Justin Serpico

[revolver]

as you might remember a few weeks back I was going to scrap the whole DSLR

thing due to some dust on sensor issues.....knee jerk reaction and I have

decided not to do so.

in any case last year when I took some shots of the Church Gargoyles with my

Kodak Z612 down on state street I thought I was a Photograher. since getting

the Pentax I have wanted to take the same pictures and compare.

I finally got my chance and learned some things.

 

1- I am no photographer! lol

2- many factors go into a photo.

time of day and year/lighting and angles.

3- glad I kept my Pentax... :)

 

there is a lot to this and I have a long way to go but it is amazing how things

affect picture taking. anyone can take a picture but it takes an awful lot to

capture an image. trying to get the same exact shot is no easy task either.

 

I can see from the pictures I took of State Street in January with the Kodak

and then in August with the Pentax how lighting affects pictures. I know it is

the basics of photography but as a neewb to this it is really cool to actually

see it than read about it...<div></div>

[revolver]

the lighting factor is dramatic.....<div></div>

[mountainvisions]

I'm important enough to get my own thread!!!

<P>

Glad you didn't ditch the SLR. Dust sucks and I'm certain as the SLR's progress it will be less and less a problem. Like I noted, if you had experienced film scanning you'd have seen the same issues and be happy to deal with the lack of scanning to get to the dust cloning. Ever since I started cleaning the sensor regularly, and changing lenses in a bag, or at least out of the wind, I've had fewer problems myself.

<P>

I agree. Lighting is always first, then subject. Then if you have those two you need an idea of how to make them look interesting on a piece of paper or a monitor.

<P>

Thats of course where creating the image is. And finally, you need a way to record what you've come up with which would for photographers means a camera and the focal length you had in mind.

<P>

In the end it doesn't matter what you use, as long as your comfortable with it, but you still need to transfer your idea to the film or sensor. Generally speaking bad camera with cheap lens and crappy sensor in nice light will yield a better photo than best camera, great sensor/film, and great lens in crappy light.

<P>

The January shot is definitely in very flat light. The stonework on the church doesn't have any depth. Looks like early afternoon, but the August shot looks like morning before the sun got too high and too contrasty. I like the Gargoyles in the shadows better to for various reasons, mainly a good and evil thing.

<P>

Glad to see you are seeing things in different light now (no pun intended), some people get it right off the bat (seeing things in tones and quality of light) and others, like you and I seem to be a bit slower but eventually do get it. Of course others never get to that point, and always think a better camera or a different brand will get them the results they envision.

<P>

[andrewg_ny]

Christopher, I was thinking much the same as Justin. The stonework in the Kodak shot doesn't show much detail--your D-SLR shot is much better. It is also sharper all over. The streetlamp and spire in the lower left corner of the Kodak image is ghastly. Some of this is technical but a lot of it also comes from the light--sidelighting enhances texture. Direct light can crush it.

[revolver]

sure you are important enough to have a thread! lol

 

you also have taken pictures on that very street so you know the building in your mind as well as in photos...

 

your sense of time from the photos is extrodinary. the January shot was taken at 2:49:54

 

 

the august shot was taken at 9:19....

 

I was talking with a family member and former film Photographer who made the statement that "shooting pictures is about capturing light"... that made me think differently when setting up a shot. Before I would concentrate on the subject and not give enough attention to the angles of light and shadows.

 

I have not yet become creative with Photos, I do a lot of traveling and like to capture things to show my wife and kids. I see a lot of cool/weird/beautiful/disgusting things in my day to day and it is hard to tell people of it.

 

a pictures tells a thousand words ......as they say

 

thanks for looking and your opinions....it is much appreciated

[revolver]

Andrew,

 

I never looked at how bad that street light was. I think that is the widest point of the fixed lens of the kodak as I was shooting more to the right of that spot....

 

 

the other aspect is probably more to the truth... the technical end....meaning me! lol

 

thanks for the reply

[mountainvisions]

in the august shot that side of the church faces the river (east). the january one should have been facing south/sw since state street runs east west. I'm always looking at how the light reflects off the buildings. You should take a look at how the columns on the State Ed building cast shadows in the mid/late afternoon, as well as the columns on the Corning at the plaza. some nice abstracts there.

 

i haven't been downtown much for shooting lately, but i'm looking forward to the capitol scaffolding coming off sometime in the future. I'd really like to shoot the plaza at night on a clear/calm night with the reflections off the pools. And of course some additional night photography of the capitol.

 

I have some ideas for State and Pearl as well. And my wife knows to bring bail if I get arrested for potential trespassing on the various garages in the city. I'm planning to do quite a bit of night photography from the garages for a top down/higher vantage point on the city. I hope to have some stuff to show (besides a court appearance ticket) this winter.

[jeffpolaski]

Photography is a never-ending fascination. I am now very selectively gong back to 35-year-old negatives, scanning them, and distinctly remembering how they were made then, and thinking about how I can improve them now.