Zach Matthews
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John –
Will you post instructions sometime on your method for applying post-processing with graduated neutral density effects?
Thanks,
ZachI had all the previews coming in at 2,000 x 1,000 pixels (roughly 2 megapixels – pretty high for 40,000 images).
It is too noisy, seriously. I am beginning to believe that Nikon is right to be hovering around 12 MP. The simple fact is, when you cram that many photosites onto a chip, even a full frame chip, you don’t have enough space between the sites to prevent interference. Unless they come up with some kind of spray or dampening process, I think there’s just a finite limit to how many sites you can put on a chip with current technology. I was not impressed with the sample images from the Sony I saw – at 1600ISO it was noisier than the D70, which was a noisy camera. For outdoor landscapes shot at 200ISO it’d be just fine, but the pros who need file sizes that big are going to demand versatility – they don’t want a land camera.
Some folks were suggesting that the camera might be able to interpolate “off” photosites with “on” photosites to achieve lower noise at higher ISOs, while sacrificing some file size.
John Michael –
From a publication perspective solely, yes, you are probably shooting yourself in the foot by writing first person essays. Assuming that you are a very good writer (and you probably are), let’s analyze the best-case scenario for first person essay-writing, as a career.
Say you get an article published in Gray’s, which is the high end of the game. You might get paid $500. Maybe. Go back through your last fifteen issues of Gray’s and count how many times authors get re-used. They don’t, or at least, not very often.
The few authors who do manage to secure columns in Gray’s are usually either specific sports editors, who absolutely got their start writing how-to articles, or the actual editor of the magazine (i.e. David Foster’s Journal/Jim Babb’s Journal).
People like Jim Babb and Dave Foster got their start in other parts of the publishing world. Dave was the editor of Atlanta magazine back in the 1980s. He later edited New Orleans magazine. I know a lot about his history because his son is sitting in the office right next to me (and was himself a columnist prior to becoming a lawyer).
Very, very few writers get their start writing first person essays. Those who do almost invariably write the essays in the form of books. They are very rarely as young as you or me. Gierach got his start with “Fly Fishing the High Country” (not “Trout Bum”) – which is really a how-to book. Ernest Hemingway got started in newspaper beat reporting in Kansas City if I recall my college seminar correctly. Ultimately he was a war reporter, from which we get novels like “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” George Orwell, the best essayist of the 20th century bar none, likewise was a reporter. He also lived a true deadbeat life at times in order to get material (see “Down and Out in Paris and London”).
William Faulkner wrote “The Sound and Fury” in the Ole Miss boiler room shoveling coal at night. A hell of a lot of writers got their start as professors or teachers (like Jim Harrison).
My point is, if you want to be a professional essay writer, oftentimes the only way to do it is to start out with a bang by writing a great book. And the people who have written great books were the rare few who truly had both exceptional talent and the will to conform their life to the needs of their art.
Very, very few writers you read in magazines will ever wind up with the stature of a Harrison or a Hemingway. Jon Krakauer and Sebastian Junger are the only two I can think of who currently would come close, in my estimation.
Writing is a wonderful thing; it lets you express yourself completely, in an unhurried manner. You get to close thoughts and anticipate objections and generally convince people that you are right, or convey a moment that feels more real than it ever would if caught on videotape. But writing as a profession is a hard-nosed animal. There are precious few shortcuts. You have to build a whole lot of groundwork.
If you want to write, and you know you have the talent, I promise you, you will get the opportunity to write the things you want one day. But, to be in a position to have the world pay attention, there are just hoops you have to jump through. If you’re desperate to give it a try now, one good option would be to start a blog. At least that way you can build a following and an archive of your abilities to show to editors. It might work.
Zach
Joel –
The problem there is the only two competent rowers are myself and Jake, which means we’d both be rowing the whole time and not fishing.
See: “Ze Germans.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oK_trZhVdk
Warning: impolite language (but a great film).
Zach
Looking good Matt. There’s some great, publishable stuff there. My only advice would be to throw fill flash up under all those hats, and tell Jack to drop his shades next time.
I agree with Morsie on shooting slightly too long. Other tricks include overlining by several line sizes (I am roll casting and switch casting 8 weight bass bug line on a five weight at the top). The biggest factor is having a background darker than the line – that will give you enough contrast to at least see it. If you want the line to *glow*, though, then I would argue that side light (and not even really back light, although David certainly has a nice effect up top) are what to look for.
Consider things like where you know there to be high bluffs running roughly north/south. Sun travels east/west, so there will always be one point in the morning and one point in the evening when you can shoot against a shadowed backdrop with the angler still standing in the light. Now if you can position yourself so the light strikes the angler from the side (meaning, generally, early or late in the day when it isn’t coming straight down), then you can get the best effect.
Yellow filters make no sense, to be honest. That is just going to bring the general color tone into the yellow spectrum, where most fly lines already are. That’s going to decrease contrast, not increase it, as far as I can tell.
Zach
PS That last shot at top is one of the most requested out of my archive.
If you are talking about shooting a line in the air while it is being cast, the trick is 1000% about background and side light, period.
I know of no way to flash, filter, or photoshop a great fly line casting shot.
Um, David, is this your lens?
http://www.digitalrev.com/en/nikon-nikkor-af-s-200mm-f2-g-ed-if-vr-55.html
Did you win the lottery?