The Photographers' Corner 2013-2020

[seraphim]

Another flower shot...

 

[seraphim]

commercial shot

 

[mathjak107]

we went to the bronx zoo yesterday

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[seraphim]

one more ... kind of waxing nostalgic

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner

Mathjak

That's kind of what I see in the mirror each morning ...

 

[Walt34]

I've been too busy to take any shots lately, but I just finished building my hand tool chest, and took a few shots of it with my shop lighting

That's impressive carpentry. I'm sure that took a while to learn how to do.

 

[Ronstar]

Thanks Walt - I've been doing woodworking on and off for 40 years or so. But I've been doing a lot more recently since I got more tools and more free time. It's like photography in a way - lots of online resources to improve skills

 

[seraphim]

Check out the Sony RX100.... it's got a 1" sensor (similar to Nikon 1 series), f/1.8 and is absolutely pocketable. There are times when I still want my DSLR, mostly for ultra wide angle work or easier manual controls. Also, the IQ of the DSLR with a premium prime lens is finer than the Sony is capable of. However, I'm finding more and more instances where the size and versatility of the RX combined with its intelligent shooting modes actually produces better results than my DSLR.

As I've been sorting through photo files I realized I took more photos when I had the old Sony Cybershot, which was 5mp with a fixed zoom lens.

Maybe an A7r with a nikon lens adaptor....

 

[Major Tom]

That's impressive carpentry. I'm sure that took a while to learn how to do.

+1 - beautiful work Ronstar.

 

[Major Tom]

Marilyn and i are entertaining a 2nd x100s. We are making my daughter a destination wedding in 2 weeks in the dominican republic and do not want to drag our big camera gear.

We were going to take our x100s and our cannon sd880 but i think we would be smart to get another x100s instead.

There do seem to be a lot of pros who are using their X100s' on shoots.

From everything I'm reading, it's not just the image quality (which looks really good), but also the ergonomics. It looks like a film camera and I'm hearing that it feels like operating one too (perhaps the decision to put a traditional-style shutter speed knob on top of the camera is part of that).

It seems to do a great job of balancing different color light sources in AWB, and also to do well on the dynamic range front. That almost silent leaf shutter, which allows flash sync at high speeds is mighty attractive as well - not to mention the built-in ND filter.

That little camera seems to be packing a lot of mojo. I am really looking forward to meeting it one day. Glad you're enjoying yours FIREd.

 

[photoguy]

It can enhance photos in certain conditions,but it doesn't really do anything for most photos. Been playing with it, now that I have Linux up and running on a photo dedicated box, and I'm still not impressed. its doing nothing more than layering different exposures, which can be done in PS style editors. It merely automates the process, which is nice, but appears to be limiting creative choices

I think the big advantage is when the layers work would be very complicated, usually when the scene doesn't have a simple dividing line between bright and dark. For example, see this swamp picture by Marc Muench: Part Two of Marc's HDR Workflow — Muench Workshops

Most people won't carry a tripod to shoot bracketed photos or spend the time and money to post-process HDR.

Shooting a series of handheld brackets can work quite well for HDR.

Playing with HDR, I am learning that a light hand is usually better for the kind of results that I am looking for. One vexing drawback is the frequent presence of artifacts in HDR composites (ghosting, halos, etc...). Some can easily be fixed, others not so much.

I can't stand seeing halos in HDR work. Or the grunge look.

 

[mathjak107]

i shoot quite a bit of hdr. the problem with handholding is while the software can merge the slight alignment issues that result the edges are always rolled into each other and never near as sharp as when you can eliminate the alignment stage by using a tripod.

 

[photoguy]

I generally prefer to do HDR brackets from a tripod but I wouldn't hesitate to do handheld if the shutter speeds are high. Sometimes as you mention there is noticeable loss of sharpness but I also have sets where the loss is negligible (not visibly different from the individual brackets). If I think the sharpness may be an issue, I'll take the set more than once and throw out bad ones.

 

[mathjak107]

if you use a tripod be sure and turn off the alighn images in the software. even if the are perfectly aligned the mushing of the edges it does if you leave the align box checked does soften things.

 

[explanade]

I was reading some camera reviews. Appears the 6D does in-camera HDR but only outputs JPGs, while the 5DM3 will produce RAW HDRs?

Nikon 610 doesn't do in-camera HDR but some of the lower-end DSLRs do. And the D800E does it, but with a two-shot blend?

I've seen some good results from Sony NEX in-camera HDR.

 

[seraphim]

OK - I figured out what I was doing wrong. sometimes a man needs to read the instructions. I see the possibilities of HDR, but haven't played enough to figure out the possible permutations. This is the same simple chess shot, with 5 xposures under a modeling lamp - the color balance was off. all I did to alter the the tone map was to kick the detail slider up halfway - just to see what effect it would have. Not a work of art, but kind of neat. Is it still a photograph though?

 

[Walt34]

Is it still a photograph though?

I'd think so. No different than applying a sepia tone to a B&W to make it look old.

 

[seraphim]

Well. in that case..lol

Here's one I tried shooting into the sun. A lens flare issue, but it was just an experiment.


Happy Easter, all

 

[seraphim]

 

[Walt34]

Seraphim: I've never seen a turtle with colors like that one. Where did you take that shot?

These are tulip petals. I was trying to capture the structure of them but with the light right on the lens the photos all looked flat. So I remembered reading "Get the light off the camera!" advice and tried that. Then they start to take on aspects of geologic formations.

Photos taken in my lavishly equipped studio, AKA the dining room table.

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner

Seraphim: I've never seen a turtle with colors like that one. Where did you take that shot?

These are tulip petals. I was trying to capture the structure of them but with the light right on the lens the photos all looked flat. So I remembered reading "Get the light off the camera!" advice and tried that. Then they start to take on aspects of geologic formations.

Photos taken in my lavishly equipped studio, AKA the dining room table.

Salt Springs in Florida. The red is a bit saturated in the photo - it was milder in reality, if I recall. Just using a cheap point and shoot camera.

For detail, the greater the angle of light source - compared to the camera angle- the darker and wider the shadows which show the texture. Shooting in a dark room lets you control the image more ( no ambient or stray light). Same when editing the image: a dark room makes the image on the screen look cleaner - no glare.

I like the different effects you achieved, and the final photo as well: a nice composition

 

[seraphim]

Salt Springs in Florida. The red is a bit saturated in the photo - it was milder in reality, if I recall. Just using a cheap point and shoot camera.

For detail, the greater the angle of light source - compared to the camera angle- the darker and wider the shadows which show the texture. Shooting in a dark room lets you control the image more ( no ambient or stray light). Same when editing the image: a dark room makes the image on the screen look cleaner - no glare.

I like the different effects you achieved, and the final photo as well: a nice composition

Here's the unedited file image

 

[Ronstar]

I finally got around to putting out my new wren house. I set it on the post and went to the garage for some screws, and the house had tenants by the time I came back. Not wrens though - looks like chickadees.

 

[seraphim]

I finally got around to putting out my new wren house. I set it on the post and went to the garage for some screws, and the house had tenants by the time I came back. Not wrens though - looks like chickadees.

It's a sellers market lol...

 

[Ronstar]

It's a sellers market lol...

Yes it is - And with DW imposing a building moratorium, I expect prices/rents to skyrocket