I did get a tour that most people don't get, that is I got to see a lot of the underbelly of the tracks and platforms. Absolutely fascinating!
These are some of the photos I took with my phone.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Detroit Model Rail Road Club
One of the neat things about belonging to a club is the photo outings that can be planned. We've had great luck with the Flint Farmer's market. Now we have the oppertunigy to photo shoot the DMRRC. Today I went out to scout the place and get some ideas to think about before the real shoot in April.
I did get a tour that most people don't get, that is I got to see a lot of the underbelly of the tracks and platforms. Absolutely fascinating!
These are some of the photos I took with my phone.
I did get a tour that most people don't get, that is I got to see a lot of the underbelly of the tracks and platforms. Absolutely fascinating!
These are some of the photos I took with my phone.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Our Snow Storm in less than 3 minutes.
Every time I get challenged to do something photography related by one of my well-meaning, but sadistic and psychotic friends, I feel bad because I'm not up to the challenge. (Feel like I'm breaking a chain letter.) You know, the snap a photo a day of a smurf in warmer weather then where you are Kurt - and for sure pass along the challenge to someone else crowd.
Well - that's just not me. (Sorry, don't unfriend me.)
Here's my answer to the challenges - by my rules.
I purchased a digital remote release, non-Nikon. This thing can do time lapse. And what a better time to try this out than during a snow storm.
My first attempt at time lapse. There are some interesting things here, at least to me. First, there is a brief section where the snow really builds up quickly. Next, I really like the transition from daylight to night and back.
Sure, it could be a little more exciting, but hey - it's my first try.
This is a shot every 10 minutes for about 26 hours. The original effort was a shot every 5 minutes, but that was really slow........ (And to my Canon friends, yes a Nikon has a big enough buffer to handle a JPG shot every 5 minutes.....)
I used Lightroom Slideshow to put this together.
And I promise not to challenge my friends to create a time lapse movie every day for the next six says! (Although, I wonder what the Cape Lego crowd will do with this?)
Well - that's just not me. (Sorry, don't unfriend me.)
Here's my answer to the challenges - by my rules.
I purchased a digital remote release, non-Nikon. This thing can do time lapse. And what a better time to try this out than during a snow storm.
My first attempt at time lapse. There are some interesting things here, at least to me. First, there is a brief section where the snow really builds up quickly. Next, I really like the transition from daylight to night and back.
Sure, it could be a little more exciting, but hey - it's my first try.
This is a shot every 10 minutes for about 26 hours. The original effort was a shot every 5 minutes, but that was really slow........ (And to my Canon friends, yes a Nikon has a big enough buffer to handle a JPG shot every 5 minutes.....)
I used Lightroom Slideshow to put this together.
And I promise not to challenge my friends to create a time lapse movie every day for the next six says! (Although, I wonder what the Cape Lego crowd will do with this?)
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
The Peanut Principle......
A part of our Tuesday rituals is to clean the bedroom linens. What that happens, it is like a holiday for the kids. Folded comforters and warm sheets are better than any new cat toy that comes down the road. One has to be very careful when navigating the clean clothes that aren't folded - as there is a better than even chance there is a critter holed up in a nice warm environment.
And that is what I saw today. This is the little Peanut - formal name of Emma.
One might confuse this tactic of curling up in a folded comforter as a sign of impending cold and wind and snow. It is not - it is a sign today is Tuesday.
To be fair to Nikon, this was not totally an AUTO shot. I'm not sure my AUTO setting works - it's been so long since it has been used. But this is why I do what I do with photographs. This was taken with ISO 200, F9 and a 15 second speed. Not 1/15 - but 15 seconds. The fact peanut didn't move (much) for 15 seconds while awake, is somewhat of an indoor record. There is a lot of contrast here. There is the sunlight in the upper right hand corner and the black color of her nose. That's a lot for one camera to capture. then there is the histogram.
What I do see here is Peanut's nose is not as dark as it is in real life, but the expected blown whites are there. Simply - I need to move everything to the left.
Using HDR won't be enough for this project. Getting the Peanut to sit still for 15 seconds twice in one day is too much to ask. I don't like using a flash here. I think it would ruin the ambient lighting and irritate the subject.
The first thing to do is move the ISO to 800. I should be able to get to 1-2 seconds. I will risk the 'noise', but in previous tests my camera handles 800 very well.
I will still use f9 - as I want to capture a lot a area, almost two feet in focus.
Changing the ISO from 200 to 800 gives me these shots.
I turned out to be very lucky. The longest shot was 1.6 seconds. She stayed still for 15 seconds - but this time I could get the three shots.
And that made for a pretty good photo to start with.
There is a lot of sharpness - the fur and whiskers really stand out. On the right side of her face, it is completely lit up and you can see what are very close to her real colors.
Clearly this needs some more work if I want it to go any further. The top needs to be replaced. This will be a nice print in the house.
And that is what I saw today. This is the little Peanut - formal name of Emma.
One might confuse this tactic of curling up in a folded comforter as a sign of impending cold and wind and snow. It is not - it is a sign today is Tuesday.
To be fair to Nikon, this was not totally an AUTO shot. I'm not sure my AUTO setting works - it's been so long since it has been used. But this is why I do what I do with photographs. This was taken with ISO 200, F9 and a 15 second speed. Not 1/15 - but 15 seconds. The fact peanut didn't move (much) for 15 seconds while awake, is somewhat of an indoor record. There is a lot of contrast here. There is the sunlight in the upper right hand corner and the black color of her nose. That's a lot for one camera to capture. then there is the histogram.
What I do see here is Peanut's nose is not as dark as it is in real life, but the expected blown whites are there. Simply - I need to move everything to the left.
Using HDR won't be enough for this project. Getting the Peanut to sit still for 15 seconds twice in one day is too much to ask. I don't like using a flash here. I think it would ruin the ambient lighting and irritate the subject.
The first thing to do is move the ISO to 800. I should be able to get to 1-2 seconds. I will risk the 'noise', but in previous tests my camera handles 800 very well.
I will still use f9 - as I want to capture a lot a area, almost two feet in focus.
Changing the ISO from 200 to 800 gives me these shots.
I turned out to be very lucky. The longest shot was 1.6 seconds. She stayed still for 15 seconds - but this time I could get the three shots.
And that made for a pretty good photo to start with.
There is a lot of sharpness - the fur and whiskers really stand out. On the right side of her face, it is completely lit up and you can see what are very close to her real colors.
Clearly this needs some more work if I want it to go any further. The top needs to be replaced. This will be a nice print in the house.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Final Pig Entry
Well - the good story of the Pig had to end sometime.
The Pig is in his/her new home in the Flint Farmer's Market. The good folks at Charlie's BBQ were happy to see the finished product. The Pig has a place of honor over a decorative fire place.
It was a nice project to participate in with the Fling Lensmen Camera Club.
The Pig is in his/her new home in the Flint Farmer's Market. The good folks at Charlie's BBQ were happy to see the finished product. The Pig has a place of honor over a decorative fire place.
It was a nice project to participate in with the Fling Lensmen Camera Club.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
The Pig Story Continues.......
As the Pig story continues (just highlights where my life is...), it is really close to taking a life of its own.
Last night the photo was put on canvas. My friend and photo mentor was nice enough to entertain C and me for the evening while he worked on the final product. In that time, I saw how to put together a very nice canvas print wrapped around a wood frame. The biggest clue of the evening was that my friend is self taught by YouTube - which just happens to be my favorite classroom.
Here is the Pig on canvas.
Hopefully the next story update is when the Pig is in the Market.
Last night the photo was put on canvas. My friend and photo mentor was nice enough to entertain C and me for the evening while he worked on the final product. In that time, I saw how to put together a very nice canvas print wrapped around a wood frame. The biggest clue of the evening was that my friend is self taught by YouTube - which just happens to be my favorite classroom.
Here is the Pig on canvas.
Hopefully the next story update is when the Pig is in the Market.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
The Pig is Big! Charlie's BBQ Mascot
I had a wonderful time this morning at the Flint Farmer's Market. The photo club to which I am a member spent some time this morning promoting our next photo class at the market. We set up a table, displayed some interesting photo related items and would chat with the passers by. Great way to spend part of a Saturday.
Last month when we did this same promotion we had a slide show on a monitor as a way to get people to come over and chat with us. This month, to be different, I thought we could hook people to come over if we had a monitor displaying some of the post processing tricks we do.
The monitor was off to the left. You get the idea.
We had a pretty good time. We looked at creating custom camera profiles, HDR processing and tricks to remove objects.
For all the subjects, we used photos from the market taken that morning.
Close to us was Charlie's BBQ stand - which by the way did a huge business. Well, Charlie has a small mascot. I thought it would be neat do capture an image. I had the camera set up for HDR - so I snapped up three shots. This is the base photo.
Now that is a pig ready for some winter activities.
So I snapped off my three shots and processed the image. I came up with an image I like and put it on the monitor for a while. Well, the good folks at Charlies saw it, came over and wanted to buy the image. Well, I certainly was not going to go for cash, but would trade for some cred. So I told my fellow club members we had some Club Cred coming our way and well things got out of hand from there. It wasn't enough that we would 'donate' a picture, but we now have the resources mobilized to get a canvas print going. Fantastic!
So this week's project is to get the Pig on Canvas. This is the image we will put on the canvas.
Last month when we did this same promotion we had a slide show on a monitor as a way to get people to come over and chat with us. This month, to be different, I thought we could hook people to come over if we had a monitor displaying some of the post processing tricks we do.
The monitor was off to the left. You get the idea.
We had a pretty good time. We looked at creating custom camera profiles, HDR processing and tricks to remove objects.
For all the subjects, we used photos from the market taken that morning.
Close to us was Charlie's BBQ stand - which by the way did a huge business. Well, Charlie has a small mascot. I thought it would be neat do capture an image. I had the camera set up for HDR - so I snapped up three shots. This is the base photo.
Now that is a pig ready for some winter activities.
So I snapped off my three shots and processed the image. I came up with an image I like and put it on the monitor for a while. Well, the good folks at Charlies saw it, came over and wanted to buy the image. Well, I certainly was not going to go for cash, but would trade for some cred. So I told my fellow club members we had some Club Cred coming our way and well things got out of hand from there. It wasn't enough that we would 'donate' a picture, but we now have the resources mobilized to get a canvas print going. Fantastic!
So this week's project is to get the Pig on Canvas. This is the image we will put on the canvas.
Spare me the criticism about the halo effect. Sandra (Mrs. Charlie) liked it as is. And that is enough for me. The mascot has been with them for over 20 years. It is a pleasure to give them the Winter 2016 version.
Monday, February 1, 2016
ISO and the HDR Photo
One of the final effects of ISO settings I need to see is how the 'noise' translates to my HDR workflow. Usual HDR processing will create some noise - and the software will also remove noise as well.
For these comparisons, I'm using the full image. Again I'm showing the close up subject and the distant subject. I'm using Photomatix Pro 5.1.1 with the Painterly 3 preset. In my opinion, that setting brings out a medium amount of noise.
Close up Subject:
ISO 200 f/Stop 22 1/60
ISO 800 f/Stop 22 1/320
In this shot - I really can't tell much of a difference between the two. Experience tells me all the 'noise' can be cleaned up easily in both shots.
For the distance subject:
ISO 200 f/Stop 29 1/40
ISO 800 f/Stop 25 1/200
ISO 1600 f/Stop 29 1/320
As in the short distance subject, the 'noise' can be dealt with. Another characteristic I'm looking for is the detail in the ice formations. At ISO 1600, it is OK.
So for HDR purposes, I wouldn't be afraid to push the ISO to 800 or 1600 if I needed the aperture settings or speed.
For these comparisons, I'm using the full image. Again I'm showing the close up subject and the distant subject. I'm using Photomatix Pro 5.1.1 with the Painterly 3 preset. In my opinion, that setting brings out a medium amount of noise.
Close up Subject:
ISO 800 f/Stop 22 1/320
In this shot - I really can't tell much of a difference between the two. Experience tells me all the 'noise' can be cleaned up easily in both shots.
For the distance subject:
ISO 200 f/Stop 29 1/40
ISO 800 f/Stop 25 1/200
ISO 1600 f/Stop 29 1/320
As in the short distance subject, the 'noise' can be dealt with. Another characteristic I'm looking for is the detail in the ice formations. At ISO 1600, it is OK.
So for HDR purposes, I wouldn't be afraid to push the ISO to 800 or 1600 if I needed the aperture settings or speed.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
More ISO findings.........
To continue my ISO discovery....
I found on my D90 that for close ups, I could safely push to ISO 800 without any real issues. When you think of it, going to 800 really isn't a stretch - there are some huge numbers coming out now. (Previous ISO Post)
My next test was to go for an object much further away - maybe about 300 yards. My central subject is the light on top of the rear navigation light.
For this test, I went with shots at ISO 200, 800 and 1600. I did three shots with each ISO setting each with different f/stops. Again, it was almost closed, almost open and one in the middle. And again, these are 2x2 segments.
And again, it was cold and windy. For the shots, I used an IR remote never touching the camera. I also used manual focus. Some of the shots did not come into focus real well - and it seemed to be a trend. More on that later.
The ISO 200 shots.
ISO 200 f/stop 6.3 1/640
ISO 200 f/stop 13 1/200
ISO 200 f/stop 29 1/40
The ISO 200 shots show a nice red color and a nice even white color.
Now the ISO 800 shots.
ISO 800 f/stop 5.6 1/4000
ISO 800 f/stop 13 1/800
ISO 800 f/stop 25 1/200
At ISO 800 you can see a real difference between the ISO 200 shots. The sky looks like it was printed on canvas. There is definitely some off coloring noise on the whits. Probably not enough to ruin the shot and maybe rescued in post processing. Let's see what the ISO at 1600 does.
ISO 1600 f/stop 6.3 1/4000
ISO 1600 f/stop 10 1/2500
ISO 1600 f/stop 29 1/320
Clearly more noise on the close ups. Let's see what the total photo looks like. I'll use the smaller f/stops - as those photos appear to be 'better'.
ISO 200
ISO 800
ISO 1600
In the actual photos, for the ISO 1600 I notice a little noise in the building white colors - but that's only because I'm looking for it.
This was a fun test, but it also demonstrated another aspect of photography I didn't know before. In all cases, the more open f/stop the less in focus the shot was. When I first looked at the photo array, I blamed the wind. I also thought it was the slow shutter speeds. Well - I was wrong. Note to self: Landscape, the aperture setting is more important than speed. Sometimes when I'm shooting photos, I get more wrapped up in the 'artsy' part and don't think of the basics.
The good news is I now know more about the limits of my D90. (I expect the new setup will be much nicer with higher numbers.) Did I mention, it was really cold out there?
I found on my D90 that for close ups, I could safely push to ISO 800 without any real issues. When you think of it, going to 800 really isn't a stretch - there are some huge numbers coming out now. (Previous ISO Post)
My next test was to go for an object much further away - maybe about 300 yards. My central subject is the light on top of the rear navigation light.
For this test, I went with shots at ISO 200, 800 and 1600. I did three shots with each ISO setting each with different f/stops. Again, it was almost closed, almost open and one in the middle. And again, these are 2x2 segments.
And again, it was cold and windy. For the shots, I used an IR remote never touching the camera. I also used manual focus. Some of the shots did not come into focus real well - and it seemed to be a trend. More on that later.
The ISO 200 shots.
ISO 200 f/stop 6.3 1/640
ISO 200 f/stop 13 1/200
ISO 200 f/stop 29 1/40
The ISO 200 shots show a nice red color and a nice even white color.
Now the ISO 800 shots.
ISO 800 f/stop 5.6 1/4000
ISO 800 f/stop 13 1/800
ISO 800 f/stop 25 1/200
At ISO 800 you can see a real difference between the ISO 200 shots. The sky looks like it was printed on canvas. There is definitely some off coloring noise on the whits. Probably not enough to ruin the shot and maybe rescued in post processing. Let's see what the ISO at 1600 does.
ISO 1600 f/stop 6.3 1/4000
ISO 1600 f/stop 10 1/2500
ISO 1600 f/stop 29 1/320
Clearly more noise on the close ups. Let's see what the total photo looks like. I'll use the smaller f/stops - as those photos appear to be 'better'.
ISO 200
ISO 800
ISO 1600
In the actual photos, for the ISO 1600 I notice a little noise in the building white colors - but that's only because I'm looking for it.
This was a fun test, but it also demonstrated another aspect of photography I didn't know before. In all cases, the more open f/stop the less in focus the shot was. When I first looked at the photo array, I blamed the wind. I also thought it was the slow shutter speeds. Well - I was wrong. Note to self: Landscape, the aperture setting is more important than speed. Sometimes when I'm shooting photos, I get more wrapped up in the 'artsy' part and don't think of the basics.
The good news is I now know more about the limits of my D90. (I expect the new setup will be much nicer with higher numbers.) Did I mention, it was really cold out there?
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Shopping........
Went shopping today. Not the big purchase (yet). I was looking for a better 'bag' system.
I've been using two hard case units, with cut foam inserts. One case was for the D80 and one for the D90.
I now have a soft bag with room for both. And there is plenty of room for the one extra lens I have. And all the little doo-dads that I've picked up over the years.
This will make going on location much easier.
I've been using two hard case units, with cut foam inserts. One case was for the D80 and one for the D90.
I now have a soft bag with room for both. And there is plenty of room for the one extra lens I have. And all the little doo-dads that I've picked up over the years.
This will make going on location much easier.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Started out with an ISO test, but.....
I had to spend a few days in Chicago for work this week. I usually drive. Not much of a fan of flying any more, plus the time between flying and driving is just about the same. For the drive, I drive past St. Joseph, MI - home of one of the most interesting navigation lights on the Great Lakes. Usually in the winter there is plenty of ice over the structures that makes for great photographs. This year not so much. One of the lights is here: South Light in Winter
The second part of this story revolves around the ISO setting for DSLRs. For the past two months, I've been researching the new Nikons - getting the itch. I read one review that said if you have a dinosaur like a D90........ Oh well.
During the research, I've read some crazy ISO setting being used - well over 20k. What's up with that? Back in the 35 mm day, 400 was really reaching. I usually don't stray much past 400 on my shots. Now I have to ask myself why not?
Stay with me - I'll connect all of this.
Since it is winter, and I'm going past a location that I'm familiar with for photos, why not do an ISO test? I've seen lots of demos on the web, but none with my dinosaur. This seems like information I should know.
The set up is I took shots of two subjects, one close (50mm) and one at distance (170 mm). I used a tripod, manual focus and a Cloudy setting for WB. The original file is RAW, converted to jpg and then a 2x2 section of a point of focus. (Remember this when viewing, this is a 2x2 image blown up to what you see on your browser.) All files were processed the same. I should also point out it was windy and cold.
The point, again, was to test for noise at higher ISO settings.
The first shots are of a subject at around 10 feet. The ISO setting are 200 and 800. The f/stops are open, closed and somewhere in between.
ISO 200 f/stop 4.8 1/1000
ISO 200 f/stop 10 1/320
ISO 200 f/stop 22 1/60
When I first saw these, I expected the detail to be good. OK. But I expected the higher speed to be more in focus. Interesting, but it was windy. Blame it on Mother nature.
Let's see what they look like at ISO 800.
ISO 800 f/stop 5.6 1/3200
ISO 800 f/stop 10 1/1000
ISO 800 f/stop 22 1/250
For the point of focus or subject, at this distance there really isn't much difference. So, in this case why would you need to be concerned about an ISO setting? What I did confirm is that with a slower speed and higher f/stop you get a much clearer photo. (We all know that!) Below are the total images. The goal is a selected speed between 1/250 to 1/350.
ISO 200 f/stop 10 1/320
Which is the more all around better photo? Unless you are going for a DOF effect, the photo at ISO 800 seems to bring more to the table.
Based on what I found out here, I have no problems pushing the ISO to 800. I didn't go to 1600 because, well - it was cold. Lousy excuse, but true.
But what about shots at a greater distance? That will be published soon.
The second part of this story revolves around the ISO setting for DSLRs. For the past two months, I've been researching the new Nikons - getting the itch. I read one review that said if you have a dinosaur like a D90........ Oh well.
During the research, I've read some crazy ISO setting being used - well over 20k. What's up with that? Back in the 35 mm day, 400 was really reaching. I usually don't stray much past 400 on my shots. Now I have to ask myself why not?
Stay with me - I'll connect all of this.
Since it is winter, and I'm going past a location that I'm familiar with for photos, why not do an ISO test? I've seen lots of demos on the web, but none with my dinosaur. This seems like information I should know.
The set up is I took shots of two subjects, one close (50mm) and one at distance (170 mm). I used a tripod, manual focus and a Cloudy setting for WB. The original file is RAW, converted to jpg and then a 2x2 section of a point of focus. (Remember this when viewing, this is a 2x2 image blown up to what you see on your browser.) All files were processed the same. I should also point out it was windy and cold.
The point, again, was to test for noise at higher ISO settings.
The first shots are of a subject at around 10 feet. The ISO setting are 200 and 800. The f/stops are open, closed and somewhere in between.
ISO 200 f/stop 4.8 1/1000
ISO 200 f/stop 10 1/320
ISO 200 f/stop 22 1/60
When I first saw these, I expected the detail to be good. OK. But I expected the higher speed to be more in focus. Interesting, but it was windy. Blame it on Mother nature.
Let's see what they look like at ISO 800.
ISO 800 f/stop 5.6 1/3200
ISO 800 f/stop 10 1/1000
ISO 800 f/stop 22 1/250
For the point of focus or subject, at this distance there really isn't much difference. So, in this case why would you need to be concerned about an ISO setting? What I did confirm is that with a slower speed and higher f/stop you get a much clearer photo. (We all know that!) Below are the total images. The goal is a selected speed between 1/250 to 1/350.
ISO 200 f/stop 10 1/320
ISO 800 f/stop 22 1/250
Which is the more all around better photo? Unless you are going for a DOF effect, the photo at ISO 800 seems to bring more to the table.
Based on what I found out here, I have no problems pushing the ISO to 800. I didn't go to 1600 because, well - it was cold. Lousy excuse, but true.
But what about shots at a greater distance? That will be published soon.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Classes at Flint Farmer's Market
Today was the first of a three lesson plan with the Flint Farmer's Market, puton by the local photo club in Flint - of which I am a member. And because I like to hear myself talk, I led the first class.
This class was focused on the technical part of a DLSR - not so much any technique. The thought was that many people want to take more 'artsy' photographs, get a DLSR and then become overwhelmed with all the controls. Well, you want to take control of the image or else you'd use your phone. So the point of the class was to walk through the most common features of a DLSR and get people to use any mode other than AUTO.
It was a good class, we had 12 paid attendees - and hope to get a few to see what our club is about. My target was to yak for 45 minutes. I missed that. I was yakking for close to 1:20! The audience was great.
There was great club participation in a few showed up to help with the questions period after the lesson where we could take some one on one time with the attendees for specific questions about the camera they brought in.
There was great club participation in a few showed up to help with the questions period after the lesson where we could take some one on one time with the attendees for specific questions about the camera they brought in.
All in all - good day for me. I had fun. And no one threw any tomatoes.
Will be very interested in the next classes! (I set the bar high for them.)
Sunday, January 3, 2016
What I did this Weekend
I had interesting time on Saturday. My photo club is offering three classes in 2016 that will take place at the Flint Farmer's Market. I will be leading the first class next Saturday. This past Saturday, some members of Club along with myself spent time at the Market promoting the classes. It was fun to spend some time talking Photography with some of the Flint locals.
Today I worked on the final draft for my lesson plan for next week. Unlike when I was in school, I started this a few weeks ago. I updated some of the images and some of the flow. For the most part is is done.
I also spent some time with my printed portfolio today. I've redone a few photographs that were in there and the new ones needed to replace the older pieces. I've also had some nice images in the past 6 months and those needed to be included. The portfolio hasn't been out for some time, but I'll be taking it next weekend to the class.
Today I worked on the final draft for my lesson plan for next week. Unlike when I was in school, I started this a few weeks ago. I updated some of the images and some of the flow. For the most part is is done.
I also spent some time with my printed portfolio today. I've redone a few photographs that were in there and the new ones needed to replace the older pieces. I've also had some nice images in the past 6 months and those needed to be included. The portfolio hasn't been out for some time, but I'll be taking it next weekend to the class.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Photomatix Pro Manage Pre-sets
A very good friend of mine suggested I invest some time in finding and using Photomatix presets. He's been using Photomatix for a number of years and he'd found the ones that came with the application sort of cramped his style. I immediately downloaded the set he suggested. And it all worked out. For a while. Then the machine crashed.
Photomatix makes it very easy to load presets. What they don't do is make it easy to manage or delete any of the presets that are loaded.
I loaded some presets on the new PC - and found the naming convention was not to my liking. That's right, the naming convention irritated me. And that's not a way to stay on the new machine.
Google deleting presets in Photomatix - good luck.
It took some digging, but the presets are loaded into a hidden directory. But once you are in the directory, any adds/deletes/changes are real time.
(And this is for Winders - Mac users can drift off now.)
First you must show hidden files and directories in your view. The directory path is C:\Users\(Your Name Here)\AppData\Roaming\HDRsoft\PhotomatixPro\Presets\
The AppData folder is hidden by default.
If you do download presets - which you should - you can manage effectively in this directory.
Photomatix makes it very easy to load presets. What they don't do is make it easy to manage or delete any of the presets that are loaded.
I loaded some presets on the new PC - and found the naming convention was not to my liking. That's right, the naming convention irritated me. And that's not a way to stay on the new machine.
Google deleting presets in Photomatix - good luck.
It took some digging, but the presets are loaded into a hidden directory. But once you are in the directory, any adds/deletes/changes are real time.
(And this is for Winders - Mac users can drift off now.)
First you must show hidden files and directories in your view. The directory path is C:\Users\(Your Name Here)\AppData\Roaming\HDRsoft\PhotomatixPro\Presets\
The AppData folder is hidden by default.
If you do download presets - which you should - you can manage effectively in this directory.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Step Water Falls - Lesson Learned
With my late summer interest in waterfalls - I had great vision how this would turn out. In the end, I need to go back.
But not to lose the photo - or a learning opportunity - I decided to see what the difference is between a 1 shot HDR effect and a 3 shot HDR involving the motion of water.
I like to have the option with the water movement. The shot was set up on the slow side. Tripod for sure.
This is the basic shot.
1/30 f/22
EV 0.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal Length 32 mm
For the associated HDR bracket, I use EV values of +2 and -2.
Going back and doing it over again, I'd go with a faster speed. There are no DOF issues or concerns. Lesson learned - and a reason to go back.
This a composite of the 1 and 3 shots.
And so if I were going to work on a shot for this, I might go in this direction. I'd use the single shot. I'd try to pull out some of the greens and sharpen it up a bit.
I think the better plan would be to shoot with a higher speed, and let the 3 image merger get the effect of the moving water.
But not to lose the photo - or a learning opportunity - I decided to see what the difference is between a 1 shot HDR effect and a 3 shot HDR involving the motion of water.
I like to have the option with the water movement. The shot was set up on the slow side. Tripod for sure.
This is the basic shot.
1/30 f/22
EV 0.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal Length 32 mm
For the associated HDR bracket, I use EV values of +2 and -2.
Going back and doing it over again, I'd go with a faster speed. There are no DOF issues or concerns. Lesson learned - and a reason to go back.
This a composite of the 1 and 3 shots.
And so if I were going to work on a shot for this, I might go in this direction. I'd use the single shot. I'd try to pull out some of the greens and sharpen it up a bit.
I think the better plan would be to shoot with a higher speed, and let the 3 image merger get the effect of the moving water.
Computer Crash - Yikes!
It was bound to happen.
The ol' XPS420 went for 8 strong years. I'm guessing it was the power supply that went out. I've been able to get data off of the hard drive and it still moves. (How that is done is another story.)
The good news is that without the hard drive access, I didn't lose any files or data. The backup plan was solid. (It should be, that's what I do for a living. Would have been a real problem if I was missing something.)
About 2 years ago, I bought a WD 3 TB My Cloud. This sits on the home network versus previous WD devices that attached directly to the PC. It is accessible to all the PCs in the house. File access is almost as fast as on the local drive. Best addition to the house in a long time. That is the backbone of my backup system. I've been using the WD backup program for years - and it has always been rock solid.
Back to the crash, I could probably get out of this with a new power supply. But that is not what I do best. I pulled the hard drive out of the case, and it had 2008 on the label. Good drive, been spinning almost constantly since purchase. I can't complain. Started on Vista, upgraded to W7 and finally to W10.
But spending $100 to fix an 8 year old unit is not what I do best - especially if I see it as a sign from the tea leaves that I need to upgrade my rig. Who am I to stand in the way of that vision?
I've been designing my next system over the last few days. In the past I've always gone to Dell. And I've liked the products that I've purchased from them. This time, I'm going the design my own route. For what I was going to spend with Dell, I can build a much better system. I was actually going to build my own - but the store I'm dealing with is charging me virtually a few peanuts to build, let them do it. I'll have time when I'm retired.
We're still nailing down the details, but looks like a 6th gen I5 processor for horse power and a combo of a solid state drive and spinning disk for storage. I'll go with 16 gig memory. The rest is just details. Should be enough to work on a few photos?
I'm currently working on a laptop that I bought for C - and it didn't quite work out. It has 4th Gen i5 processor. Works OK - but I'd get frustrated if I used this as a primary work machine. It has 6 gig of memory - and that might be slowing me down a bit as well. It is not all bad - it is a great life boat.
I'll probably get the new machine this week. I promised C next weekend we're doing the Christmas Cards.
The ol' XPS420 went for 8 strong years. I'm guessing it was the power supply that went out. I've been able to get data off of the hard drive and it still moves. (How that is done is another story.)
The good news is that without the hard drive access, I didn't lose any files or data. The backup plan was solid. (It should be, that's what I do for a living. Would have been a real problem if I was missing something.)
About 2 years ago, I bought a WD 3 TB My Cloud. This sits on the home network versus previous WD devices that attached directly to the PC. It is accessible to all the PCs in the house. File access is almost as fast as on the local drive. Best addition to the house in a long time. That is the backbone of my backup system. I've been using the WD backup program for years - and it has always been rock solid.
Back to the crash, I could probably get out of this with a new power supply. But that is not what I do best. I pulled the hard drive out of the case, and it had 2008 on the label. Good drive, been spinning almost constantly since purchase. I can't complain. Started on Vista, upgraded to W7 and finally to W10.
But spending $100 to fix an 8 year old unit is not what I do best - especially if I see it as a sign from the tea leaves that I need to upgrade my rig. Who am I to stand in the way of that vision?
I've been designing my next system over the last few days. In the past I've always gone to Dell. And I've liked the products that I've purchased from them. This time, I'm going the design my own route. For what I was going to spend with Dell, I can build a much better system. I was actually going to build my own - but the store I'm dealing with is charging me virtually a few peanuts to build, let them do it. I'll have time when I'm retired.
We're still nailing down the details, but looks like a 6th gen I5 processor for horse power and a combo of a solid state drive and spinning disk for storage. I'll go with 16 gig memory. The rest is just details. Should be enough to work on a few photos?
I'm currently working on a laptop that I bought for C - and it didn't quite work out. It has 4th Gen i5 processor. Works OK - but I'd get frustrated if I used this as a primary work machine. It has 6 gig of memory - and that might be slowing me down a bit as well. It is not all bad - it is a great life boat.
I'll probably get the new machine this week. I promised C next weekend we're doing the Christmas Cards.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Aircraft (B24) Wheel
On the day when there were WWII aircraft in Flint, I tried to get not only total whole aircraft photos, but components as well. I focused on Engines, Internal Tubing and such. One of the components was tire and wheels. This one is from the B24.
Warning: This is more of a study in processing and workflow for me. Plus, my new version of On One's software arrived yesterday - and I needed to play with it.
With this photo, I wanted to split the processing to two elements. I wanted the tires - and then everything else. In the end, I didn't wind up with too much separation from the original. Again, this is more of a study effort.
This is the original RAW image.
1/400 f/9
EV 0.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal Length 48 mm
My intention is to lighten up the silver/white ares of the strut and wheel while trying to keep the tire dark. And of course, add some HDR effects.
The first step is to pass it through he HDR software to get a base look of what I like. I'm going with a little overall saturation and sharpening.
I have the inner wheel and two red pins much closer to where I'd like them. The tire is nowhere close to what I'd like to see, so that has to get changed.
On my base layer, I will darken the entire layer. I'm concentrating on the tire only.
I've moved the histogram a bit to the left. The tire is a bit more where I want it to be. The next step is to get the strut and wheel back in. For this, I masked out the tire on a layer.
I'm keeping the from the original HDR image. When the two are merged together, this is the result.
I now have an image to make some subtle changes on. I'll add some light HDR effects, sharpening and push the reds a bit to get the pin color to stand out without saturation the whole image. I also tried something else and that is not using the full opacity of the adjustment layer, just used 75% over the original image. Little attempt to dial it back some.
This would be the final image.
For a presentation image, I'm going to crop it a bit more than normal for me. I'd like to center the strut and make the tire symmetrical. I'd like all tire on the corners.
Warning: This is more of a study in processing and workflow for me. Plus, my new version of On One's software arrived yesterday - and I needed to play with it.
With this photo, I wanted to split the processing to two elements. I wanted the tires - and then everything else. In the end, I didn't wind up with too much separation from the original. Again, this is more of a study effort.
This is the original RAW image.
1/400 f/9
EV 0.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal Length 48 mm
My intention is to lighten up the silver/white ares of the strut and wheel while trying to keep the tire dark. And of course, add some HDR effects.
The first step is to pass it through he HDR software to get a base look of what I like. I'm going with a little overall saturation and sharpening.
I have the inner wheel and two red pins much closer to where I'd like them. The tire is nowhere close to what I'd like to see, so that has to get changed.
On my base layer, I will darken the entire layer. I'm concentrating on the tire only.
I've moved the histogram a bit to the left. The tire is a bit more where I want it to be. The next step is to get the strut and wheel back in. For this, I masked out the tire on a layer.
I'm keeping the from the original HDR image. When the two are merged together, this is the result.
I now have an image to make some subtle changes on. I'll add some light HDR effects, sharpening and push the reds a bit to get the pin color to stand out without saturation the whole image. I also tried something else and that is not using the full opacity of the adjustment layer, just used 75% over the original image. Little attempt to dial it back some.
This would be the final image.
For a presentation image, I'm going to crop it a bit more than normal for me. I'd like to center the strut and make the tire symmetrical. I'd like all tire on the corners.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Stepping Stone Falls
In spite of what you might think because I live near Flint, we really do have some nice areas. We have a wonderful county park system along the Flint River. One of these areas is called Stepping Stone Falls. Realistically, it is a dam. What makes this interesting is the dam spillway is done in a series of stairs. It is unique as far as I know.
I do like photographs of waterfalls, large and small. The study of water and motion can be expressed in many ways. Water shot fast and slow can be interesting in its own way.
Here is the first of what will be more than a few shots from the day. This will show about 2/3s of the spillway.
1/50 f/22
EV -2.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal Length 18 mm
Focal Length (35 mm) 27 mm
Being is was a fairly dark environment, I'm going to try to keep the final product dark as well. But I want to make the water stand out - mostly white.
There are also some trees just over the top of the wall that are a bit distracting to me. They have to go. I'd like to keep the sky - it has real character and should look interesting with HDR processing. I'm going to try something new to get the look over the wall.
This is the photo with neutral HDR processing.
I like what HDR sharpening will do for the concrete, and I'd like to keep that in mind. The shot at f/22 really had the depth of field sharp all the way through which is a big help. I can tell for me to get the look I want, the far waterfall is going to need some help.
In this step, I really want to remove the trees from the top of the far wall. What I'm going to try is using two image layers. I will mask out the sky and trees on the top layer. I will stretch the bottom layer down and as a result the trees will drop behind the wall of the top layer. Spoiler Alert: It all worked, in the final image there are no trees.
I like with is going to happen with this. But I got a bit of an unexpected surprise. I started to notice a few blemishes. Sure enough, looking at my UV filter I had some small water spots. Note to self, when working near moving water some will wind up where it is not supposed to be. Take a cleaning cloth with you. Easy to remove with most programs. After cleaning this up a bit, this is the image I will use. In my post processing, I used two layers of this to remove the trees at the top of the cement walls as explained earlier. Again, I think most post processing applications can do what I did. I also noticed there was some chromatic aberrations on the center and left of the image. I used my new application to remove the CA in the center. The CA on the left will have to be cropped out. And that will not alter what I have in mind for this at all.
The final image to work with is this:
The final crop will take care of the wall on the right. I'll also crop out the stairs on the left so there won't be anything left to the imagination.
This is a bit darker that what I normally like. In this case I like it. The day was no gem to work with - so the final image should be dark as well.
I do like photographs of waterfalls, large and small. The study of water and motion can be expressed in many ways. Water shot fast and slow can be interesting in its own way.
Here is the first of what will be more than a few shots from the day. This will show about 2/3s of the spillway.
1/50 f/22
EV -2.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal Length 18 mm
Focal Length (35 mm) 27 mm
Being is was a fairly dark environment, I'm going to try to keep the final product dark as well. But I want to make the water stand out - mostly white.
There are also some trees just over the top of the wall that are a bit distracting to me. They have to go. I'd like to keep the sky - it has real character and should look interesting with HDR processing. I'm going to try something new to get the look over the wall.
This is the photo with neutral HDR processing.
I like what HDR sharpening will do for the concrete, and I'd like to keep that in mind. The shot at f/22 really had the depth of field sharp all the way through which is a big help. I can tell for me to get the look I want, the far waterfall is going to need some help.
In this step, I really want to remove the trees from the top of the far wall. What I'm going to try is using two image layers. I will mask out the sky and trees on the top layer. I will stretch the bottom layer down and as a result the trees will drop behind the wall of the top layer. Spoiler Alert: It all worked, in the final image there are no trees.
I like with is going to happen with this. But I got a bit of an unexpected surprise. I started to notice a few blemishes. Sure enough, looking at my UV filter I had some small water spots. Note to self, when working near moving water some will wind up where it is not supposed to be. Take a cleaning cloth with you. Easy to remove with most programs. After cleaning this up a bit, this is the image I will use. In my post processing, I used two layers of this to remove the trees at the top of the cement walls as explained earlier. Again, I think most post processing applications can do what I did. I also noticed there was some chromatic aberrations on the center and left of the image. I used my new application to remove the CA in the center. The CA on the left will have to be cropped out. And that will not alter what I have in mind for this at all.
The final image to work with is this:
The final crop will take care of the wall on the right. I'll also crop out the stairs on the left so there won't be anything left to the imagination.
This is a bit darker that what I normally like. In this case I like it. The day was no gem to work with - so the final image should be dark as well.
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