Peron Dunes

The first picture from my new toy.

i like it. did you use filters to balance the light?

Thank you. No filters on this one Barb.

John, I feel your image is a fantastic symbol for 'HOPE'

Nice composition John - lovely shadows and light. The far vegetation seems a little fuzzy. Was it wind movement or is it just photo.net jpg'ing?

 

(Funny how we seem destined to end up with LF, MF, and DSLR, isn't it?)

I like that idea of hope Jacques.

 

Leigh, it was very windy, even the foreground plant has a lot of movement.

 

The 'hof was right behind me here, but the digi-toy was quicker and fun to use! Only took me about a day to figure out how to open a RAW file. ;-)

John,

 

You've quite the eye and I bet your back appreciates the change to digital (hopefully not for good because your b&w film work is amazing).

Thank you Earl! The back's even less happy now though.

Wonderful image, John. I personly like photos at the beach. The colours are absolutely brilliant, and the title 'hope' would fit perfectly. I just uploaded an Tasmanian beach photo myself. Maybe you have a look at it and comment on it. I always appreciate your visits. Thanks, Uwe.

I felt magic looking at that photo.

Great, John. What amazes me is the combined fact that the image was obtained without the help of any grad filter and a digital camera. Amazingly well done. Congratulations!

Thanks Uwe, Noel and Alberto. I got up at 3 o'clock to make the beach in time for sunrise. That's my excuse for forgetting to pack my ND grads!

Wow, I really like this John. You probably won't like me saying so, but it's perhaps my favourite of yours to date... Great light to paint a terriffic mood on this elegant comp, and beautifully exposed. On the tech side, I too am amazed at the fact that this was shot without the aid of a grad.

So, the digital bug has really got you as well...Oh, it is only a toy camera...

However, I see that it doesn't mean that you've got less to carry now. Beautiful image, by the way!

This just goes to show that the camera really doesn't come into it - the person operating the camera should be credited for the image. The equipment is just a means to an end. No doubt, you would be able to capture beauties with a Holga, for that matter.

How dare you Richard! After all the painstaking efforts I take to make serious art, you choose this trivial little digipic! I'm outraged!

 

Seriously, I actually did leave my Lee grads at home accidentally, but with this new camera, exposures are so easy! Compared to using the spot meter and sweating over the trannies until development, the luxury of having the little screen for instant feedback is very addictive. For this one, I used aperture priority, exposed the sensor at whatever shutter speed it offered, looked at the file on the little screen, saw that the highlights were completely blown, erased that file, dialled up one -ve stop of exposure compensation, and exposed again, the highlights were right, and there was plenty of info in the sand and grasses.

 

Here's the file info:

 

Shooting Date/Time

4/04/2004 6:33:06 AM

Shooting Mode

Aperture-Priority AE

Tv( Shutter Speed )

1/8

Av( Aperture Value )

22

Metering Mode

Evaluative

Exposure Compensation

-1

ISO Speed

100

Lens

18.0 - 55.0 mm

Focal Length

18.0 mm

Image Size

3072x2048

Image Quality

RAW

Flash

Off

White Balance

Auto

AF Mode

AI Focus AF

Parameters

Contrast +1

Sharpness +1

Color saturation +1

Color tone Normal

Color Space

sRGB

File Size

5368KB

Drive Mode

Self-Timer Operation

 

I would love to have recorded this on film, but I got there just as the sun was coming up, and didn't quite have the Linhof set up in time. If I'd had the P67 with me, I reckon I'd have got it OK, but I'd lent my P67 lenses to a friend for the week, so it was a 4x5 + digital day. I got two nice trannies and about 4 good negs, none of which I've scanned yet.

 

Cheers,

Thanks Pete, that's a very kind thing to say. As you know, Tassie gets the credit for most of my stuff. Cheers,

Sorry about my earlier remark John; let's say not my all time fave, but just in the top ten then. About forgetting to take your grads, what astounds me is the thought that a shot with the grad would probably not have turned out as well.

 

Hey, I was just kidding Richard. I'm not at all offended if people like this more than my black and whites. As you know, it's nice when anybody appreciates a picture. I think your reference to the subtle colour and simple composition explains the aesthetic appeal of this one.

 

Regarding the NDG/highlights issue, I wonder if this sensor might prove to be more forgiving of wide exposure latitudes than colour film? No doubt digital experts can tell us.

...and I wasn't serious about apologising. I personally do prefer colour for landscapes so maybe that contributes also. I wondered the same about the digital sensors being fairly forgiving in highlight areas (not having had any experience with them).

What amazing light! You exposed this shot perfectly and I still can't figure out how you managed to do this without a grad. The composition is perfectly balanced. I really like the muted beauty of this shot and have to agree with Richard that this is one of my favourites too.

A really nice one John.

 

I like the tranquil mood (contemplation) and the expanse of sand around this lonely grass. Terrific balance.

 

I think I want to move to your part of the world. Where I live the scene is almost identical: ripples on the dunes, clumps of grass, beautiful sunset (here it sets over the sea) PLUS tons of garbage ... I'm going to try to shoot a shot as near as possible to this (minus your talent of course) but showing it all. I'll keep you informed of my trashy project!

 

Thanks for showing that the whole world has not (yet) been spoilt.

Thank you Michael, Kenneth and Dominique,

 

That's so sad about the rubbish there Dominique, but even here you can find some rubbish as you walk along the beach. The east coast is not so bad, because the winds are predominantly off-shore, but the on-shore winds on the west coast bring up far too much rubbish, mostly from fishing boats.

I'd heard you'd got a digi. I join the club aghast that the light balance was achieved without a ND grad. I like the composition and the way the rising sun plays counterweight to the single plant. I like the colours too. Colour and composition come out grand. I have a problem though with the degree of motion blur in the nearby plant. First I wish it was as sharp as its leaf tips seem to be, and second the blur has introduced a sort of anoying interference in the leaf tips, (more noticeable in the large version) if you see what I mean?

I told that thing to sit still!

John in case you were wondering.