hearst

Did you try recharging the battery?

I've had the older 640 for a couple of years and am quite happy with it. I had a few problems with it in the desert, though. Sand got into the collars and I had to take it apart and clean it twice, but that was easy to do. Also, two of the leg tips came off and one vanished, but when I whined to Velbon they sent me one free and told me to glue them back with Super Glue.

 

It's nice and light,and mine fits into my suitcase for travel. I use the Acrotech head.

The ebook, which I have and have found very useful, is at

 

http://www.bythom.com

 

It is better than the Magic Lantern GUides I have bought for other cameras

I just got one and like it so far, but a couple of problems:

 

1. Adobe CS can't read the RAW files so I have to use the inferior RAW converter that comes with the camera.

 

2. If I put it in Aperture Preferred it doesn't display shutter speed before shooting, and in Shutter Preferred it doesn't display aperture. In Program it doesn't display either one. Yes, it does display them AFTER the shot, but that may not be a lot of help. I'd sure like to be able to vary the aperture and see what shutter speeds I get.

I just got a nice new Canon S70, which has RAW capability. It makes

CRW files. I downloaded them in two ways from a compact flash

reader: directly using Windows Explorer, and using Canon Zoom

Browser. I can open the CRW files in Zoom Browser, process them,

and convert them to .tiff files - no problem. But I'd like to use

the Photoshop CS RAW capability. When I try to open the CRW files

in Photoshop it says "Could not complete your request because it is

not the right kind of document." But lots of sources say that

Photoshop CS can process CRW files. Anybody know how to do it?

I found John Weiss very interesting in the classroom, but he did not accompany the group to the field. His critiques were perhaps kinder than the images deserved. OTOH, his class, called The Art of Seeing, certainly helped me to expand my photographic horizons a lot.

I plan to be at the PSA convention at the Mall of America in

Minneapolis (Bloomington) next month and would like to know if I can

get E6 film processed in a couple of days there. (I will not have

transport to go anywhere else).

Check out

 

http://www.photoexplorations.com/

I just (Thursday) got a nice new D70 from B&H. Two CD's came with

it. One has Picture Project and a trial version of Nikon Capture,

the other the manual for Picture Project. I can't find Nikon View

either by searching the CD or even by installing Picture Project (I

uninstalled it then.)

 

Anyone know what's going on? Also, do I care, since I have

Photoshop CS with the RAW converter for the D70?

I got a Leki "Sierra" walking stick and put a small Manfrotto monopod head on it. The stick has a removable wooden top that can be replaced by the head. The height is adjustable and the staff is spring-loaded and designed for serious hiking.

There are two articles in today's New York Times about people being

punished for photographing landmarks in New York City. One

describes a Nepalese, who and was arrested for photographing

buildings. He had overstayed his visa, and was imprisoned for three

months before being sent home.

 

The other says that two Iranian guards were deported for

photographing landmarks.

 

So you'd better carry your US passport if you plan to make pictures

in New York.

I shall be working as a docent in Point Lobos July 28, 29 and 30. I'll be leading a nature walk at 2 PM July 28, and would have time before or after to show you a few spots. Email me if you are interested.

 

The wildflowers will be about over, but the scenery is still good. No decent low tides though.

 

If you are interested in wildlife you might want to try the Elkhorn Slough Safari, a boat ride that shows you otters and lots of shorebirds. 831-633-5555. They leave from Moss Landing, about 20 miles north of Monterey.

I just tried a couple of old CD's Verbatim written in June 1999 and Maxell written in mid-2000 with Photoshop files. They work fine

If you go thru Albuquerque to get to Santa Fe, take State Route 14 instead of I-25, and stop in Madrid (accent on the first syllable). Of course, most of the old bldgs have been made into antique shops.

In our area - northern California - behavior is important. Assuming that the image is correctly exposed, sharp, and all the rest, if the subject is an animal (the most likely to succeed) it should be doing something interesting. And yes, all judging is subjective.

I don't get them on any searches I make with Google itself.

On the top of Photo.net postings there is now a banner with "ads by

google" This links to what appear to be fairly shady operations.

Are they really sponsors of photo.net?

 

BTW - there are 2 l's and an a in miscellaneous

I walked the Inca Trail in September, and some of the most interesting things I saw were (to me) completely unfamiliar flowers. Many were hanging from trees or on shrubs, and I had neither the equipment nor the skill to make good images of them. A macro and a tripod would be ideal, but you do what you can.

I found what appeared to be Geisha in the area around Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto. I found two walking up the Sannenzaka slope, and they were photographing one another, but someone later told me they may have been men dressed as geisha! Others were primping on the steps leading up to the temple. I also saw two on the Philsopher's Walk.<div></div>

Gets wet when the wave comes in<div></div>

I enter pictures in competitions in which judges not only score but also comment in some detail about the images. SOME of them are very perceptive, and can point out both defects and virtues in my images that I wasn't aware of. Over time, as far as I (and other judges) can tell, my pictures have improved immensely. But of course, that just means that judges, in general, like them better. As the others have said, ultimately the images must please me (and perhaps my wife), not judges.

We're thinking of visiting the San Juan Islands in Washington State

in March or April. I'd like to try to photograph something like the

quaint fishing villages in Nova Scotia. Are there any in the San

Juans? How does that kind of photography compare to the Oregon and

California Coasts?

If you really want critiques, join a camera club that has them or join PSA and submit your pictures to one of their critique services - they have several. Those critiques are made by experienced judges.

A friend of mine who has a D1x solves the problem by taking several exposures and stacking them in Photoshop, thereby removing the artifacts.

Reed's on Locust Ave in Walnut Creek is good, but not cheap. If you get film in before 10 on a weekday it will be ready after 5, and they stay open until 7.