Manual mode gives you complete control over your camera settings letting you independently adjust the three key exposure variables: ISO, aperture and shutter speed Together, they determine the overall exposure of your photos. They also affect your photos in other key ways – by adjusting the sharpness, depth of field, and overall image quality. You can also ensure perfect sharpness, create different depth of field effects, and keep your low-light photos looking high quality. This week, we shoot in manual mode.

Photos for P52-10-24 are to be taken and posted between Feb 18 and Feb 24.

Rules:
1. Anyone and everyone who is interested is eligible. The goal continues to be
have fun and share comments, concepts, insights, and techniques with fellow
Pentaxians.
2. Each week will feature a Theme and Sub-concept for you to explore.
3. Post your single picture in Project 52-10 thread for the week. Explain what
motivated you to take the picture or how it represents the weekly theme.
4. Some post-processing is OK (adjusting white balance, exposure, color
saturation), but let's try to stay away from heavily PP'ed images here. Try to
keep the creativity to photographic techniques and the captures themselves.
5. Since this project is about technique, and not camera, shots taken by non
Pentax cameras are allowed. Cameras may be SLRs, DSLRs, Point & Shoot,
Medium Format, etc. But no phones, please.
6. There is one “Theme Concept” labeled “black and white,” but feel free to post
black and white, sepia, monotone, etc., for any of the other themes.
7. The picture you post should be taken during the week in which the theme is
active to be eligible for judging.
8. Any picture taken from thread start date to listed closing date is acceptable.

[MossyRocks]

Generally I do keep my post processing minimal however a lot of my full manual shots are astro shots where just to get anythign reasonable out of them requires a lot of PP. However those aren't synthetic images made by blending and composting various others so I woudl think that for such a case what would be reasonable astro edits would be acceptable however if others disagree I can see what I can do with truly minimal edits (RawTherapee only).

[djb47]

Generally I do keep my post processing minimal however a lot of my full manual shots are astro shots where just to get anythign reasonable out of them requires a lot of PP. However those aren't synthetic images made by blending and composting various others so I woudl think that for such a case what would be reasonable astro edits would be acceptable however if others disagree I can see what I can do with truly minimal edits (RawTherapee only).

I have no problem with your pp astro images.

[MossyRocks]

I have no problem with your pp astro images.

Well that may not be a concern given that it is going to be cloudy until Friday night so likely no astro shots. I will see what I can do as there are some shots I have in mind of a class this week which will be shot in manual mode although one will be a focus stack but there I would put it in the nature of the beast category.

[turbo_bird]

Apparently the northern lights were out last night, and there were clear skies here. Unfortunately I was in bed and didn't know anything about it until my wife told me about the pictures she was seeing on Facebook today. I've been lacking in inspiration lately, and haven't really had my camera out lately, but hopefully I can change that in the next couple days.
Kristian

[djb47]

Temporary mobility issues currently limits my composition possibilities. I shot this little bird with the K30 in manual mode and the Industar 50-2. Setings: f4.0, ISO 3200, /25 sec. Not what I would have chosen for this project but it will have to do for this week.

[turbo_bird]

Here's the only photo I've taken in the past week that's worth sharing. I mostly shoot in manual mode anyway, so nothing really out of the ordinary. Taken last Friday just after the moon came up. K1 @ 1/30s and iso 1600, SMC A 70-210 at 210mm and f4.



Kristian

[Yaki]

Christmas doll - SOOC from this evening from hand

Taken with K-3 Mark III + HD Pentax FA 77
F 1.8 ; 1/20; Iso 1000
WB - Natural

[MossyRocks]

Before I forget here is my image I shot on Monday. While there was some post processing here to actually accomplish the focus stack it was done with command line tools (align_image_stack, and enfuse) so that counts right? There were 137 shots used for this with the closest being at the minimum focusing distance of the D FA 100/2.8 WR Macro so 1:1 with the farthest being just shy of the 1:1.2 mark on the lens. All manual settings and manual focus adjustments. Even the flashes were old manual ones with one of my Vivitar 285HV flashes on the camera with the diffuser fired at 1/2 power and the other one at full power off the camera with an optical trigger bounced off the ceiling. I did crop this down so it is probably closer to what would be 1.6:1 after the focus stacking.


K-3iii
ISO 100
1/160s
f/5.6
2x Vivitar 285HV flashes
137 shots in a focus stack.

[Yaki]

Before I forget here is my image I shot on Monday. While there was some post processing here to actually accomplish the focus stack it was done with command line tools (align_image_stack, and enfuse) so that counts right? There were 137 shots used for this with the closest being at the minimum focusing distance of the D FA 100/2.8 WR Macro so 1:1 with the farthest being just shy of the 1:1.2 mark on the lens. All manual settings and manual focus adjustments. Even the flashes were old manual ones with one of my Vivitar 285HV flashes on the camera with the diffuser fired at 1/2 power and the other one at full power off the camera with an optical trigger bounced off the ceiling. I did crop this down so it is probably closer to what would be 1.6:1 after the focus stacking.


K-3iii
ISO 100
1/160s
f/5.6
2x Vivitar 285HV flashes
137 shots in a focus stack.

The picture looks fantastic 👌

[djb47]

With 137 images that has to be a labor of love MossyRocks. You definitely have more patience than I do. Awesome image.

---------- Post added 02-25-22 at 08:00 AM ----------

Time to close out this project. Noel will be our judge.


Thank you all for your participation.

[MossyRocks]

With 137 images that has to be a labor of love MossyRocks. You definitely have more patience than I do. Awesome image.

Thanks. I am trying to get better at various techniques one of which is macro and the finer points it entails, because trying to master only one very technical photography area of photography isn't enough.

The picture looks fantastic ��

Again thanks. Trying to avoid diffraction softening, it gets worse when in the macro ranges, while still getting great detail is a challenge. There are still artifacts from the focus stacking process since the 3d shape and focus breathing that happens but they aren't too noticeable.

[ramseybuckeye]

Sorry I missed this, it looks as though I only took a few photos during this period and they were with the KP that is stuck in Tv mode. Totally forgot about it.

[noelcmn]

Like others here, I am awed with MossyRocks image of what I assume is a watch. 137 images? WOW! And that will be our winner for this weeks challenge! Thanks for your entries everyone else!

[djb47]

Well done MossyRocks, congratulations.

Thanks Noel.