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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-08-2011, 09:02 PM
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Well this is strange, we drove up to Mt. Evans on Sunday TOO. What are the odds?? I'll have to work on getting my pics on line as well. I really nice day for the trip.
Jim
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Forum: Photo Critique
05-31-2011, 11:41 AM
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Ikjr,
That's a nice idea, but I think what's killing that picture is the grasses in the foreground; it's very distracting. The more i look at the shot, the more I think I need to retake the shot without so much in the foreground.
Thoughts??
Jim
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Forum: Photo Critique
05-25-2011, 08:42 PM
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Wombat,
I measured the distance from my house to the mountains. It's about 17 miles, so there is a lot of air and potentially moisture between me and the subject. It not uncommon for the mountains to be covered in clouds at sunset, which was why I was very excited to get the great colors of the few clouds moving past the peaks.
Yep, I used a tripod, the shutter speeds were in the half second range. Zooming in I don't see any fuzzy outlines. Maybe the sharpness issue is caused by the fact that the mountains are somewhat underexposed compared to the sky and clouds.
Jim
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-24-2011, 10:11 PM
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I love Risk, but that board and pieces looks different than my version/s.
So, very nice pictures too.
Jim
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Forum: Photo Critique
05-24-2011, 09:54 PM
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Wow, thanks everyone for your comments!!
I think I agree with all of the comments. It is interesting to come back to these images I liked so much a month ago. I'm not that crazy about them anymore; they're kind of flat and uninteresting.
The most important comment I'm taking back is also tough to face but really true ... I need to learn to move from taking a snapshot to creating a picture the is a bit more artistic, that has more life and tells a story. At the moment I see the beauty in a scene, of the shapes and color, but I am failing to tell a good story. I think that's going to taking some time. One thing I will say, several of these images are nice as desktop images when they're blown up, but that's just me
I agree with all of the technical comments. I have gone back and worked on my PP. I have a lot to learn there, I have been able to correct the color and bring out the drama that was and is there in these scenes. Plus, a little selective cropping helped to improve the composures. It’s funny how true the rule of thirds is; there's something to it I guess.
I am puzzled about the sharpness of the mountains. That lens is usually quite sharp, though it's probably not professional quality. One factor may be that the divide is tens of miles away from my location. Does the amount of air between me and the subject effect the sharpness?
One exception I will take ... I'm not going back to film. I feel a lot freer with digital. It has piqued my interest to work harder at taking better pictures. The quick feedback is great for learning without all of the let down. In most fields of study, quick feedback is key to improvement.
Thanks all,
Jim |
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-24-2011, 06:53 AM
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My vote is for your first picture. It is amzing!! There is something about the eyes. I don't know if you PP her eyes or what, but I think you captured her soul in that shoot. I keep coming back to that picture. Stunning!
Jim
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-24-2011, 06:49 AM
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Wow, these shoots are really great!
Jim
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-24-2011, 06:48 AM
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Forum: Photo Critique
04-17-2011, 03:02 PM
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So, I’ve recently joined the ranks of DSLR camera owners. I’m getting ready to put my trusty K1000 up for sale on Ebay and my Casio point and shoot has pretty much bit the dust.
I have had my K200D for around a month (bought used) and I’m now fairly comfortable with it. It has taken me awhile to come to grips with digital photography at the DSLR level which is actually beyond my level as an amateur 35mm photographer.
Apparently doing the taxes today was not enough abuse, so I’m submitting a few of my better pictures for comment. I’d like to see what people like and to know what I can do to improve my techniques. I’d like to be able to someday produce pictures at the professional level. I’m a fairly critical guy, so fire away.
The following pictures were taken with various lens, though most were with a Vivitar Series 1, 70-210mm. I’ve got about 20 pics I’d like to share, so this is the first batch, list in more of less my preference.
Thanks for your help,
Jim |
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
04-10-2011, 09:01 PM
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A-Craig,
Unfortunately, I took my own advice and took some really crummy, low ambient light pictures. They are really not presentable :o
Jim
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
04-10-2011, 08:42 PM
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Wow, taking apart the camera ... Good Luck!! I'm sure it will be fine.
Jim
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
04-10-2011, 08:37 PM
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Bramela,
Nice pic. That's pretty nice, considering the close focusing distance of the Pentax 80-200 doesn't seem to be that impressive.
I kind of like this new lens, but I need some more time with it. I think I'm just excited. I was thinking it would be better than my Vivitar Series 1 (3rd prod. run) 70-210 mm, but the jury is still out on that. I might use it as my hiking lens since it's a lot lighter than the Vivitar.
Jim
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Forum: Welcomes and Introductions
04-10-2011, 07:29 PM
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Hi,
I thought I’d introduce myself by sharing my success in fixing an older lens. I guess it may be construed a little bit as gloating, but I can’t help it, this is pretty darn exciting.
I received a lens off of Ebay earlier this week; Pentax-M 1:4.5 80—200mm. The seller called it “minty”, but neglected to note that the dent on the lens affected the focusing and that the aperture blades were very oily. You could clearly feel the dented tube when focusing or zooming. The aperture blades would not budge closed when released.
The seller had a 7 day return policy which I considering; weighting the pros and cons. I only paid $15 for the lens and a whopping $10 in shipping. Despite not coming with either lens cap, the glass was beautiful; saved mostly by the marred UV filter. So, obviously in the end, I decided to try to fix the lens; considering the cost to be tuition. I was encourage by several postings on this forum and figured I had little to lose.
I’m happy to report that after numerous hours (I’m rather slow and plodding), the lens is back together and is working great. The easiest thing to fix was the dent. A few careful, well placed whacks with a small ball peen hammer to the inside of the tube and the dent no longer interferes with the internals of the lens. Fortunately, this tube (it’s the one with focal length numbers on it) needed to be removed to get at the aperture diaphragm.
I took apart way too much to get to the aperture diaphragm, but eventually I got the little bugger out. I cleaned it up with alcohol; dissembled too much; reassembled it; dissembled the right amount; lubed it with a little graphite lube and reassembled it. It now has a satisfying snap when it’s released.
I do have a few tips to pass along that I haven’t seen before; there’s no sense keeping by tricks to myself. The hardest part of this project was stubborn fasteners.
1) Get a #000 phillips head driver (included in a $8 set at Harbor Freight); my only expenditure for this little task. My other precision screwdriver sets did not include a #000. All of the Pentax phillips screw heads required this size. Note: A flat blade slips out too easily of phillips heads.
2) Pentax likes to add glue to secure the screws. Clean out the glue from the head of the screws. They’re tight enough; you don’t need your driver slipping out because it can’t make full contact with the slots.
3) For the really tough screws, I used a “hot wrench”. One of the screws and the ring on the aperture were glued on tight. I used a Bic lighter to heat the material of the female portion of the threaded interface. I was very careful, and you should be as well, to not over heat the material. I kept the temperature hot to the touch but below the melting temp. of the paint. This may sound risky, but I had to do something and it did work.
4) The blade of a thin paint scrapper was able to span the notch of the ring on the aperture assembly. It had the same type notched ring used to retain the lens. Because it was also glued, I heated up the mating tube that the ring screws into and I wore rubber gloves for extra grip. After much grunting, it loosened.
5) Take picture as you go. Even crappy ones can help you figure out what screws go where.
So, thanks for reading my little story. The only downside of this little adventure is now my LBA is emboldened. On its way to my house is a Pentax-A 1/1.7 50mm with a bad aperture ring. The boot shoe box with my tools is all ready.
Jim |
