[John Bennett]

Damn that sucks but happens. Just let i air dry, maybe try some sillica hope it survives.

Trout Openers.
I was shooting this bow and to do so, I layed down in the water, propped up on my elbows, back arched.

Everything was peachy until I stood up and realsied the front of my jacket was soaked and while it’s waterproof….the zippered outside front pockets arent.

My phone didnt survive

[John Bennett]

Yeah, housing has/is on my dream list as well. Bloody photography, there are more toys and doo dads to take it whereever you desire, and the only limit is $$. A part of me would love to do deep sky astro photography but my god the start up cost has me shivering.

Matt it’s money well spent.
if you were a golpher, it would be new drivers and putters, if a biker a harley, if a bass nut, a 40g Bass boat outfitted to the nines, it’s all relative.

enjoy

[John Bennett]

It was Darwin Wiggets blogs that convinved me to go for it. Had long thought about it, got scared off, and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to overcome the digital problems.

Pretty sure I can now, I can get rid of the magenta, (or most anyways), mainly just need a few hundred shots to familiarise myself with it’s quirks and to learn when it will pay dividends. Tonight was a good example, normally I wouldnt even point my camera at anything, but even in the failing light of an overcast night, it still made that mud puddle come alive.. I can’t wait to have this on me in some late afternoon light.

[John Bennett]

Sweet.
But man I’d be so nervous the first time 🙂

[John Bennett]

Yeah, thats why I have misgivings about their sample.

Man you have access to all the goodies (and Im not referring strictly to lenses) :).

/ponders trip to Australia

Re the filter:
Sure, Ive been playing around with it, trying to get a sense of when to use (for real) and when not to. On the back end of that been playing with the post work required, I’m close to getting the results I want ( what was seen and orchestrated through the viewfinder) but not quite, so aslong as you understand that the images are test shots and therefore suck and that I havent nailed th post yet….

I’ll try to have some samples up soon. Im just afraid I won’t do it justice. 🙂 ..In my mind I have 100s of shost visualised with it, just need to learn to use it first, its pretty specialised and correcting stuff in post is a learning process although I may start using custom white balane at image capture to negate the need for as much PP 🙂

Ive got a few dozen photos that Im currently separating/categoring for my next submissions to different pubs. Would like to have those out the door by next week. As Im doing those I’ll try to compile some passabe test shots and have them available asap.

J

[John Bennett]

Oh, man the fun you could have with that 🙂

Think firelies flying across a meadow

[John Bennett]

#3 by a long shot for me. Agree with Zach, clean up the foliage along the top border and deepen the blue a bit.

my only nit is that the foreground is black, would love to have seen that lightened a bit vis a vie some flash or Grad ND. Minor nit though and unimportant for what your looking for

[John Bennett]

Some nice adaptations there Zach

Basically, and not to over-simplify, but I’ve noticed that the “edgier” the magazine, the more likely an editor is to lock onto a photo that I’ve heavily photoshopped than one which is more or less right out of camera.  With the mainstream magazines, heavy photoshopping is more taboo.

For what it’s worth, in my experience, this kind of image would sell better to a smaller magazine targeting a younger demographic, or to an online publication looking to “print the photos the magazines won’t print.”  By my count there are now at least six of those in fly fishing.

Don’t think theres much to simplify, meaning there isn’t much more to it than that, and that the commentary is pretty accurate. Whether it’s a conscious marketing decision to
a) Dare to be different, show something different than the tried/true, etc
b) Cater to younger demographics
c) Whatever, it is what it is. Call it a natural extenuation, growth, continuance of trends from Trout Bums 🙂

I’ve been seeing a lot of images that are fairly heavily PSd, whether they are HDRs, tone mapping, heavy contrast and/or saturation that are gaining popularity.

I’ll play around with some images, and like you I tend to do it with images that have flaws of one type or another. Or they are images I like but have virtually no inclination to send to anyone. Basically why risk a prefectly good/suitable cover that stands alone pretty much right out of the camera and over bake it/transform it into something more

One area I want to explore more fully and get reasonably proficient at is composites. When done well, they can be things of beauty.

[John Bennett]

omg I looooove this shot

One day, way down the road I hope to have an 85f1.2 to call my own. For now I get by with it’s little brother the 85mm f1.8

Your first sample illustrates my misgivings about the sample shot linked above by the makers of this program. Your first shot is at f1.8 and the Dof is razor thin, their shot which is at f1.2 has 4 to 5 inches effective DoF and I might guess distance to subject is less.  If you then compare the background elements, again theres a wide difference…..atleast to my eyes and the tree behind your son is only 2 feet away, where-as in their “sample” I’d guess 15 to 20 feet.  

If that shot is at f1.2  with the 85mm L and relative distances are even close to what I’m guessing, the BG shouldnt be recognisable at all as trees, it should just be pure cream and muted colours and the DoF should be less than an inch, not the 4 or 5 it seems to have. Probably mistaken, but something seems off.

Another lens worth looking at is the 135 f2.0 L.
Ahhh if only I were rich and could have them all 🙂

ps. got my Gold/Blue the other day. All I can say is wicked..but does require post work to correct strong magenta cast.

[John Bennett]

note to self.
Don’t reply to things at 4am and before coffee kickstarts the brain 🙂

[John Bennett]

Good luck Ab.

Quote:

Yeah, I know a vise may be a stinker of a present for a 13 year old girl, but she got a deer rifle for Christmas from her grandpa and gushed over it for a week.

[John Bennett]

Its ok, probably better than ok but in alot of samples you can tell its digitised and atleast imo, even their good samples don’t provide the same natural look as you get with a lens.

On that note their 85mm 1.2 L sample I have to question.
First off I have to question if their sample was actually shot at f1.2, the DoF is too large (from the tip of he near leaf, pretty much right through to the petals) thats got to be 4 to 5 inches. At 85mm f.12 and that close DoF should be razor thin.
http://www.alienskin.com/bokeh/examples-accurate-lens.aspx

While Ive never shot with the 85 1.2 L its “bokeh” is legendary and that images bokeh isnt all that great, my 85mm f1.8 is alteas that good.

And as Bill said you don’t have to have fast glass to get nice Bokeh. You need to understand and maximise the relationship between aperture, focal length and distance to subject which deterines your effective DoF.
Then understand the reltionship to your BG.

f5.6 which most people consider slow

and if thats not slow enough

f9.0 with the 85mm f1.8…hardly expensive glass

[John Bennett]

Nice guys, looks like a hell of an outing.

[John Bennett]

If I could write half decently and make a tale interesting I’d like to “blog” about outings. Where I’ve been, what I was fishing for/trying to shoot etc,etc. This would be in addition to a professionally designed site, that’s dedicated to marketable images. So Id actually have 3 sites. One that host everything (much like what I have now), my “blog”, and a site (domain) my own url  thats strictly my best stuff, thats carefully selected.

I’ll always send a CD with anyone I’m just starting with. It’s  personal touch and most likely what they want. Web images while convenient are not truly indicative of the photos themselves. Both I guess might work, but to me a CD in hand with full res files is something tangible vs a link to downsized images. Not so different as a consumer from shopping online. Im the type of guy that I want to feel something in my hand before buying it.

J

[John Bennett]

Two recent samples Ole.

Dark backgrounds are the most important thing, thy contrast the line
This is backlit

backlit, somewhat side

In both cases it’s no coincidence that the BG is darker/in shadow

[John Bennett]

I’m curious about this as well Will. Been giving it alot of thought lately.
If I could write a lick I might incorporate some blogging but I’m a truly horribe writer.

My mentor/sponsor in the OWC is recomending it in so much as it gives me a way to separate what I do for fun and what I want to do professionally. He’s really pushing me and I’m on board to view my work/efforts as a second business. Basically if I want to grow and succeed beyond what I’e done this far, I need to treat it as a busniess and not a hobby. So with regards to the site I currently host my stuff on, while theres alot of good marketable images, there are also alot that would not be up to snuff. I know it, but those are “fun” images that I upload for friends, family, and for posting to forums etc.

In his words, if prospective buyers start seeing to many of those before seeing the “good tuff”, they exit the site.

So his recomendation is
1) host for “fun stuff”
2) a site professionaly designed which contains carefully selected images that highlight what im capable of doing

So long winded way of saying for me it’s worth it and I’ll probably be doing it at some point this year

[John Bennett]

Flies I have in my Steelhead box.

Buggers: Black, Olive, Purple. Some with flash some not, some weighted, some not. Dead drift, or swung. Most of the fish I hooked into this past week were on Olive Buggers dead drifted.

Stones: black

Single egg and egg sack imitations.

By this time Great Lakes Steel have been pounded for he last week, and probably won’t even look at Roe. Show them something different.

Most won’t be at their best by now. Spawned out and many will have been hooked and played out a few times. Still you should get some that put up a whale of a fight. If you get one that heads downstream like a bat out of hell, don’t be afraid to completely let off the pressure, often they’ll stop, if not your going for a run 🙂 Big fish on small streams are a ton of fun, but expect alot of break offs if Minnesotas tribs are anything like ours. Sometimes giving them slack will stop a reel screaming run and or save a breakoff in wood when your too far to effectively turn their head.

[John Bennett]

Aim the butt end of the toon where you don’t want to go…………..and row backwards.

Well said. 🙂

Tim Toons are probably the most forgiving. A little common sense and the rest is gravy. Bungee anything your not going to be holding and if you want something for your rod pick up a Scotty Fly Rod holder http://www.westerncanoekayak.com/product_spec.php?item_description_id=5257 for Pontoons. It takes 2 seconds to put your rod in and secure it, leaving you hands free.

[John Bennett]

Lovely  and perceptive   work John  –  nice receding hairline!!!  guess that financial downturn stuff HAS had an effect:))))) ( jees that was a low and unwarranted but couldn’t resist jab) :))))))))))))

Thoughts are with you on the medical front-  it’ll be all good  friend:)))

Will

Lol Will your not referring to that hot spot are you 😉

Thanks guys.
Bill its a local trib on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

[John Bennett]

Thanks guys.

Forgot to add a link to the gallery for larger views, some of the pics arent done justice at reduced size. If your curious 1024 x 800s, just click on the images and drill down for full screen.
http://jben.zenfolio.com/p589149534

[Author]

Posts