Pride Goeth Before the Fall - In Living B&W

Pride Goeth Before the Fall - In Living B&W · 03:42 PM

Today, I drove over to our local wetlands to try to shoot some birds or other wildlife; I experienced my usual level of success in the genre - mediocrity. However, at the end of "the shoot", I slapped on my DA 15 Limited - an act that always seems to fill me with an unwarranted sense of artistic importance - and shot some "hardware" around the place, including a statue of a man and boy.

I was pleased with the composition and felt it would be more compelling in B&W. I painstakingly did the conversion - aiming at a particular surface texture of the statue. After cropping and grinning - I was pleased (sinful pride

) . . . . . . until I noticed the man has two flags hanging from his nose.

I post the image here as a warning to other old geezers who get too big for their britches.

Jer

jmc7104 · 06-10-2009, 04:27 PM

Man you couldn't have got those flags any closer even if you had been trying.

jim

imtheguy · 06-10-2009, 04:49 PM

Aww Sailor...I dont see any flags. Looks GREAT to me.

**Sailor** · 06-10-2009, 05:27 PM

Originally posted by jmc7104

Man you couldn't have got those flags any closer even if you had been trying.

jim

Indeed! I'm not that steady.

Jer

Originally posted by imtheguy

Aww Sailor...I dont see any flags. Looks GREAT to me.

Terrific job - now I have a masterpiece. Somehow, I've never convinced myself this sort of thing is "fair". Besides, I haven't a clue how to do it.

Jer

**Rense** · 06-11-2009, 12:48 AM

Haha Jer, it sounds so familiar to me! Bird shots and wildlife are not my speciality (putting it mildly

), and I suffer from this flag syndrome you describe. With the difference that I never notice them myself, and I have to rely on others to point them out. And as far as the process of cloning goes: I am in the same state of ignorance as you when it comes to these skills...

jmbradd · 06-11-2009, 02:16 AM

i like how they're blowing the direction they are, it gives a sense of motion to the image of statues =)

if you want to get REALLY artistic, the father blowing his nose with flags points to the fact that as adults, parents, elder citizens we give advice to younger generations even though we're really just blowing hot air!

**Douglas_of_Sweden** · 06-11-2009, 04:37 AM

Originally posted by imtheguy

Aww Sailor...I dont see any flags. Looks GREAT to me.

Mmh...are you sure it is not illegal to errase flags like that?

**Sailor** · 06-11-2009, 05:26 AM

Originally posted by Rense

Haha Jer, it sounds so familiar to me! Bird shots and wildlife are not my speciality (putting it mildly

), and I suffer from this flag syndrome you describe. With the difference that I never notice them myself, and I have to rely on others to point them out. And as far as the process of cloning goes: I am in the same state of ignorance as you when it comes to these skills...

Thanks, Rense - that makes me feel better; at least, I'm not the only one.

Jer

Originally posted by jmbradd

i like how they're blowing the direction they are, it gives a sense of motion to the image of statues =)

if you want to get REALLY artistic, the father blowing his nose with flags points to the fact that as adults, parents, elder citizens we give advice to younger generations even though we're really just blowing hot air!

Hard to argue with that.

Jer

Originally posted by Douglas_of_Sweden

Mmh...are you sure it is not illegal to errase flags like that?

I'm pretty sure it's legal and imtheguy did a marvelous job - I just wish I knew how.

Jer

MRRiley · 06-11-2009, 06:20 AM

Jer,

I would not consider it to be a great sin to clone out those flags from this shot as imtheguy did. They would not have been there if your POV had been just an inch or two to the right, but then this would have changed the dynamic balance of the shot. As a purely "artistic" photo there is no great societal obligation to leave this otherwise very fine photo in it's pristine and original condition.

CLONE AWAY MAN!!!

Mike

**Sailor** · 06-11-2009, 06:36 AM

Originally posted by MRRiley

Jer,

I would not consider it to be a great sin to clone out those flags from this shot as imtheguy did. They would not have been there if your POV had been just an inch or two to the right, but then this would have changed the dynamic balance of the shot. As a purely "artistic" photo there is no great societal obligation to leave this otherwise very fine photo in it's pristine and original condition.

CLONE AWAY MAN!!!

Mike

You are, of course, absolutely right, Mike - and I was being a bit facetious in my reply to imtheguy (who did a great job, obviously). My big obstacle is that I don't know how (the only thing I can do is get rid of dust spots on blue sky). However, my daughter is a whizz at this stuff - I'll get her to tutor me when she's home in a couple of weeks.

Jer

lunelson · 06-11-2009, 01:50 PM

You (or somebody) need to post a review for the DA 15. I'm very interested in it as the speed and focal length sound great for what I'm currently missing in my lineup. This was a nice shot but I'd love to hear more about its strengths and weaknesses.

**Sailor** · 06-12-2009, 02:46 PM

Originally posted by lunelson

You (or somebody) need to post a review for the DA 15. I'm very interested in it as the speed and focal length sound great for what I'm currently missing in my lineup. This was a nice shot but I'd love to hear more about its strengths and weaknesses.

Do a search for me, tcom and RaduA and you'll find some recent posts with numerous pictures from this lens.

I've only owned the lens for a few weeks and I abhor pixel peeping, but I'm generally very pleased with the lens' rendering, thus far; color, contrast and lack of distortion are - to me - quite pleasing. DPreview has complained about the lens' sharpness (or lack thereof), but I've seen no indication that the lens is particularly soft.

Jer

Jimbo · 06-12-2009, 04:31 PM

Great image Jer with or without the flags! JIM

**Sailor** · 06-12-2009, 04:39 PM

Originally posted by Jimbo

Great image Jer with or without the flags! JIM

Gee, thanks buddy. I think I've discovered a new universal principal: when you have your head up your a--, flags descend from the nose.

Jer

stl_stadtroller · 06-12-2009, 05:53 PM

man, if I had a nickel for every shot I've taken that's been ruined for that exact sort of thing, I could buy that fancy lens you're using a couple times over!

Usually, I come home exclaiming something about the AWESOME shot I got ... only to have my wife look at it and say "yeah, it's great.. to bad there's a tree growing out of your friends head"

And then my ego goes sailing across the room making a farty noise like when you let go of a balloon before tying it.

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06-10-2009, 04:27 PM	#2
jmc7104 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rock Island, Illinois 61201 Photos: Gallery Posts: 436	Man you couldn't have got those flags any closer even if you had been trying. jim

06-10-2009, 04:49 PM	#3
imtheguy Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,950	Aww Sailor...I dont see any flags. Looks GREAT to me.

06-10-2009, 05:27 PM	#4
Sailor Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coastal Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 26,203 Original Poster	Originally posted by jmc7104 Man you couldn't have got those flags any closer even if you had been trying. jim Indeed! I'm not that steady. Jer Originally posted by imtheguy Aww Sailor...I dont see any flags. Looks GREAT to me. Terrific job - now I have a masterpiece. Somehow, I've never convinced myself this sort of thing is "fair". Besides, I haven't a clue how to do it. Jer

06-11-2009, 12:48 AM	#5
Rense Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Zetten - The Netherlands Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,050	Haha Jer, it sounds so familiar to me! Bird shots and wildlife are not my speciality (putting it mildly ), and I suffer from this flag syndrome you describe. With the difference that I never notice them myself, and I have to rely on others to point them out. And as far as the process of cloning goes: I am in the same state of ignorance as you when it comes to these skills...

06-11-2009, 02:16 AM	#6
jmbradd Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portland, OR Photos: Albums Posts: 325	i like how they're blowing the direction they are, it gives a sense of motion to the image of statues =) if you want to get REALLY artistic, the father blowing his nose with flags points to the fact that as adults, parents, elder citizens we give advice to younger generations even though we're really just blowing hot air!

06-11-2009, 04:37 AM	#7
Douglas_of_Sweden Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Stockholm Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,374	Originally posted by imtheguy Aww Sailor...I dont see any flags. Looks GREAT to me. Mmh...are you sure it is not illegal to errase flags like that?

06-11-2009, 05:26 AM	#8
Sailor Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coastal Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 26,203 Original Poster	Originally posted by Rense Haha Jer, it sounds so familiar to me! Bird shots and wildlife are not my speciality (putting it mildly ), and I suffer from this flag syndrome you describe. With the difference that I never notice them myself, and I have to rely on others to point them out. And as far as the process of cloning goes: I am in the same state of ignorance as you when it comes to these skills... Thanks, Rense - that makes me feel better; at least, I'm not the only one. Jer Originally posted by jmbradd i like how they're blowing the direction they are, it gives a sense of motion to the image of statues =) if you want to get REALLY artistic, the father blowing his nose with flags points to the fact that as adults, parents, elder citizens we give advice to younger generations even though we're really just blowing hot air! Hard to argue with that. Jer Originally posted by Douglas_of_Sweden Mmh...are you sure it is not illegal to errase flags like that? I'm pretty sure it's legal and imtheguy did a marvelous job - I just wish I knew how. Jer

06-11-2009, 06:20 AM	#9
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	Jer, I would not consider it to be a great sin to clone out those flags from this shot as imtheguy did. They would not have been there if your POV had been just an inch or two to the right, but then this would have changed the dynamic balance of the shot. As a purely "artistic" photo there is no great societal obligation to leave this otherwise very fine photo in it's pristine and original condition. CLONE AWAY MAN!!! Mike

06-11-2009, 06:36 AM	#10
Sailor Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coastal Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 26,203 Original Poster	Originally posted by MRRiley Jer, I would not consider it to be a great sin to clone out those flags from this shot as imtheguy did. They would not have been there if your POV had been just an inch or two to the right, but then this would have changed the dynamic balance of the shot. As a purely "artistic" photo there is no great societal obligation to leave this otherwise very fine photo in it's pristine and original condition. CLONE AWAY MAN!!! Mike You are, of course, absolutely right, Mike - and I was being a bit facetious in my reply to imtheguy (who did a great job, obviously). My big obstacle is that I don't know how (the only thing I can do is get rid of dust spots on blue sky). However, my daughter is a whizz at this stuff - I'll get her to tutor me when she's home in a couple of weeks. Jer

06-11-2009, 01:50 PM	#11
lunelson Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 80	You (or somebody) need to post a review for the DA 15. I'm very interested in it as the speed and focal length sound great for what I'm currently missing in my lineup. This was a nice shot but I'd love to hear more about its strengths and weaknesses.

06-12-2009, 02:46 PM	#12
Sailor Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coastal Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 26,203 Original Poster	Originally posted by lunelson You (or somebody) need to post a review for the DA 15. I'm very interested in it as the speed and focal length sound great for what I'm currently missing in my lineup. This was a nice shot but I'd love to hear more about its strengths and weaknesses. Do a search for me, tcom and RaduA and you'll find some recent posts with numerous pictures from this lens. I've only owned the lens for a few weeks and I abhor pixel peeping, but I'm generally very pleased with the lens' rendering, thus far; color, contrast and lack of distortion are - to me - quite pleasing. DPreview has complained about the lens' sharpness (or lack thereof), but I've seen no indication that the lens is particularly soft. Jer

06-12-2009, 04:31 PM	#13
Jimbo Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Maple Ridge BC Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,368	Great image Jer with or without the flags! JIM

06-12-2009, 04:39 PM	#14
Sailor Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coastal Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 26,203 Original Poster	Originally posted by Jimbo Great image Jer with or without the flags! JIM Gee, thanks buddy. I think I've discovered a new universal principal: when you have your head up your a--, flags descend from the nose. Jer

06-12-2009, 05:53 PM	#15
stl_stadtroller New Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 23	man, if I had a nickel for every shot I've taken that's been ruined for that exact sort of thing, I could buy that fancy lens you're using a couple times over! Usually, I come home exclaiming something about the AWESOME shot I got ... only to have my wife look at it and say "yeah, it's great.. to bad there's a tree growing out of your friends head" And then my ego goes sailing across the room making a farty noise like when you let go of a balloon before tying it.