POTW 8/14/2011

[jdemoss99]

<p>Just got one this week, it is a hand held shot of the moon I did a week or so ago and thought it was pretty good, best moon shot yet. taken with K20D 18-250 DA @f9.5 1/250 ISO 400 </p><div></div>

[shots worth sharing]

<p>Nice work getting that flycatcher with the 50mm, ME! I assume they're just as fast moving as their eastern cousins. </p>

[michael_elenko]

<p>Thanks Dave. Yeah, they flit around, but never too far away. You know, shooting birds = patience. This was my using manual focus no less.</p>

<p>ME</p>

[MattB.Net]

<p>Great stuff so far this week!<br>

This one was from my way on my bike one evening and this horse noticed me and was looking very photogenic. I snapped a few shots in fairly flat light and had packed up my camera to leave and the sun broke through. So I pulled out the K-x & da15 one more time for a few more frames in this light.<br>

<a title="IMGP1341.jpg by MattB.net, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6073/6033923559_1045fc74ac_z.jpg" alt="IMGP1341.jpg" width="425" height="640" /></a><br>

.<br>

I was in Denver this morning after shooting my wife's family reunion. This was from a hotel and I liked all the lines and shapes.<br>

K-x & Tamron 28-75 2.8<br>

<a title="IMGP1580.jpg by MattB.net, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6210/6044472904_f05a9ecd44_z.jpg" alt="IMGP1580.jpg" width="640" height="425" /></a></p>

[john_behrends]

<p>Shot some Purple Coneflowers in the evening dappled sun, we have had few sunny days here this summer, which is fine by me. Shot with 200d and 70mm Limited <img src=" alt="" /></p>

[htarragon]

<p>Dave - you said "<em>Those are really nice, Howard--that lens is full of surprises, isn't it</em>?" Which lens?</p>

 

[hagar]

<p>I suspect he meant the 55-300, Howard :-)</p>

[denise_savage]

<p>Nice work all. Lots of colour, and variety in subject matter. Travis I like your eye. Matt, Howard, Jemel and John, nice shots. I like that test dahlia too Michael. Justin - you have one amazing companion with Colvin! Ours is too old and arthritic to get in the car without some help.<br>

Took the kids and the camera for a bush walk across the road (love living where I am). A break in the cool wet weather, made for a good Sunday excursion. </p><div></div>

[denise_savage]

<p>Number 2 - the apprentices. I think they just liked pushing the buttons!</p><div></div>

[shots worth sharing]

<blockquote>

<p>I suspect he meant the 55-300, Howard :-)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Quite so. ;~)</p>

[htarragon]

<p>Yes, even though it weighs 2x the 50-200 and extends to almost 2x the length (I tend to reverse the hood to minimize the extension if pointed towards people), I like its colors and IQ.</p>

 

[johnw436]

<p>This forum, and this POW thread, motivates me in more ways than I can count. </p>

<p>Justin’s photos always motivate me to get off my butt and actually do something with my life, camera in hand or not. I always love the life-in-motion of Justin’s work combined with the true technical ability to make me forget I’m looking at photos because I feel like I am there.</p>

<p>Markus, your third shot is especially nice. Just enough highlight in the curry without blowing it out. The colors are amazing and the focus is spot on. I really love how this food shot is not done with razor-thin DOF like so many food shots these days. Your photo makes the food look super appetizing. I love it.</p>

<p>Jemal, your first shot blew me away. I love the tonality you achieved in pic #2 as well, even though the saturation is polar opposite #1. Personally, in #3 I hate to see only half of such a pretty lady’s face!</p>

<p>Howard’s macros are amazing to say the least. Week after week your shots are gorgeous. I like that you included the last shot. The first thing I notice is that the focus is soft, which is why I think the colors are so beautiful. So often macro is just about sharpness and details that we miss why the subject is worth looking at to begin with.</p>

<p>Travis, your textures are incredible. I think if I could do that I’d make a living selling stock textures to art designers. Your eye for tones and tactility is fantastic.</p>

[johnw436]

<p>I’m going to stop now. I’m sounding like a kiss-ass and that isn’t my intent. I really think this is the strongest POTW thread I’ve seen in a long time. If I keep going I’m just going to gush over Michael Elenko’s unbelievable macros and Matt Burt’s interior shot with the lens I lust for beyond all others… that I would trade my DA40 LTD for…</p>

[staffan__gren]

<p>Fun to see that dog rappelling, Justin! I will show these pictures to my son who is a climber. I suppose that he would like to see them as well!<br>

There is so much to see on the web. Swimming dogs in Australia hunting sharks beneath the water surface (yes, it's true!), dog surfing (another sea activity), some dog deliberately faking his own death etc. etc. Whatever you think of you can find, somewhere in the world!</p>

[htarragon]

<p>Thank you, John, for your kind words. Sometimes, the best pictures come from the "worst" circumstances i.e. shooting on a sunny day, between noon and 1:30. My eye is always drawn to color and then form. I've always thumbed through books on patterns in nature. In this case laziness also aided my efforts by not following an impulse to throw a polarizer on the lenses. It would have cut the sharpness and brightness which makes the macro shot pop. You are right about the last one, I tried upping the contrast in Elements and saw that it lost its feel.<br>

I agree with you about Travis's work, you can FEEL his photos. Don't pass over ME's shots of the rose and the dahlia. They accomplish what I try to achieve. Oh, yes, your pictures of birds are something I have never been able to do. And yes, the people in this group keep the bar high - keeps me stretching.<br>

I think there should be an ex-pentaxian forum for all those who wandered away to other brands.</p>

<p> </p>

[htarragon]

<p>Corrections:<br>

#2 K10D Tamron SP 90mm macro f/2.8 1/750 ISO 100<br>

#3 K10D Pentax 55-300@300mm f/8 1/30 ISO 100</p>

[htarragon]

<p>I left out MattB! The first shot is brilliant! :-). Hope you didn't keep your eye in the viewfinder too long. The second shot is also great - mood, forms, light and dark.</p>

[jemal.yarbrough]

<p>Hello everyone...glad to be back. I'll comment later in the week after more photos have been posted. Thanks to everyone for showing me love on the photos. Me and Javier Gutierrez's former K20D appear to be getting along quite well. </p>

[frank_b._baiamonte]

<p>There really have been a lot of great shots this week. I'll put up one, taken on Saturday at our monthly photo club Group Shoot. We met on the San Diego waterfront by the Maritime Museum for a few hours of shooting followed by 30 of us at lunch. It was fun. This one is straight from the camera jpg, no editing. K7, DA35 Macro, 1/80 sec at f/4.0, ISO 500. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson as seen through the periscope of a Russian submarine (that is part of the collection at the San Diego Maritime Museum).</p>

<p><img src="http://frankbaiamonte.smugmug.com/San-Diego-DSLR/Waterfront-081311/i-xzRN9WG/0/L/IMGP7995-L.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" /></p>

[michael_elenko]

<p>Thanks Denise, John W, and Howard for calling out my shots in a nice way.<br>

<br />Justin, I never saw "Rappelling with Dogs" but now I don't have to. Kudos to the photographer for such fine captures.<br>

<br />John W, I like the angle of the bird's form in both of the first two shots. What kind of bird is this?<br>

<br />Markus, that lunch looks good. Though I am a carnivore, I love dining at good vegan and raw restaurants. The textures of the foods they serve are the best and your shot of the curry demonstrates that too.<br>

<br />Jemal, that flower is a lilly of the Nile. They are very photogenic as you show.<br>

<br />Kari, the interior of that church seems so much more complex than the exterior promises. Nice lighting. What lens?<br>

<br />Travis, post-industrial ruins are great fun to shoot. The third and fourth are my faves for the colors and textures.<br>

<br />Dave, I think you are on to something with the red lantern motif. When you visit me, I have just the locale.<br>

<br />Matt, very cool second shot. The silhouette makes it. You are getting better.<br>

<br />Frank, we had that Russian sub (or maybe its dockmate) up here for a year or so. I wondered where it went. <br>

<br />Howard, since macro or closeup shots demand inspection, to pull off a good one requires more technical acumen than most other kinds of shots. l like the framing on number 2, but using f2.8 left a real thin DOF. It seems like only the middle sliver of the flower was in focus. <br>

I find that DOF management is among the most critical components to a worthy closeup. Maybe f16 would have worked better with this flower at that angle of perspective. <br>

If you wanted the inner expanding petals to be the focal point(s), then perhaps positioning the lens more directly above the flower head and shooting into it, and using f 4.5-5.6 would work better.<br>

Also, having a wider-angle true macro lens can help as you can fit more into the frame without being further away. The 90mm is a great lens, but I find 50-70mm to be more useful--35mm too, for flower heads and the like. Just depends.<br>

<br />ME</p>

[jemal.yarbrough]

<p>Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Here are mine:</p>

<p>Justin S. - Great shots by your wife. </p>

<p>John W. - That second shot is amazing.</p>

<p>Markus M. - Love your postcards shot. Great colors.</p>

<p>Yury U. - Your second shot has me craving the 14mm.</p>

<p>Howard T. - Love the second shot. Your use of OOF area is fantastic. And thanks for the warm welcome back!</p>

<p>Kari K. - Great interior church shots. Very well done.</p>

<p>Travis T. - I love Our Industrial Past and Twisting #1. They should be printed large on a wall somewhere.</p>

<p>Dave H. - Thank you for your kind words. The Urban blight show was caused by a developer or redevelopment agency shutting down businesses to revitalize the area and then running out of money or graft. Either way, jobs lost. Love your red lanterns … and that Pretty Good Graffiti shot is pretty awesome. </p>

<p>Michael E. - The Rose and Test Dahlia shots. Wow. And thanks for the name of that purple flower. I walk by it every day and never knew its name.</p>

<p>Jordan T. - I have never been able to get a moon shot. Great job.</p>

<p>Matt B. - Love the horse shot and sun flare. Now I can't decide between the 14mm and the 15mm.</p>

<p>Denise S. - Nothing better than a photo of "the apprentices". I wish I could get my three interested in photography.</p>

<p>Frank B. - How did you get that green glow? Gives it an eerie feeling. </p>

<p>Travis T. and John W. -That close crop had more to do with me screwing up the metering than anything else. The window camera right throw too much light onto the camera right side of her face, hence the tighter crop to remove it.</p>

<p>John W. - The first shot was taken with the K20D and 70mm. I bumped up the saturation a bit and sharpened. The tonality in the second shot (Urban Blight) was from using a .9 ND filter over the 21mm. Adding the ND filter was a recommendation from someone in this forum. For some reason it gives a "blueish" tint on the K20D, so a slight correction for that. Otherwise, no real adjustments just sharpening. Thanks for the love.</p>

<p>Howard T. - Your ex-pentaxian comment makes me sad. I love our little brand, even though it is frustrating at times to get lenses and parts and accessories. I shot a recent awards show red carpet and there was a certain pride to having my K10D and little 21mm limited lens standing up to the Canikon crowd with their L and G lenses. I just chuckled at people who scoffed at me and my little lens. If I had a K-5 with its superior high ISO and faster autofocusing (low light) I would have blown them away on the inside shots as well. For what I do, I have no need to switch and in fact, just decided to get rid of my Sony Kit.</p>

<p>Everyone - as always great work. Glad to be back now that I am shooting again.</p>

 

[htarragon]

<p>Michael - OY VAY! you want me to buy another lens! I just bought two, four months ago. How am I ever going to get a K5? :-) You are corrrect, I was not paying attention to my aperture, but my shutter speed, trying to control for wind and camera shake. I have to slow down when I get caught up in the shot. Jemal likes the shot with its sort of LensBaby effect. It's not a fault, it's a technique! Just saved $300. Now I can buy another lens! Noooo! Precious isn't mine! Must not want it! Thanks for taking such a close look.</p>

<p>Jemal - Thank you for you opinion on #2, Michael thinks it was an error(see above) - it probably was, but I like it and I'll never tell - Oh wait, I just did, above. I still like it.</p>

[k_kakkinen]

<p><strong>Michael E.... </strong></p>

<p>Camera: K-5....Lens: 16-45 f4 (which is my main/favorite lens for the time being....until Pentax releases the 16-85 f2,8-4,0 WR) I'm a Board Member at a local Genealogical Research Association here in Örnsköldsvik and one part of my work in that association is to photograph all churches in the Örnsköldsvik Municipality....</p>

<p><strong>Jemal Y.... </strong> Thank You!</p>

[frank_b._baiamonte]

<p>Jemal - the green glow is something in the periscope itself, not anything that I did. In fact, there is a second sub at the museum, the USS Dolphin, and there is no color tint to its periscope. </p>

<p>Here is another shot from the Russian sub - this time the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, when it was parked across the Bay at the same pier. K20D, not sure what lens - I thought it was the DA35 Macro, but the info detail on smugmug says 36mm, so I'm not sure. You have to hold the lens right up to the eyepiece, but I use my fingers to make sure I don't make contact with the front element of the lens. It looks like I cropped this one a bit too, to get an overall square composition.</p>

<p><img src="http://frankbaiamonte.smugmug.com/San-Diego/Waterfront-Maritime-052310/FB0142312/877336755_PfJLC-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[shots worth sharing]

<blockquote>Michael - OY VAY! you want me to buy another lens!</blockquote>

<p>LOL! I think your priorities are in order, Howard. Having just sold the A* 200/4 macro I bought earlier this year, I am in total agreement with ME's advocacy of shorter macro lenses. The bottom line though, is the more I come to appreciate masterful macros, the less inclined I am to pursue that sort of mastery.</p>

<p>That said, I do happen to have a good 50mm macro I could let you have at a good price ;~)</p>