rock_scott

John and William,

 

Thanks for the comments.

 

William - you are correct. This has been cropped form 4x5 scanned on an Epson 4990. I will post the whole shot as taken so you can see the rest. I printed several whole frame, but I think I like the crop better - and it fit better in my office cropped! lol As it turned out, this crop has sold over double the 16x20 print.

 

I must say that the epson gives a better scan by far than my nikon film scanner and a 35mm slide. I have been very happy with the scans the epson does and except for taking forever to complete a high quality scan, it is every bit as good as any of the drum scans I have paid up to 25 bucks each.

 

I love shooting digital for sports, portraits,and weddings, but there is nothing lke a crisp LF slide.

 

rock

Kim

 

Good shot. Simple and very well composed. Where did you take it? It's driving me crazy trying to figure out where it is!!

 

I put a couple photos up from northern California. Check the ones from my Shasta Nation folder. I would like to know what you think of them. thanks!

 

rock

Wyeka is the name used by the Shasta Nation for Mt Shasta, northern

California. My ancestors are Shasta Indians and I was able to

photograph many special places to my family last summer. I am just

getting the time to edit and prepare for printing on some. My

rhododendron photo has been very successful and is sold out of it's

run. I hope to have a few more from this beautiful part of the country

and my native land posted soon.

 

rock

Northern California, Shasta area. My ancestors are from the Shasta

Nation. I was able to spens time this summer photographing the area,

mountains, and places special to my family. The redwood trees and

rhododendron flowers add to the peaceful feeling I found while visiting.

Iron fence in Logan Utah. October shot.

Kim,

 

My mistake - top right corner. I guess that would make a difference! lol

thanks - rock

Fall at the Lake. Nice old pine chairs on the path to the pier.

Comments and suggestions appreciated.

Aaron, Kim - thanks for the comments. On this past trip, this is the photo I consider the best. I took the same shot with my 4x5 and can't wait to get it developed and scanned.

 

Question - what about the top left -the dip in the hill and small tree? Im not sure about it. I could make the crop a bit tighter or open it up. It is sort of distracting as it is to me. I would like your opinions if you have the time. thanks

 

rock

Love this shot. Very nice work. rock

5 photos stitched. Very nice location just past Sundance Resort, Utah

Comments appreciated. Thanks - rock

Comments appreciated. Thanks - rock

Thanks for looking and offering suggestions.

 

rock

Howard, great job on this photo. I think one of your best. You give me a target to shoot at! later, rock

Part of a series on the Consumnes River in El Dorado County, CA

Part of a series on the Consumnes River in El Dorado County, CA

Comments and suggestions appreciated. Thanks - rock

The photo is of a manzanita tree that a rock came to rest against many

years ago. There is very little life left in the manzanita. The tree

has grown around and to the rock. I will try and post the color photo

to show more detail. This section of the Consumnes River is an amazing

place. If you are in the Placerville - Jackson area, it is worth the

time to visit.

Frans,This is my favorite in this series. You were in the right place at the right time. Good capture.

I have a couple suggestions. 1.The sea is not level. I am always shooting without my camera level so it is something I notice. Many times it isn't a problem and maybe even adds to the photo. In this one, I would probably level it with the SELECT ALL/TRANSFORM/SKEW COMMAND, using a guide to bring the right side up.
2.It sort of looks like two suns with the reflection on the upper clouds. Maybe take some o the other sky-cloud area and put it over the highlighted area to even it out more.
3. Enhance the colors, adjust levels, and color correct the sea to be more blue and sky more vivid.
4.I only say this one because I am always accused of this - don't center the main subject. The rule of thirds would crop some off the bottom and left side. I tried a crop to see what it looked like. Like my old photoshop instructor says, "theres a good shot in there somewhere!"

I hope you don't mind me modifying your photo. What I or anyone else does to a photo does not make it any more right ? just different. Only suggestions. I enjoy looking at other pictures and seeing what I can learn from them. It is MUCH easier for me to see something in someone else?s photo I would change then it is in my shots! Im different than many, if not most traditional photographers in that I see the photo after it has been taken as only half done. The photoshop work is like the darkroom with film. I don't have the desire or talent to develop film but I am pretty good in photoshop. Especially with sports and action shots, it is not always possible to have the correct composition, color, keep the camera level, and still have a photo that someone would want! lol

I?ve never been to Holland or Europe. I sure would like to travel there someday. The closest I get is having a Calumet Cambo 4x5 camera. I love using it. It sure is different than digital, but I still scan the slides and play with them in photoshop. I am getting ready to go for a few weeks to Yosemite and Death Valley, then southern Utah to take photos. We are heading back by going north to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, then across Idaho to Mt. Shasta area in California. My Native American ancestors are from that area and we will be visiting some of the places they lived.

Keep shooting. Rock

great shot. Good focus on a fast subject. Sure looks fun! rock

Good shots. They look like they need some color correcting. Gyms are almost always bad lighting.
I did a series shot simular to this for one team and everyone on the team bought it. It wasn't my idea, but I took the credit!

I set my camera up with a view from half-court to past the basket on a tripod. I focused and took several shots with my d100 to get correct color, focus, and a good background shot. Replaced the d100 with a f-4 400spd fuji, 1.8 85mm at 180speed, and had each player start at halfcourt dribble and make a layup or dunk. I could get off about 10-12 shots per player. Costco developed and scanned the images.

My plan was to have each player in one photo in a different position. Because the tripod was stationary, I didn't have to be too careful in extracting each player and placing them on the main photo.The color and background was the same in all photos and no skew problems - everything was the same. Layers and reducing the opacity allowed me to position each player in a natural looking position and all 10 players loved it. Im not sure Im explaining it well, but if you imagine player 1 starting his dribble at half court, player 2 pasted a couple feet in front, then 4,5,6, 7 starting up with the dunk, 8 almost, 9 dunking, and player 10 coming down from the dunk. The camera is stationary, manually set and focused so it takes the entire court from halfcourt to the wall under the basket. I hope that makes it a bit clearer.

It took quite a bit of time and I think I could have done it with the d100 alone, but I wanted to be sure I got enough shots so each player would be in a useable position. I had to move several of the players around so it would look natural but wow, it turned out great.

Good luck and keep shooting. I have shot several Stanford, BYU, and Sac Kings games. They are not even close to as hard as high school basketball. The lighting is always the same and very bright. Sure makes it easier! The only thing worse is high school football! rock

Peter,Most of my shots are in 4-5 different gyms so I have an action in PS set up for each one to correct for color casts. I do set a custom WB for each first, but still need to tweak the images to get them more accurate. I have someone go onto the floor with a grey card and set the WB that way.

Last year the area championships were played at Arco arena in Sacramento. WOW was it nice to shoot with only slight color cast and no flash. I used a Nikon 70-200, 2.8 at ISO 400, 250 speed and got great shots. I haven't tried using remote flash units.

I have a couple shots in my portfolio here, I will try to put a couple more up or go to my site. Gota run now - rock

HS gyms are about the hardest place to shoot. Your details say 50mm 1.8, but the shot was 1/500 at 5.6? Is this correct? When I use my 50mm 1.8, I kep it all he way open and shoot at 180-200 and many times no flash. What ISO are you using? Some ref's won't let you on the floor with a flash so you have to modify.

As for this shot, good capture. It is hard to tell but from my screen, it looks like the WB could be off a bit. Did you use a custom WB or camera flash setting? Im always looking for someone to compare info with on sports shots.

rock

Nice location. Im heading to Yosemite the first part of Feb and hope to snowshoe into where I think this spot is. Still trying to talk myself into taking the 4x5, but it adds about 25lbs and Im getting to old! lol rock

The Watchers. Native Americans (I am Shasta Wintun) called these trees"Watchers" because of the eyes they have on the trunks.

This panorama of seven photos stitched together reminds me of the workof artist, Bev Doolittle. She is a master of camouflaging Indians intothe background of aspen trees.

If I look close, I can see them in the trees.

rock

a look at one of Bev Doolittles paintings:
http://www.galleryone.com/images/doolittle/doolittle%20-%20woodland%20encounter.jpg