CGrindahl wrote:
Your description of the process is certainly well known to all of us since most settings have their challenges, whether in terms of lighting or perspective. We make the best decisions we can in the field in terms of framing the shot with the gear we have available. I'm a big fan of the Df so I always expect it will give me a file that is pliable. Then we get into the digital darkroom and engage in another round of decision making. We have to decide at the beginning how to frame the image... rotating the image to find level, then cropping it judiciously. I know the REAL photographers do all the framing in the viewfinder and consider working on the composition in post to be a sacrilege... but they come from the days of film when working in post was much more challenging. In the digital darkroom we have awesome tools at our fingertips.
I mention all of that simply to say Doug, you did well with what you had available to you. And yes, when we find something special, we will return. My friend George Ward talks about getting up at 3:00 a.m. to walk up the mountain to the place where he knows he'll capture a glorious sunrise, lugging his tripod and camera gear as he goes. I have nothing but respect for everyone who is that dedicated... but it isn't me...
********************
Haha - Thanks for the compliment. I think I am more of the latter. I try to get it as close to right in the field. But you are right about today's tools - no way I could have pulled a final image like that with film with that light yesterday. It would have been "that's beautiful - appreciate it for what it is - and must come back when the light is better".
If I had actually brought the 35-200 yesterday I could have zoomed in a bit more and not had to crop in post. But I consciously decided to go prime only. That's the trade off, right?
And I have done my fair share of getting up early to get somewhere down the trail for a sunrise. Unfortunately its often in grizzly country (Glacier NP) at a time of year when they're hungry (fall)! That's why I am sometimes late for the sunrise (but alive )!
Your description of the process is certainly well known to all of us since most settings have their challenges, whether in terms of lighting or perspective. We make the best decisions we can in the field in terms of framing the shot with the gear we have available. I'm a big fan of the Df so I always expect it will give me a file that is pliable. Then we get into the digital darkroom and engage in another round of decision making. We have to decide at the beginning how to frame the image... rotating the image to find level, then cropping it judiciously. I know the REAL photographers do all the framing in the viewfinder and consider working on the composition in post to be a sacrilege... but they come from the days of film when working in post was much more challenging. In the digital darkroom we have awesome tools at our fingertips.
I mention all of that simply to say Doug, you did well with what you had available to you. And yes, when we find something special, we will return. My friend George Ward talks about getting up at 3:00 a.m. to walk up the mountain to the place where he knows he'll capture a glorious sunrise, lugging his tripod and camera gear as he goes. I have nothing but respect for everyone who is that dedicated... but it isn't me...
********************
Haha - Thanks for the compliment. I think I am more of the latter. I try to get it as close to right in the field. But you are right about today's tools - no way I could have pulled a final image like that with film with that light yesterday. It would have been "that's beautiful - appreciate it for what it is - and must come back when the light is better".
If I had actually brought the 35-200 yesterday I could have zoomed in a bit more and not had to crop in post. But I consciously decided to go prime only. That's the trade off, right?
And I have done my fair share of getting up early to get somewhere down the trail for a sunrise. Unfortunately its often in grizzly country (Glacier NP) at a time of year when they're hungry (fall)! That's why I am sometimes late for the sunrise (but alive )!
Your description of the process is certainly well known to all of us since most settings have their challenges, whether in terms of lighting or perspective. We make the best decisions we can in the field in terms of framing the shot with the gear we have available. I'm a big fan of the Df so I always expect it will give me a file that is pliable. Then we get into the digital darkroom and engage in another round of decision making. We have to decide at the beginning how to frame the image... rotating the image to find level, then cropping it judiciously. I know the REAL photographers do all the framing in the viewfinder and consider working on the composition in post to be a sacrilege... but they come from the days of film when working in post was much more challenging. In the digital darkroom we have awesome tools at our fingertips.
I mention all of that simply to say Doug, you did well with what you had available to you. And yes, when we find something special, we will return. My friend George Ward talks about getting up at 3:00 a.m. to walk up the mountain to the place where he knows he'll capture a glorious sunrise, lugging his tripod and camera gear as he goes. I have nothing but respect for everyone who is that dedicated... but it isn't me...
********************
Haha - Thanks for the compliment. I think I am more of the latter. I try to get it as close to right in the field. But you are right about today's tools - no way I could have pulled a final image like that with film with that light yesterday. It would have been "that's beautiful - appreciate it for what it is - and must come back when the light is better".
If I had actually brought the 35-200 yesterday I could have zoomed in a bit more and not had to crop in post. But I consciously decided to go prime only. That's the trade off, right?
And I have done my fair share of getting up early to get somewhere down the trail for a sunrise. Unfortunately its often in grizzly country (Glacier NP) at a time of year when they're hungry (fall)! That's why I am sometimes late for the sunrise (but alive )!
