[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif Splendid shots devwild. I like being able to see more width-wise in the 1st one, but also love the vertical space of the 2nd. I do prefer the first one though because IMHO it is better composed, ie more pleasing to my eyes. The darker water makes the lights/reflections stand out more.

Thanks, I went for different looks with the treatment of the two images, so this is the kind of constructive feedback I appreciate. I also prefer the composition of the first, but there are elements of the second I really like, so I went both routes. The raw of the second has similar black falloff in the water, but I intentionally lowered the black levels a bit from ACR's default because I find the softer look more appealing with that composition/perspective, vs. the drama of the first. The second photo was actually a portrait shot, with the black water below cropped out - the west shore was the center line, which is why the buildings don't exhibit the perspective distortion. It makes for a more analytical look, but still interesting IMO.

cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by mambo5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif amazing shots once again devwild bravo

Thanks!

 

[BradJudy]

I recently took a trip to Prague for a friend's wedding and took both my standard digital camera (Canon A630) and one of my vintage film ones (Canonet 19 - using B&W film). Here are a few of my favorites (it was hard to pick 4 to meet the thread rules):

Wenceslas Square at night:

Old town buildings at dusk:

Groom entering the church:

Spires of St Vitus cathedral disappearing into the morning fog:

You can see more in color and B&W (including some panoramas) here: SmugMug Photo Sharing. Your photos look better here.

 

[Hayduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rav /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tried shooting in raw, and i found that my camera worked out the colours much more to my liking if it did all the processing, and i didn't have to spend hours 'developing' the shots. When i did raw, they always came out looking too processed. Plus, if i only shot in raw, i'd still be processing from last week.

I'm not saying your method is any less valid then anyone else's. I totally agree that sometimes you don't have the time to spend doing post. I sometimes shoot RAW+jpeg when I know I want to minimize my post time, but I will want the RAW just in case. If I ask the camera to make the jpegs, it means I consider the shots "throw aways". For example, I took some pictures of a small charity event. By "throw away" I don't mean I don't care if the pictures come out well, I just mean I'm not going to spend a lot of time in post and I won't be archiving the image files. However, sometimes one of those shots may come out so good, that I DO want to keep it and maybe spend some time in post improving it. You know, a "keeper". Does that make sense? If I didn't have the RAW, and I didn't like what the camera did to the image, I'd be screwed.

Maybe there is room for improvement in your post process? I'm not fast by anyone's standard. I'm too much of a perfectionist I use Lightroom 2. It has a great workflow for digital photography. It allows you to apply the post processing to a group, or all, of images in a batch (like Raptor said). If all the pictures were taken in the same lighting, then usually you can apply the correct white balance all at once. It even has an "auto" white balance that will likely give the same result as the camera. Anyway, just a thought

@Devwild, I like those night shots. Did you use a ND filter for those? They don't look like HDRs to me.

So I'm a believer in "less talk, more picture"...

Here is my favorite hiking partner enjoying the Sierra backcountry.

 

[SinnerG]

This has nothing on the awesome shots in this thread.

 

[Hayduke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinnerG /img/forum/go_quote.gif http://www.audiproject.com/images/spring002.jpg This has nothing on the awesome shots in this thread.

I think that's a great shot!

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by devwild /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks, I went for different looks with the treatment of the two images, so this is the kind of constructive feedback I appreciate. I also prefer the composition of the first, but there are elements of the second I really like, so I went both routes. The raw of the second has similar black falloff in the water, but I intentionally lowered the black levels a bit from ACR's default because I find the softer look more appealing with that composition/perspective, vs. the drama of the first. The second photo was actually a portrait shot, with the black water below cropped out - the west shore was the center line, which is why the buildings don't exhibit the perspective distortion. It makes for a more analytical look, but still interesting IMO.

I see. I'm not saying the 2nd doesn't work. Just prefer the 1st

It's strange how ACR's default has the blacks boosted. I almost always lower the blacks to recover some precious shadow detail unless, like your 1st picture, the darkness is artistically called for.

BradJudy, your black and white photos are too grey for my liking. It just lacks a bit of midtone contrast for that three-dimensional look and life-like clarity. It's darn difficult to find the right subject, and then post-process it to perfection. I'm still a newbie as far as processing B&W is concerned.

Anyway, keep posting pictures! You're not limited to four pictures ever, just four in a post

Hayduke, for some maybe it's an issue of storage capacity. I admit shooting RAW + Fine is very memory hungry. LR2 is an absolute joy to use. I have read that Capture NX2 does better NEF->JPEG conversions though.

Quote:

So I'm a believer in "less talk, more picture"...

Unfortunately I haven't had much time to take pictures recently

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/...90b4452f_b.jpg
What a beautiful countryside!


Quote:

Originally Posted by SinnerG /img/forum/go_quote.gif This has nothing on the awesome shots in this thread.

Oh come on! It gives me some inspiration to go out and take pictures of reflections

I recently saw a very similar picture of reflections of pedestrians walking on a wet pavement.

 

[Towert7]

I finally got around to taking some more pictures! (Boy school sure did kill off my hobbies)

Going Green


Curious Squirrel


Miss Elegant


Lens Flare


Fall Foliage

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hayduke /img/forum/go_quote.gif @Devwild, I like those night shots. Did you use a ND filter for those? They don't look like HDRs to me.

Polarizer, but no ND filter, no HDR. It was just dark enough at that point for a nice long exposure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif I see. I'm not saying the 2nd doesn't work. Just prefer the 1st

Oh no, I totally got that, just being overly detailed as usual

I just find it interesting to compare preferences.

 

[SinnerG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh come on! It gives me some inspiration to go out and take pictures of reflections I recently saw a very similar picture of reflections of pedestrians walking on a wet pavement.

Thank you! I took that in 2001 in Bali with an Olympus D-620L 1.4MP. That's about the closest thing to a digital SLR I've ever owned.

 

[Wil]

A few sunset shots caught on film (portra 400VC)

 

[davidhunternyc]

Here's my fan I just restored-

 

[BradJudy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif BradJudy, your black and white photos are too grey for my liking. It just lacks a bit of midtone contrast for that three-dimensional look and life-like clarity. It's darn difficult to find the right subject, and then post-process it to perfection. I'm still a newbie as far as processing B&W is concerned. Anyway, keep posting pictures! You're not limited to four pictures ever, just four in a post

Perhaps you would prefer some of the other images from the B&Ws that I took like the ones below. I'm quite happy with how they turned out and I don't intend to post-process my film pictures. Foggy cities don't often provide high-contrast and deep subjects for B&W and, having to run fully manual without a light meter, I wasn't always on-target for exposure. Since I hadn't touched film in several years (and only used this camera once before), I fear I missed more than I caught, but I enjoyed the process a lot.

I'm aware I can make more posts with more images, but I think it's appropriate to stick to one post for a trip. I just pop in from time to time when I have a group of new stuff.

The doors to St Vitus cathedral:

The Powder Tower at night:

 

[milkpowder]

Wonderful!

 

[onform]

Brought my first dslr yesterday,( canon 5D),....but i couldnt use it till tues as my lens is still on order. that was until a friend lent me his 70-200mm lens so i could have a play with my new toy.

 

[raptor84]

Very nice shots all. Man cant wait to go out shooting again :\