2013 Photo Project - Week #6

<blockquote>

<p>This is the weekly thread for <strong>the 2013 Photo Project</strong>. The task is to make one photo each week for every week in 2013 and to submit it to this thread. Everyone is free to join the project. You can use any camera type and brand. The photo you submit should preferably be shot within the week, starting Monday and ending Sunday. You can submit a photo shot fairly recently but prior to this week if you prefer to do that. Please specify which camera and lens you were using and the exif data (if available). We have now opened up for up to three photo uploads per week. New participants are welcome.<br /><br /><strong><em>Important:</em></strong> please keep your image under 700 pixels on the longest side for in-line viewing, and <em><strong>please keep the file size under 300kb. </strong></em>Note that <strong>this includes photos hosted off-site</strong> (at Flickr, Photobucket, your own site, etc).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Week #6 is hereby opened for uploads. Happy shooting everyone!</p>

<p>Busker setting up in Santa Cruz, CA</p><div></div>

<p>Kayaks for sale in Monterey, CA</p><div></div>

<p>Yesterday got out the extension tube and attached my $30 Pentax 50mm f/2.0 prime to it and my Pentax K100D and took this shot of an old Kohl's department store flyer I was using as a cutting board, lit by a JetBeam II military grade LED flashlight. Just playing around shooting and processing in Raw in ACR 4.6.</p><div></div>

<p>What a cool result, Tim! Macro photography can give great results when you get the hang of it, and with a little outside the box thinking you can get some great outside the box photos. Well, you know what I mean :-)</p>

<p>Thanks, Ann.</p>

<p>It was the macro thread in the "No Words" forum that got me off my butt to do some shooting since I haven't wanted to due to some big changes in my life that I'm just getting over including a bad cold.</p>

<p>Macro can make the most mundane look like another world. I think I should shoot more but it takes several attempts to get the best sharpness since shooting whatever's around me doesn't allow complicated setups and tripod arrangements in fighting the extremely narrow DOF even at f/16.</p>

<p>Tim -- That is cool. Abstract, yet the balance of elements, shapes, and CMYK dots are very pleasing.</p>

<p>I am glad to hear that you have done some shooting again, Tim. I hope it will all work out for the best. You take care now. (Sending over a big hug)</p>

<p>Brighton UK - The King and I</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Who took the photo if it is "The KIng and I" ? :-)</p>

<p>The third person J.C, namely me ;-)</p>

<p>I always try to make at least one photo every week for the Canon Thursday photo.<br>

Sometimes I use an IXUS 220HS and this is from that camera;</p><div></div>

<p>Thread by Cartier-Bresson...</p><div></div>

Ann, just curious, where are your photos?

<p>If this is gonna turn into a Cartier-Bresson thread, I'm countering with a faux-Brassai.<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/16853952-lg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="700" /></p>

<p>Brad, I have the whole week to shoot it. It is only monday today. I haven't been doing any shooting so far this week.</p>

<p><img src="http://cycler48.smugmug.com/Other/Other-Stuff/i-tDkwjD6/0/L/IMG_0924-L.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="600" /></p>

<p>These guys were circling around the neighborhood Sunday morning. The moon was still visible and I was lucky enough that they made a pass close enough to get them and the moon in the same photo. Shot with Canon 7D, Canon 300mm f/4 IS L series lens, ISO 100, 1/1250 sec, f/4. Post processed in Silver Efex Pro 2.</p>

<p>Cool looking sepia treatment, Simon. Just the right hue. I can never get it that evenly distributed on my B&W conversions which I rarely indulge in.</p>

<p>Been meaning to mention this but I've noticed a huge improvement in your work from what I've seen of it in the last months especially that tone mapping treatment of your grandmother. I can't get it out of my head even right now.</p>

<p>And the composition and lighthearted lyricism of your "King and I" has me wondering if you've been taking magic potion or specialized high end lessons from some famous photographer to achieve this level of vision and image quality. Where did you go? To some zen spa and find your true inner creative source?</p>

<p>Marcel, your "Trafficjam" image is perfection in simplicity. Love the bluish gray hue of the asphalt cobbled detail contrasted with the flat white street divider. </p>

<p>Steve, not sure what those Cartier Bresson objects are but they look darn interesting and colorful. If it's spools of thread then it's not the kind I've ever seen.</p>

<p>Lex, the grain in that image is exquisite. I take it the first shadow figure is the shadow of the second on the right or maybe it's two dudes talking to each other. The ambiguity is what makes it so stark and darn compelling. I can feel the chill in the air just from the composition. </p>

<p>What a surreal looking shot, Mark. The copter keeps shifting from looking like a toy with the moon in the clouds bringing back to reality. I'm expecting Godzilla to swing his arms and knock it out of the sky. Then I go back to seeing it as real and to scale. What neat visual effect.</p>

<p>Simon, I haven't looked much at your photos before this project, but you've got the touch. Definately. You know how to do it so that the whole package looks just right. Loved the little boy with the coockie and now the King and you, shot at that camera angle. That's gonna be a classic. By the way, the King is here too. The King and I were just having a fight. Play fighting is high up on his daily to do list. I guess ya all didn't know that. Or the fact that he looks kind of furry.</p>

<p>Thanks, Tim. That gritty look is due to the Ricoh GX100's noise at high ISOs. Some folks disliked the GX100 for the gritty luminance noise that was visible even at ISO 200. But to me it's reminiscent of my hard-pushed b&w films and even normally exposed and developed Delta 3200. Rather than fight it I just go with it. (BTW, how many people were there? If you look closely at the wall, you can just barely make out two shadows.)</p>

<p>Mark, that helicopter photo is terrific. That juxtaposition and skewed sense of scale is disorienting - looks like a still photo from a sci-fi movie.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>(BTW, how many people were there? If you look closely at the wall, you can just barely make out two shadows.)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yep, you're right. Had to take a more careful second look. At first it looked like stains on the wall due to the gritty texture. </p>

<p>Don't let go of that Ricoh GX100. That's some fine looking grain.</p>

<p>Have you experimented with ACR's Grain Panel checking out all the texture distortions and fineness levels it offers. It really does a good job in turning clumped noise texture too large in proportion with the rest of the image into looking like natural film grain or at least the closest I've seen.</p>

<p>Thanks Anne and Tim very kind, I nearly missed that picture as the lady was speeding along, my friend next to me did miss it. </p>

<p>BTW Tim I have never tonemapped a picture of my Gran, I can't remember the last time I tonemapped anything.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>BTW Tim I have never tonemapped a picture of my Gran, I can't remember the last time I tonemapped anything.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>So are you saying this image:</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/photo/16521893</p>

<p>...came out of the camera looking like that? If so, you got ya' pretty darn good camera. Of course you and I may have different definitions of what tone mapped edited image looks like. To me it looks tastefully and professionally tonemapped.</p>

<p>Contrast masking settings in unsharp masking and the clarity tool can produce effects similar to subtle tone mapping. The "clarify" tool in Paint Shop Pro is another variation of the same tools for controlling local contrast.</p>