billydodson

<p>Appreciate the help with this. I'm going to start relaying your information.</p>

<p>A good friend just purchased a Mac notebook and took it to S Africa with her. She posted the below note on facebook ... this was the first time she'd loaded images from her camera to the computer. It appears she can't open her raw files and view them. Opportunities to help her will be intermittent because she's in the field for the next few weeks. I'm a Nikon guy and not able to offer as much assistance as I'd like. Any advice I might relay would be appreciated. Thx/Billy Dodson</p>

<p><strong>Photographers: I need your help! My Macbook Air doesn't recognize raw files. It will allow me to download my card, and I can see the images in the folder I place them in on my desktop. BUT - Can I safely format my card or are these just some sort of phantom images! Thanks for your input!</strong></p>

<p>Thanks for the updates ... I had some hotspots with my 18-70mm and called Life Pixel about it. They advised me to remove the UV filter ... I did so and the hot spots went away.</p>

<p>Thanks to all for this. I've already done a little infrared stuff on my last Africa trip .... there are a couple of samples on my blog. It's here<br>

www.billydodson.com<br>

Trying something different has really rekindled my interest in photography and motivated me to get out there more. So I want to upgrade my equipment ... I'm currently using a D70 with an 18-70mm Nikon. The images have enlarged very nicely but my impression is that the bigger they are the better they're going to look. So I'm going for 12 megapixels and want a quality lens. I'm really curious about the Tokina 16.5-135mm but can't find any comments on it anywhere.</p>

<p>I'm going to buy a Nikon D90 and immediately do the infrared conversion on it. I'm looking for a quality zoom lens to marry up with it. The 24-120mm VR looks great ... and I notice that Tokina makes a 16.5-135mm that offers even more range. Does anyone have any experience with either of these lenses or have other recommendations for infrared use? Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>I understand the risk ... I've done this many times. In the past I've checked a used 500mm Sigma and never had a problem. Please see my previous note. My carry on bag, a photo trekker -- the largest available carry on sized pack, is already full of photo gear. Even if it were empty, this lens would not fit. In the meantime ... Pelican 1630 should work just fine for this. Many thanks to all for the feedback.<br>

Billy D</p>

<p>My backpack, a Lowepro Photo Trekker, is already full. The Photo Trekker is the largest carry on size bag available ... it carries my 200-400mm lens that just fits, and it also contains all my camera bodies and wider angle lenses. The 600mm won't fit in the Photo Trekker even if I leave the other big lens out. Also, I make a point to avoid going through the UK because of the baggage restrictions. I go on Northwest Airlines via Amsterdam to Nairobi. Thanks to all who weighed in on this ... any additional comments are welcome. </p>

<p>I just bought a Nikon 600mm lens and am looking for a good hard case ... unfortunately, it's too big to fit in my backpack and I'll have to check it from DC to Nairobi in September. My local camera store tells me that Pelican doesn't make a deep enough case to accommodate the lens, but it looks to me like the Pelican 1730 should be big enough to do the job. Does anyone have any experience with the Pelican cases or, better yet, general advice on transporting this behemoth of a lens overseas?? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance,<br>

Billy Dodson</p>

Thanks, Tim. I'll work on this over the coming weekend. Appreciate your time and efforts. Billy

The murky version is the unedited straight from the flash card. The vibrant one went to the

printer with the saturation and contrast adjusted as you see.

Tom ... I've posted lower resolution JPEGs of the original in my portfolio (single photos) and a modified version which is much like what went to the printer ... you'll have no trouble discerning which is which. As an 8x12, the modified version was too color rich ... almost to the point of distraction. The 20x30 was great resolution-wise and I wouldn't be ashamed to display it, but it seemed to me that too much color had evaporated from it. Exactly the same file was used for both prints. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

I think the answer here is that I'm just going to have to experiment with the color levels and learn as I go. This was a test print, which was really very acceptable despite my "garbage in," as you phrase it. The JPEG and GIF files as shown in my pn portfolio were not what went to the printer ... as I mentioned in my opening question they were 17.2mp TIF files which had already been adjusted (that I didn't mention) almost exactly as you recommend. I think I'm going do it again with what appears to be exaggerated color on the LCD and just see how it comes out. I was looking for as much info as I could get in advance of the next attempt because each one of these 20x30 prints costs about $25.

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Thanks for the input from all who've responded. I've done the same photo in 8x12 and it really is fine colorwise ... much as you see it on the screen here. Am open for more suggestions if anyone has any.

 

thx/BD

I recently enlarged the cheetah photo in my portfolio to 20X30 (taken

with D70). Resolution was fine, great in fact, but the color seemed

to wash out quite a bit. Is this just something I'll have to live

with or is there a way to jazz the colors so that I don't get such a

faded look? File was a TIF/17.2 MP.

Thanks much, Joe and Dana. This is exactly what I was looking for. Best wishes/Billy D

The foliage charts are incredible. Many thanks to you all for the information. This majorly helps me plan my expedition.

 

Billy D

I have a long weekend available in early October and wanted to try

to get some fall foliage shots in VT or NH. I'll probably be

driving up from VA and sleeping in a tent somewhere to reduce

expenses. My preference is to stick to one or two very good

locations and stay there for the duration, because if I'm driving

from point a to point b then I ain't taking pictures. Can anyone

recommend a prime spot for me? Would like to have streams/water if

possible as well. Many thanks. BD