Fun With Sony Cameras

[mediumcool]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

What is interesting is that American photographers tend to favor high saturation and contrast whereas those in Europe and elsewhere like it toned down—at least this is what I’ve heard from many ‘pros’ and amateur photographers on various trips around the world.

Probably used to be true and remains fairly valid, but the nature of communication nowadays means that trends whirl around the world in the blink of an eye. My view of how [monochrome] pictures should look was formed by looking at [reproduced] work by photographers such as Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Fred Picker. They tended to a full tonal range with great separation in the mid-tones, a result of the H&D S-curve so characteristic of silver-based materials. The epitome of this was the Zone System, which I have taught in workshops.

Colour is harder to quantify, as the colour data utterly swamps tonality—try taking a tonally-unimpressive mono shot back to colour, and the additional visual information will often make it more interesting. I do love monochrome for its necessary concentration on tonality and texture. And there’s an almost compulsory nostalgia component with black and white too. One trend I am glad to see the back of (almost) is the coloured object against a greyscale background. It still pops up though.

If 500px is anything to go by, the trend now is for very high saturation/contrast with an almost HDR (though not quite) look to landscapes. Yes, one might hate that but if that’s what the world wants, that’s what the world gets. I am not a pro, don’t intend to sell anything so I can do what I like with my images. For those who make a living from photography and to whom high contrast and saturation is anathema will find it hard to protest the work of one very well known Australian who shall remain nameless

I ran a commercial photography business for 30 years, and would do pretty much anything to make a photograph work for a client; of course, for many years all a photographer could do was select camera and lens, film, paper, and processing that would help achieve a desired result. Digital manipulation makes all sorts of things possible and appealing because of speed, ease, and low cost (once equipment and software is paid for, that is). Someone once said; what Photoshop (I started with v1.0.7 which ran off a floppy!) needed was a Taste filter—Adobe still haven’t incorporated one. On that theme, I see a lot of experimental techniques posted on here lately that do a disservice to the image IMO; I have never felt the need for external filters and sharpening modules etc. Capture One, Pixelmator, and the occasional launch of the un-Mac-like Photoshop are sufficient to my needs. This experimentation recalls the camera club manipulations of yesteryear—bas relief, high contrast, solarization etc.; they all seemed to be a substitute for careful seeing and capture.

One Australian whose work I definitely admire is Peter Eastway (I am sure Ian knows him). He does not make any bones about most of his images being worked on extensively before the final product.

I don’t know Eastway, but he’s been around the Australian photo magazine scene for a long time, and is now a sort-of spokesman for Phase One. His work is probably a little too dramatic for my taste (and his web portfolio pix I have just looked at are over-sharpened for the screen) but he has a good eye—sort of a Steve McCurry of landscape, if that’s not too controversial! I don’t know how long he’s been using Capture One, but I bet it’s more than my six years.

My thousandth post! Do I get a Hasselblad?

 

[Pradeep]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Probably used to be true and remains fairly valid, but the nature of communication nowadays means that trends whirl around the world in the blink of an eye. My view of how [monochrome] pictures should look was formed by looking at [reproduced] work by photographers such as Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Fred Picker. They tended to a full tonal range with great separation in the mid-tones, a result of the H&D S-curve so characteristic of silver-based materials. The epitome of this was the Zone System, which I have taught in workshops.

Agree, the world is rapidly becoming 'flat' as some would say

I printed my first photograph around 1970 or so and there was of course no color printing then, but I grew up in a poor country and did not have the luxury of anything more than simple prints made at home with make-shift components. Since then I've loved the monochrome medium and have several versions of my images hanging on my walls at home. Not having grown up with comparisons with the greats, I simply did what I liked and that's the beauty of being an amateur, you can. My own preferred look is full tone, med to high contrast and a slight hint of sepia, but that's just me. Now I add back a little of the color in the main subject, especially for my wildlife images, digital allows this manipulation which would be near impossible in the old days.

Colour is harder to quantify, as the colour data utterly swamps tonality—try taking a tonally-unimpressive mono shot back to colour, and the additional visual information will often make it more interesting. I do love monochrome for its necessary concentration on tonality and texture. And there’s an almost compulsory nostalgia component with black and white too. One trend I am glad to see the back of (almost) is the coloured object against a greyscale background. It still pops up though.

Agree, I find it hard to wrap my head around impressionism or any sort, give me the classics any day.

I ran a commercial photography business for 30 years, and would do pretty much anything to make a photograph work for a client; of course, for many years all a photographer could do was select camera and lens, film, paper, and processing that would help achieve a desired result. Digital manipulation makes all sorts of things possible and appealing because of speed, ease, and low cost (once equipment and software is paid for, that is). Someone once said; what Photoshop (I started with v1.0.7 which ran off a floppy!) needed was a Taste filter—Adobe still haven’t incorporated one. On that theme, I see a lot of experimental techniques posted on here lately that do a disservice to the image IMO; I have never felt the need for external filters and sharpening modules etc. Capture One, Pixelmator, and the occasional launch of the un-Mac-like Photoshop are sufficient to my needs. This experimentation recalls the camera club manipulations of yesteryear—bas relief, high contrast, solarization etc.; they all seemed to be a substitute for careful seeing and capture.

Yes, the need of the hour seems to be to be as bold and 'in your face' as possible. Witness the popularity of apps that allow you to distort photographs like the crazy mirrors in carnivals.

I don’t know Eastway, but he’s been around the Australian photo magazine scene for a long time, and is now a sort-of spokesman for Phase One. His work is probably a little too dramatic for my taste (and his web portfolio pix I have just looked at are over-sharpened for the screen) but he has a good eye—sort of a Steve McCurry of landscape, if that’s not too controversial! I don’t know how long he’s been using Capture One, but I bet it’s more than my six years.

He is indeed a Phase man now, what is interesting is his technique in photoshop. Let's face it, few landscape photo these days can be printed SOOC, most require processing to a variable extent. He does work very hard to get the image right in camera itself though. I've met several Australian photographers who know him, one of them actually attended a workshop with him.

And no, he's no Steve McCurry, thankfully. In landscapes you can tell your version of the truth, nobody cares.....

My thousandth post! Do I get a Hasselblad?[/QUOTE]

One can always dream.........

 

[SamSS]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Old fire engine in a tiny little museum nearby. This is the only item they allowed for picture.

7R2 + Sigma 35mm Art @ f3.5, 1/13s, ISO 3200


7R2 + FE 35mm ZA @ f10, 6s, ISO-50 - The bird stood still for me


7R2 + FE 35mm ZA @ f5.6, 4s, ISO-50

 

[seb]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Now some flat/no-pop landscapes from a European. :wtf:
To be a little bit more serious on this "off-topic discussion": In my opinion people were so used to look at this analogue-holiday-picture-look, that they still think, this is the realistic look. And the oof-jpg-algorithms still try to fullfill this look. With the possibilities in processing new looks getting established: The Zeiss-pop-, HDR-, saturated-, natural/flat-look, etc. In my opinion this is great, because we can be more creative. Although, sometimes it's not that easy to understand others processing decisions. :angel:
In a constructivistic point of view, no style is realistic. They are just a view on a RAW-file.

After the series of the small vilage in Cabo Polonio (Uruguay), I want to show you some pictures of the surounding area. There is a big dune towards the north, with very little vegetation.

All shots with A7RII + FE 28/2, 55/1.8 or FE 90/2.8 G Macro

Let's start with a picture of the darwin frog, which is the reason for the nature reserve Cabo Polonio:












And the look back to the small village with the hippie community:

​

 

[Pradeep]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Now some flat/no-pop landscapes from a European. :wtf:
To be a little bit more serious on this "off-topic discussion": In my opinion people were so used to look at this analogue-holiday-picture-look, that they still think, this is the realistic look. And the oof-jpg-algorithms still try to fullfill this look. With the possibilities in processing new looks getting established: The Zeiss-pop-, HDR-, saturated-, natural/flat-look, etc. In my opinion this is great, because we can be more creative. Although, sometimes it's not that easy to understand others processing decisions. :angel:
In a constructivistic point of view, no style is realistic. They are just a view on a RAW-file.

Point taken. And nice pictures too.

The truth is though, that even with digital, a picture without any adjustments (RAW, not in-camera jpg) does not really look like reality. Every time I come across a beautiful scene and try to capture it, it comes out dull, insipid, flat, almost lifeless, certainly not as I remember it. Of course a static two-dimensional image cannot capture the riot of color, the sounds, the wind blowing through my hair (what little is left), the movement of the waves and finally the sheer joy of being with a loved one at that point in space and time.

Every attempt after that is to recreate not just the scene as I saw it but the emotions that went with it at the time. Often this requires conversion to something completely different, i.e. monochrome which of course is not how the vast majority of us sees the world and yet it conveys a mood, an emotion that made us take the picture in the first place.

In the film days, landscape photographers would use media like Kodachrome or even Fuji Velvia to bring out the best in color and saturation in their work. Color print film hardly did justice to photography the way slides did, until digital and the ability to post-process. And that ability is what separates each of us and our vision.

We are all so different in so many ways that it is inevitable our tastes differ too. That, is to be celebrated, IMHO.

 

[Annna T]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

From the series "unremarkable borough and suburbs" (by night)

Rue de l'Envol, Sion-Ouest.
Sony A7rm2 and Canon TSE 45mm F2.8

Note the trail left by the passing car backlights : they are curiously discontinued. I think it is due to the LED used ? (You may need to look at the larger version available in my Flickr account in order to see it better).


Rue de l'Envol, Sion - 20160709_022a7r2i by rrr_hhh, sur Flickr

 

[The Ute]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

From the series "unremarkable borough and suburbs" (by night)

Rue de l'Envol, Sion-Ouest.
Sony A7rm2 and Canon TSE 45mm F2.8

Note the trail left by the passing car backlights : they are curiously discontinued. I think it is due to the LED used ? (You may need to look at the larger version available in my Flickr account in order to see it better).


Rue de l'Envol, Sion - 20160709_022a7r2i by rrr_hhh, sur Flickr

X-Ray vision.

 

[W.Utsch]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

" Sunset At Grotto Dei Pescatori "
Lake Lugano





Sunset At Grotto Dei Pescatori by Werner Utsch, on Flickr

​

 

[Barry Haines]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Taken last Monday (when we had some sun ) - St Nectan's Glen.

It is believed locally that, in the sixth century, Saint Nectan had a hermitage above the waterfall, and rang a silver bell to warn ships of the dangers of offshore rocks at the mouth of the Rocky Valley during storms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nectan's_Glen

Many Arthurian links also to this sacred site.

ENLARGEMENT​

 

[pegelli]

Re: Fun With Sony _____

A guitarist in Utrecht (Netherlands)


A850 + Min 24-105D

 

[seb]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Barry, wonderful composition and well done with the colors. Thanks for showing it here.

The last part of my Cabo Polonio series shows you some pics of the beach. A day it was very windy. The sand in the air washed the colors out. On others there were just great sunsets. Sometimes we had jellyfishes in the water, but it depended from where the wind came.

All shots with the A7RII + FE90/2.8 G Macro (except the one with the playing people: 55/1.8)












​

 

[jotloob]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Old asphalt works . Noisy , dirty , but I love such industrial buildings .

SONY A7II + LOXIA 2/35mm

 

[Barry Haines]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Barry, wonderful composition and well done with the colors. Thanks for showing it here.

Another lovely set of images again seb and many thanks for the kind words.
I just treated myself to a new 27" Eizo ColorEdge (+ PC) at the weekend, so hopefully I won't screw up the colours quite as bad as I have done in the past
Caveat...It's still no cure for colour blindness though!

A7R + 21mm Loxia

​

 

[Cooler]

Re: Fun With Sony _____

Sony A850 + Zeiss 21mm

Spain, Tenerife by Bogdan Kulyk, on Flickr

 

[jim251]

Re: Fun With Sony _____

.
Just returned from a little holiday to Bermuda - our third trip to what has become our favorite "go to" destination. More to come...

Umbrella Man

A6300, FE55mm, f/8

 

[Barry Haines]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Early evening light along the wooded stream.
A7RII + FE 35mm Distagon at F1.4

ENLARGEMENT​

 

[k-hawinkler]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Taken last Monday (when we had some sun ) - St Nectan's Glen.

It is believed locally that, in the sixth century, Saint Nectan had a hermitage above the waterfall, and rang a silver bell to warn ships of the dangers of offshore rocks at the mouth of the Rocky Valley during storms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nectan's_Glen

Many Arthurian links also to this sacred site.

ENLARGEMENT​

Another lovely set of images again seb and many thanks for the kind words.
I just treated myself to a new 27" Eizo ColorEdge (+ PC) at the weekend, so hopefully I won't screw up the colours quite as bad as I have done in the past
Caveat...It's still no cure for colour blindness though!

A7R + 21mm Loxia

​

Thanks Barry. Terrific images. Can one take a shower there? Have you? :grin:

 

[Barry Haines]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Thanks Barry. Terrific images. Can one take a shower there? Have you? :grin:

Thanks Karl, you definitely need some wellington boots in order to get close enough to the waterfall...the waterspray gets you and your lenses pretty soaked

 

[thompsonkirk]

Re: Fun With Sony _____

I've been housebound for a week or so, but today my partner took me out for a 'long' four-block walk to the nearest park. I saw one possible picture of light and shadow:

Kirk



RX1rII; not responsible for tonal range, because this home computer hasn't been profiled in a couple of years.

 

[Anil Kalagatla]

Re: Fun with the Sony A7 Series Cameras( all of them)

Great discussion so far around how we see, remember and then try to recreate our mood or vision in our pictures. I'm again reminded of how great this forum and the community is! Looking at my recent (and very meager) output of pictures, I see that I have been overdoing contrast (and saturation as a side-effect) and this conversation has been a good nudge for me

Following up on a previous comment, I tried to redo the mono version (I had previously posted it in the B&W thread). This is different in tone (so to so speak) and not as contrasty and amped up as the previous one. Still not happy yet as I'm not achieving the right tonal separation, but at least it's no longer hurting my eyes when I stare at it for a while

Also, Ian has generously agreed to take a crack at it if possible - I'm looking forward to seeing his mono version using my raw image. Thanks again, Ian, this is much appreciated!

Anil

Yeah, I'm going to tackle that now (with a somewhat fresh outlook)