Yowza, that's good. :clap:

TY, Doug.:)

The histogram is where it's at if you're shooting RAW without a doubt and getting as much of the image detail higher up in the histogram specifically.

I did a bunch of moon photos a while back and without doing it like that there's no way I would have been able to get the amount of detail out of things that I did. Also very handy if you're into real HDR stuff (i.e. beyond doing a quick 3 shot with exposure bracketing).



Yup the histogram and the blown highlights warning are my two faves when chimping. I can tell in a split second where to take it next. Never thought of using it specifically for HDR, but I can instantly see the advantage of doing so. Good tip, thanks.

Nice job on the moon shots. That's pretty good for a 300mm x2 tele converter...nice detail.

Here's a nice collection of Eggleston photos.

| second hand cameras (http://secondhandcameras.blogspot.com/2009/08/photos-by-william-eggleston.html)

Looks like the gang is having some kind of fun. In no particular order:
-thoroughly enjoyed your links, mrjimmy. The Captured America collection is right up my alley.
-kps, nice call on the tractor. The school is a treat...great sky.
-The Doug...back with a vengeance, and what bloody marvellous colour in both. Nice goin' for it.
-mcquertin...your sharpening has always impressed, and those two moon shots really crack!
-screature, really liked your Mexican sunset (it didn't go unnoticed...I was simply jealous)
-SINC, you bring home some damn interesting shots. On the other hand, I also liked that one you posted called "just green" or something. Not tarted up, just a real nice snap of a yard I wished was my own.
-ehMax, your sunset over on the other thread is awesome
-and a tip of the hat to whoever posted that drive-in movie speaker stand over on the iPhoto thread. Nice idea.
Really cool stuff, everyone. Oh yeah...chrome Monaco logo my fave of MaxPower's set, and for some reason I have this image of a white dog on a yellow field burned into my mind.

Yup the histogram and the blown highlights warning are my two faves when chimping. I can tell in a split second where to take it next. Never thought of using it specifically for HDR, but I can instantly see the advantage of doing so. Good tip, thanks.

Nice job on the moon shots. That's pretty good for a 300mm x2 tele converter...nice detail.

Yep for the HDR you know exactly the ranges you have covered at a glance :) Thanks re the moon shots. The first one is actually with a 70-200+2x, the second with the 300+2x.

@ScanMan: Thx :) The moon is a very good exercise in tweaking brightness/contrast, tone curves and playing with sharpening. Funny thing is I thought I would have to take it to B&W to really tweak it out, but it looks better left in full colour, could get way better range out of it, which was the opposite of what I expected with that stuff. Live and learn!

I'd like to try prints of them but I don't think I can afford the black ink LOL :D

...Thanks re the moon shots. The first one is actually with a 70-200+2x, the second with the 300+2x...

Most cool, very well done. Impressive clarity & crispness. :clap:

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while - I didn't know you could get such excellent results using a good zoom.

I was thinking of getting a telescope that I can hook my Nikon up to. I still might drop by La Maison de l'Astronomie (http://www.maisonastronomie.ca/categories.php?lang=en&key=1&categories_key=1) for a look-see and to ask some questions. Besides lunar shots it would be interesting to try for Mars & Jupiter etc.

-SINC, you bring home some damn interesting shots. On the other hand, I also liked that one you posted called "just green" or something. Not tarted up, just a real nice snap of a yard I wished was my own.

Thanks for the kind words ScanMan. "Just green" is in fact a shot of our side yard. I love to sit there in my recliner chair with a cold ale. Does my soul good. ;)

Here is a shot of it from the other end, looking back to where I stood to take that first shot:


http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/just green2.jpg

Most cool, very well done. Impressive clarity & crispness. :clap:

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while - I didn't know you could get such excellent results using a good zoom.

I was thinking of getting a telescope that I can hook my Nikon up to. I still might drop by La Maison de l'Astronomie (http://www.maisonastronomie.ca/categories.php?lang=en&key=1&categories_key=1) for a look-see and to ask some questions. Besides lunar shots it would be interesting to try for Mars & Jupiter etc.

Thanks :) I've been contemplating a scope for a while too, but I don't think I'd be happy with what I'd be willing to spend on one ;) Doing planet shots like jupiter, saturn and mars are a whole different beast and to get good ones from what I understand you have to end up layering many many shots on top of each other, etc. Not my cup o' tea really ... I'd rather have it in my viewfinder and snap so to speak. Also I don't think I'd be able to get any kind of clarity on that type of stuff either :(

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/Illuminated%20Crowd%20Redux.jpg

Very cool (no pun intended), nice lighting, interesting subject.

Where did you find that?

Very cool (no pun intended), nice lighting, interesting subject.

Where did you find that?

It's one of my favourite sculptures in a public space in MTL, called The Illuminated Crowd (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/17225). It's quite large and to me, a fascinating and compelling work.

This pic is a reprocessed version of the very first set of photos I shot (of the sculpture of course) with my D50 when I bought it exactly four years ago now.

Thx Doug, certainly appears to be a fascinating and compelling piece.

Here's one a la ScanMan...perhaps a touch low on the clarity slider, but I liked the look.
/
/
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_AB_1764.jpg

Here's one a la ScanMan...perhaps a touch low on the clarity slider, ...I sure wish Aperture had a Clarity slider. :(

Here's one a la ScanMan...perhaps a touch low on the clarity slider, but I liked the look.

Nice, kps. It's great how one can pull back on the clarity and still keep it sharp.

Been in a floral mood, lately.

...and then there've been some less cheerful moods...

Like the shot of the surgical equipment, shows very well in b&w.

...and then there've been some less cheerful moods...
ScanMan, I wonder, if by chance, you shot this in a surplus supply store on Queen Street in Toronto?

ScanMan, I wonder, if by chance, you shot this in a surplus supply store on Queen Street in Toronto?

...or a flea market.

kps WINS!!! :clap:

kps WINS!!! :clap:CURSES!!

Uh, I mean, congratulations, kps. :rolleyes:

(So many sources for great photos!)

Yea I win! LOL

I'll be gone fish'n for a week, hope I'll get some picture taking in as well. Going to this place (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=biscotasing+ontario+canada&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.956457,92.548828&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Biscotasing,+Sudbury+District,+Ontario,+Cana da&ll=47.294134,-82.10083&spn=0.127138,0.361519&z=12) for some Pickerel.

Yea I win! LOL

I'll be gone fish'n for a week, hope I'll get some picture taking in as well. Going to this place (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=biscotasing+ontario+canada&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.956457,92.548828&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Biscotasing,+Sudbury+District,+Ontario,+Cana da&ll=47.294134,-82.10083&spn=0.127138,0.361519&z=12) for some Pickerel.

Nice! Looks like it's just south of the arctic watershed. Been around that area more times than I care to admit -- did a lot of runs from Sudbury to Timmins on hwy 144 ...

snapped this one at the Vintage Airshow in Ottawa yesterday.

NICE! What lens?

NICE! What lens?

oopsy :)

Pentax K-7
smc Pentax-DA 55-300 mm F4-5.6

settings: ISO 200 55mm f/4 1/640
circular polarizer was used as well

We were right near the fence where they were landing. I almost wish I had my 50mm 1.7 lens on, but I had the longer one for the planes in the air.

Still pleased with how it turned out.

Yep, cool shot. It's got me counting days till the CNE airshow. I usually bolt on the 55-200mm. Never seem to get as close to the action as your were for this.

Yep, cool shot. It's got me counting days till the CNE airshow. I usually bolt on the 55-200mm. Never seem to get as close to the action as your were for this.

I've always wanted to see the CNE airshow b/c it's larger - more aircraft etc..

In recent years, the Ottawa/Carp airshows have been plagued by bad weather and insurance costs, but Michael Potter, former CEO of Cognos who made millions, is behind a group supporting vintage aircraft. Classic Air Rallye - Rallye Aerien Classique (http://www.flightworks.ca)

He's got a Spitfire, Hurricane and other vintage craft and they've had this smaller airshow the last few years. I think b/c of the weather issues, most folks are turned off so there wasn't a pile of people there. We were able to get right to the fence for a perfect view. It was out of pure luck the parachutists landed right in front of us. My kids thought that was pretty neat though :)

Cheers,
Keebler

Looking east-ish from our new front door. Going between sunny/cloudy and overcast today...

For anyone in the Ottawa area looking for another airshow, there will be one Sept 18th at the Gatineau airport. The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) is behind it. Apparently, they want to make this the "Osh Kosh" of Canada and there will be 200-300 planes on hand!

Information isn't up yet, although I have a flyer from flightworks.ca

cheers,
Keebler

Here are some shots from today. My Father in Law's Dodge Monaco...My friend's dad had that same Monaco. Late 60s, early 70s?

MaxPower, I see your Monaco, and raise you a GTO ...

This is from the Perth Classic Car Show this past weekend:
.

Hello..I read above posts....all are informative.....Welcome to ehMac, angelina22 :)
Please post some of your photos!

Nice! Looks like it's just south of the arctic watershed. Been around that area more times than I care to admit -- did a lot of runs from Sudbury to Timmins on hwy 144 ...

Well I'm back. I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I would. Next time I may just take a little p&s instead of a large dSLR. It's a dusty, rough, 80km from 144 to get there which takes almost 2hrs. dragging a boat, but once there...it's great.

The dusty trail:
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_bisco_4715.jpg

The hard work:
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_bisco_4754.jpg

More to come as I process.

I'll see your GTO and raise you a 'Vette:


http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/carart1.jpg

Well I'm back. I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I would. Next time I may just take a little p&s instead of a large dSLR. It's a dusty, rough, 80km from 144 to get there which takes almost 2hrs. dragging a boat, but once there...it's great.


Very nice! Is that down the little dirt logging road (that heads from 144 towards Chapleau?) I have some bad memories of getting stuck on that road, in the middle of nowhere :(

Very nice! Is that down the little dirt logging road (that heads from 144 towards Chapleau?) I have some bad memories of getting stuck on that road, in the middle of nowhere :(

Actually it's an even smaller road that runs off of THAT road. LOL

I think the road you're referring to is called Sultan Rd. formerly E.B. Eddy Rd. I could see myself 'sledding' on that in the winter at very high rates of fuel consumption. ;)

Biggest headache on that road is meeting a logging truck after which you're driving blind until the dust clears. Not to mention the good possibility of losing a windshield to flying gravel when one passes you at 90km/hr.

But it's all good when you settle in at the camp:

http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_bisco_4725.jpg
*
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_bisco_4777.jpg
*
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_bisco_4751.jpg

...and for the fans of cute and cuddly, one totally spent bear. It was like 90 degrees and this guy just didn't care we were there. He was panting and just had to sit down and rest.

http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_bisco_4775.jpg

Actually it's an even smaller road that runs off of THAT road. LOL

I think the road you're referring to is called Sultan Rd. formerly E.B. Eddy Rd. I could see myself 'sledding' on that in the winter at very high rates of fuel consumption. ;)

Biggest headache on that road is meeting a logging truck after which you're driving blind until the dust clears. Not to mention the good possibility of losing a windshield to flying gravel when one passes you at 90km/hr.



Yep the E.B. Eddy road, and you're right about the logging trucks. Since it's an un-assumed road there's no speed limit and no size/weight limit ... and they MOVE. It's scary in the winter too, even with sleds! You don't wanna see one of those guys drifting around a corner at 120kph ...

Great shots all, wish I could have gotten up there somewhere this summer to enjoy the outdoors :(

Yep the E.B. Eddy road, and you're right about the logging trucks. Since it's an un-assumed road there's no speed limit and no size/weight limit ... and they MOVE. It's scary in the winter too, even with sleds! You don't wanna see one of those guys drifting around a corner at 120kph ...

Great shots all, wish I could have gotten up there somewhere this summer to enjoy the outdoors :(

Thanks M.

They did a lot of work to Sultan (E.B. Eddy) road, since the last time you may have been on it. They grade it a lot more often and it's wider than it used to be with a now posted speed limit of 70Km. The "other" roads that go into Ramsey and Biscotasing are far more...shall we say....rustic, but even those have received some attention in recent years. It was really good going compared with previous years.

I think some of it has to do with a Provincial Park that's going in there, a new mine and more logging sections have been opened up. But if they ever pave any of it, I'll stop going. It'll be far more crowded and not as much fun. ;)

I like the 'intensity' of this shot. Wish the background was blurred a bit more but that's not possible with my camera...

More to come as I process.

Nice ones. Guess the fish shots didn't turn out, though. ;)

-

I like the 'intensity' of this shot. Wish the background was blurred a bit more but that's not possible with my camera...

Don't sweat the gear, it's a great shot.

Nice ones. Guess the fish shots didn't turn out, though. ;)

LOL! No fish shots, if you want to see 'em look for the ones I posted last year. We go for Walleye only. Pike and perch go back instantly. The best eating ones are the smaller ones, the big ones are 'breeders' and unless it's a record breaking fish, they go back in as well. We got two good feeds out of our shortened trip, plus our limit of 4 to bring back.

Besides, there's other things we did there before the rains came.:D

We sighted in our rifles. Brother-in-law taking aim.
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_bisco_4768.jpg
*
Self explanatory...:D
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_bisco_4736.jpg

Road Island Diner. 1939 O'Mahoney built diner. Moved from Rhode Island and fully restored. On the US Registry of historic places.

Homemade rootbeer is excellent; even better in a float.

^^Cool. Another iPhone shot?

^^Cool. Another iPhone shot?

Thanks. Yes it is. An unusual first for me is that this photo includes and actual human.

Road Island Diner. 1939 O'Mahoney built diner.....Wow. :clap:

Thanks. Yes it is. An unusual first for me is that this photo includes and actual human.

Wonderful shot, nicely captured.

The last time I saw my ipod touch (ipad mini) alive.. This was at the Desert of Maine, Freeport ME.

Road Island Diner. 1939 O'Mahoney built diner. Moved from Rhode Island and fully restored. On the US Registry of historic places.

Homemade rootbeer is excellent; even better in a float.

Great shot SINC. If it were a painting I would say it was very Hopperesque.

http://www.edwardhopper.info/i/Nighthawks.jpg

Great shot SINC. If it were a painting I would say it was very Hopperesque.

^^^SINC??? I think you're lucky Macified is 2200 miles away in Utah.;)

Rainbows over Canmore, Alberta. (You have to look very hard to see the second one above the most apparent one)

A couple of weekends ago, in motion on the highway, shot through a rain streaked, dirty window. I know, I know, I should have pulled over and captured the shot properly. Not always easy to do.

Nice, KC4. Very dramatic.

You need to straighten your horizon a bit though.

^^^SINC??? I think you're lucky Macified is 2200 miles away in Utah.;)

Ooops... I mean Macified. :o

Just before sunset. Looking out my east facing window. Would love to see how the HDR option in iOS 4.1 handles this type of shot.

4 x 4 trip in the back country of the Red Deer river valley east of Drumheller:

http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/DSCN4309.JPG

Looks like fun, Sinc.

One of my Dad's old shots. He must have just "stepped off the boat" when he snapped this in '53. I can see how he was thinking "Man, this is some country where a guy can get a boat like that".

Never happened. Cool boat, though.

I've seen some really great stuff in this thread while I was lurking and I'm finally getting back in the swing of things again, so I thought I'd participate.

A view from the dock at our cottage.

http://www.polywog.ca/Gallery/Events/Cottage/files/5CE6DFC3-Cottage3.jpg

I've seen some really great stuff in this thread while I was lurking and I'm finally getting back in the swing of things again, so I thought I'd participate.

Nice re-entry :)

-

Hey...no take-backs! I was just working on something and went back to your latest motel shot for inspiration (actually, I was going to try and duplicate that nice n' moody B&W thing you do), and WTF...

I've seen some really great stuff in this thread while I was lurking and I'm finally getting back in the swing of things again, so I thought I'd participate.

A view from the dock at our cottage.

Nice feel to it. :)

Awesome shot Polywog! The reflection is virtually perfect.

...A view from the dock at our cottage.
...Very nice, polywog!

Now that you've got me feelin' all Canadian Cottagy, here are a couple from Lac Bernard, Qc..

Cottage conversations.

One of my Dad's old shots. He must have just "stepped off the boat" when he snapped this in '53...I love these old shots. Any others you could post here?

Cottage conversations.

How was that done?

I love these old shots. Any others you could post here?

Man, don't get me started. But in keeping with the cottage theme, a couple come to mind...

How was that done?

First I racked-up Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band's "Live Bullet" and "Nine Tonight". Settled on a volume level loud enough to drown out the lusty raccoons in my yard. Something about Bob's voice just blends with mating raccoons...

The original colour pic below, was shot in the late evening. I focussed on the boughs then reframed to soften the rafters. It's several years old and taken with a 4MP Canon P&S.

Was just gonna do a moody, dusky thing with the curves, but caving to a WTF moment, I hit auto curves, and wham...it lurched into a whole new zone of brightness. It also kicked up all the hidden grain.

Hmmm...now it's a totally different shot. Bob had finally wrapped up "Beautiful Loser" so I wasn't feeling so lost anymore.

Cloned off some branch crap and cropped 'er, threw up a channel mixer layer (my fave B&W-maker) heightening the contrast to where the top left started to blow out.

Gave it a lethal injection of 500/3/2 USM. A quick new layer for gradient colour burns to bottom corners and top right, then tugged around on the curves layer a bit. And a bit more.

Resize to 800px in three stages, and so on.

Turned off Bob. Went out and sang "Katmandu" to the coons.

First I racked-up Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band's "Live Bullet" and "Nine Tonight". Settled on a volume level loud enough to drown out the lusty raccoons in my yard. Something about Bob's voice just blends with mating raccoons...

It certainly looked like you didn't just muck around with the depth of field!:)

It certainly looked like you didn't just muck around with the depth of field!:)

^ Some things are beyond even Photoshop.

Polywog, I love the comp on your shot #2810! That low cropped sky works great with the reveal in the reflection. Beautiful shot.

Another oldie for SoyMac. Some very fresh Kensington chicken...I'd date this pre-peta.

Thanks for the kind comments, it's very encouraging.

Love the oldies SoyMac, particularly the Black and Whites. I presume they're slide/negative scans? Once I have the time I'll read further back in the thread to see if the answer is there.

As I don't have any oldies to share on hand, I might as well share some B&W.

In keeping with the cottage theme - we discovered this beneath the cottage my girlfriend bought three years ago. Its restoration is on the to do list.

http://www.polywog.ca/Gallery/Events/Cottage/files/6AF5461E-Cottage9.jpg

This was taken at Jazz night at one of my favourite hangouts, after quite a few drinks and being too lazy to leave my seat. Even at ISO Ludicrous, there were slim pickings because of motion blur, not only on the performers' part.

http://www.polywog.ca/Gallery/Project365/files/19B0C47B-p36516.jpg

Nice work people! Love the b&w and the vintage stuff.

Earlier tonight: QEW, Mississauga | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/larsthemacguy/5002685055/lightbox/).

What could I have done better? (ISO: 200; 15 sec. exposure; 35 mm lens.) Mounted camera; no hand-held action. :)

^ You got a lot of nice shots. You should post more often.

A couple for the dinosaurs among us, who can remember their first trips to the ROM.

Holy snapp'n ...how old are those? By the sartorial elegance displayed, they look like from the 50's or very early 60's. :lmao:


...and I agree about Lars' Flickr Stream, he should post more often.

Hear that Lars?

Holy snapp'n ...how old are those? By the sartorial elegance displayed, they look like from the 50's or very early 60's. :lmao:

1956-57, 1/2 frame 35mm. For the life of me, I can't think of what camera shot that format pre-Pen. Just posted them cause they gave me a laugh as well.

Ah, the year of my birth....now I feel like a dinosaur.

Just reviewed my ROM shots from earlier this year. Looks like neither of the dino specimens made the cut.

And hey...if you think the museum was boring back then...

My hat's off to this old gent, though. He could not, for the life of him, stay awake. But what a trooper – volunteering to entertain the rabble at his age, and in his condition. There's still some good out there.

Earlier tonight: QEW, Mississauga | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/larsthemacguy/5002685055/lightbox/).

What could I have done better? (ISO: 200; 15 sec. exposure; 35 mm lens.) Mounted camera; no hand-held action. :)Lars, that looks to me like a good shot.
Were you trying to get something different?

Been a while since I've posted any pics of my orchids. This is Paphiopedilum Parishii (http://www.orchid.org.uk/paphcult.htm), a ladyslipper species.

I've had it for about 25 years - and for the past 15 or so it hasn't bloomed. Not terribly difficult to grow but it can be hard to get it to bloom unless absolutely everything is just right. So I was surprised and glad to see it send up a nice strong flower spike this year. Guess that means I was on the right track with its culture over the past year. In any case this bloom is about four inches from top to bottom. It'll probably last about five weeks; there are four more buds about to open on the flower spike.

As with most species ladyslippers, this one is on the CITES endangered list now.

Did my best with the white balance - I hate shooting under a mix of natural light & fluorescent plant lights. :ptptptptp

^ Some things are beyond even Photoshop.

Polywog, I love the comp on your shot #2810! That low cropped sky works great with the reveal in the reflection. Beautiful shot.

Another oldie for SoyMac. Some very fresh Kensington chicken...I'd date this pre-peta.

This is a great shot. Too bad about the foreground interloper.

Been a while since I've posted any pics of my orchids. This is Paphiopedilum Parishii (http://www.orchid.org.uk/paphcult.htm), a ladyslipper species. ...Amazing flower and story, The Doug. I'm glad you shared this with us.

^ You got a lot of nice shots. You should post more often.

+1 Agreed. Some really nice stuff Lars.

My hat's off to this old gent, though. He could not, for the life of him, stay awake. But what a trooper – volunteering to entertain the rabble at his age, and in his condition. There's still some good out there.

Ha, ha, great capture...what a trooper indeed.

Doug:

You may enjoy the work of Endre Balogh a Stradivarius playing concert violinist that does some amazing flower photography. The b&w are phenomenal.

His latest sample at Fred Miranda:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/ufiles/96/468696.jpg

His web site:
endresphotos.com: Gallery (http://www.endresphotos.com/-/endresphotos/galleryindex.asp?c=17492)

^ You got a lot of nice shots. You should post more often.

...and I agree about Lars' Flickr Stream, he should post more often.

Hear that Lars?

+1 Agreed. Some really nice stuff Lars.

Thanks. :)

Lars, that looks to me like a good shot.
Were you trying to get something different?

Perhaps a little sharper.

You may enjoy the work of Endre Balogh a Stradivarius playing concert violinist that does some amazing flower photography. The b&w are phenomenal...

Thanks for the reference & links - this is top-notch work. :clap:

^ Nice, gentle work on the orchid shot. Nero Wolfe would be thrilled. I've got some decades old plants, though not as beautiful as yours. More like genus "rubber tree". What you're doing looks like a cool pastime.

Meanwhile, I've been keeping an eye on my Brassica Oleracea but I don't think it's ever going to flower.

Goodnight, everyone!
.

^ Whoa, that's nice!

Had another one of the ROM guy. As I'm fooling with it, Joan Osborne's "One Of Us" starts quietly playing in my head. Definitely time for bed...

...Had another one of the ROM guy. ...ScanMan, I love the warm and gentle humanity that speaks out of these candids of Age versus Best Intentions.
I think your ROM shots here show the power of photography to reveal much more than just an image.

C'mon, Peeps! Please keep 'em comin'!

^ What!!! You don't like my cabbage?! Maybe I should have sprayed water droplets on it?!

I hear you. It's great if a picture "says" something, but they're not easy to come by. Everyone says you've "got to have an idea" or "visualize" as Ansel puts it.

I'm not sure I ever dive in that deeply at the moment of capture. Most often, I don't know what I see and feel, till the image is on my desktop. That's often when I realize why I took the shot to begin with.

At the moment of shooting, it's instinctual – just going with raw feelings. Bang, bang, bang... and then later, those feelings, are revealed.

Sometimes it's a buzz. More often it's a cabbage.

^ What!!! You don't like my cabbage?! Maybe I should have sprayed water droplets on it?!...I. Like. Your. Cabbage.
There.
You happy?
:lmao:

Actually, I really do. Leave it to ScanMan to make a cabbage look exotic and mysterious. :clap:

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/lock.jpg

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/decay.jpg

#2848 :clap: I hope you print shots like that once in a while.

Thanks. Well, I think about printing, but never seem to get around to it. There are a couple that I'd like to put on my office walls - should get off my butt eh.

Have to admit my heart wasn't in it today, feeling rushed & somewhat stoned on cold medication. Nothing I had in my mind's eye seemed to be there when I downloaded today's shots from my D50 and started going through them. Lotsa lemons, so I had to make lemonade.

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/paint%20rust.jpg

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/tower%20curves.jpg

Excellent lemonade, The Doug!

Excellent lemonade, The Doug!

+1 --- I like the architectural shot and the funky padlock.

And of course this morning I discovered that I'd been walking around yesterday with the white balance on my D50 still set to fluorescent from the orchid pic. Way to go. No wonder last evening's post-processing was like pulling teeth.

Really diggin' the composition of the tower shot Doug. :clap:

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/officebuilding.jpg

^ahhh...hahaha...he's back with a vengeance! What inspiration. Now this one, blows me away!

Anyone get shots of, or by the light of, tonight's Super Harvest Moon?

We won't see a moon like this again until 2029.

Please post!

Anyone get shots of, or by the light of, tonight's Super Harvest Moon?

We won't see a moon like this again until 2029.

Please post!

I knew there was something I wanted to do last night... d'oh..

I knew there was something I wanted to do last night... d'oh..

It was very cloudy where I was :( :( :(

It was very cloudy where I was :( :( :(It was amazing here.
I was out with the dogs at midnight (forgot the camera, and no-one would trade me one for my dogs).
Moon was so bright, it was difficult to look at it.
It cast hard shadows on the ground, and Venus was hanging huge.
One dog was freaked out and ran back to the car and howled.
The other dog hunted like it was twilight.

Not newly taken, but never before posted here:
(original here: Park Bridge (Port Credit) | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/larsthemacguy/4737368888/lightbox/).).

wow Lars that is great! Looks like lots of post work on it but turned out just great!

It's photo's like this that make me want to grab my camera and try and one up ya

wow Lars that is great! Looks like lots of post work on it but turned out just great!

It's photo's like this that make me want to grab my camera and try and one up ya

Thanks - it was post processed into a B&W and then darkened slightly (darkened the shadows) to make it a little more 'epic' or 'eerie' looking. That was the look I was aiming for. :)

Great B&W work, Lars - keep 'em coming!

Really like that shot Lars.

A series of Polaroid Spectra multiple exposures. Image manipulation is done all in camera. Each final image is comprised of three shots. I shot them all from the passenger window on road trips in northern Ontario.

That's a really neat effect mrjimmy. Been ages since I've done multiple exposures, you've inspired me to give it a shot!

Haven't had a lot of time for photography the past bit, but I've been messing around with images in my library for kicks. Not sure I like this one, yet. Playing around with a TiltShift plugin for Aperture. It looks like it could do a fun job, so long as you plan ahead and shoot a proper DOF.

http://bit.ly/d87bR7

Speaking of flowers...

Here's a shot from a series I did of night time shots of echinacea flowers (cone flowers) in my garden. The shots were long exposures using a small flashlight to "paint" light in specific areas. In this one I also deliberately moved a couple of the flowers during the exposure to add some movement and blur. There is no Photoshop work in this one, it is straight out of the camera.

16184

That's a really neat effect mrjimmy. Been ages since I've done multiple exposures, you've inspired me to give it a shot!

Thanks polywog. I have many of these types of images. Polaroid was my film of choice for a long time. Inspiration of any kind is good! Please post your shots when you're done.

Lars: nice tonality in your b&w. Me likes.

MrJimmy: What camera did you use for the multi's? Was it an older Land camera or did you use a Polaroid back on a medium format?

MrJimmy: What camera did you use for the multi's? Was it an older Land camera or did you use a Polaroid back on a medium format?

It was a Spectra. You take the shot, hold the trigger and close the camera. Open it again, take another shot and repeat. Discovered it purely by accident.

It was a Spectra. You take the shot, hold the trigger and close the camera. Open it again, take another shot and repeat. Discovered it purely by accident.

Ha! Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing. :)

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/one%20hate.jpg

mrjimmy – nice group for a wall. You can feel the motion and with the subdued layers, it gives me kind of a wistful feeling.

mrjimmy – nice group for a wall. You can feel the motion and with the subdued layers, it gives me kind of a wistful feeling.

Thanks ScanMan. I do have some of these on my wall. High res scans outputted @ 24"h x width. They are impossible to colour manage though. Every time I reprint them for reference they are different. I never like the same version twice.

Speaking of flowers...

Here's a shot from a series I did of night time shots of echinacea flowers (cone flowers) in my garden. The shots were long exposures using a small flashlight to "paint" light in specific areas. In this one I also deliberately moved a couple of the flowers during the exposure to add some movement and blur. There is no Photoshop work in this one, it is straight out of the camera.

16184

Exotic looking shot Screature. I love the contrast of color against the black.

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/one%20hate.jpg
Totally Awesome Doug. The depth of the shot and all the trash in the foreground leading up to the focal point really gives the image the right mood.

I'm trying to decide whether that satellite dish adds or takes away from the mood. The jury is still out.

Enola Gay anyone?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4672691728_f269528ae1_z.jpg


Every year, my Dad and I take a trip down to Springfield, Vermont for the Stellafane convention. It's an astronomical convention for scope geeks. Lots of cool innovations have come from it.

This shot is taken there. I love the composition in this one:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4884075820_c7caa39925_z.jpg

Scopes don't have to be boring to look at either:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4884064414_8b544ff26e_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4884065158_5beb7e5b08_z.jpg

Exotic looking shot Screature. I love the contrast of color against the black.

Thanks KC4. :)

That time of year - early morning golden hour - blue against the ripe wheat turned out better than I thought. Still a hint of sunrise in the clouds.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m269/macdoc/Picture49-1.jpg

Nice shot MD. I'm a fan of blurring the subject line in photography. To me it is a photo about the harmony and composition of three colours. Much like colour field painting. The field at harvest in ancillary to that in my mind.

Here is my variation on that theme. I shot this using an old box camera of my Mom's that I found a few rolls of expired film for. The film is long gone but I could take 120 and cut it down in the DR to make it fit. I love the combination of the resolving power of medium format and the softness of a consumer grade lens. These blow up large quite nicely.

Following you two's lead.;)

Last weekend north of Barrie.

Soybeans:
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4791.jpg

http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/IMG_0103.JPG

http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/IMG_0098.JPG

Following you two's lead.;)

Last weekend north of Barrie.


Beautiful colours kps.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I offer up a David Hockney (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hockney) type 'Joiner'.

This shot is comprised of 18 polaroids (779) scanned 20 years ago on an Agfa 600DPI scanner. The single shot is one of the contributors to the whole.

I'm going rescan them in the winter, enlarge them to 24" x 24" and create a triptych of the best.

I'm going rescan them in the winter, enlarge them to 24" x 24" and create a triptych of the best.

Sounds like fun!

What a gorgeous weekend around the GTA. Enjoy a great family dinner, everyone.

(edit) Added a couple from the "day after turkey" walk.

Been through some rough times lately, haven't been motivated to take the camera out at all. Finally decided to put some effort in to it though. Here's what blew on to my patio lately.

http://bit.ly/cluCml

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving All!

Sorry to hear of troubles, polywog. I hope a resolution is in sight, and that you at least have a good long weekend.

Nice shot. I like the softness of the forms.

Some more autumn leaves, not too many left now!

http://bit.ly/byV55q

Just posted an iWeb site for my family to see photos of Zion Canyon, Utah.

Zion Canyon (http://web.me.com/mswebb/Site/Click_for_Photos/Pages/Zion_Photos.html)

fantastic picture,,,,

Do you tell me how u can do this. i want...:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

^^ Not sure how to follow that. How about a duck.

Was wandering around Parliament Hill Sunday - spent a bit of time trying to capture the buildings through reflections on the offices across the way. Haven't processed them yet, but here's one of the direct shots. Not sure if I regret not straightening the image?

http://bit.ly/aETIXF

Polywog, that's nice saturation and detail. My shots of the tower are often quite flat.

Thanks, Macified!

ScanMan, don't have any ducks, would you take a squirrel instead?

http://bit.ly/ccElaV

Not many squirrels here, how about...

Coupla nice ones, guys! I think Liza2010 would lurve them.

Cool! Some really nice stuff.

Macified, you look like you're having fun in UT. We want to see some winter action on the slopes, eh!

Cool! Some really nice stuff.

Macified, you look like you're having fun in UT. We want to see some winter action on the slopes, eh!

We are having fun. Just waiting for the snow which might start as early as next week. First competitions next month.

Great stuff, Folks! :clap:

Finally made time to download pics I took at an English Car show recently.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1186/5098410283_7204fd7045_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098410283/)
carshow (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098410283/) by dalrealgerk (http://www.flickr.com/people/studiogerk/), on Flickr

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1142/5098990236_b65861d0a7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098990236/)
carshow (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098990236/) by dalrealgerk (http://www.flickr.com/people/studiogerk/), on Flickr

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1356/5098991042_f639934229_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098991042/)
carshow-2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098991042/) by dalrealgerk (http://www.flickr.com/people/studiogerk/), on Flickr


And while this car was not english .. I think they figured it was still cool enough to allow into the show. It was one of the only non-english vehicles on the grounds that day, a 1965 Shelby Cobra.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1163/5098992962_9445e51571_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098992962/)
carshow-4 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098992962/) by dalrealgerk (http://www.flickr.com/people/studiogerk/), on Flickr

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1152/5098410609_decdef7b19_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098410609/)
carshow (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/5098410609/) by dalrealgerk (http://www.flickr.com/people/studiogerk/), on Flickr

Nice stuff mguertin. I get the impression that a lot of the cars are narrow and or small; really hits home how oversized North American vehicles are.

mguertin:

Nice pics. I followed your link to Flickr, but there were no larger sizes available? Also, all the EXIF information was stripped.

Craig

mguertin:

Nice pics. I followed your link to Flickr, but there were no larger sizes available? Also, all the EXIF information was stripped.

Craig

No, those are the largest size of them that I posted ... I've had some issues with people improperly using my flickr images a while back, so I limit the size that I post them these days. I also probably set LR to strip out most of the metadata while I exported them, which I usually don't do for flick, whoops.

Camera bodies were a Canon 7D and 20D, with lenses 16-35 II f/2.8 and 70-200 IS f/2.8 if that's what you were looking for.

Blackie, Alberta 1982. What I imagine SINC looked like. Close?

Dead on with the Ford pickmeup, even the right colour. Wrong hat tho, mine is straw. Daughter left, wife on right.

Nice looking family you got there, Sinc.

This truck sits outside a photography school in the Zion area. Probably gets used as a model. Wonder how I did?

First photo edited for crop only...

Second photo dropped on to HDRtist and left on auto...

Dead on with the Ford pickmeup, even the right colour. Wrong hat tho, mine is straw. Daughter left, wife on right.

A happy looking group indeed. I wear ball caps all the time – If I lived out your way, I'd have me a fine collection of hats and boots.

mguertin, that little Triumph is nice. A buddy had one (blue) in high school and we made a new walnut dash for it in wood shop. Turned out much sweeter than my metal shop coffee table.

I'm not seeing any midgets among your shots. Any there? How about TR8s?

I hadn't realized this thread had migrated... how long ago was that? LOL! Glad to have found it though. Some really terrific images in her - what a welcome sight. Here in keeping with the season, here are three of mine, shot out in the Trent Hills area of southern Ontario. I'm using a Panasonic LX-5 with Lightroom 3.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/Pasture1.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/Pasture2.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/RobertsPond.jpg

Max, the leaves on the water is stunning. Congrats on the shot and the processing. Mind If I use it as wallpaper on my iPad?

Go nuts, Macified. It would be my honour.

mguertin, that little Triumph is nice. A buddy had one (blue) in high school and we made a new walnut dash for it in wood shop. Turned out much sweeter than my metal shop coffee table.

I'm not seeing any midgets among your shots. Any there? How about TR8s?

There were all kinds of everything. Over 1000 vehicles exhibited on that show ... was pretty intense. I didn't post a lot of the shots I took though as they were all mostly pretty boring ... cars sitting with hoods up in the same position all over the place. Tons were even that same Triumph red colour.

Speaking of cars, I was in Old Montreal a little over a month ago, getting hitched. Here is a charming little bug of a car. Any experts to chime in and identify this rare (over here, anyway) species?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/RedBugCar.jpg

Fiat 150?

... I was in Old Montreal a little over a month ago, getting hitched...Congratulations, Max!! :clap:

Thanks, Soymac!

So, guys - is it indeed a Fiat? I didn't get a good close look at it, but as soon as I saw it I instinctively reached for the camera. It was just too cool to resist.

I think it is an older Fiat 500. Here is a look at one from both ends. Note the similarity of the rear bumper treatment:

Bullseye, Sinc. Looks like that's the ticket.

Uptown.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/Uptown.jpg

^^^^ s'bout time you come back to the fold....nice workx.

Yup, love the leaves shot Max - glad to see you posting in this thread again. I was wondering what was up eh?

Just hacking around with some of last year's shots, trying out the revised GraphicConverter. The new interface isn't bad at all, I rather like it and it makes sense (but still has some quirks) - gawd does it run like molasses on my antique G5 dualie. Still planning on jumping to an Intel machine next Spring but I haven't decided if it'll be a top 27" iMac or a base Mac Pro. Or something.

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/boarded%202.jpg

Second photo dropped on to HDRtist and left on auto...

Cool Truck. I hadn't heard of that app. Downloaded it and think I'll give it a whirl.

Just fooling around here with content aware fill.

Good to be back, kps and Doug - I see y'all have been busy! Doug, I really like the vivacious colour and clarity tool-fiddling that you've been up to of late... super graphic looking... a bit of Warhol in there too. You're really pushing the envelope; a nice change from the discipline and austerity of many of your black and white architectural shots. Lots of other great stuff in this thread too, from many other people. That said, however, I wish this thread were not in its own little ghetto - seems a pity. Oh well, on with the show.

Crick, Trent Hills.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/Crick.jpg

Doug, I really like the vivacious colour and clarity tool-fiddling that you've been up to of late...

Thanks. I guess it's a thrash & flail response to being somewhat bored & a lot less productive than I should be. Sporadic fun.

HDRtist... never heard of this until now. Downloaded & tried it out a few minutes ago. Ooh la la. Definite possibilities - I will use this here & there in the future. Thanks Macified! :clap:

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/motorbikes.jpg

East side.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/EastSide.jpg

Now off to check HDRtist myself. Although I must say that I am getting tired of that asthaetic - seems to be a bit faddish of late. Cool looks, great rich tonality, but I get sick of the style in fairly short order. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast... over-production tampering with the inherent beauty of an image.

Sunset, Lafleche, Saskatchewan ball diamonds, August 2009.

http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/DSCN4075.jpg

Sentinels, Utah, May 2009.

http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/DSCN3368.JPG

Awesome to see people posting again.

Here are a few from earlier today. The first is of my mother-in-law who as a young girl lost her left hand working in a munitions factory during WWII and still managed to raise seven kids, work a farm and a job in town. Year and a half ago she suffered a severe stroke and remains paralysed on her left side, but that does not stop her from baking buns and rolls.

http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4805.jpg

A couple more from today. For some reason I think they need to be black and white:

http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4820.jpg
/
/
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4819.jpg

Nice images, kps. Really dig the first one... wish I could see all of her arm but maybe you cropped it to the best of your ability already. Love the field, too. Sepia tones lend that certain air of nostalgia, don't they.

Sinc, I dig the sunset, although to my mind the bottom third may be better served by cropping some of that blackness out... either that or bring some highlights out of the muck to give it some definition. I like how the graceful curves of the closest diamond fencing mirrors the looping curves of the clouds above.

And now for something completely different.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/ChickenBeach.jpg

East side.
Now off to check HDRtist myself. Although I must say that I am getting tired of that asthaetic - seems to be a bit faddish of late. Cool looks, great rich tonality, but I get sick of the style in fairly short order. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast... over-production tampering with the inherent beauty of an image.

I don't have it, but I do use Photomatix regularly. I've gone over the deep end on some images, but for the most part, as long as you apply the effect sparingly it can really increase the appeal of the image without making it appear too surreal. Many of the images I've posted so far have some degree of HDR applied to them, some far more obviously than others.

For the most part, they weren't shot as bracketed exposures - simply making two copies of one normally exposed shot, then under/overexposing the clones appropriately, passing them through HDRtist and finally some other post-processing.

I passed this picture through HDRtist to restore the detail on the wall - before processing I was prepared to junk the image completely. Still not perfect, but far better than it was.

http://bit.ly/90r3YW

Now off to check HDRtist myself. Although I must say that I am getting tired of that asthaetic - seems to be a bit faddish of late. Cool looks, great rich tonality, but I get sick of the style in fairly short order. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast... over-production tampering with the inherent beauty of an image.Interesting point about post processing. I started in the world of the darkroom and one thing it taught me was to get as close to what you wanted/ intended in camera. Trying to achieve it after the fact never seemed to produce images that held up. Good negs basically print themselves.

Interesting point about post processing. I started in the world of the darkroom and one thing it taught me was to get as close to what you wanted/ intended in camera. Trying to achieve it after the fact never seemed to produce images that held up. Good negs basically print themselves.

+1 Whether it be video or photography, "garbage in equals garbage out". ;)

+1 Whether it be video or photography, "garbage in equals garbage out". ;)

I love it when we get along. ;)

I love it when we get along. ;)

:lmao: Miracles never cease as they say. ;)

Good negs basically print themselves.

True. But good negs can also become great images with talented processing. Just re-read Ansel's "the Print" a couple of weeks ago and was reminded about the amount of work involved in coaxing the max IQ out of an original. Mapping out intricate D&B moves, in some cases projecting across the room, dancing before a hanging sheet of ilford, waving his dodging wands about. Channeling the sun from a window as his light source....

I laughed out loud a few weeks back during the public debate over the value of the supposed newly discovered Ansel Adams negatives. $200M bucks! Bah! If they are indeed his negs, they may print themselves...but they're worth far less till Ansel prints 'em himself.

And that ain't gonna happen.

Sinc, I dig the sunset, although to my mind the bottom third may be better served by cropping some of that blackness out... either that or bring some highlights out of the muck to give it some definition. I like how the graceful curves of the closest diamond fencing mirrors the looping curves of the clouds above.

You're right Max, it does improve the image, although there is nothing to pull out of the muck, it was too dark when I shot it.

http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/DSCN4075.jpg

Awesome to see people posting again.

Here are a few from earlier today. The first is of my mother-in-law who as a young girl lost her left hand working in a munitions factory during WWII and still managed to raise seven kids, work a farm and a job in town. Year and a half ago she suffered a severe stroke and remains paralysed on her left side, but that does not stop her from baking buns and rolls.


Great shots kps. :clap:

True. But good negs can also become great images with talented processing. Just re-read Ansel's "the Print" a couple of weeks ago and was reminded about the amount of work involved in coaxing the max IQ out of an original. Mapping out intricate D&B moves, in some cases projecting across the room, dancing before a hanging sheet of ilford, waving his dodging wands about. Channeling the sun from a window as his light source....

I laughed out loud off a few weeks back during the public debate over the value of the supposed newly discovered Ansel Adams negatives. $200M bucks! Bah! If they are indeed his negs, they may print themselves...but they're worth far less till Ansel prints 'em himself.

And that ain't gonna happen.

I wonder is the difference would be that discernible after his elaborate D&B dance. From all I've read about Adams, his negs were exquisitely composed and exposed. The zone system after all. I'm sure even his contact prints were of high quality.

Hey, kps, you've got furrows - I've got furrows.


http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4819.jpg

/

I wonder is the difference would be that discernible...

Citing Ansel's comments regarding a before-and-after comparison of "Interior of church, Mendocino, California":

a)In an earlier work print, the white stair wall, illuminated by a window at the far right does not seem logical, even though it is quite true to the subject.

b) In the best work print, I have burned down the wall to an agreeable and logical value by using a card held fairly close to the lens so that the burning always included the entire wall. The print needs more refined burning in the lower left corner and near the newell post. I prefer the burned-in values of the window in 17-a (the original rough print).

And this discussion regarding one of his more well-know images, "Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada, California 1944:

This is a well-known image which I have printed in various ways over the years! The original visualization remains intact, but the problem is to achieve adequate "performance of the score", the optimum print I have still to make! A description of the complete printing sequence I presently use may be informative.

During the basic exposure (usually about 30 seconds) the central area of the sunlit trees is dodged for about 5 seconds, as are the far left dark areas of the hills and the grove of trees) the entire left area is later burned in for about 5 seconds). the foreground is burned in for about 8 seconds the left edge for 10 seconds, and the right edge for 5 seconds. By edge I refer to and area from several inches into the image to the border, this effect should never be obvious.

I then burn from the sunlit trees to the top of the dark hills, giving two up-and-down passages of 6 seconds each bending the card to approximate the contour of the hills. Then I burn from the top of the dark hills to the top of the sky in four passages of 5 seconds each. If I burn too long, just above the clouds I depress the brilliance of the snow peaks. Then, with a 2-inch hole in a card, I support the left-hand upper quadrant with 6 seconds of burning, and the right hand upper quadrant with about 10 seconds of burning necessary because of light haze in the sky. The snowny area at the extreme right, requires about 15 seconds of burning. It is at a glare angle to the sun and needs some value reduction.

A discernible difference? I think even the casual viewer could appreciate the hand of Ansel.

Interesting point about post processing. I started in the world of the darkroom and one thing it taught me was to get as close to what you wanted/ intended in camera...

On the flip side, post-processing enables abstract expressionism / impressionism and other forms. Years ago during my darkroom days I monkeyed around all the time, whether the neg was good or not, whether the original image was classically conceived or not, and I still do it digitally. Whatever your modus operandi it's important that you simply enjoy doing what you do - and if you want to experiment, dive right on in. It's all good.

On the flip side, post-processing enables abstract expressionism / impressionism and other forms. Years ago during my darkroom days I monkeyed around all the time, whether the neg was good or not, whether the original image was classically conceived or not, and I still do it digitally. Whatever your modus operandi it's important that you simply enjoy doing what you do - and if you want to experiment, dive right on in. It's all good.

I have no beefs about creative expression of any kind but at what point is it no longer photography?

I'm a firm believer in the commitment it requires to take a great photograph. Monkeying around with a zillion post effects is one thing but as screature so aptly put, in some cases, garbage in, garbage out.

A discernible difference? I think even the casual viewer could appreciate the hand of Ansel.

I'd love to see the before and after.

... as screature so aptly put, garbage in, garbage out.

This is not always the case!

A year-end photo project back in '72 at Ryerson was a portfolio I did on Toronto's pre-gentrified Cabbagetown, when the walls were tumbling down, the windows smashed and boarded, bricks yet un-blasted.

I bought myself a brand new trash can, beat the living hell out of it, sprayed my name all over it, put my mounted prints in a garbage bag which were dumped inside, then plopped it down before my Prof's door.

Best mark I got all year!

This is not always the case!

A year-end photo project back in '72 at Ryerson was a portfolio I did on Toronto's pre-gentrified Cabbagetown, when the walls were tumbling down, the windows smashed and boarded, bricks yet un-blasted.

I bought myself a brand new trash can, beat the living hell out of it, sprayed my name all over it, put my mounted prints in a garbage bag which were dumped inside, then plopped it down before my Prof's door.

Best mark I got all year!

:lmao: Well like all "rules" there are always exceptions. ;)

I'm in Doug's camp. I am not concerned even remotely about that shimmering, elusive line between photography and creative expressionism. I'll let others bicker over it endlessly. It's a mug's game, especially when purists get involved and keep moving the goalposts in an attempt to isolate just what is 'art' - whatever that is - or what techniques are acceptable in the process towards art.

Just keep shooting and processing... better to act than to jawbone.

I'd love to see the before and after.

I suppose with Photoshop, one could just follow his instructions in reverse, dodging where he burned, etc. :lmao:

Yeah, I wonder if such a book exists, that compares his first roughs to his fine prints. I'd buy that. The few before-and-after examples in "the print" are quite enlightening, though. Or darkening, as the case may be.

On the flip side, post-processing enables abstract expressionism / impressionism and other forms. Years ago during my darkroom days I monkeyed around all the time, whether the neg was good or not, whether the original image was classically conceived or not, and I still do it digitally. Whatever your modus operandi it's important that you simply enjoy doing what you do - and if you want to experiment, dive right on in. It's all good.

I understand the sentiment... but if you are doing work on a professional basis for a client, "garbage in equals garbage out" is a good mantra.

If you have great (technically speaking) footage or a great negative/digital original from the get go it is much, much easier and less time consuming to "muck about" to achieve a desirable result. Creativity always... but starting with good/great image from a technical aspect only makes it that much easier to be creative and actually provides for greater options as you have much greater latitude to play with.

I'm in Doug's camp. I am not concerned even remotely about that shimmering, elusive line between photography and creative expressionism. I'll let others bicker over it endlessly. It's a mug's game, especially when purists get involved and keep moving the goalposts in an attempt to isolate just what is 'art' - whatever that is - or what techniques are acceptable in the process towards art.

Just keep shooting and processing... better to act than to jawbone.

Having been paid for the work I produce both in video and photography I can't agree. If it is just for you and there are no consequences for a "bad shoot", no big whoop... try telling a client "I was being creative" to cover up blatant technical flaws... and you won't be in business very long.

Like any art form, you should know the rules and then you can break them freely, but if you don't even know the rules it is very difficult to consistently achieve the result that you were looking for in your mind's eye.

That being said it is good to let go at times when there are no professional consequences to be had for bad material as creativity/art often exists on the boundary between intention and accident.

If you have great (technically speaking) footage or a great negative/digital original from the get go it is much, much easier and less time consuming to "muck about" to achieve a desirable result.

Ain't that the truth!

Congratulations, Max!! :clap:
+1

I'm enjoying all the new images recently posted. Awesome! Keep 'em coming!

I'm in the same mindset as Doug and Max....creativity is creativity, regardless of the method or medium. All that matters IMHO is that you (and your clients) enjoy the final product.

Here is one of my first HDR attempts. Yup, I could benefit from more experience.

Along the Heart Creek trail...

Yeah, I wonder if such a book exists, that compares his first roughs to his fine prints. I'd buy that. The few before-and-after examples in "the print" are quite enlightening, though. Or darkening, as the case may be.

It would be interesting to see, wouldn't it?

Like any art form, you should know the rules and then you can break them freely, but if you don't even know the rules it is very difficult to consistently achieve the result that you were looking for in your mind's eye.


+1

Wow, we're on a roll today!

First in a series of about sixty photos shot of shadows of leaves against the side of my house this time of year... being fall and all... with plenty of post processing, but from a properly exposed image to begin with. ;)

16533

Yo, Screature - I don't see what being paid has to do with anything. If it's a good image it's a good image. Some people can and will get hung up on technical issues. However, I've seen work that was flawlessly done from a technical standpoint, yet still remain a soulless, sterile image. If there's no passion, that omission is glaring.

As for understanding the rules before breaking the rules, I agree - to a point. Sometimes colouring between the lines ain't gonna cut it. Too, too often people rely on the externalities of rules rather than trusting themselves to come up with something striking.

I treat photography as I do painting or music (whether it's my work or that of another's) - I will always prefer to experience passion over craft. That said, marry the two up and some truly wonderful things can happen.

It's an infra-red highly processed sepia-toned impression of autumn!

http://web.me.com/dougcg/iWeb/Site/artis_files/autumn%20impression.jpg

North of Stouffeville, a few hours ago.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/NorthOfStouffeville.jpg

Forest floor, same day.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/ForestFloor.jpg

Beauty eh!

Nice, Max.

I'm from the Markham/Stouffville area. Where'd you get to up there?

Hey, kps, you've got furrows - I've got furrows.



LOL! I like the composition.

Great shots kps. :clap:

Thank you. :)

I don't think digital is refined technically where you can use images straight from the camera, yes you can come close...very close, but to bring the image to to it's fruition some post-processing is a must. With film we chose the medium very carefully based on desired results, then spent hours in the darkroom getting it just so. I see very little difference, except that with digital the possibilities are endless. Try that with transparency film.

Here are a few fall shots from yesterday...Ansel, eat your heart out. :lmao:

http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4807.jpg
/
/http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4821.jpg
/
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4815.jpg

Great silo and urn shots, kps. The bottom one is a little too saturated for my tastes but it does have a certain haullucinatory crispness.

Doug: whether out of boredom or not, whatever - keep playing, man.

Macified: we went to visit some friends of ours who live up around you... they have a nice big chunk of land and border the green belt so it's very quiet and serene. They're in a 130 year old farmhouse... fantastic place. Went up for a mid-afternoon dinner but stayed about seven hours. Took a walk around the property and got off some shots. Nice way to spend the day. We know a few people who live in the nabe, actually. One of my favourite teachers from art skule days lives up there still. Tremendous fellow with whimsical sculptures dotting his property - a lifetime's work. But coming back into the city tonight was eerie - tons of fog. Would have made some seriously cool video, zipping along the 407 and thence down the DVP.

__________________________________________________ ________________________

Digital or old school, photography is essentially painting with light. It's editing - downplaying this, highlighting that. Push and pull - uncover and conceal. It's not real, it's idealization and dramatization. But it is real cool.

Entrance.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/CrawlSpaceEntrance.jpg

... coming back into the city tonight was eerie - tons of fog. Would have made some seriously cool video, zipping along the 407...One very foggy night, I figured I'd get surreal and alien video footage as I drove down the North Gower highway.
Nope.
Footage so boring I could only watch about a minute.

I hope any of your future, highway-fog video attempts are a lot more interesting than mine was! :o

Yeah, sometimes the ideas are far more entrancing than the resultant execution!

Yeah, sometimes the ideas are far more entrancing than the resultant execution!

And on the flip-side sometimes that best shots are the ones that you just snapped on a whim without really working at setting it up ... 'tis the nature of the beast in many things artistic.

Yo, Screature - I don't see what being paid has to do with anything. If it's a good image it's a good image. Some people can and will get hung up on technical issues. However, I've seen work that was flawlessly done from a technical standpoint, yet still remain a soulless, sterile image. If there's no passion, that omission is glaring.

As for understanding the rules before breaking the rules, I agree - to a point. Sometimes colouring between the lines ain't gonna cut it. Too, too often people rely on the externalities of rules rather than trusting themselves to come up with something striking.

I treat photography as I do painting or music (whether it's my work or that of another's) - I will always prefer to experience passion over craft. That said, marry the two up and some truly wonderful things can happen.

It has to do with technical proficiency, it isn't "a mugs game" as you put it if you are being paid for your work that is expected meet at least a certain basic level of technical expertise... that is part of the reason why you are paid for the work. Ask any working professional photographer or videographer whether they could hold a job or a client if their work didn't maintain a consistent level of technical acumen.

We are going to have to agree to disagree obviously as to whether knowing the "rules" before breaking them is important or at least as to the degree of importance. There are the very rare exceptions where "raw" talent emerges with little or no training, but even then given training that raw talent is/could often be elevated beyond its "raw" state.

I have seen it all too often in my experiences while getting my BFA at Ottawa U where someone thought they were the bees knees because they thought they were "breaking the rules" and they were some sort of "enfant terrible", when in fact all they were producing was sloppy undisciplined work whether it be photography, painting or sculpture.

Personally I see art as having some balance between "passion" (which is a highly subject term, given that what is one persons passion is another persons poison) and craft. But both should be there to some degree if it is going to be considered "art", at least by me.

It seems that you think that I am saying work isn't any good unless it has a high level of technical proficiency and that isn't the case, but if it is completely devoid of it then it is much less likely to seen by the public (who in the end decide what is and isn't art) as having any artistic merit. There are the rare exceptions like the Jean-Michel Basquiat's of the world whose work despite and in fact because of its lack of technical merit rises to the top, but they are the exception.

I think you are being somewhat dismissive of craft as essentially being in opposition to emotion or passion when in fact excellence in craft can be the representation or expression of a deeply held passion unto itself, but I do agree with your final statement, "marry the two up and some truly wonderful things can happen."

And on the flip-side sometimes that best shots are the ones that you just snapped on a whim without really working at setting it up ... 'tis the nature of the beast in many things artistic.

That is why shooting from the hip can be great fun and not looking at the results until you get back from shooting. Often times it is nothing other than a big disappointment but every once in a while you get a few shots that really surprise you with how good they are... those surprise moments are really fun.

I think wer'e coming at the question "what is photography?" from two halves of the same coin. We could probably discuss all the fine, splintered nuances 'till the cows come home, die, and their bones turn into rock. That's why I call it a mug's game. Go out and shoot instead. I give the edge to people with vision and passion over those merely blessed with technical smarts, every time; that's my personal preference and I'll freely admit my views are not going to change the world in some astonishing way. They are just opinions, nothing more... things that even may even shift from time to time. No use being doctrinaire - that's the enemy of seeing.

It strikes me at times like these that discussing and writing about photography is never to be confused with what happens when you have a camera, see something that grabs you and you swing into action.

I love to yak about this stuff as much as the next person but let's recognize it for what it is: noise and mixed signals, encouragement, criticism, distractions and all of the other things in life that are not shooting with a camera, being exquisitely in the moment.

A certain level of technical acumen is fine, although I often see work from pro photographers that's dreadfully ordinary. That speaks to me of a certain sad omission. Lack of an eye, or an inner eye, even - call it what you want. I've seen it many times. That tells me it's a widespread condition. Nor do I expect everyone to have a good eye... but I expect it in a photographer whose work I admire. That's part of the "passion" I'm referencing. I guess I can't put it any better than that because these are words, and a photograph is another thing altogether. When you look at a strong work, you intrinsically know the difference. You know from the inside out that it's not merely the result of a well-executed, intelligently chosen series of technical decisions. It's something more than that.

__________________________________________________ _______________________

Mguertin: it's true... some of the best stuff happens quite by chance. Yesterday I 'blind' shot something because I was in a physically awkward position and could not get right behind the camera to properly frame up the shot. I got home and the picture was unremarkable. This time. Maybe next time too, and the time after that; but I'm fine with playing the odds once in a while... wild cards can be hugely instructive.

... When you look at a strong work, you intrinsically know the difference. You know from the inside out that it's not merely the result of a well-executed, intelligently chosen series of technical decisions. It's something more than that.


Absolutely and I totally agree.

My grad year sculpture prof Max Dean said that crits were pretty much a waste of time for students at this level because all you had to do was look at a piece and you immediately knew if it was working or not. That pretty much says it all.

Good! We can keep going forward! LOL!

I think your prof had it right. At a certain point you have to have absorbed enough critical information and have tapped into our own aesthetic sense so as to be able to instinctively judge whether an image is merely well shot or is something on an altogether higher plane.

Now... someone put up a picture, dammit.

OK. Soaked grain, north of Stouffeville.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/SoakedGrain.jpg

August 2010 smoke from BC fires west of Edmonton.

http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/P1020319.JPG

Nice, Sinc. It's like the shot has grain, but it's really just smoke. The end result is similar. Funny how something so serious in certain respects can impart such beauty.

I like the amber light, too.

Thanks Max. That signal light by the way was red, as a train appeared only moments after that shot and I had to get the hell off the tracks. 'Twas the smoke that made it amber.

http://idisk.mac.com/plmnice/Public/trainsmoke.jpg

Playing with lines in monochrome:

From the full moon a few nights ago...

Shot with Nikon D50, nikon 70-210 at 210mm f5.6, tripod.

Would love a longer lens (300mm) with 2X tube for lunar pics.

Playing with lines in monochrome:

Nice ... is that an old Fender Twin Reverb/Super Reverb? Or one of the new re-issues ...

Here's a moon shot I did with my 70-200 and 2x extender back on the last perigee full moon ...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/3103171487_890bd44276_z.jpg?zz=1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/3103171487/)
Perigee Full Moon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/3103171487/) by dalrealgerk (http://www.flickr.com/people/studiogerk/), on Flickr

And here's a moon shot with a 300mm w/ 2x extender

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3181202590_39f8f1014d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/3181202590/)
jan 09 moon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/studiogerk/3181202590/) by dalrealgerk (http://www.flickr.com/people/studiogerk/), on Flickr

Here's a moon shot I did with my 70-200 and 2x extender back on the last perigee full moon ......
You just convinced me to go ahead and get a 2X extender. :clap:

mguertin, do you have a Canon extender, or a 3rd party brand?

I have a cheap 3rd party one (I think I paid around $25 USD on eBay for it). It works fine for what I use it for.

OOohh, guitar and amp shots! I yam drooling here. Don't get me started. Nice moonshots, too.

Dental office buiding, Yonge & St Clair.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/DentalOffice.jpg

^ Me like lots.

Thanks, Mr. Doug!

Abandoned bricabrac somewhere in the back 40, near Warkworth.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/AbandonedBricabrac.jpg

Nice work folks, I like it when this thread rocks.

Max, like your wet dead-fall, almost looks mineral. Great comp on the dental bldg.

SiNC, great "smoke" shots, like the first one the best.

KC, nice comp and conversion on the b&w.

Macified, Even though you feel limited by the lens, the clouds and a hint of colour makes the image.

OOohh, guitar and amp shots! I yam drooling here. Don't get me started. Nice moonshots, too.

Dental office buiding, Yonge & St Clair.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/DentalOffice.jpg

Max, I like your use of negative space in this shot. The way you've reflected the composition with the wires.

I understand the sentiment... but if you are doing work on a professional basis for a client, "garbage in equals garbage out" is a good mantra.

If you have great (technically speaking) footage or a great negative/digital original from the get go it is much, much easier and less time consuming to "muck about" to achieve a desirable result. Creativity always... but starting with good/great image from a technical aspect only makes it that much easier to be creative and actually provides for greater options as you have much greater latitude to play with.

One of the things I love about digital is the polaroid effect. I can just shoot auto then adjust shutter and or aperture on a second shot in manual mode to fine tune my original. That said digital images are very forgiving towards under exposure and an image that at first glance is a candidate for the trash bin should always be played with a bit before it is deep sixed.

Back in the sixties I knew one very good pro that kept everything he shot. My own attitude is if it is garbage, trash it!

Found these two from this past summer. Both taken with Nikkor 60mm f2.8 macro at f2.8

http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4673.jpg
/
http://www.ikarl.com/pics/ehmac/2010/kps_4676.jpg

Nice ... is that an old Fender Twin Reverb/Super Reverb? Or one of the new re-issues ...
Wish it was an old one. It's a new re-issue, digital (see below). A fun toy.

OOohh, guitar and amp shots! I yam drooling here. Don't get me started.
Consider yourself started....

OK, you're on. Give me time. I ought to make some new shots. But I'll see if I can't dig up an old one.

Okay, here's an Agile 3100, an LP copy made in Korea with a spalted maple top, binding up the wazoo and abalone inlays. Fantastic guitar, no longer in my possession.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/Spalto.jpg

The real deal-1980 LPCustom. Wasn't giving it much of a workout anymore so 3 years ago, I turned 'er into a MacPro. Here's the 12th Fret ad. Photos of the Mac aren't as compelling...

Verrrry nice, ScanMan. A classic look for an LP.

Reminds me. Guy I know sold a guitar through the Fret last year... a Fender Strat, 1964 issue, that he used to play back in the day when he was at U of T and was into playing in a band. Once he graduated he stopped playing and put the guitar away in storage in his house. His kids grew up and moved out and still the guitar stayed, largely forgotten, in excellent shape. Eventually he listed it with the Fret last year and the guitar fetched somewhere in the neighbourhood of 30K. He used the money to finance home renos.

Several months later we went back to the Fret and I acted as an unofficial consultant/mascot - as I am a Godin fan and can get quite enthusiastic about their products, he ended up buying a sweet Godin LG.... after so many decades he had decided retirement was a good time to start playing again. Cool or what.

Here's a keeper. 1971 Guild S-100, with some attitudinal mods. My first electric guitar. Bought it when it was 9 years old and I was 20. Still plays like the dickens.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/Guilder.jpg

Nice axe and great story. Yeah, I miss the thing from time to time, but that particular unit was just too damn heavy. I used to envy the SG players. I've been listening to more Jazz over the years, so these days I'm more drawn to the es's (335/175). I can see myself buying another electric some day, but something with a mellower vibe.

Lots of guitars to choose from that have a mellow vibe.... I'm not really a hollowbody kinda guy, at least not so far as I know - but there are plenty of versatile and affordable guitars out there that can do clean jazz licks with the best of 'em.

And I was wrong - buddy's Strat actually hailed from my birth year - 1960. Clean 64's are big money but not that big... yet.

Agreed - LPs have great tone but they're monsters to strap on. I have a Hagstom Super Swede that's like an LP in terms of its weight, body thickness and wood choices - but it's a longer scale guitar, like a Fender, and it has the rear belly cut, again like a Strat. I enjoy playing and recording with it but all in all, I still prefer a lighter guitar. Lately I'm drawn to maple fingerboards, Fender scale and five position switching... I find the curves in Strats and Godins are more comfortable in the long run and I like the option of using a little quack as a refreshing change from smooth, full, round tones.

But enough guitar yak. Here's a field; zero guitars.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/634123/Pasture.jpg

Nice guitars and shots of them Max and ScanMan! I especially like the maple on maple? floor one Max. Very cool.

kps - I love the flower shots: Here you go...take this!