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Fun with MF images - ARCHIVED - FOR VIEWING ONLY

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coulombic

New member
Yes, in fact stacked grad filters, both 3 stop, plus just a touch of graduation applied in LR. Have I overdone it?
Not at all. I think some in the forum may argue otherwise, but I think it looks good. Same for the saturation. It's clearly boosted to rather lofty levels, but I'm a fan of that, anyway.

What grads are you using? Lee/Singh-Ray?
 

2jbourret

New member
Coulombic,
Thanks for the kudos. It's a fine line between enough and too much, especially w/ saturation. The closer you get to the line, the harder it is to see it, and then it can be hard to know if you've crossed - and to some people's taste, I know that sometimes I go too far. So feedback is good.
As for the filters, I use one Lee, one Singh-ray, and a Coken holder, and then I have a mid-size SR for use w/ the Mamiya 28mm. That lens won't accept a filter holder due to it's built-in shade, so it is awkward and hit or miss and often catches light from behind the camera.
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
I've got a new lens - a Schneider 48mm APO-Grandagon - which is miraculous with the 60 meg back. I'm experimenting with hand holding it with my Alpa TC - this is obviously more demanding than my 36mm. A sample, which will be the post to my daily photo blog for yesterday. The H4d 60's dynamic range helps tame this very hot daylight. this is a context where the out of the box colors shine.



By the way, somewhere back there I rolled over 1,000 posts on GetDPI. I've got to get a life - way too much time here.
 
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Audii-Dudii

Active member
After a brief flirtation with daylight photography during a few of the overcast days we had in the Phoenix area earlier this spring, I'm back on the night shift... :)
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Just received my new Phase One 28mm lens so took it out this evening for a whirl. Low light & breezy but Mr Heron turning up was a bonus!
P40+, 645DF, 28 f/4.5 2s f/11:
Graham,

We've all seen dozens of shots of this fall, but IMHO, this is one of the best --- great framing and composition, then the fact you got the Heron posing, just takes the shot over the top. Congrats! (And congrats on the "new" 28 too!!!)
 

D&A

Well-known member
Graham, simply a superb shot of the falls and I agree, the best one you've posted of it so far. (from all the ones I've previously seen). From what I can tell, the 28mm looks like a very desirable lens for landscapes and the Heron definitely adds an interesting element to the shot. Now how much did you say these plastic poseable Herons cost? :)

Dave (D&A)
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Now how much did you say these plastic poseable Herons cost? :)

Dave (D&A)
Darn, busted again. :D

The heron is a tough fit in the bag plus putting it in place is a real bummer and a challenge. (Actually, I am convinced that some folks travel with bags of pristine fall leaves for those leaves on the rock shots, ditto for bunch of wild flowers in the foreground ...).
 

coulombic

New member
Just received my new Phase One 28mm lens so took it out this evening for a whirl. Low light & breezy but Mr Heron turning up was a bonus!
P40+, 645DF, 28 f/4.5 2s f/11:



Pixel Peeping version here:
http://www.grahamwelland.com/MultnomahFallsHeron/index.htm
Good framing and timing. Though, I have a couple of technical observations to share. Your white balance is pretty cold; necessarily, this has imparted a rather blue cast to much of the image. Additionally, I would guess it's in part of the wb issue, but the greens appear both desaturated, and rather gray.

For the hell of it, here's my version of the same (not taken with MF, sadly):


Multnomah Falls. by coulombic, on Flickr
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Your white balance is pretty cold; necessarily, this has imparted a rather blue cast to much of the image. Additionally, I would guess it's in part of the wb issue, but the greens appear both desaturated, and rather gray.

For the hell of it, here's my version of the same (not taken with MF, sadly):
Sorry, but since you brought it up I have to disagree. On my calibrated monitor, Graham's version looks very nice -- slightly saturated and relatively neutral WB. By contrast, your posted version looks very warm, yellow to almost where the darker greens have muddied and almost up to Velvia type saturation -- your log jam is red-orange and not wet-wood brown...

That said, I respect that WB and saturation are matters of taste. And FTR I usually prefer a touch warm and a touch saturated myself, so would add maybe 400K temp and 1 point of tint (in C1 terms) and leave saturation as-is to Graham's version if it were mine.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Good framing and timing. Though, I have a couple of technical observations to share. Your white balance is pretty cold; necessarily, this has imparted a rather blue cast to much of the image. Additionally, I would guess it's in part of the wb issue, but the greens appear both desaturated, and rather gray.

For the hell of it, here's my version of the same (not taken with MF, sadly):
Well, maybe this is a taste/monitor calibration thing. I'm not a fan of yellow greens as they don't match my view of reality. The WB was set as daylight and pretty much matches what I saw. With respect to gray greens, that may also be an effect of downres of the original image with contrast/sharpness at this size. I don't see that in the full size image at all.
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
Sorry, but since you brought it up I have to disagree. On my calibrated monitor, Graham's version looks very nice -- slightly saturated and relatively neutral WB. By contrast, your posted version looks very warm, yellow to almost where the darker greens have muddied and almost up to Velvia type saturation -- your log jam is red-orange and not wet-wood brown...

That said, I respect that WB and saturation are matters of taste. And FTR I usually prefer a touch warm and a touch saturated myself, so would add maybe 400K temp and 1 point of tint (in C1 terms) and leave saturation as-is to Graham's version if it were mine.
I'm with jack here ... on my display Graham's image looks great, and the other is much too warm.

I get the feeling from Graham's image that the white balance is slightly warmer at the top, and get's cooler as you get deeper into the image ... which is very much like I would expect from a location like this.

fantastic image Graham ... love it.
 

2jbourret

New member
I actually don't think it is fair to compare these two images on the basis of color balance: they are both wonderful images, and are each a legitimate interpretation of the scene, each as seen and experienced by a different individual... we all see differently, and of course, lighting and other conditions vary. In the case of early morning/late evening, we all know that light color can change dramatically in about 2 seconds.
Seen individually, I think each of these images stand out as exemplary; only when compared side by side does one seem overly 'warm' or 'cool'.
Gotta say though, I do like the heron, and Graham's image does seem to point up the benefits of MF, as the detail is stunning.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Jamie,

I absolutely agree with you. Coulombic's shot is a very nice image of the falls, especially in the more typical damp misty conditions that we get. :thumbup: Mine was taken at the end of a clear day at 7:30 or so in the evening so I'm actually a little surprised that it isn't more blue in the shadows actually.

At the end of the day these are just our personal interpretations of the scene and different looks appeal to different folks.

As regards the heron, well I must have shot this scene fifty times in the past fifteen years and I've NEVER seen a heron turn up. Good job it was a heron otherwise 2s exposure would have resulted in a grey fuzzy blob. It was my last of four shots with the heron in it and it was agonizing waiting for the shutter to trip before it moved or flew off. Only this last one made it.
 

D&A

Well-known member
I completely agree with what has been expressed regarding the color balance differences seen in the two images of the falls. Different times & days is certainly and most always a factor in how a scene is rendered. I often go back to some of my favorite outdoor subjects that are photographed repeatedly throughout the year and am often quite taken by these same differences. Of course personal interpretation, camera /lens used and post processing also play a role. As mentioned, the MF detail in Graham's image is stunning.

Aside from this, I'd be curious the time (in weeks/months/ etc.) that exists between these two images. The tree stump has obviously moved as well as the surrounding fauna has changed.

As I mentioned previously, in my opinion the heron truly adds a very interesting element to the shot. Not only for the obvious reasons of beauty and the unexpected nature of seeing a heron in such a setting, but it adds a perspective of scale as to just how high and long those falls are. It's amazing how something so small in size relative to the entire image, can contribute in such a big way, to it's dynamics.

Dave (D&A)
 
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Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
I actually don't think it is fair to compare these two images on the basis of color balance:
Well, the poster of the second image was doing exactly that when he posted it and critiqued Graham's choice of WB ... so comparing them is completely fair. While Graham's might be a little cooler than I might choose, the second one is far too warm to me, in contrast to the opinion of the poster (sorry, don't know the name since there is no signature in the post). I feel Graham's tones capture the mood of the location (i've been there and have images from a couple of decades ago), as I mentioned the tones getting cooler as you get down deep in the image.

That doesn't make the second one wrong ... I just disagree with the critique.
 

coulombic

New member
Well, the poster of the second image was doing exactly that when he posted it and critiqued Graham's choice of WB ... so comparing them is completely fair. While Graham's might be a little cooler than I might choose, the second one is far too warm to me, in contrast to the opinion of the poster (sorry, don't know the name since there is no signature in the post). I feel Graham's tones capture the mood of the location (i've been there and have images from a couple of decades ago), as I mentioned the tones getting cooler as you get down deep in the illymage.

That doesn't make the second one wrong ... I just disagree with the critique.
Actually, I wasn't "comparing." As prefaced by my comment, "for the hell of it." I was simply posting a similar image I'd taken. While the two are obviously comparable, I wasn't intentionally saying, "Mine's right, yours is wrong." So, yeah, we can possibly move on from this nonsensical line of dialog.

After viewing both images from my laptop, and from my Adobe 1998-calibrated Dell screen, I feel as if I necessarily stand corrected in my comments. On my laptop's LED-LCD, it's quite blue; however, on my calibrated monitor, the greens are both accurate and saturated. It's possibly a few hundred K cooler than I'd still prefer, but my original statements are not specifically applicable. By the same, while my image is pretty brown-yellow. Some calibration clearly needs to be performed on my laptop's LCD.
 
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