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Forum: Weekly Photo Challenges
04-15-2009, 09:22 AM
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Love the moto shot Jezza...
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Forum: Weekly Photo Challenges
04-15-2009, 09:19 AM
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Did some Holy Thursday church visits. This was my favorite of the bunch:
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-07-2009, 09:33 AM
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The GF has it on her 4 year old P&S Canon. If it were to retain a large screen I'd enjoy it. Anytime I have seen it though screen size has been compromized so far.
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-31-2009, 09:30 AM
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Using a wide angle up close would give you soemthing dynamic making the new structure seem larger while making the old sanctuary secondary. Similar to this where the 4X tall city hall appears 1/2 as large. Though it would obscure the actual door way now that I think about it. Its a shame they don;t want to promote the "prettier" structure.....
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-27-2009, 09:31 AM
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no problems domestic or international with full camera backpack.
they actually tell you to take expensive items like laptops and DSLRs as carry on.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
03-24-2009, 09:47 AM
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I am a lover of all things two-wheeled:
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Forum: Photographic Technique
03-24-2009, 09:39 AM
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Did these with the *istDL and Sigma 70-300 f/4.0-5.6 in alternating sun and clouds.
I found I could not go below a 1/250 shutter speed to freeze the motion at f/4.0 if I remember correctly. Also shot in RAW as most pictures needed level adjustment etc to lighten them up.
As for indoors not much more you can do but use the fastest glass possible, find the shutter speed required to effectively freeze the horse and then hope for the best.
I'd be surprised if flash was allowed. I to would be worried about spooking the horses.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
03-20-2009, 07:03 AM
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Recieved mine from shooting.....
A 5 minute installation and it works as advertised. Manual focus is now not so much of an unknown at f/1.4 ;)
When I saw the old split screens on my grnadfather's old film cameras I always wondered why they did not come on the digital cameras. It's nice to finally have one.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
02-27-2009, 10:41 AM
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 | ZooDoo
Posted By
MJē |
Replies: 16
Views: 2,947
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composition of the ape is great
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
02-26-2009, 02:29 PM
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wonderful shots with deep colors and nice balance of sharpness.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-26-2009, 02:28 PM
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My Sigma 70-300 comes out way soft looking on the K20D compared to the Ist DL
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
02-24-2009, 07:51 AM
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just gave it a shot. it will be nice to have better confirmation of manual focus points.
I never shot film and was surprised when I got a hold of my grandfather's old cameras and they had the split prism. I wondered why they ever stopped supplying them.
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Forum: General Talk
02-24-2009, 07:28 AM
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yeah....lost interest after "Hussein" in bold font |
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-23-2009, 11:43 AM
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Take two separate photos and mask-layer-merge them in photoshop ;)
Seriously, I do not think the ca,era software has a algorythm to keep similar pixels the same while fully displaying deviating pixels in the second exposure at 100%. It's just similar to shooting multiple exposure's on film.
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Forum: Sold Items
02-20-2009, 11:00 AM
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
02-20-2009, 10:46 AM
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I took some pictures at a local church earlier in the week. This is 5 exposures merged in Photomatix and then tweaked in CS2. I thought i came out rather "real" looking (on purpose) and though I would share.
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
02-18-2009, 02:26 PM
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1) they are great shots to begin with
2) if the customers want a fart can and triple wing spoiler put on their Jaguar E-Type.....so be it ;)
Actually having some fun images such as these with some crazy effects would at a little variety to a wedding photo collection. I can see where brides/grooms would enjoy them
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
02-13-2009, 02:29 PM
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I like the "look" in that shot and comp, but the "clarity" looks like a blur filter applied to the whole picture and taken too far. Some skin texture would be nice, as would some shapness to the hair etc.....
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
02-09-2009, 11:25 AM
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not fully sure what you mean...but I noticed something similar when I first started using the bracketing feature. The camera would change the exposure and apperature values if in manual mode. I started using apperature mode to ensure that the apperature did not change, leaving only the exposure times to change for the -2,0,+2 etc....
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
01-29-2009, 08:18 AM
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My gf got my K20D from there for my x-mas gift and I got the grip/battery/remote package from them. Both times the Ebay/Paypal/Microsoft Cashback route was taken. Shipping was quick and items were new in box as advertised.
Though I will admit we were leary to try them but our doubts were unfounded ;)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
01-27-2009, 12:51 PM
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unique amusing series. ;)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
01-27-2009, 12:49 PM
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It is tougher than one would think to pose someone (who is not a pro) and capture what you are envisoning in your head.
Nicely done.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
01-27-2009, 12:48 PM
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
01-27-2009, 10:15 AM
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This is coming off another tread where a user offered up some initial “HDR” shots. It was asked that I give some “hints” on what was done to this tone mapped-HDR image I supplied as an example.
Every Tone mapped HDR image will obviously be unique based on what your intentions for the image is. My goal usually is to “keep it semi-real” while making the details appear “unreal. A contradiction? Sure it is but so goes art. It is also something I feel I have to really obtain as well as others. I will list a few things here that one can play with.
1) I currently use Photomatix to merge and tonemapped my images and Photoshop CS2 for my post processing
2) In Photomatix:
a. I try to keep the “Light Smoothing” to the right, to keep away the halos and overall super-washed out look.
b. I lower the Gamma slider to the left a bit (1.10 range from the default 1.00) I find this gives some initial shadowing and depth.
c. Under the Shadows slider, slide it from zero to the right to also give some shadowing and depth. The goal is to give some dimension to the image instead of an over abundance of even lighting and texture overload which can feel 2-dimensional and leave the viewer lost.
d. Play with the rest of the sliders to your heart’s content. The end image in Photomatix after applying the tone mapping will still come across rather flat, unsharp, and to me, over textured in some main areas. I work on this in CS2
3) In Photoshop
a. I usually start by duplicating the base layer and running a “high-pass” filer over it at a low pixel size (2-4) (Filter-Other-High Pass). Change the layer style to “overlay” for a soft effect, or “linear light” for a stronger effect. Duplicate this layer for an even stronger effect but watch out for halos and aberrations forming. Use layer Masks to remove sections that become over “sharpened”. This will start to bring some sharpness back into the image. (merge layers)
b. I next usually do a select->color range -> shadows. I then copy this selection to a new level and chose “overlay” as the level style. The opacity of the level only needs to be around 5% to create some shadow area in the image and create some depth. One can also desaturate the shadows a bit to give a similar effect. (merge layers)
c. Some areas of the image do not need “texture”. For instance the flat surfaces of the walls in this image. They are just flat paint and should appear as such (at least to me). So I copy the main layer and “Gaussian blur” until the painted walls look smooth again. I then mask this layer to apply to just the painted walls, and any other surface that I find distracting. Adjust layer opacity to suit your needs. (merge layers)
d. Some things I find never look good “HDRed”. For instance stained glass windows, at least in non-macro. So in this image I brought in an original good exposure of the windows, masked the rest of the image out. I think I also liked the “darkness” of the murals in this exposure and left them in also. Once again trying to not have and information overload in the image and give it a range of lighting. (merge layers)
e. Sprinkle in some “curve” and “level” adjustment layers to tweak the image over all and using masks, certain areas of the photo. I used a “level” adjustment layer on just the statue to lighten it up and a curve after that to the image overall for more depth. (merge layers)
f. Toward the end I usually duplicate the image to a new layer and selectively dodge and burn to bring out certain features (wing), suppress others into the background (wall murals) , and create contrast in certain features (the overhead light fixture). Doing this on a copied layer will allow it to be non-destructive to the main image, allow you to adjust opacity of the alterations, and selectively mask for even more control. (merge layers)
g. At this point I will usually have my finished 16-bitt TIFF. I then resize and sharpen for my use at the time (for example posting to flickr.)
In the end it is knowing a few tools and then experimenting till you get sick of it. This one I pry worked on for 2 hours and grew tired. I plan on a large print of it so I will need to revisit it for some clean up work.
Hope this helps start a few of you on your journey….. |
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
01-27-2009, 08:18 AM
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What was said above. play with manual mode etc. My first DSLR shots were downers too as I expected the camera to be more or less a super point ans shoot doing everything for me.
It is like going from an automatric transmission to a manual. it takes a while to learn the control now in your hands, but once you do, you'll never want to give it up.
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