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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
4/2/2010 7:42:42 PM
Good heavens! Not only is he expanding his personal envelope, the man has STYLE, too!
Sadly, most players can only handle 29.7 fps, which is why AVI files use this. Where did the .7 come from? Three-quarters of a frame? Perhaps it's for subliminal advertising like, "Seinfeld is funny. No, really! He is. Trust us!"
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Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
4/2/2010 12:28:26 PM
I shall watch with interest to see how this develops, Eb. Of course, with images of flowers taken outdoors, the slightest breeze will . . . well, it's an axiom.
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
4/2/2010 12:25:34 PM
I see. Or rather, I don't, actually. Why not just a single shot with the 'correct' exposure? Or is this something to do during 'down-time'?
I sent you a personal email about this 'new' stacking technology (from the 50s), and I have a few interesting episodes of a great BBC series called 'Invisible Worlds' for you to watch - the world around us slowed down up to 400x. Simply mind-boggling.
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
4/2/2010 12:18:11 PM
Ahh, I see. So, 600 frames @ 29.7 fps, with accompanying music . . . yes, that's what we now call the M O V I E S . . .
It's been around for quite a while now, Al.
I look forward to its debut on ImDB.
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
4/2/2010 1:13:45 AM
Nah, Eb. I just shoot one shot images :)
Looks good, though, even though somewhat waxy from the multiple image registration 'errors', i.e. never 100% accurate.
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
4/2/2010 1:10:52 AM
Excellent DoF control here, Eb, making this hibiscus looking soft enough to eat!
Well done!.
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
4/2/2010 1:09:30 AM
Tremendous AOV, Eb.
But that water looks VERY cold!
And the color of those trees is called . . .
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
4/2/2010 1:07:54 AM
Hey Eb . .
Man, you are going to HAVE to invest in a tripod to get this camera shake under control! I mean, really . . .
The rule is the shutter speed should be not less than the reciprocal of the focal length, remember?
If I move my head up and down REALLY fast, I see a rather fetching image of a carousel horse. I guess Canada still has these. I last saw one in the 60s . . .
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/8/2010 6:57:41 PM
Hoo-boy! You got THAT right. But . . . perhaps one day again. The world works in mysterious ways . . .
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| Photo By: Graham .
(K:2487)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/8/2010 5:27:15 PM
Thanks, Eb. I got lucky! It was a FREEZING day and bu coincidence, the highest tone was the TL sky area. The rest was well within range so required simple constrast/brightness correction.
I'd have liked some balance on the right, but I was already hanging over the cliff edge to get the shot!
It's a spot that local photographers home in on to try and get a good shot.
This was the view I saw from my office window at IBM - not too shabby, eh?
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| Photo By: Graham .
(K:2487)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/8/2010 3:46:44 PM
Superb, Eb.
The 'vibrance' tool in Lightroom sure does work wonderfully.
I love the missing 'F' on the sign - makes for a whole new mental image.
Of course, most folks should be asking, "If he shot this with back-lighting, then how come the front of the building is so well lit as the foreground is in shadow, huh?"
And Eb would answer, "I cannot reveal the secrets of my trade."
Great shot as usual, Eb. Excellent tonal range and depth. Those trees have got to be a mile distant. ;)
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/7/2010 9:45:00 PM
Thanks, Eb.
Actually, I need different images in the same window to create a logo . . .
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| Photo By: Graham .
(K:2487)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/7/2010 7:56:46 PM
Yes, it is a bit tight. I suppose I could always just add a small piece of 'canvas' to the left in PS.
I'm driving myself nuts - it's been so long since I used PS I have forgotten how to work with multiple images on one page . . . Grrr
I can drag them all into a new page, but can't move them around, I used to do it all the time. Must be senescence creeping in . . .
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| Photo By: Graham .
(K:2487)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/7/2010 7:22:13 PM
And Amaryllis - I uploaded one earlier today . . .
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/7/2010 6:47:51 PM
Yes, a few miles closer to the land of 40 shades of green
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 6:13:30 PM
Congrats, Eb!
Seems someone took my words to heart. I knows a winner when I sees one!
There's life in the ole dog yet!
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 6:02:49 PM
Ha-ha! Wonderful!
'm 'fraid there ain't no camels, doones or kwaint costoomes here in Awstin, Texas.
Didja like my Texas drawl?
No, there's East Texas for pine trees (300 miles).
The Hill Country - November is best (100 miles)
Or there's West Texas and mountains (500+ miles)
South is . . well, the Gulf of Mexico.
There are a few run-down towns with interesting wooden architecture but as far as landscapes goes . . zip!
I guess I'll have to dig the old flowers out again . . .
It's that or back to nudes, and I've have a belly-full of that one already!
Remember that Texas is basically sea-bed, seeded with cedar trees from bird droppings that fled the 1907 Galveston hurricane. The birds fled, not the guano.
Whereas you have Mother Nature banging on your door!
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 5:02:31 PM
Spoken like a true pro! Yes, Ansel always said he does not "take" a photograph - he said he "makes" one. As we do today. Very few images out of the camera are breathtaking (the technology is not there yet as ALL cameras STILL read everything as 18% gray).
As I live in an artistically deprived area, I am not likely to see the enthusiasm you have for people wanting to learn more. They'd be banging my door down if I taught "How to drink more beer in one night."
The "art" in photography will always be a debate, as you say. One man's muck is another man's brass, as they say in Yorkshire!
I do still think, however, that in order to have a better 'feel' for photography, that you need to understand the fundamentals and relationships between light, apertures, shutter speeds and lenses. It affords a better mental picture of what you're doing and assists in seeing the finished product in the mind's eye. I know exactly what my images will look like as soon as I release the shutter.
And, digital gives you the option of instant preview, so you can stand there all day erasing images and re-shooting until you get it right. Film never afforded us that luxury! You had to know what you were doing, especially if commissioned. If you got it wrong, well . . . .
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 4:44:14 PM
Very nice!
Reminds me of the vaults in Westminster Cathedral (just watched a BBC show about wooden structures).
The fornication is almost identical (yes, it's a real word)
Critique? I'd ease up on the corner darkening. Yes, it draws in the eye, but has turned totally black.
You gotta love Silver Efex!
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 4:40:50 PM
Okay, now you're showing off!
This reminds me of a trip I took along the Cabbage Patch mountain pass near Coeur D Alene on I-90 - I drove through a rainbow of fog in an 18-wheeler - very surreal.
I just KNOW there's something lurking in that water! It's almost like a huge closed eye with a single escaping tear - something amphibious?
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 12:56:07 PM
Eb, you take me back 25 years. How refreshing that someone else knows and appreciates Adams' "Zone System". I was beginning to think I was the only one left. Most photographers who read this will have no clue what you are talking about. Yes, Ansel did work wonders by combining his techniques, i.e. push/pull processing and correct placement of tonal values. His usual dynamic range was indeed 6 values (Zones 3-8), except for black cats in cellars at midnight and arctic foxes in a blizzard.
Adams was indeed a master in the darkroom.
I was mortified when I first saw the extremely limited range of digital cameras. Try taking a picture in the Texas summer sunlight and you'll know what I mean. They have about the same tolerance as Kodachrome 25. The maxim used to be: expose for shadows with B&W film and for highlights with color film (except for Kodachrome). Ektachrome was the film equivalent of PS in those days, i.e. it was more tolerant whereas Kodachrome had a tolerance of 1/2 stop!
However, in both media, a blown out highlight remains a blown out highlight. These days, photography is more about mastering PhotoShop than mastering photographic principles. PS will insert a 'highlight where there is not even an exposure! What % of images here have been run through PS, I wonder?
The enjoyment of photography in the 60s and 70 was getting to grips with first principles and the darkroom, which I do so miss. Now it's a case of taking otherwise dreadful exposures and 'rescuing' the result under PS - and what a phenomenal piece of software PS has turned out to be.
I too have Lightroom and Silver Efex though I find them more of 'toys' to play with, preferring to use my knowledge to create a decent image rather than the 'magic' of electronic manipulation. That said, the digital age has opened photography to everyone who considered the art WAS magical and beyond their grasp. Now anyone can point-and-shoot and turn out an excellent image with a few clicks in PS. This is why the photography studio and photography classes have fallen by the wayside. Everyone and his dog is now a self-appointed 'professional'. But, give them a manual LEICA, a roll of FP4 and a darkroom and they're lost at sea. I wonder what the next 25 years will bring? Probably a gadget that takes an image of exactly what we see before us, and where's the FUN in that?
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 1:23:34 AM
Ah, see what technology has done for us? We speak gobbledegook! How come, with all this fancy equipment now available, NOBODY can replicate the work Ansel Adams did 80 years ago with the simplest of cameras, lenses and darkroom equipment?
That's why he developed (ha!) the "Zone System", which has stood the test of time whatever the medium, even digital. An image is an image and cameras have not changed much, apart from the CCD gadget. Way back when, we used things called skill and eyes. Those halcyon days, alas now gone.
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 1:00:06 AM
Oh, dear, I haven't laughed this much in ages. It's like you're asking, "Do you want fries with that?"
It's simple, snow falls on Zone 8 unless shot at midnight!
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 12:51:46 AM
Ha-ha! No, leave it alone! This one is just fine as it is. ;)
Although, now that I look REALLY closely . . . .
Beer would be nice, but, with paid meds . . . not a good idea.
Incidenatally, the 'balance' in this image is afforeded b the clouds on the right side, yes? Agree?
Beautiful tones - now read "The Zone System" 
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/6/2010 12:33:09 AM
Ha-ha! I love it! Great to see you haven't lost that wonderful sense of humour and built-in dictionary of the arcane. I miss such banter tremendously.
Who cares if the water slides off the page - it'll pool somewhere else :)
Years ago, a group of us would get together and each toss a picture into the kitty. We'd crack a few beers, pick a picture at random and discuss it all night. Of course, only ONE person knew they did NOT take the picture. After a while, we could all guess who DID take it as we grew accustomed to their 'style'. Weird, huh?
I've been told not to write any kidnap letters as my writing is very distinctive (well, I am a writer, after all).
Critiquing your own work is like scratching your left elbow with your left hand.
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/5/2010 11:37:54 PM
We-ell, this is so much sophistry. My point is thsat water should not slide off the image (unless it's a waterfall, of course).
The dynamics? Consider the plane of the view and angle of the camera to that plane. Then consider the chord of the circle of the front element of the lens.
If you think it is straight, that's OK, which is what counts.
However, I asked three people last night if they saw ANYTHING "odd" about this image. All three said it tilts down on the right. Perhaps there's an ocular affliction in this area :)
It's just a topic I have taught over the years and helped students to master.
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/5/2010 10:10:12 PM
Ah. I meant to ask you, what software are you using to work with your RAW images?
Also, do you use ACDSee at all?
Graham
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/5/2010 1:27:34 AM
Hey Eb,
I use the AF-S Nikkor, 2.8D, ED 17-35mm for my wide-angle work.
Graham
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/4/2010 9:33:34 PM
This one could be debated till the cows come home. I would have lightened the trees on the left and midground because of reflection from the lake. But that's just my interpretation. The cyan bothers my eye (many may miss it) as I feel it is too heavy.
It's a great image to 'play' with in PS, though.
I'd use the color picker tool in PS and use the tonal value from the RHS trees to balance it.
Another one that would be excellent as a poster (or postcard!)
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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Critique By:
Graham . (K:2487)
3/4/2010 9:27:10 PM
This sure was an amazing find! It's almost as if the fish were pleading!
Dead fish don't get awards eh? Unless you're Damien Hurst, who sold his dead great white shark 'art' for nearly 30 MILLION dollars. It's alright for some, eh?
Still, I think this one is a great conversation piece and I bet if it were on a wall, almost everyone would comment, sadly, as you say, probably negatively. Dead or alive, it's all still Nature, which is brutal at the best of times.
As for lenses, well, it's not the focal length, but the quality of glass they use. I find the ED to be the best quality and it is all STILL hand-polished. Amazing, and hence the price. I got mine at a snip; a mere $2400.
However, whatever works best for you. Keep snapping!
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| Photo By: Eb Mueller
(K:24960)
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