david king
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
The recovery features in Aperture are good at recovering data in the shadows and highlights of a RAW file. The new 2.0 Beta of lightroom is out and I believe it has similar features as well. The fix in either would be faster than Photoshop.
I heard a quote the other day and I think it was by Faulkner it goes something like this: “There is no future just the past happening over and over again”. I think there is a lot of truth in that statement. Methods come in and out of fashion but its rewarding to accept the discipline of another era especially if it works really well. The pleasure of a bent rod is timeless!
It looks like well done large format film to me. He could have used a ND or various grads that use to be fairly common. Long exposures in soft light wouldn’t necessarily require a filter on the sky, and if he was shooting color neg he could get a pretty wide range of values.
Thats some really good stuff! Nice details, and the shots in the rigging were cool. The masts against the sky shot is really nice!
The pdf manual that comes with Aperture is very good. I don’t have first hand experience with any books and I don’t know if any address the new features in the latest versions.
There is a lot of good info available as Quicktime movies on the Apple site http://www.apple.com/aperture/ andMy first impression is that it was slick! I didn’t check it out at all except to look at a couple of the albums.
I guess its not a whole lot worse than flickr. If you wanted to post snapshots on there it would be ok I guess. I wouldn’t put anything up that had much commercial potential based on Kendall’s post of the rights giveaway.Symmetry is all well and good and and lends a sense of balance and proportion. Asymmetrical compositions create tension and interest. Showing multiple surfaces adds depth and proportion. As Weston said “composition is the strongest way of seeing”.
I saw some Cloudveil Gore-tex waders at Sierra Trading Post on sale 25% off. Includind a pair of the wading pants.
I use smart sharpen>lens blur as the final step at reproduction size on the Luminance channel in LAB mode. Then back to RGB Russell Brown has a good tutorial here on sharpening. http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html
John everything you say is true. Even with chromes you would have 24 to 48 hour turn around time.
If you look at how Tibor Nehmeth worlflow went for Simms you see value of film as a artistic decision.
Its difficult to mimic the look of real film and paper not to mention the difference in camera formats from small format to medium format. If you had stock images shot in that style they might get you more attention than the usual fare and I’m sure he commands a pretty hefty day rate to shoot for Simms and his other clients.I was a early adopter of digital since most everything I shoot is for advertising. I started by having slides
Shooting digital has many advantages but you can’t discount the time spent in post shoot image processing. Even under controlled conditions in my studio I end up going into PS to sharpen scale and enhance any meaningful image. A digital raw file of a active subject outdoors will be what I would consider to be the same as a color or BXW negative that would need to be printed with all the associated work in whatever software you want to use. I can’t think of a image that went through my darkroom no matter how good the negative that didn’t get edge burning and some dodging minimum. RAW files are pretty much the same. So your in the virtual darkroom now and maybe you can output a nice final print which really makes a photograph a photograph and not a bunch of ones and zeros on a hard drive.
Film still has a place in creative photography just as it does in the movies, but like television the electronic image has come to be the common image format. I heard film sales were up on http://www.insidedigitalphoto.com/radio-programs/idp-radio-nik-software-viveza-tony-corbell
IDP Radio – Nik Software Viveza / Tony Corbell
Scott Shepard the host says “people are tired of being photoshop jockeys and want to be photographers again”.This guys program does a good job of keeping up with the latest trends. If you guys have a chance to listen I would be interested in hearing your opinions on what was discussed.Phil, not to belabor the issue of professionalism or what a professional is but what I am getting at is what is the business model for making money. I work full time as a photographer not freelance or crusin for snaps or shooting my hobby or avocation. If you look at the rates payed and I have no issue with what you pay. I just don’t see how you could capitalize and sustain activity and make a profit. I shoot for fun and as a form of personal expression but I have to pay the mortgage like everybody else.
Thanks for the challenge on the photo assignment I’ll try to shoot something.
To get back to the stock photography part of things! There is a good article in the March/April issue of Digital Photo Pro Magazine called The New Economy. It deals with licensing strategies. There is some good info about new revenue streams for stock. Angelina Jole is on the cover.
I hate to hear of the type of emails that Zach received from “pro” photographers. I would venture to guess that they are insecure about their own abilities if they would criticize forums such as this and others. The more the merrier, I say.
Richard, OUCH you smacked my hand! Phil thank you for your thoughtful response.
People believe what they want to believe or whatever suits their purpose or makes them money.The Beck’s are not Professional Photographers. There pictures are nice and they sell but precious little creativity and photographic skill goes into what they do. Their pictures are the same over and over and over they have a formula and industry connections from their fly shop days and they know how to milk it. I believe their primary thing is hosting trips. Photography is a income producing by product of that activity. When Simms or whoever wants a professional result that will get them some attention they call somebody with a professional skill set like Tibor Nemeth or a host of others.
Just because someone has a decent camera and learns the basics and all of a sudden they declare that they are professionals. If they have a business card or if its in print somewhere it must be true. Just because I write this does make me a professional writer and by the same token the ability to take a picture dosen’t make one a professional photographer.
If the magazine stands are any indication there seem to be more magazines than ever. I think now is a great time to be a professional photographer if your professional. There is a lot of work that needs to be done by people that are creative and competent and want to compete in the market.
I read this too! My son bought a Dell Laptop with Vista and he has had nothing but trouble! He’s selling it and getting a MacBook.
The D300 is 14 bit and I think it is the hottest selling DSLR right now. I shoot for a living and I can understand you being leery of used gear. I can say that everything I have bought used from reputable dealer has worked out well. I would by a D300 or D3 in a heartbeat if I had a really good reason! I shoot mostly medium format digital.
