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tom_mann1

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tom_mann1 last won the day on February 28 2012

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  1. <p>My thought, JDM, is that the orange does indeed make the photo more visually interesting, but if there was no light pollution (likely from Na vapor street lights), the color of the clouds would be the color of what is illuminating them, so they would likely be somewhere between the green color of this particular aurora and the color of a cloudless night sky. </p> <p>I regard changing their color as somewhat analogous to removing blemishes on a portrait of someone. The usual guidance is that if the blemish is temporary (eg, a zit), you can remove it, but if it's permanent, leave it alone. So, the question is whether light pollution is temporary or not, LOL. </p> <p>:-)</p> <p>Tom M</p>
  2. <p>Since some people prefer more of a burn-your-retinas, tell a fish story type of rendition of the scene (LOL), I turned the orange areas to green (using ACR and Color Mechanic), and then added lots more local contrast (aka, "structure") to the scene using Topaz Adjust and came up with this ...</p> <p>Tom M</p><div></div>
  3. Also, the exact spectral response of the emulsion (i.e., beyond the basic pano- / orthochromatic distinction) combined with any filters he used, the warmness vs coolness of the ambient light, and the important colors in the scene will selectively darken or lighten different areas leading to the possible misinterpretation of these changes in tonality as simply different levels of contrast. IMHO, the only way that gives one even a glimmer of hope in reproducing this phenomena today is either by exact duplication of his materials & processes, or by starting with a color image & using tools such as PS's multi-color BW adjustment layer. Just my $0.02. Tom M
  4. JDM - IMHO, your recommendations are right on the mark. They are in line with the recommendations made by the National Archives, the Visual Resources Association and other organizations for the (digital) preservation of raster images. This page lists documents describing various relevant recommendations: http://vraweb.org/resources/cataloging-metadata-and-data-management/best-practices-and-procedures-guides/ Now, if we can only convince people that it is important to follow such recommendations, we will be in good shape. Cheers, Tom M PS - FYI, JDM, I retired from academia last year and am having a great time hiking, backpacking and otherwise getting back in some semblance of shape ... of course, I'm not going to mention the increase in length of the honey-do list, LOL.
  5. This is one of the funniest photography threads I've seen in a good while. Good one, JDM! I'm trying to figure out exactly where Spiratone lenses should be placed -- minus 3 for quality or +3 for humor & historic value, eg their right angle mirror lens. Tom M
  6. Re replacing a single blown channel with the contents of the other two channels, my understanding is that this is exactly what the "highlights recovery" slider in ACR used to do when it was first introduced several versions ago. My understanding is that this functionality was then incorporated into the tonality sliders in ACR to provide a more seamless experience. Some of the other raw converters also provide the same functionality. Tom M
  7. I've done a lot of backpacking since the 1970s, and I personally have found it very difficult to integrate serious photography (and its associated equipment) with the conventional backpacking aspects of the trip. For example, whenever it has come down to deciding between adding, say, 10 or 15 pounds of DSLR-level camera gear (i.e., including a tripod, extra batteries/film, a second lens, etc.) and bringing some more water (especially in parts of the west), the serious camera gear got left behind and was always replaced with whatever was the smallest reasonable camera of that era, eg, an Olympus XA for many of my hikes back in the day, a Canon G12 then a G16 for hikes/backpacks in the last few years, etc. Also, unless I'm hiking alone, I've never found *anyone* (including good friends who thought of themselves as "interested in photography") who would want to wait around with me for the clouds to move / clear / the fog to move in, or camp at / detour to a good location for photography at the expense of making miles or camping in a spot which was closer to the core route, had a nearby water source, was less rocky, etc. So to feed my photographic needs, what I've always done is to either take day hikes without backpacking gear, or once I even went so far as hiring a packer & a couple of his horses/mules to drop me and my equipment off at a remove basin off of the PCT that I had previously scouted, and then pick me up several days later. With respect to weight, for example, even these days with lighter gear, many people still have a hard time getting the base weight of their pack under 20 lbs (i.e., weight excluding consumables such as fuel, food & water), Add those in, and you are likely up around 30-35 lbs (even for pleasant summer weather trips), and then add another 10 or 15 lbs for serious DSLR camera gear, and you could easily wind up schlepping around a 40-50 lb pack. Unless you have the strength of an ox, that amount of weight will decrease the enjoyment and route options available to many people. I obviously don't know where you are going, if you are doing an overnight or a 6 month track on the AT, how experienced you are at backpacking, the tolerance of any companions who will be with you to photography, etc.. So, I guess my advice would be to consider these other factors very carefully in your plans. You may want to consider picking up a much lighter and smaller modern mirrorless system, or even dialing your photographic aspirations way back and just bring your phone (which can serve many other functions, eg, GPS backup to your paper maps). Anyway, you probably have already thought about such matters, but just in case you haven't, they are some thoughts to consider. Have a great time, no matter what you do. Cheers, Tom M PS - ...and w.r.t. a suitable camera case, definitely take a nice long training hike with the same pack (weighed down to 35 lbs or so), but with your present camera clipped between your shoulder straps, with a camera attached to your waist belt, slung around your neck, etc.. Personally, I find these attachment methods very awkward and annoying. The camera will be banging into your chest or legs, every time you take the pack off or put it on, the camera (if left attached) can easily swing into something, can interfere with anything else around your neck (eg, your glasses), hinders cooling, etc. Again, this speaks to separating the backpacking (i.e., the transportation aspect) and the photographic aspects of the trip (which can be done once you get to some interesting spots).
  8. I really like the tonality of the pix you posted -- very controlled contrast with lots of detail in both the highlights and shadow areas.. I also remember the same thing that Kenneth pointed out, i.e., many reports of natural skin tones. What is your experience with this? Did you make any major changes to the tonality using either LR or ACR? Definitely nice images. Tom M
  9. I use both of these programs. My workflow is that I first move the files from my camera / card over onto my workstation using Photo Mechanic. In this step, I almost always apply keywords, assign star and color ratings, add the copyright notice, add contact and contract / job info, add location and model release info, etc. etc. My second step is then to import the resulting files into LR. All the IPTC data that I added using Photo Mechanic just sails along flawlessly. Could you give some more details about exactly what you mean because I really don't really understand your question. For example, the IPTC data for an image is not stored in some sort of database in Photo Mechanic. Rather, it is stored either in the image file itself, or a sidecar file, so one doesn't "copy IPTC data from PM to LR". LR just gets the IPTC data from the files themselves. Tom M
  10. Thanks, guys. I like the idea of the test cake. That's something they will understand, and, of course, I'll have to figure out a way to dispose of it (.. which shouldn't be too difficult, LOL). Tom M
  11. I have a client who wants to put one of my photos of a piece of equipment (lots of small details) on cakes for a major corporate event. They have previously used this image with great success in numerous other ways, eg, in promotional mailings, invitations, on their web site, on T-shirts, etc., but I have absolutely no experience printing on cake and would like to know if anyone has any tips on preparing a file to send to the bakery. For example: - Is it somewhat like printing on canvas, i.e., it sucks up colors so add a bit of saturation - What about increasing the contrast a bit? - I'm sure this process is low resolution compared to inkjet printing on paper, so should I do anything like add a bit of edge sharpening? - The image they want to use has lots of detail that I expect will get lost, so should I suggest they use only a cropped portion of the original? - From the small amount of technical info on the subject that I could find on the web, it appears that they use non-conventional inks (dyes), so I expect color shifts, but I don't expect to find a printer profile for the process, LOL. So, any general observations / suggestions, eg, the reds are very weak, etc. - Any other thoughts / advice? Thanks in advance, Tom M PS - I spoke to the bakery that has the contract for this event. and they were worse than clueless. They wouldn't even give me the name of the mfgr of their equipment. I have a feeling that they are used to producing novelty birthday cakes for kids using cell phone images and their clientele is happy with whatever they produce, so I'm probably overthinking this and shouldn't expect to interact with them the same way I would with a large volume offset press printing plant.
  12. A 2" aperture, very low f-number, germanium lens (for the mid-IR) cooled to near absolute zero to minimize its thermal emission in a scientific experiment (radiometer). (Sorry - couldn't resist, LOL). Tom M PS - As I recall, it also cost more than almost any conventional lens.
  13. From your post, you sound like an experienced photographer. In this case, just Go through pix of cities & flowers that u have already taken and pick out the ones you like the most. Look at the EXIF data and see what lenses you used. Bring the same ones. Amsterdam is no different than any other city. Just my $0.02, Tom M PS - if you happen to use Lightroom, there is a very nice way to automate this process. Just let us know.
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