Even More Fun Pictures with Nikon

[Jorgen Udvang]

I will start a political movement that will seek to exclude from all governments on earth any politician who doesn't present a real, honest smile from the heart at least once per day, and any time he or she encounters citizens of his or her country. Those who don't comply, will have to work in the field, correcting the mistakes done by politicians through the centuries, until they learn to smile.

S5 with Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 AIS @ f/2.8

 

[m_driscoll]

I will start a political movement that will seek to exclude from all governments on earth any politician who doesn't present a real, honest smile from the heart at least once per day, and any time he or she encounters citizens of his or her country. Those who don't comply, will have to work in the field, correcting the mistakes done by politicians through the centuries, until they learn to smile.

Jorgen: Wonderful color, composition and moment. I'd vote for her! Cheers, Matt.

http://mdriscoll.zenfolio.com

 

[shtarka1]

Jorgen: Wonderful color, composition and moment. I'd vote for her! Cheers, Matt.

http://mdriscoll.zenfolio.com

Agree!

 

[shtarka1]

Another shot from along the Colorado River yesterday morning. Slightly different framing from the prior shot. (I tried a processing suggestion from Steen, leaving the color balance on Daylight, which makes sense, since I would have used daylight film for this in "the old days". Also, I tried to open up the shadow areas just a little more than in the prior shot.

p.s., I couldn't avoid the branches without setting up in the river, which in the near darkness, and given the very muddy water, so that the depth was very uncertain, didn't seem like a smart idea.

D3, 28-70/2.8 @ 70mm f8, ISO 200

This one goes back a few years. It was right after I picked up the camera after a 25 year absence away... Namibia

You can see the heat distortion. It was at least 115f out that day, maybe more. Here this poor guy only wanted some shade, and it was the only tree for miles.

Don't think I've posted these. Cow Bay in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Cheers, Matt

1. D3; 14-24mm f/2.8; 18mm; 1/60s @ f/2.8; ISO 1600

2. D3; 14-24mm f/2.8; 18mm; 1/60s @ f/2.8; ISO 1600

http://mdriscoll.zenfolio.com

Gentlemen....Showtime!!!:thumbup:!

 

[otumay]

Lloyd, beautiful series, the last one is divine.
Matt, your shots convey the ambiance so well.
Jørgen, beautiful capture. Count me in on your political initiative.
Osman

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

One thing that never seizes to amaze me, is the enormous dynamic range of the S5. Even with a photo like this, where the shirt of the guitar player was 3x255 more or less all over, once I had lowered the exposure by 0.5 and pulled the Recovery slider to 72, all the fine, striped structure, white stripes on white, became visible. The shadow details are still there too of course.

Unfortunately, Fujifilm never managed to get that message through to the majority of photographers, and sadly, I'm losing hope that there will be another Fuji DSLR. It's a pity. These are unique cameras, not only with regards to DR, but also to colour fidelity and WB.

I think I may have to buy another one.

S5 with Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 AIS @ f/1.8

 

[TRSmith]

Hello to all you amazing photographers! I've been absent, playing lumber baron, and returned today for a scan of some of my favorite threads. Magnificent as always.

The last few posts brought to mind an internal discussion I seem to have with myself about post-processing. This thread may not be the place, but I'd be interested to hear how others avoid the temptation to "cook" their shots. I often find myself adding layer after layer in photoshop to enhance or correct small parts of an image only to return to the original RAW conversion in C1 and discover I like it better.

Don't get me wrong, there are lots of times when the post really does make a positive difference. But in the cases where I go too far, the most telling evidence is the sense that the light is lost. It's not natural looking. All the various tones (shadow, mid-tones, highlights) might be technically accurate, but the subtlety of the light/moment gets crushed.

Here's an example of an old image I must have spent 2 hours on and built 25 layers into. I remember being exhausted afterwards and ending up hating the darn thing.

 

[Lloyd]

I will start a political movement that will seek to exclude from all governments on earth any politician who doesn't present a real, honest smile from the heart at least once per day, and any time he or she encounters citizens of his or her country. Those who don't comply, will have to work in the field, correcting the mistakes done by politicians through the centuries, until they learn to smile.

I'll vote for her as well. And, while we're here, I have to say that the color just jumps off the screen for me. Perfect skin tones... really impressive.

 

[Lloyd]

Gentlemen....Showtime!!!:thumbup:!

Thanks Steve!

 

[Lloyd]

Lloyd, beautiful series, the last one is divine.

Osman

Thank you, my friend. I'm honored.

 

[Lloyd]

Hello to all you amazing photographers! I've been absent, playing lumber baron, and returned today for a scan of some of my favorite threads. Magnificent as always.

The last few posts brought to mind an internal discussion I seem to have with myself about post-processing. This thread may not be the place, but I'd be interested to hear how others avoid the temptation to "cook" their shots. I often find myself adding layer after layer in photoshop to enhance or correct small parts of an image only to return to the original RAW conversion in C1 and discover I like it better.

Don't get me wrong, there are lots of times when the post really does make a positive difference. But in the cases where I go too far, the most telling evidence is the sense that the light is lost. It's not natural looking. All the various tones (shadow, mid-tones, highlights) might be technically accurate, but the subtlety of the light/moment gets crushed.

Here's an example of an old image I must have spent 2 hours on and built 25 layers into. I remember being exhausted afterwards and ending up hating the darn thing.

I know what you mean. I've sort of gone full circle, myself. I used to just accept everything as it came out of the camera (used to shoot exclusively jpg too... coming from film, I was intimidated by RAW, and not too familiar with Photoshop, etc.). Then, as I learned more about PS, Lightroom, etc., I fell into a time of spending hours on individual images. Now, I tried to get what I'm looking for in camera, and if I have to spend more than a couple of minutes on a file, I get frustrated. I use a few actions I've created to save time, and on portraits will add a vignette here and there, but I try be finished as quickly as I can, with as little as I can. Mind you, I don't get bothered by other's processing (or overprocessin) most of the time, it's just what I want for myself.

 

[Corlan F.]

Again nice stuff on this page, guys. I want sunday walks like LLoyd's, Matt's lunch breaks and girls smiling at me exactly like on Jorgen pictures. No it's not too much to ask. Or is it?



Tim- first your photo is super nice, nothing to say here. Re the general issue of (over)processing, i guess i generally feel close to what Lloyd answered above. More and more i try to get what i want from the camera (and it gets easier gaining experience taking digital photographs). Note, "what i want" is not always "how it'll eventually look". Depends on the subject, and purpose. Products are an animal on their own, where not only processing but -sometimes heavy- retouching is often required. Many landscapes benefits from a treatment resulting in a style that might either give a more dramatic look or emphasizes on some aspects.

But in many occurrences it's much more efficient and effective to try and stick with minimum processing from RAW files. I personally find that it's very much the case for nature close-ups (not necessarily macros, but not landscapes either) where "cooking" quite easily make things look, indeed, un-natural.


Here's a two shots, same subjects, that i was planning to post before reading your comments.

For these i used NX2 +CS4, the posted images are merely 4 processing steps form the RAW file. Camera profile and crop in NX2. A basic curve adjustment and sharpen applied just by using Bicubic Sharper when reducing the Image Size in PS. That's it.

(oh well, yes there's the innocuous white frame action)

Two quite similar photos, shot in a row with just a small change in distance. Slight variations too in camera profile (0 vs. +1 in NX2) and curve adjustments. Nothing drastic, though. And crop, of course.

...

I have to say that i find the minimal processing approach a bit easier with the D3X especially for exterior shots and also inside when working with strobes than it was with the D700 or D3. Where obviously the extended DR is a plus. Same thing when it comes to recovering lost HL or shadows (as Jorgen mentionned earlier with his beloved S5). Interior shots, especially high ISO is a different matter since the latest FW for D700/D3 makes them ideal for the purpose thanks to a -in my eyes- even superior AWB.

 

[shtarka1]

2 Bellissimo Images Corlan!

 

[Lloyd]

2 Bellissimo Images Corlan!

Yup, what he said +1.

 

[TRSmith]

Lovely petals Corlan! And thanks for the kind words.

The one thing I will say for the "heavy processing" phase in photoshop is that I learned a lot about how to pull stuff closer to what I want to see. Sometimes that's just stripping away junk that's in the way, and sometimes it means adding emphasis to the subtle thing that attracted the eye initially. So maybe I use a bit less rouge and lipstick now (speaking metaphorically), preferring the understated to the in-your-face. I almost always start with the "Linear Response" setting and tweak from there, keeping in mind that every additional edit is (to some extent) destructive.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Interesting discussion going on here. One of the advantages using the S5 is the minimal need for PP. I only shoot RAW nowadays, and do all PP in ACR except colour and contrast enhancements which is mostly done with Curves in PS (and b&w conversions). No layers. It takes too much time, and I can't keep my concentration that long.

The D3X seems like a good alternative to the S5, although "somewhat" pricey. There's a rumour about a Nikon-branded camera with a Fuji sensor as well. One can only hope.

Beautiful photos, Corlan. Which lens is that? I'm thinking Zeiss 50 or 100 macro, but I don't know much about these things

 

[Corlan F.]

Thanks guys for the kind comments. Much appreciated.
Sometimes, simplicity just works -then why bother?

Jorgen, this is (Steen could have told you)... my usual weapon of choice for this kind of shot, the "reasonnable" 105 VR.


Re the D3X (and this lens, too), i was entertaining the idea of posting here a casual review of some kind with some straightforward examples -nothing too fancy.
Might be of interest now that those bodies will get more and more affordable. When the replacement is available second hand offers will surely go way below the current D3S and maybe D700x. For those who don't need video or the 1T ISO, it might be a true bargain. But for now we have an ongoing D3 review, probably in the same spirit. Fist things first

A D3X equivalent with a Fuji sensor??
Let me call my bank, but i'm definitely in. :toocool: :deadhorse:

 

[m3photo]

Re: Politicians

I will start a political movement that will seek to exclude from all governments on earth any politician who doesn't present a real, honest smile from the heart at least once per day, and any time he or she encounters citizens of his or her country. Those who don't comply, will have to work in the field, correcting the mistakes done by politicians through the centuries, until they learn to smile.

Lovely idea Jørgen.
Only one flaw; you've included the words "politician" and "heart" in the same sentence.
They smile though, all the way to the bank.

Hmm, I'd better get back to photography, here's a real smile from the heart:

D700 500mm Nikkor 1/2000 at f/8 ISO 800

 

[Lloyd]

Re: Politicians

Lovely idea Jørgen.
Only one flaw; you've included the words "politician" and "heart" in the same sentence.
They smile though, all the way to the bank.

Hmm, I'd better get back to photography, here's a real smile from the heart:

D700 500mm Nikkor 1/2000 at f/8 ISO 800

Priceless moment, terrific image. :thumbup:

 

[otumay]

Yes, playing with granddad is one subject that always fills my heart with joy. Very nicely captured.