Thanks Charles, LL, Gary, Dmitri, Edwin, Steve, Ryan
Steve, very nice shots - #1 is my favorite
Ryan, have you given up on the M9? I see that you're posting a lot in the NEX thread but nothing here....
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I've been going through photos from my US trip this summer, and well.. there's a lot of them. Here are a couple that I have not posted before. All except the last one are from the amazing Arches National Park. The last one was taken in Arizona, not far from Monument Valley.
Hey Guys, I'll be traveling to Asia for a few weeks, and looking for your recommendations on a camera / laptop bag. For an M9/NEX, 3 M lenses and a 11" laptop (MacBook Air). I know the Domke F 803 is popular around here, but it doesn't look like it has enough volume for a laptop.. Any suggestions ?
Steve, lovely shots. You have a very good eye for street shooting.
Luka, nice sets 'em both. Do you use any sort of tablet/pen device or you a master of layer based editing ?
Luka - amazing shots as always! I like all of them. The formations in number #1 is just amazing.
I have been enjoying the NEX lately but also have been shooting a ton of film. I have rolls and rolls of stuff that I need to process and send off. I hate to say it, but I have moved away from the M9 and have been using an M3 and M7 a ton lately and am going to get an M8.2 for digital. I love the M9, but I am really liking what I have been getting out of film lately. As you know, I don't get out much to different locations (there is only so many times I can shoot a boat dock over here) and shoot my kids a ton. I just can't get anywhere near the look of film that I love out of the M9. It's probably not the camera, just my inability to process correctly.
Ajay C wrote:
Do you use any sort of tablet/pen device or you a master of layer based editing ?
Now that is very interesting, what makes you ask that? Is it a specific image that made you think of tablet/pen or layer based editing? Of the two sets, most images had only slight color correction & curves adjustments applied. I'll answer your question, but before I do that, I'd really be interested what prompted you to ask it.
rsolti13 wrote:
I have been enjoying the NEX lately but also have been shooting a ton of film. I have rolls and rolls of stuff that I need to process and send off. I hate to say it, but I have moved away from the M9 and have been using an M3 and M7 a ton lately and am going to get an M8.2 for digital. I love the M9, but I am really liking what I have been getting out of film lately. As you know, I don't get out much to different locations (there is only so many times I can shoot a boat dock over here) and shoot my kids a ton. I just can't get anywhere near the look of film that I love out of the M9. It's probably not the camera, just my inability to process correctly. ...Show more →
Looking forward to seeing your film shots. Yeah, I figured that you were departing from the 'straight and narrow' path, so to speak, when you got rid of the 35 Lux. Well, whatever keeps you shooting is good. I've personally sort of done a full stop when it comes to gear. There's nothing that I currently want in terms of cameras and lenses - I feel I have too much already. So I'm currently trying the novel thing of keeping my interest in photography alive without having a steady supply of new lenses to play with
As for the whole NEX thing, I have not managed to warm to it. I really have an issue with crop sensors - I don't like them and what they do to my lenses. Plus, I'm not sold on the NEX form factor for handheld use (tripod use is nice though). If there was a FF NEX then I'd seriously consider using it for tripod based shooting, but until then it will remain a worst-case-scenario backup camera that I hope I'll never have to use.
Interesting to read this comment. I have also arrived at a place where I am (almost) done. The almost comes from the desire to trade my D3 for a D3x or D4, depending on what the latter will be. If it is anything like the 1D-X, then I will likely get one. After that, I feel that I should be trying for depth rather than breadth, and using what I have, as opposed to what I might get. One consequence of this is that I really ought to sell my beloved M8u. I just don't use it any longer, sad as that may seem. I will aim for the M10. I have been selling off various unused bits and pieces, including a tripod, geared head, 50DR, 50 Lux ASPH (although this will be repurchased when I get closer to an M10), Contax 90/2.8G, and so on. Also on the block is my 200/2 VR, and other pieces. Once I complete this cycle, I will feel quite relieved, I think.
I've more often had buyer's remorse than seller's regret. At the tail and of my recent cycle(s) I have questioned my gear and my need for them as well.
At one point I was very happy with one camera and two, three lenses, period. I was hoping I'd find a similar working solution again and in the mean time I have been fiddling around with APS-C as a substitute - which has matured some - but somehow always leaves me pining for full frame. I think I will be beating around the bush until, one day, a small-ish full frame camera appears that will suit me.
I ain't holding my breath, but I am stocking up on some great glass in a small form factor.
PS
Seeing all these great images help keep my hopes up for my own inspiration to wake from its slumber. Thank you all.
Some images seem to have localized curves / color adjustments. Especially that third image - the rock and the clouds. It seems like there is some burn/dodge and/or tone specific adjustment on that rock face. Made me wonder if there were luminosity based layer adjustments or tablet/pen based editor adjustments. Just curious.
denoir wrote: Ajay C wrote:
Do you use any sort of tablet/pen device or you a master of layer based editing ?
Now that is very interesting, what makes you ask that? Is it a specific image that made you think of tablet/pen or layer based editing? Of the two sets, most images had only slight color correction & curves adjustments applied. I'll answer your question, but before I do that, I'd really be interested what prompted you to ask it.
Ajay C wrote:
Some images seem to have localized curves / color adjustments. Especially that third image - the rock and the clouds. It seems like there is some burn/dodge and/or tone specific adjustment on that rock face. Made me wonder if there were luminosity based layer adjustments or tablet/pen based editor adjustments. Just curious.
Very well spotted, apparently I overdid it. The answer is yes, in the second set the first three images have been dodged & burned using a Wacom Intuos4 that I got last week:
Dodging and burning with a mouse is nearly impossible as you need to be able to make very fine adjustments. A pressure sensitive pen & tablet is really a necessity for that type of work.
I was going to post an example of the process, but had not gotten around to it. Here it goes anyway.
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We start with an shot that I took earlier this year in Luxor, Egypt, showing an underexposed image of the Colossi of Memnon.
First there's the standard adjustments in Lightroom, recovering the shadows: Exposure +0.6, Fill Light: 71, Blacks: 26 and we get the following:
The problem with that image is that it's very flat. When you shoot in good light during the golden hour, you get nice distinct shadows and highlights that give volume to the image. Not so when the light is flat. Dodging (=increasing local exposure) and burning (=decreasing local exposure) allows us to improve that part. If you want to see great examples of traditional dodging and burning, look at the photos of Ansel Adams - he was really the master of this technique.
Anyway, in Photoshop we create a new layer over the image, fill it with 50% gray and set it to "Overlay" blend mode. You then use the dodge and burn tools (set to midtones) and using them you lighten and darken the areas you want.
Since you work on a separate layer the process is non-destructive and you can always revert back. The final layer (that is blended with overlay) looks like this in this particular case:
(you don't actually see this when working - you see the image that gets brighter where you dodge and darker where you burn).
Comparison, before & after:
With a bit of cleanup and with a proper resize & sharpen:
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That's basically it, but you need a pressure sensitive pen and table to do it - a mouse is a too crude tool. Plus, you shouldn't overdo it as I apparently did in the second set (since Ajay spotted it) unless you are really using it as a special effect. But, I just got the tablet and I've just started using the technique so I think I can be excused
In the case of #2 in the set above, this is before and after (shot mid-day so also rather flat light):
As I said however, I've just started using this technique and I need to perfect it.
denoir wrote:
As I said however, I've just started using this technique and I need to perfect it.
Luka, that was very well articulated. One thing you didn't mention - how long (per image) does your technique take? Building on Ryan's comment earlier, I think the reason I don't enjoy PPing digitally is that I feel it takes too long to really get the look I want, even having the tools (CS5) that should be sufficient to do it. So, hence my "how long" question.
corposant wrote:
Luka, that was very well articulated. One thing you didn't mention - how long (per image) does your technique take? Building on Ryan's comment earlier, I think the reason I don't enjoy PPing digitally is that I feel it takes too long to really get the look I want, even having the tools (CS5) that should be sufficient to do it. So, hence my "how long" question.
Thanks. Well I spent quite a lot of time, on the Egyptian shot and it's far from finished (I'm unlikely to finish it). It was my first serious attempt and the ambition level was fairly high - as you can see from the overlay image I applied dodging and burning not only on large surfaces but on details on the statues. The shot from Arches NP was really a quick and dirty job. It took perhaps something like 2-3 minutes. If you see the overlay layer, you'll see that it's very simple, only emphasizing the major parts with a couple of brush strokes here and there :
The most important part was actually the path that is visible in the foreground. When it is brought out it balances the composition quite nicely - and that took less than a minute.
I find dodging and burning a little too pronounced personally. Fair enough, you can adjust the blending properties, though I prefer to paint in a SoftLight blending mode and use about 5-7% opacity brush to gradually paint in the highlights/shadows, this actually resolves one of the 9000 gripes with Photoshop and Intouous I got when you can't resize brush while painting and often end up painting over the previously edited area - it creates annoying obvious inconsistencies.
Charles, congratulations!! I look forward to seeing more of your shots with the Lux 24 and compare notes. Looks like this lens is very underrepresented on this thread
Luka - you just showed why I have a love/hate relationship with photography. I love what can be accomplished with time and effort, I hate that I can't point to an object and get those results . Great job on the processing. There are some very talented people on FM, what a great community we have. I learn multiple new things every day on here
Charles - wow! now you guys are really making me jealous. I would love the 24 Lux....being that on Nikon my absolute favorite lens was the 24 f/1.4. Great start, definitely want to see more from that lens
Elton - great colors in your shots. The 28 Elmarit is definitely no slouch
. Great job on the processing. There are some very talented people on FM, what a great community we have. I learn multiple new things every day on here