Ben Cochran
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I said; “don’t “cross” me” lol… It really is a cool cemetery, one of the oldest here in Vilnius. Went there with my girlfriend but only got to stay for about half an hour. She said that it was more due to the cold and misty weather but I know better LOL. Bored to death I guess LOL
I agree with Richard. i like some of the HDR materials but it seems that a lot of it is over processed and simply does not look real. I really like your image but I agree with Richards comments as well, on it. Adding a couple of “manual” blending layers would really make your image pop more.
I don’t do very much HDR but when I do, it is because I too want to try and recreate what I saw or felt. I have heard it put best in this fashion: “Create a work flow that promotes the unbelievable as believable, opposed to the believable as unbelievable”.
I shot and then processed this image in Photoshop, a couple of days ago, and merged it as an HDR. Don’t know that this is a good example but it is an HDR image nonetheless.
No, I am not a morbid deviant lol It was All Saints Day here in Vilnius so I went to honor the passed soles.. I think they all died from colds though as I heard a lot of coffin..lol. Yea, that was a sick joke but don’t cross me lol
Thanks Barry it really is an awesome restoration but I am not pleased with the final image, just glad that I did it as a one time freebie..
Hey David, I agree with the lighting and I too would love to incorporate that feel into other shots. if you will, let me know that title of that book as well. If I see a chapter on how to use a shop utility light and lots of stitching, I will be tossing it into the bin quickly. lol
Thanks mates 😉 I don’t think that I will be doing this type of shooting again though. It is sad to say but I enjoyed the stitching more than the shoot Morsie lol.. I have 6 months before I am due back in the states so, that gives me plenty of time to decide but I think that I am going to just take the loss on this type of shooting, this time. Sure, it would be nice to have one of those large budgets but I am like you David, prefer to admire the car images more lol
Thanks for the tips John. I left all of my gear back here in Europe and was not about to go out and purchase more so, I decide to try and heavily PS the work instead. Some nice tips that you offered but for me, I just don’t seem to enjoy shooting this type of photography as much as I prefer to just be an admirer of it :). Plenty of work is available from this company and they did want me to do more shoots for them but I will have to think hard on it before investing in the proper type of equipment before shooting again…
Thanks all… One thing that I have learned is that my opinion really does not matter on a completed project so your comments are very helpful for me. I am so angry that I did not remember to take some shots of just the tires as well and due to that, I have limited data on them and cannot shade them in the way that I wanted to.. I always liked this night shot of Vilnius and wanted to use it for something and thought that this might be a good application. After reading your thoughts, I see that I had actually incorporated an image that I liked and overlooked the fact that it does distract and it is easier to see that processed look that you mentioned now. Due to the fact that I did not get enough data on the tires, I thought that maybe just going to a completely processed look might be a solution. I am going to be over here for about 6 months this time and due to that, I don’t have the luxury of shooting any of the car again.
I agree with you David, I don’t think this is something that I really want to do again as they are very time consuming and would require a pretty good investment into more equipment.. Must say that I do have a whole new admiration for those photographers that do this sort of shooting professionally though 🙂
Oh yes, sorry to hear about the hair thing ;D
Seems that the word is already out on that one Will, can only find the SB-26’s on sell at ebay and only one at a time.. International shiping wpuld kill me lol  Question for you though, have you by chance tried the SU-800 wireless commander/ Seems that it may be a better fit in the long run but wanted to check and see if you have tried it yet, or know of anyone that has.. Thanks again 🙂
Thanks for the links too as they cover exactly what my desire of use is 🙂
Perfect Will!!! That is exactly what I was curious about and the methods in which I wanted to use the lighting. Â Thanks!!!!! Â i take it that you like this set up? My thoughts were to use this type of set up during some outings where I stumble upon some potential decent stock photograpghy. I am heading back to europe for about 6 months this time, in a couple of weeks. I will also be using this type of set up mostly on the D200 or D80.
Thanks Buzz. I am looking more for and alternate and simplified means of side and back lighting for minor location shots and battery operated is a big plus. The SB600 will not function as a master, like the SB800 does so, I was thinking of getting several SB600’s for the slaves. Just curious about how well they worked as a back and slide light system.
I kind of noticed the same thing on one of the sites as well Zack. Probably the same place as I was once a frequent contributor there as well. I don’t agree with the practice either as it seemed that overnight they more than tripled the amount of active users while post counts declined and several people posted that they were leaving that site. I don’t have a probelm with getting advertising sponsorship on a site but I don’t agree with manipulated data.
I really like #3, might of cropped it slightly different but I really like the feel from this image.. Also like 9 and 10 a lot and think that they make for very good stock photography as well. Seems that you had a great time over there. Thanks for sharing and I really enjoyed your images! 🙂
CS3 is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! You will love it!! Also, you can custom calibrate CS3 to your particular camera or shooting style and then simply click on your custom preset camera calibration before editing. Take it a step further and you can even set up a preset calibration for the different lenses that you use and then save the settings independently for quick adjustments on those as well. Just have to save the image after each calibration, if using more than one preset…
Same here Eric, I lived in Africa for a couple of years and I am really eager to see your images and hear more about your trip. As a matter of fact, I am so eager that I am wondering what is taking you so long
I agree, this has turned into a great thread! There really are a lot of great threads on this forum and it is the reason that I come back to this forum so often :).. I am an obsessed fly fisher and tyer but I also prefer this forum for the photography skill levels as well.
I have a question about the tying tutorials though. I agree that shadowing is essential in capturing artistic images but along the lines of a printed hard copy tutorial; would the shadowing be a distraction and interfere with the step-by-step illustrations? I agree that a nice artistic image of the sample fly and/or completed fly is best represented this way though.
Here area a couple of examples from a bit of fun that I decided to do this weekend. I am getting ready to go back to Europe during the first of October and my freinds, over there, keep asking me about Indians. So, I played a bit of cowboy this weekend and shot a few, with the camera of course lol.
These are completly unedited in any way and I know that they do need it but I don’t want to mislead anyone. One was shot with the 70-200 on a D80 ( the example is suppose to be at its weak spot, (according to some net reviews), at the full 200 mm. The 80-400 was on the D200 and shot at its weak spot, (according to some net reviews), at 80mm.  They aren’t the best images so please give me a free pass on this one 🙂
D80 70-200 @200mm
D80 70-200 @ 70mm
D200 80-400 @80
Need to be faster on the settings as I know this is to dark, she was dancing and I was focused to much on the lens. D200 80-400 @ 400mm
They aren’t the greatest shots but they are all can be worked in PS fine and considering that this is the weak spots of the lenses, I am a happy chappy with them 🙂
Will,
I agree about the net research, it is a good foundation on which to further research but I have learned that not a lot of merit should be given to it as well. I think that my aproach on research may be much like yours: Â For specific use, I feel that it is imperative that one gets a trial test of a lens and uses it for their designed application. Seems that most of the net revues appear to be cut and paste jobs with new names. I have also noticed that far to many reviews are written with the expectation that all lenses are general purpose/specific application and should do everything great. I make my purchases on indication of use and then filter the research to see how well they performed in a particular category as opposed to all categories. Also, I measure the handicap of the lens to the amount of time it will take to repair minor weakness in PS3. I do not believe in a singular all purpose “professional quality” perfect lenses and it seems that most of the critiques mention how the lens will not perform well for a purpose that it wasn’t really designed for.
Having said the above: The 80-400 VR is not a sports or action lens at all. It was advertised to also be a great lens for this but this lens is not great for fast action or low light, it does hunt a lot in these applications. For slow moving distant objects, it does work great. It also works great as a fashion photography and street portrait as well as streetscape lens. The lens is not the fastest in the world but on the D200 and above, the lens is plenty fast enough. I have seen many reviews about how this lens is very slow but on the D200, I have no complaints. Another thing that is not mentioned in the critiques is the fact that this lens goes from 80-400mm so how fast could it really be? The VR functionality of the lens is not my favorite feature but I don’t miss using it at all. Â My logic on my purchase was this: The lens does have a bit of a learning curve but it will deliver amazing images if one only takes their time learning the character of this lens. I am very impressed at 400, 300, 105 and yes, even at the 80mm so, the only question really is this: Is the price worth it for a very good 400mm professional lens, I decided yes. I didn’t say “great lens” because the images it delivers are and can be great but more because one really has to learn the strengths of this lens and then use it within a context of limits.
The 70-200 is amazing in every way!!! It is extremely fast and the VRII is far better on this lens as it does not kick. It focuses amazingly fast and does not seem to hunt at. The motors are almost to silent LOL and the image quality is a bench mark that other zoom lenses should measure against, it is that good. It functions very well in low light and gains a good focus in the low light as well. For exteme darkness, I always go to manual anyway and carry a pocket flashligh in my bag to gain a focus. The foot is completely reengineered and you don’t have to remove the entire ring to remove the attachable foot. I would be a happy chappy if they would also make this for the 80-400 :). This lens is so easy to use that it truly is ridiculous. I am holding out for the new 24-70 that is designed the exact same way and should be out in November.. I feel that everyone should have this lens!! 🙂
I only use a Tripod for about 25% of my shots so, I don’t really think that the foot on the 80-400 is that much of a problem, for extreme slow shutter speeds. How-ever, a moderately slow shutter speed will have motion blur and this is where the under engineered foot on the 80-400 will actually destroy the shot. It is a great hand held lens though. Both lenses are a bit heavy but that does not bother me at all, even after a full day of shooting. I hate reading the reviews that complain about the lens weight as these same people then complain about another lens that has a plastic feel to it. They are tanks that feel like a professional lens should feel..
Zach, I purchase all of my equipment from bhphoto.com They are a great company to deal with and respond to any problems extremely fast. You will love the 70-200 lens, I love everything about mine!! That lens is also a ligh grey and not white but they do have them there and list them on their web page. I also like the fact that they let you know in advance, if they have them in stock or not…
Will, I also have the 80-400 VR and to be honest, there is not much noticable wieght difference between the 70-200 and the 80-400.. I don’t know what model camera that you have but it does not balance well on anything less that the D200 but still it does function great on the D80, just make sure that you support the lens when you carry it on the D80 as problems could arise at the mount plate. The VR on the 80-400 is not as good as on the 70-200 and you will need to spend some time learning this lens as it does hunt a bit. Once you get used to this lens though, it will deliver amazing images and I even used it some in a fashion shoot for a publisher. The lens is that good! 🙂
Phillip,
I like your artistic Photoshop interpretations, but you REALLY need to clean your camera’s image sensor. Email or PM me if you have any questions on how to do this.
Richard, I have always admired your work and now I admire the man even more! I know that you are extremely busy and that forces me to respect this reply of yours to Phillip even more 🙂
On the topic of photoshop, I will say that I am in love with that software! :)… I really enjoy the images posted on here and the effects really do add a very plesant feel to the images. It is amazing what can be done in that software and the best part is, the final image can feel believable. I attached one of the non believable types below but it is an example of another side of photoshops potential as an aid to desired final images.. This is a book cover that my girlfriend and I did for a publisher in Europe… The glass is not real and was created in CS3 so, 6 total photographs were used for the final image. It is kind of sad to say, as a lifestyle benchmark, but we had the greatest time on this assignment while sitting in front of PS for far to many hours lol…
This is great Eric. I really missed not being able to celebrate the 4th this year and the fireworks. I was explaining to some friends, over here, how we celebrate the 4th and about how wonderful all of the fireworks are, this made me miss the 4th even more. Thank you for sharing as I was able to experience it a bit through your photographs. The people pn the dock is a really cool composition.
