inspiration point studio

A tripod allows you to frame a photo and keep it there while waiting for the right moment, whether it is for the cloud to move out of the way, the bee to land on a flower, the wind to die down a bit. Keeping the vibration down is just one of the many uses.

Not a problem here. I've been using my 23inch for a couple of years. By the way, I don't recommend using multiple monitor configurations, especially two large monitors of different sizes. Too much real estate for the mouse to cover, and the different monitor size will create a virtual wall for the mouse to run into.

MacPro with NikonScan, both 35mm and MF with no problem. I don't like using Vuescan for doing MF, Vuescan does not do a good job with automatically partitioning the picture frames on each strip of film. Nikonscan does a pretty good job.

Carl is correct, for a good year, I think the park's foliage color is so-so at best, the dry spell is going to make it worse this year. Trees are browning rapidly. As for hiking, Hawksbill Mountain trail is a good short hike with great panoramic vista, it's located at around the 45 mile post (not too sure). Check the park web site.

I just thought of another approach, I know you can do it on the MAC, not sure about the PC. On the MAC, each unique user account can have its own monitor profile. Just run EyeOne calibration under different accounts, and a unique monitor profile (different contrast) can be stored under each account. Now you can switch between the two accounts depending on what you are working on.

Amazon is a fine company, I purchase from them all the time. Amazon is also a store front for other on line sellers, for example, Amazon sells for Adorama Camera also. I have bought from many of these other companies through Amazon as well with very good experience. According to your description above, I think you are buying from Cameta Camera. Cameta has a very big eBay presence with very excellent ratings, I bought a DEMO DSLR from Cameta and they were very professional.

Why don't you just get a used D50 if lens selection is your primary concern. D80 is not that much of an upgrade. If you want to try out AIS manual lens, then you need the D200.

I had a similar problem with my new F4. This was more than 10 years ago. The camera had a flash sync problem. I escalated the issue up to the VP Sales level and eventually got a new F4 replacement. Took about four months.

Just turn down your contrast if you don't want to set it to 100%. It's not ideal because the monitor can do better, but the EyeOne calibration will adjust accordingly. Note that once you adjust the contrast and use EyeOne to calibrate, the contrast level is paired with the calibration. You can't change the contrast anymore. Once you adjust the contrast, the calibration is no longer accurate, and you have to recalibrate.

 

One possible workaround for your contrast dilemma is to use a lower contrast for your non critical color work. Once you have to do color critical work, set the monitor to the optimum setting and calibrate. Also remember to warm up the monitor (up to 1 hour) before serious work.

Why the harsh challenge? Chas never said he owned a G9 in his Sept 29 post. He said he was looking into getting one despite the color inaccuracy. May be saying "I know nothing about digital" is a bit too modest, it beats saying "I know it all."

 

Anyway, Chas, I mainly use film also and have a Nikon D50 for point and shoot, but I'm seriously looking at a G9 also. Haven't tried the color test you did mention in your earlier post. I love the handling, but would prefer a wider angle lens. The G9 is getting pretty good reviews, I would recommend just getting one and if you don't like it for any reason, just sell it and treat any loss (probably a very modest one) as equipment rental.

 

Another thing is I was reading some user reviews on Amazon and one complained about hot pixels. Wonder how wide spread it is.

Make sure your file is 8 bits, single layer.

I forgot to mention having two archive hard drives allow you to store one of them off site; this is important especially when you're gone on a long vacation or assignment.

External RAID is only OK on paper. Both drives can fail at the same time (e.g. power surge). Here's what I do:

 

1. All raw and original scans stored on DVDs. They need to be re-archived in a few years time to avoid any DVD aging problem. Archival gold DVD disc will probably last longer.

 

2. Use your internal disc for editing the photos. Once you finish the editing, move the files to two separate external hard drives.

 

Note that the external drives are kept off most of the time since you only use them for archiving purpose only. That will minimize unnecessary wear and tear. You can also build up to your two hard drives. Buy one first, when cheaper and bigger drive comes along, buy the second one. When your photo collection grows and require more drive space, buy one and sell the oldest one etc.

 

Note that this workflow also prevents you from accidentally deleting your file. For example, you want to save a file using the SAVE AS command but accidentally hit the SAVE option instead, eliminating the original master file.

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Museum Hill is rather interesting also if you are into Native American arts and crafts.<div></div>

Santa Fe is more about museum, great fine dinning (try out the famous Geronimo Restaurant), and architecture. Your long lens may come in handy for taking close up shots of architecture elements.<div></div>

Scheurman Mountain is right at the edge of town, next to a school. It's a short hike up and you see the entire town of Sedona.<div></div>

Another trick is to look through some postcards and ask people how to get to the attraction.<div></div>

Sedona is a wonderful place to visit. The town center is quite developed, you have to get on the trails. Go to the tourist center in town for trail information. The motel should have good suggestions too. I'll post some pictures.<div></div>

I second Matt's suggestion about Great Falls Park. There is a Virginia side and a Maryland side. If you want easier access to the falls observation area, the Virginia side is better. The Virginia side also has wooded hiking trails that follow the river. The Maryland side has the canal trail, which is more wide open and more set back away from the Potomac. Both sides have their charms. For fall foliage picture opportunity, I like the Maryland side beter, there is a big pond between the park visitor center and Angler's Inn Restaurant, the trees there have really nice colors.

 

Another suggestion is to try the National Arboretum in DC, especially in spring blooming season. The place is like a huge park. The Azaleas hill is a must see in May.

Exposing to the right only works if your scene contrast requires it, meaning the histograms is wide enough to touch both ends of the graph. If your subject is primarily gray and dark tone, in the shade, and does not have too much contrast (skinny histogram), you'll over expose it by exposing to the right, and the color cast will be off. Underexposing the raw file using level or curve won't solve your color cast problem.

Depending on which weekend you'll be in town, Albuquerque balloon fiesta goes from 10/6 to 10/14. That's an early morning/late afternoon activity. Santa Fe is an artsy town, it's great for roaming around looking at art studio, museum etc. Driving up there takes about an hour, but plan your trip ahead of time so you know what to see. The Museum Hill is a nice area if you're into southwest arts and crafts. The tram you mentioned goes up to Sandia Mountain. The mountain is east of Albuquerque. The view is great if the weather/visibility is nice. You basically look towards Albuquerque to the west. This is a morning activity also so the sun is behind you. You can see Sandia from anywhere in town, just make sure the mountain top is clear before you decide to go up there.

V.I.: When I first looked at your photo, my immediate reaction was what a terrible sample, how come he's showing that off. Then I read your comment. Right On.

I own a 2400, but I won't buy it again. That's because I can get better prints from outfits like

Adorama. A 16x20 print only costs $1.99 on sale. Regular price of 11x14 is only $4.99. How

many prints are you going to make on a 2400 to justify its cost? Furthermore, Adorama uses

Noritsu printers with wider gamut, download their printer profile and compare it with the

Epson profile in Photoshop, the Epson always give me problem with shadow area.