[Ash]

An encouraging way of putting things Big Dave.
I'd like to see that submitters don't view the goal of their photography to be the seemingly illustrious 'prize' of getting their work admitted to PEG, but rather the personal joy and satisfaction derived from viewing their own images.

Some of the work that I consider my best did not make it to PEG (such as those I presented on the first page of this thread) for reasons I both understand and appreciate. This does not alter the pleasure I get from seeing the work printed and viewed large scale in my own home and local galleries. It's a bonus that visitors may come to comment on the images.

[photolady95]

Thanks BigDave. I realized when I first saw the photo that the pine needles would probably make this not so great shot. I still am proud to have been able to get this shot though. And don't worry, I don't give up on anything.

I've cropped it some and loaded it to PPG. It may get shot down there too, but some that have been shot down in PEG made it in PPG.

I said earlier that I wasn't going to upload anymore to PEG but I got another nice shot of a Green Heron today and I'm going to load that one in a bit. It is not your typical Heron shot either.

Ash I've seen a lot of yours that got shot down and wondered to myself at the time, why that happened. Of course, we don't see what the other judges have voted on and said unless they're posted in here.

I had, not now but a few years ago, a few photos in galleries. I have one b&w of a water fall, still to this day, hanging in a State Park in MN. So, in essence, I've had my glory but it would be nice if PF recognized my work too.

[photolady95]

I guess I'm a gluten for punishment. I got another knocked down today. A struttin Green Heron.



One judge was pretty blunt in what he or she had to say:

This capture does not depict the essence of an 'exclusive' image. Consider the composition: the image is cluttered with distracting green ground foliage, and the subject is focused centrally in the image, making for a less interesting arrangement. Consider the exposure: there is significant highlight clipping from the glare shining off the foliage, and the black tones of the bird are rendered as grey in the image. Consider the image quality: the heron is not sufficiently sharp anywhere in the image. Whilst the harsh sun light is not in your control, it makes for difficult conditions to be able to obtain a flattering rendition of any subject. Please consider these aspects before submitting to the gallery.

What harsh sunlight? It was shot this afternoon @4:20pm.

[yeatzee]

Well I got curios after not attempting for several months




Not really surprised at the level of nitpicking portrayed in the comments (not all photo's must have technically "perfect" DOF ). For the record, stopping down would have resulted in an unsharp image due to diffraction, and according to the comment this image already has an "issue of sharpness" <------ Obviously stacking is impossible with a jumper holding such a pose

Like I said, im not surprised and I was simply curious

[photolady95]

Sorry Tanner. I gave it a yes because I do know that not all photos are tack sharp or have perfect DOF. Especially your type of photography.

On mine, I am going to start putting my nature in a non nature setting. Nay, just rambling.

[JeffJS]

Sorry Tanner. I gave it a yes because I do know that not all photos are tack sharp or have perfect DOF. Especially your type of photography.

On mine, I am going to start putting my nature in a non nature setting. Nay, just rambling.

I think you should put the spider on the birds back and then it's a sure thing.

[Ash]

Tanner, it's a top capture - but don't hesitate to stop your lens down.
It really does make a big difference going from f/8 to f/16 or f/22.
I even have f/32 images that I find hard to fault in terms of IQ.

[photolady95]

@ Jeff...

[yeatzee]

Tanner, it's a top capture - but don't hesitate to stop your lens down.
It really does make a big difference going from f/8 to f/16 or f/22.
I even have f/32 images that I find hard to fault in terms of IQ.

Im sorry ash but im going to disagree.

Macrophotography is my thing, something I devote just about everything I am into. I've done my research, i've done my tests. I know for a fact that stopping down past F/8 at this magnification will result in a soft hazy photo...... much more so than I am willing to deal with.

an extreme example of my point:




@ F/5.6 and 5 image stack crop




@ F/16.....

and full sized version: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5084205236_d40f350f3f_o.jpg

That should give you a rough idea.

For the record, I LIKE the shallow DOF. It makes that pose stand out IMO

[Ash]

But what lens/setup are you using that produces this level of haze?
I've looked at my images at 100% and even at f/22 my FA 100 macro is very sharp.
And, at macro focusing distances f/22 doesn't give you much DoF at all!

[yeatzee]

But what lens/setup are you using that produces this level of haze?
I've looked at my images at 100% and even at f/22 my FA 100 macro is very sharp.
And, at macro focusing distances f/22 doesn't give you much DoF at all!

I don't shoot 1:1......... 2:1 minimum. This was much more....... So you may not see nearly as much at 1:1 but I still do with the sigma 105mm macro.

[Voytech]

Yeatzee, top shot of that saluting jumper!

Mar, the eagle shot is impressive. I can really appreciate the difficulty of getting it. Too bad about where the eagle was perched on. That branch in front of him is what made the shot less than perfect.

[photolady95]

That branch in front of him is what made the shot less than perfect.

Thanks for the compliment. However, you or I can't chose where a wild bird is going to land 50 to 60 feet up a tree.

[Ash]

I don't shoot 1:1......... 2:1 minimum. This was much more....... So you may not see nearly as much at 1:1 but I still do with the sigma 105mm macro.

I take your word for it Tanner - I don't have the experience of extreme macro work, lens reversal and the like, just the traditional 1:1 single macro lens put on the right way.

Nevertheless, IQ is IQ and is quite objective, significantly affecting the way an image renders. I'm not sure what your Sigma's IQ is like stopped down, but here's an old example of an f/32 capture from the Pentax:


Rusty chain - Pentax User Photo Gallery

...and I can vouch that at that aperture, at 100% of a 10Mp image, there is no appreciable loss of detail. I'm yet to see whether 16Mp would make any difference to bring out any more of the diffraction deficiencies but I'm sure it will again be quite difficult to appreciate on close inspection.

[yeatzee]

I take your word for it Tanner - I don't have the experience of extreme macro work, lens reversal and the like, just the traditional 1:1 single macro lens put on the right way.

Nevertheless, IQ is IQ and is quite objective, significantly affecting the way an image renders. I'm not sure what your Sigma's IQ is like stopped down, but here's an old example of an f/32 capture from the Pentax:


Rusty chain - Pentax User Photo Gallery

...and I can vouch that at that aperture, at 100% of a 10Mp image, there is no appreciable loss of detail. I'm yet to see whether 16Mp would make any difference to bring out any more of the diffraction deficiencies but I'm sure it will again be quite difficult to appreciate on close inspection.

I tend to be really paranoid about IQ, so F/32 is an aperture I'd never use even at 1:1. Assuming that was taken at 1:1 (which is doesn't appear to be unless I've forgotten how little magnification 1:1 really is....) your effective aperture would be a staggering F/64! There is loss of detail guaranteed, next time take two shots one at F/8 and one at F/32 and see for yourself

Lets say my example was shot @ a magnification of 4:1 (I can't remember exactly the setup used, but by judging from other similar shots I'd say thats fairly close). The shot with multiple stacked images at F/5.6 has an effective aperture of roughly F/28 per frame
The shot with one single image at F/16 on the other hand has an effective aperture of roughly F/80!

The jumper shot was taken at I'd say pretty close to 3.5:1 @ F/8 resulting in an effective aperture of F/36. If I were to stop down to F/16 like you suggested I'd be at F/72!