Was rather busy last week, with a Citation M2 in Jonesboro, AR and then two Citation CJ1's in Lexington, KY.
We had just a very brief moment of sunshine when I photographed this jet on Tuesday morning, 45 minutes later, it was POURING rain, as it had been the previous 36 hours.
We've mentioned it in passing here but the more I experiment with Topaz Sharpen, the less I like it. There are many cases where it introduces pretty extreme artifacts in trees, water, and different background textures, and that is just using the default sharpening parameters. I've gone back to Photoshop's sharpening tool in a a number of instances.
Bill Gass wrote:
Glad to hear as I have been on the fence about buying that for the last few months.
Hi Bill,
.
Honestly, it's strange, Topaz has saved some images for me and it destroys other ones. I'm going to keep it in the line up, but it definitely isn't a cure all program.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
Hi Bill,
.
Honestly, it's strange, Topaz has saved some images for me and it destroys other ones. I'm going to keep it in the line up, but it definitely isn't a cure all program.
I've been experimenting with DXO Pure Raw and it seems to work pretty well on my Z9, D850 and D5 images.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
We've mentioned it in passing here but the more I experiment with Topaz Sharpen, the less I like it. There are many cases where it introduces pretty extreme artifacts in trees, water, and different background textures, and that is just using the default sharpening parameters. I've gone back to Photoshop's sharpening tool in a a number of instances.
---------------------------------------------
Bill Gass wrote:
Glad to hear as I have been on the fence about buying that for the last few months.
Jim and Bill...I use Nik Sharpen Pro( and yes it leaves "haloing" around many edits) and it is ok BUT I am NOT a fan of the DXO platform! It has become increasing unstable with each new version! So much so my 2 latest photo only computers I have NOT updated the NIk Collection because of the instability in uploading the newer version. The DXO Uninstall tool is worthless! Plus they have NO phone tech support. Only email and it is worse than "snail mail"!
I recommend you dont even THINK about the Nik Collection.
Good luck
GREAT talking to you yesterday Bill and your Army buddy! Small world sometimes! He was a good listen! He came at a better time than me. My 2 years was at the height of the war and competent NCO's were few and far between. Hence my extension for 1 extra year.
Extremely frigid here along with 5"of snow...Blinding!
Doesn't it just crack you up? These companies that have zero customer service, yet send you a survey wanting to know how they did two minutes after you buy something from them. My Dad was VP of Marketing for The Bell System (back before the infinite wisdom of the government wonks decided to break that great company up into a dozen not so great companies), Sheila was a long distance operator in high school, and a customer service rep in college. I can remember her telling me that they would get a reprimand if their phone rang more than once before they picked up, if it happened two more times they were fired. Fast forward to the present, where you can't even talk to a human being muchless in one ring. Companies spend billions in advertising that tells you just how important you are as a customer, then they do absolutely nothing in the real world to actually put that BS into practice. I've told my kids and Grandkids that there has never been a time in history that it was easier to stand out from the crowd, heck, just show up and act like you care.......you're automatically ahead of the pack.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
Doesn't it just crack you up? These companies that have zero customer service, yet send you a survey wanting to know how they did two minutes after you buy something from them. My Dad was VP of Marketing for The Bell System (back before the infinite wisdom of the government wonks decided to break that great company up into a dozen not so great companies), Sheila was a long distance operator in high school, and a customer service rep in college. I can remember her telling me that they would get a reprimand if their phone rang more than once before they picked up, if it happened two more times they were fired. Fast forward to the present, where you can't even talk to a human being muchless in one ring. Companies spend billions in advertising that tells you just how important you are as a customer, then they do absolutely nothing in the real world to actually put that BS into practice. I've told my kids and Grandkids that there has never been a time in history that it was easier to stand out from the crowd, heck, just show up and act like you care.......you're automatically ahead of the pack....Show more →
...and the customer service associates that answer the phone when I refuse to play with the digital assistant via a keypad, don't speak English clearly enough for this septuagenerian to understand them. And about the surveys, well, like my comments are ever considered because the issues stay the same or get worse.
Danpbphoto wrote:
Douglas...Hopefully you got out to Arlington today!
5" of snow up here and it is beautiful!!!!
Well, I made my way down to Arlington Cemetery about 30 minutes after sunrise this morning. It was a cloudless sunrise so I didn't miss much. The light hitting the cemetery ground was just beautiful. I didn't wait to enter inside the cemetery. By the time they opened, the light would have been too bright anyway. I just walked along Marshall Dr. and the section off Rt 110 for about 30 minutes and got some shots through the fence. I couldn't stick my lenses through the fence so I didn't have much a choice in terms of shooting angles.
The cemetery is always even more solemn after snow, so I really wanted to get some shots before the Christmas wreaths get removed.
Douglas
ILCE-1E 21mm F2.8 lens21mmf/8.01/400s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II lens140mmf/2.81/500s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II lens142mmf/11.01/60s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-7RM5FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens35mmf/10.01/60s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II lens78mmf/11.01/50s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II lens168mmf/11.01/60s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1E 21mm F2.8 lens21mmf/9.01/1250s100 ISO0.0 EV
ILCE-1FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II lens185mmf/2.81/500s100 ISO0.0 EV
Douglas L wrote:
Well, I made my way down to Arlington Cemetery about 30 minutes after sunrise this morning. It was a cloudless sunrise so I didn't miss much. The light hitting the cemetery ground was just beautiful. I didn't wait to enter inside the cemetery. By the time they opened, the light would have been too bright anyway. I just walked along Marshall Dr. and the section off Rt 110 for about 30 minutes and got some shots through the fence. I couldn't stick my lenses through the fence so I didn't have much a choice in terms of shooting angles.
The cemetery is always even more solemn after snow, so I really wanted to get some shots before the Christmas wreaths get removed.
Douglas...Show more →
So powerful Douglas! Most excellent compositions!
Yes sunrise is the best time!
Fantastic images here and great timing on the Iwo Jima Memorial!
Dan
As I mentioned in my previous post, last week was a busy week for me, one jet in Jonesboro, AR and then two Citation jets in the Lexington KY area.
This is the first CJ1 I photographed while I was up there. The owner also had a Cessna 310Q, a Bell 407 and a Robinson 44, along with an AMAZING Diesel truck that was featured on some tv show probably on one of the Discover Network channels. He eventually had me photograph everything but the Robinson 44. I'll share some other photos later, of all that.
Here's the CJ1, he can fly it, along with the previous mentioned aircraft. Pretty amazing man.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
Hi Bill,
.
Honestly, it's strange, Topaz has saved some images for me and it destroys other ones. I'm going to keep it in the line up, but it definitely isn't a cure all program.
I know what you mean. With Topaz, sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you. One place where it is bad, is text. That's a problem for me because I shoot a lot of race cars, which tend to be festooned with text heavy sponsor stickers. Topaz can usually be relied on to turn a fuzzy but readable decal into indecipherable mush.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
Got a big groundbreaking tomorrow morning, 25 degrees with winds gusting 30+, I'm thinking there must be a surcharge for that...................
They call it "Global Warming" Jim!!!!
I am drinking my morning coffee as 4-6 inches of snow falls just outside my d.r. window for the 2nd time in 6 days. Temps not above 30F!
But I like the cold not the snow...I drove to the Dunkin and not a soul out. Especially snow plows! But heh..for the County snow removal it is "job security"!
Stay safe!
Tell my buddy we need his John Deer to clear my driveway!
Tuesday-01/15
Say What???? 11" in 5 days here and record snow falls across the US-2024Storms last week dropped several feet of snow at Donner Summit and at Lake Tahoe ski resorts. But the biggest storm of the season is anticipated this Wednesday, and it could deliver i
