relms wrote:
Rene, I am partial to B&W, and enjoyed both your latest images, but the first has an especially good feel to it and very good contrast between the dress and the surroundings.
thank you very much for your highly esteemed commentary
Ryan, nice set!! Very Rich.
Edward, thanks so much for your observations, even in my advanced 50+ years, learning may be possible
Coogee: Old Hotel looks great
Ron, I like those shots from venice. Re:trails. In the 30s the CCC, impoverished young men in the depression, built thousands of miles of trails, roads, and fire lookouts across Idaho. There was a camp very near Ketchum. Many of those trails have been overgrown from lack of use believe it or not, but we retain a huge trail system across 7 mountain ranges within 100 miles of Sun Valley. I would guess 5% are open to motorized travel. But that concentration varies, from large areas of wilderness where there is none, to the area west of my house where over 80% are open to motorbikes, and many of the trails were made by riders.
The motorbike is really the poor man's horse today, as horses, while cheap to buy, are very expensive to keep. The real damage has been done by the ATVs, mostly in the hands of hunters. Only 8 years ago there were vast areas designated "cross country travel permitted", but so many ATV trails appeared, the agencies killed that altogether. Good news: never have there been so many great trails for us and especially the mtn bikes. Bad news: eventually we may end like Cali or Utah, where legal riding is very limited.
Configured and ridden properly moter bikes have far less impact than horses, and certainly their carbon footprint is much smaller (horse up keep is carbon intensive). But of course there are always some idiots spinning wheels and taking shortcuts. Even so, that damage is minute compared to what havoc the warming climate has wreaked.
But humans, like many animals, are very territorial, so when I used to ride my mountain bike on these same trails before I had these motorbikes (I still ride MBs), and a motorbike would pass me: "what? this should be closed to "them"", I thought
Charlie - I also agree with Edward about the change in your PP. It seems like you are doing something different lately. That last shot is really nice. BTW - used to do some dirt bike racing and also participated in a few races down in Sandpoint. So much fun...
A few of one of the many cruise ships passing through Sydney Harbour, this is the MS Insignia preparing to head off on 37-night cruise to NZ, Tasmania, several Pacific Islands and finally LA.
Arriving in Bora Bora today according to the itinerary. All M9/50 Lux.
These were the shots I struggled most with WB, there really was a pinkish hue to everything at that time.
Whilst there, I stumbled into a Photography class being held (visible in the 2nd shot.) All sounded a bit dreary to be honest. "We will now set our ISO to x, aperture to y and point our cameras at the Opera House for our second shot..."
On the subject of the thread - I love how diverse all the images are - such an interesting spread of places and styles, long may it continue!
Ryan - great to see you here again. Excellent set and seems the 35/2.8 is suddenly popular again, at least with you, Edward and René. Curious why the return to the M240?
Charlie - thanks for the background info and lovely image.
Gary - moments to cherish!
René - reminds me to visit Switzerland again.
coogee - also like the third, and the fourth too. 37 day cruise sounds interesting, at least based on the ports of call... but wonder if I could handle being ship bound for such a period of time. I guess there are things to do onboard, as well as plenty to eat. Still haven't tried a cruise, so can only imagine. I'm sure that one is not inexpensive.
I had about 6 hours to spend in downtown LA Sunday afternoon, and while I didn't have a huge itinerary planned, still only managed to visit half the sites I wanted to. Ended up only making it down to Grand & W 4th, after starting at Union Station and detouring through Chinatown (a bit of a disappointment, but wanted to compare against Toronto). This is a reason I have trouble wandering around cities with non-photographers and a good thing I was alone yesterday. Just constantly stopping, or spending long periods of time in a given area, which would certainly annoy anyone else. Hopefully the work related portion of the trip will recur again next year, as I'm looking forward to the chance to see more. I also didn't fully realize how hilly areas of the downtown are.
M240 & 50 Lux ASPH x2, 28 Cron x3
This was an exhibit to commemorate survivors of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in 1915 and was located in the upper area of Grand Park.
rscheffler wrote:
Ryan - great to see you here again. Excellent set and seems the 35/2.8 is suddenly popular again, at least with you, Edward and René. Curious why the return to the M240?
It was a long and convoluted path:
- Sold M240
- Bought A7 + 17mm TS-E & decided to focus on my MM and Flim
- Bought P645Z
- Sold 17mm TS-E
- Realized the A7 is very unsatisfying to use as non-landscape camera and I have a P645Z for AF work
- Traded 35mm FLE for M240
- Selling A7 system
So now I'm a little more camera heavy (MM, M240, P645Z) and a little lighter on my lenses (35 FLE and 21/75 Lux's are gone), but I've got a system that I think will work (12/5.6 CV, 21/4 CV, 21/1.8 CV, 35/2.8 ZM, 50 Lux ASPH) although I can see myself adding some more wide angle Zeiss glass in the future.
Rene I like the 1st shot through the fence grate of the lady by the post box.
Ryan the 1st shot of clouds outstanding. Terrific coloration.
Uhoh7 nice contrast of sun and shaded areas. I like how you composed it.
Gary lovely outdoor shots. A gentle reminder to me of what I miss (hiking). The 1st one I like how your framed it and blurred everything slightly except the point of focus. Nice choice of colors by your daughter the model.
Coogee I like the isolation and lines of the last shot. Normally one does not associate empty gangways and walkways with a cruise ship.
Ron had to take a double take on your shots. Terrific blend of monochrome and color. At first glance I though a little photoshop of colouring a black and white or desaturating sections of color to black and white. Really like what you captured here.
Werner going with the professional as the one I like more I like how you captured the textures of the walls it adds to the effect of drawing the eyes into the photographer and her concentration.
Ryan enjoying the 2nd shot and how you caught her concentrated gaze of her eyes into the task at hand.
Thanks Robert. The images are pretty faithful to the original scene and the portraits on display were in B&W (just to be clear, not my portraits). I've massaged the images slightly to get more pop out of the portraits.
Ryan - interesting path and I agree about the a7 series. Technically very capable, but leaves a fair amount to be desired (IMO) with respect to UI, in-the-hand feel and the overall shooting experience in general. Like camera bags, it seems there is no perfect camera (system). Great set from the bakery!
Werner - excellent candids!
For me at least, a first time trip to LA would be incomplete without a stop at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I could probably spend a full day just wandering around the exterior. Given it was late afternoon on a Sunday, and nothing was happening inside, I guess it's understandable there weren't many people wandering. Usually it's nice to have a place like this to yourself, but I found a number of scenes where I would have loved a person to stroll through to add a human element to the composition... and I wasn't patient enough to wait most of the time.
Thank you burningheart and Ron, your (and all) comments and critics are enlightening !
I am usually to lazy to make written comments instead of using the like button..
Ron, love your LA pics ( i lived there in the early 80's to mid 90's and i get 'homesick' looking at your posts).
Your shot of Gehry's Disney Hall is fantastic (was still a project when i was there).
rscheffler wrote:
Ryan - interesting path and I agree about the a7 series. Technically very capable, but leaves a fair amount to be desired (IMO) with respect to UI, in-the-hand feel and the overall shooting experience in general. Like camera bags, it seems there is no perfect camera (system). Great set from the bakery!
Outside of feel and user experience, the 2 things that drove me absolutely nuts were
- the inability to select your own minimum shutter speed with Auto ISO implementation. Pentax and Leica handle it beautifully.
- the system focuses at whatever aperture you're shooting at, instead of focusing wide open and stopping down for the actual exposure. In a dimly lit studio setup it would struggle to focus at f8/f11 even though I was shooting with a 1.8 lens.
I really wish I had liked it more because FE glass selection is becoming fairly nice and the actual results were quite good.
ryankarr wrote:
Outside of feel and user experience, the 2 things that drove me absolutely nuts were
- the inability to select your own minimum shutter speed with Auto ISO implementation. Pentax and Leica handle it beautifully.
- the system focuses at whatever aperture you're shooting at, instead of focusing wide open and stopping down for the actual exposure. In a dimly lit studio setup it would struggle to focus at f8/f11 even though I was shooting with a 1.8 lens.
I really wish I had liked it more because FE glass selection is becoming fairly nice and the actual results were quite good.
I don't like the A7.. I keep it around because the wife likes the size/weight. Willing to buy and try the Batis lenses though, just out of curiosity sake.
Your last point (f/8 focus struggles) can be adjusted in the messy menu if need be, but not a reason to buy back the system IMHO since it's still very flawed.
Actually the A7 makes a good kit for the wife, once the Batis lenses are out... Assuming I needed a second photographer and she's willing, and my photographer friend/partner is busy.
A7II + 25/2 (good for overview shots/location establishing shots and flat-lays)
A7II + 85/1.8 (good for portraits/candids and singling out details)
I'm pairing down to M-P x2 + 35FLE, 50APO, 75APO
S-006 + 70/120 (all I really need lens wise, the S-007 might tempt me)
(My M-lenses are going to be the last to go, and in stages, I have a specific order to sell in. I have a few more misc camera lenses/gear to sell off first though before I start in on the M gear. Keeping the lenses mentioned above though)
Also bit of a weird edit for me... Was deleting LR presets that I created for various specific tasks. Testing them on a few photos to see if anything was worth keeping. Decided not to keep the preset (think it was originally intended for flatly lit ballroom), but was kinda amused at how the image turned out... So I figured why not post it.
Would have posted over in the MFD forum, but already put something on there today.
Ron - Nice... Was I right about the times and etc for LA?
Also wish I was there while you were.. I have work to finish up here in SG, but will be in LA come September (for a while).
Truth be told, never really explored WDCH that much.. Just took the typical outside architecture shot, and went on my way. Hopefully will have plenty of time to do all that, once I'm settled in permanently.
Adam, that preset actually looks kind of interesting.
Re-reading your LA advice from the PM, I think you were right on. Things are definitely really spread out and I'd probably need the better part of a week to get around to see most of what is available in the area. Since I only had 6-8 hours to look around (which would probably allow most normal tourists to hit quite a few destinations), I decided to buck your advice, and didn't rent a car. Instead I took the Flyaway bus from LAX to Union Station and just walked from there (the bus drives in the carpool lanes, bypassing traffic jams. The drive back to the airport was only 20 minutes - he was definitely speeding). If I can, I really prefer to walk around because I see more/better than if I'm driving someplace I don't know and have to pay attention to other drivers, etc. Driving would certainly have given me a broader appreciation for more of the city, but it would always end up being an internal debate about whether I should stop someplace that seems interesting, or keep driving for something better.
Funny thing, as I was leaving Union Station by the west entrance, I came upon my first homeless guy of the day, who looked to be in his 40s-50s, white, scruffy and kicking a plastic drinking cup along the sidewalk. He took a quick look at me and said 'you look like a photographer.' So much for being inconspicuous with a Leica. All I had in my hand was the M and 28 Cron... and no big camera bag, just my Filson field bag (nondescript discontinued version with nylon straps and plastic hardware)...
Thanks Werner! I know the feeling - the like button is very convenient.
You may notice in the background of the WDCH image is The Broad. It's not open yet (supposed to be September), but based on their website, looks like it will be very interesting inside. Unfortunately I ran out of time and didn't go inside WDCH. Will have to leave that for a future visit.
I really only scratched the surface of LA, and just the downtown at that. LA seems to be full of people from someplace else. A few people commented they suspected I was from Canada based on my accent, which I never thought was so obvious, but I guess is. Maybe people in LA are just more attuned to these kinds of things?
And I think I can see what some find appealing about life in Southern California. If the weather truly was 23˚C, sunny, dry, with a nice breeze every day, I'd try to find a way to be there too.
Joakim - I like the zigzag of lines in that one.
Ryan - I agree the latest FE lenses and the Batis from Zeiss make the system more appealing. If they can 'fix' the camera problems, it has the potential to be very good, beyond technical capabilities and results.
A couple more from WDCH, that are perhaps a bit more conventional:
Gary Clennan wrote:
Charlie - I also agree with Edward about the change in your PP. It seems like you are doing something different lately. That last shot is really nice. BTW - used to do some dirt bike racing and also participated in a few races down in Sandpoint. So much fun...
TY Gary
Maybe what has helped me a little was when I sent my M9 back to NJ for shutter. Then I had to use A7 all the time. But TYG I had already sent the Sony in for sensor mod from Kolari.
At first I had fits with WB etc, but Jako helped me a bit. To the point where, to my disbelief, I sometimes need to check to be sure I shot this or that (after PP) with the M9 or A7.
The A7 is a far more difficult camera to use, but with practice, it makes for an awesome 2nd body, and if you do the mod it can be pretty impressive with M glass. The EVF pales compared to gorgeous, bright, sharp RF, the camera needs a faster shutter to hold still etc etc. But the results, when things go right, are excellent.
Not to mention the ease of macro or telework with A7 and CF adapters, or long lenses. So many of my lenses far prefer the Mod to the old "stock" A7.
edwardkaraa wrote:
Thank you very much Robert for the kind words. How do you like the ZM 28?
Edward, the only ZM lens I have is the ZM 15, the others are CY mount lenses. The 28 is one that I bought 10 or so years ago, tried it on a Canon 1Ds II, vignetting was awful, so I put it back on the shelf, but then recently picked it up and tried it on the A7r with a Novaflex adapter, and it works great with it, but is not so hot on the M240. I have a bit of a gap between my 35 ASPH Cron and ZM 15, but if I need/want to shoot at that FL, I simply grab the Sony.
