I got out and used my camera today...

[zackiedawg]

zackiedawg - Very impressive for 3200. Did you do any post clean up or is your camera that noise free at high ISO?

 

Thanks Bob...appreciate the comments. Actually, those shots are straight from camera, shot in JPEG, with no post processing...just resized. I did specifically move to my current DSLR to get the improved high ISO performance - most of the latest batches of DSLRs out the past year are quite impressive, usable up to ISO6400 straight out of the camera. My A550 shares the same sensor technology and design with the Nikon D90 & D5000, and Pentax KX - all are pretty competitive at these ISOs, along with the Canon T2i. And the new kids on the block these past few weeks are the same or even a little better. It's nice to have the option to shoot handheld low light movement - notice even at ISO3200 and F1.6 I still was only managing 1/15 shutter (thank you stabilization).

 

Love the Night Shots, how pin sharp they are, do you do any computer post shoot processing, and do you shoot in Raw or JPEG

 

I'm not much of a post-processor...not for lack of knowledge, just for lack of interest...I've got PS Elements and PSP8, but don't use them very much. I've always been interested in the challenge of getting everything I can get out of the camera, using just the camera's controls and settings - so I prefer shooting in JPEG. RAW gives much more room to make adjustments and corrections, but I like the challenge JPEG puts me under to get it right when I shoot, with less chance to fix mistakes afterwards. Night shots, once you get the hang of the exposures, usually come out very crisp and lovely because you get to stop down the aperture a bit, and the camera is on a tripod...it's just up to how good your lens optics are.

 

Adding my kudos to Justin for fantastic shots. Nice ones.

And to add, in addition to exposure, a sturdy tripod, and cable release is critical to tack sharp night shots.

Larry

 

Thanks Larry - and excellent point to add. If I hadn't made it clear in my long-exposure night shots above, they were all of course taken with a good, stable tripod and a remote shutter release! Definitely key to getting crisp, detailed, and sharp shots.

[pierces]

Rain veils during the last gasp of the day's thunderstorms.

 

 

Dave

Edited October 2, 2010 by pierces

[boeckli]

The following shots are from the Ancient Empire boardwalk (below the Tree Top Walk near Walpole in Western Australia) which meanders through a grove of giant red tingle trees. These trees are only found in an area around Walpole.

 

 

 

 

To give you an idea of the size of the trunks (the tree in the picture is still living

 

Edited October 3, 2010 by boeckli

[bionicman97]

boeckli, those trees are amazing! Great pics.

 

We were driving back home from Orlando, Florida and I saw this old abandoned house on the side of the road. Had to pull and take a pic. It was late in the afternoon and the light was pretty harsh, so the only thing I could really do with the pic is burn and dodge and turn it into B and W. Light was still a little harsh, so I added a low opacity warm filter.

 

Edited October 3, 2010 by bionicman97

[dileep]

[bionicman97]

Very nice panorama dileep.

 

I was in Orlando yesterday, passing the Wachova building and jumped out and took a shot.

 

[dileep]

[zackiedawg]

Gorgeous shots, Dileep. Is that the view from nearby where you live? Or is this from a National park area? Absolutely stunning view (as long as it keeps its top!)...I love the second one in particular with the red colors in the foreground.

[TheRoff]

Gorgeous shots, Dileep. Is that the view from nearby where you live? Or is this from a National park area? Absolutely stunning view (as long as it keeps its top!)...I love the second one in particular with the red colors in the foreground.

 

 

Second! Nice ones. My favorite would be the last one. Perfect light.

 

Larry

[mnbruce]

 

Three really nice images!

[dileep]

Gorgeous shots, Dileep. Is that the view from nearby where you live? Or is this from a National park area? Absolutely stunning view (as long as it keeps its top!)...I love the second one in particular with the red colors in the foreground.

 

It is a 2 hour drive from our house and Saturday was clear sky and no wind. Most spectacular time we have had in the National Park.

Here is the full experience

[dileep]

Second! Nice ones. My favorite would be the last one. Perfect light.

 

Larry

 

That was at sunset as the setting sun shined its light on the mountain.

[ion-man]

 

 

 

 

Took these shots a few days ago and thought I'd share with you folks who have inspired me to want more out of my photos.

To any in the know: in some shots there was a lot of fog. I know I can't to anything about weather but is there any filter etc. that can be used to offset such scenes?

Edited October 5, 2010 by ion-man

[ion-man]

I've been experimenting with motion blur and panning to some extent and have been mildly successful. I have a problem blurring people in broad daylight though, keep getting a near white-out image. Most time I shoot them in Shutter priority, what am I doing wrong..too long?

A while back someone mentioned a "NYC cab in motion" so figured I'd try it. Forgot to try HDR though, maybe soon.

Any suggestions/ critique welcome.

[bionicman97]

Nice pics ion man!

 

For the fog, if you are using photoshop, you can add a curves adjustment layer set to strong contrast as the preset, then stack a levels adjustment layer on top of that with the white and black points both dragged in toward the midpoint and it will help alot (not remove it, but decrease it a lot in the area with the building, etc). You can then mask off the areas you don't want the contrast applied to. (basically a fogged image is flat on a histogram and you want to get some blacks and whites in it).

 

If you are using a different program, just use whatever tools you have to increase the contrast.

[mnbruce]

Great photos ion-man!

Edited October 6, 2010 by mnbruce

[boeckli]

Nice photos, ion-man! Where were the first lot taken? They remind me very much of a lot of the scenery we recently saw in Norway.

[mnbruce]

A couple from the weekend.

 

 

[R. Wethereyet]

Here are a couple of photos from a recent trip to the park ...

 

 

Edited October 6, 2010 by R. Wethereyet
Link to larger photos

[sparky-elpaso]

A couple from the weekend.

 

 

 

Gorgeous. We're headed your way on Friday to visit our son and daughter-in-law. I picked this time of year because I was hoping the trees would be turning - looks like I'm in luck.

 

Where were these taken? Thanks.

[bionicman97]

Great pics, mnbruce and R Whethereyet!

[zackiedawg]

Very nice on that first shot, RWethereyet...if you didn't show the second shot, you'd think that could be some grand estate entrance somewhere.

 

Bruce, lovely fall colors...that's something I truly miss...Florida is almost ironic - we don't have fall colors - we have green for spring, summer, and fall, then late in the winter we get cool enough that our trees get fooled into thinking real cold weather is approaching, so they begin their 'fall change' in March, only to warm back up again from April.

[ion-man]

Thanks for the info bionic man, I haven't used any software to modify the images as yet, but I do have photoshop elements so maybe that might help me.

 

Boeckli- I forgot to include location in the narrative. The first 4 pics were taken in Halifax- Peggy's Cove to be exact. The foggy one with the covered bridge is St.Martins in St. Johns, New Brunswick. The others you can tell are NYC.

Mnbruce and R.Wethereyet- thanks for showing me what I originally set out to capture...fall folliage, but failed. We did a New England/Canada itinerary but not much changing of the leaves as yet, just mildy. The bad weather (fog) didn't help matters either.

Those shots are simply beautiful.

[mnbruce]

Thanks to all for the comments!

 

Gorgeous. We're headed your way on Friday to visit our son and daughter-in-law. I picked this time of year because I was hoping the trees would be turning - looks like I'm in luck.

 

Where were these taken? Thanks.

These photos were taken about 200 miles NW of my home in Mpls. It had already peaked up there and a couple of really windy days diminished the scenery but it was still nice. You are coming at a good time,with peak coming in the next week or so. Colors are scattered but looking pretty good. Enjoy your visit!

 

 

Bruce, lovely fall colors...that's something I truly miss...Florida is almost ironic - we don't have fall colors - we have green for spring, summer, and fall, then late in the winter we get cool enough that our trees get fooled into thinking real cold weather is approaching, so they begin their 'fall change' in March, only to warm back up again from April.

 

Thanks zackiedawg! We have the colors but you have the wildlife. In a couple of years we will be splitting our time between here and the Space Coast,with the last leaf dropping as the signal for us to leave here.

[sparky-elpaso]

Thanks, Bruce. My son had mentioned that there had been some windy days and some of the leaves had dropped. But considering that this is what our fall leaves look like here any color is good.