

From my hike last weekend, a creek lined with ferns and redwood trees:

I should have used HDR on this one, I think. Instead I tried to use exposure compensation to avoid blowing out highlights too much, then I developed the shadows in post. This trail was narrow and busy, so using a tripod was out of the question. It was also pretty dark under the redwood tree canopy, so I had to work with higher ISO settings.

Here is another one:

 

[Walt34]

That's a tough one with the deep shadows and spots of direct sunlight. I like the shot though.

 

[Major Tom]

Nice shots FIREd. I usually wimp out and stay away from scenes with too much dynamic range, unless I am actually aiming for the strong graphic effect of deep shadows against very bright highlights.

 

[Ronstar]

Thanks for the Photoshop purchase pointers Major Tom & Walt! I was going to wait until after summer, but with these options I'll go for it now.

 

[Ronstar]

Nice shots FIREd.Those ferns are really catching the light.

 

[Ronstar]

Shot today at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. Quite a place. Really puts everything in perspective.

 

[Major Tom]

Went out for a ride in the early evening to explore a part of town that I have spent very little time in - West Oakland. The hour before the sun goes down has always been my favorite part of the day.

 

[Major Tom]

On the way back from SF this afternoon, I passed a friend who was on her way into SF. She let me take a quick snap, and processing this photo reminded me that I really need to learn how to do great black and white conversions.

 

[mathjak107]

If you use lightroom or photoshop silver effex is as good as it gets for b&w conversions.

 

[Ronstar]

Wall mural on building on old route 66 in Pontiac, Illinois

 

[Walt34]

Thanks for the Photoshop purchase pointers Major Tom & Walt! I was going to wait until after summer, but with these options I'll go for it now.

There's one other thing that occurred to me later. I started with Elements, registered it, and of course Adobe sent E-mails ~once every other month or so urging an upgrade to the full Photoshop, which I ignored because of the high price and at the time Elements was more than enough to learn. I went through two or three versions of Elements.

But they later offered CS5 at the upgrade price and I bit on that. They've since gone to a subscription model, and for a while offered the "Photographer's Special" of both the current version of Lightroom and Photoshop CC for $9.99/month. It's supposed to stay at that price for as long as one subscribes. I bit on that too, since I figured it was about a wash with upgrading to current versions every 18 months or so. And frankly, we spend more than that on coffee.

So it might be that if one buys Elements they may offer that or a similar deal after a few months.

The below are some that I shot this morning in bright sunlight, 85mm macro lens with a 36mm extension tube.

 

[Major Tom]

If you use lightroom or photoshop silver effex is as good as it gets for b&w conversions.

Thanks for the tip on Silver Efex. I'm more interested in techniques I can use with Photoshop without the help of plug-ins, so that I can understand the process as I'm applying it. I currently use either channel mixer, calculations, or gradient map - whichever gives the best-looking conversion, but I think I need to get a little more proficient at how I implement these.

Of course, it may also be that I'm not taking good enough pictures to use as source material, and that is a distinct possibility!

 

[Ronstar]

There's one other thing that occurred to me later. I started with Elements, registered it, and of course Adobe sent E-mails ~once every other month or so urging an upgrade to the full Photoshop, which I ignored because of the high price and at the time Elements was more than enough to learn. I went through two or three versions of Elements.

But they later offered CS5 at the upgrade price and I bit on that. They've since gone to a subscription model, and for a while offered the "Photographer's Special" of both the current version of Lightroom and Photoshop CC for $9.99/month. It's supposed to stay at that price for as long as one subscribes. I bit on that too, since I figured it was about a wash with upgrading to current versions every 18 months or so. And frankly, we spend more than that on coffee.

So it might be that if one buys Elements they may offer that or a similar deal after a few months.

The below are some that I shot this morning in bright sunlight, 85mm macro lens with a 36mm extension tube.

I had some bad timing on my Lightroom purchase. I bought Lightroom just before they offered the 9.99 deal. At least I got it at the student price. Then I took a Lightroom class and the teacher suggested the 9.99 combo subscription was a good deal. But I didn't want to pull the trigger on that right after buying Lightroom. Enough time has passed now that I can go that route without feeling guilty of misspending.

Great shots of your flowers by the way. Those reds are striking. I can't wait for some flowers to pop here.

 

[Major Tom]

Has anyone had any experience with damaged lens elements? I was inspecting my Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 lens today and discovered a small chip on the rear element. I think it may have happened when I dropped it several years ago. I haven't noticed any problems with the images it produces but am sending it off to Canon for a repair estimate anyway.

I have read that small scratches and chips on front elements usually have little effect on the images unless you are shooting into the sun, while damage to rear elements can be of more consequence.