mikemorrell

On my W10 Laptop, I've given up trying to access PN for now. I've tried clearing caches, cookies, disabling firewalls and rolling back recent W10 updates all to no avail. PN is the only website I've had recent problems with. And I have the same problems with 4 browsers (including TOR). I'll try via a proxy server and ask my 'provider' whether anything has changed but it's worth asking whether: - anyone else has reported similar problems - any recent updates have been made to the forum software (Xenforo ?) I keep getting a 'server error' from PN. Sometimes when clicking on Forums and sometimes when just trying to sign in. There should, somewhere, be a log of 'server errors' giving more detailed information than has been displayed to me. My guess is that most of the 'server errors' displayed during the past week were to me!

Hi, I've been unable to access PN -especially the forums - via my Laptop for some days. I explained the problem and what I thought was the cause (change to my e-mail address) via an e-mail to contact@photo.net. I also filled in a contact form on the home page. To my amazement, I can sign in via Android, just not (yet) via my Laptop using any browser. I'm looking at what might have changed in my 'firewall' or in Windows 10 (august update). If anyone has any ideas, I'd be grateful. Mike

Amazing work, Michael!

I'd never heard of G'MIC but I'm looking forward to trying it out!

This wasn't a photo that I'd ever 'earmarked' as a potential PP challenge. I just picked it at random because it seemed to be a bit different to most of the ones I've posted before. As always, I'm absolutely amazed and delighted with the imagination and creativity of all the 'versions' so far! I had no idea how to PP this. I started out trying to 'color' some of the (mostly) grey areas but I soon gave up. Much too much work and what I had done looked awful. So I took a break, went shopping, and on the way came up with the idea of 'bending' the straight lines. Googling how to do this, I discovered that Photoshop's 'Liquify' filter worked well though it took me a few attempts to calibrate it to the effect I wanted, I darkened the image and the thought occurred to me that the 'bendy lines' could (with a very wide stretch of the imagination ;)) suggest some kind of theme park space (or ride). So I included - with my thanks - part of Wikipedia user WillMCc's 'ride' photo' licensed under CC Attribution 3.0 Unported.

Interesting and commercially 'catchy'. I wondered about GIFS vs video but the photographer has a good explanation on his (DE-) website. Google's EN-translation is: "It doesn't matter whether it's a GIF video or a wedding film, both can serve to keep the memory of your wedding day alive. I don't even want to say that one is better than the other. Here are some advantages I see in each: Traditional wedding film - the videographer can work independently - Smooth videos and lots of details - different creativity as opposed to photography Advantages of a GIF video: - the same processing of photos and video, so the colors and tones are exactly the same - you can save money: since you don't book an extra videographer, you don't have to pay twice, you only pay extra for the video - extra GIFs and more photos in your gallery". I like the fact that he's very up-front about the advantages of each. And that he has plenty of examples on his website so that potential customers know in advance what they're getting with 'extra GIFs' produced from photos. My guess is that he (and other wedding photographers?) shoot in continuous mode anyway at key moments to be sure of getting the 'perfect' shot. It seems a very creative way of utilizing other photos in the continuous burst! And I agree that a 'slo-mo' GIF (or other formats) has a quality that is very different from a high frame-rate video. Thanks for sharing! I tend to shoot a lot in continuous mode too. I'll see whether and how I can use the same technique. Thanks for sharing!

Each to his/her own taste. FWIW, I think Nadia Lee Cohen is anything but out to make a 'quick buck'. Her previous project 'Women' was 6 years in the making. All 3 editions of the resulting photo book are currently sold out. I also think a lot of hard thinking (and a lot of preparation) went into imagining, developing, and portraying the 33 characters (each with a representative 'still life') in her most recent project. Lee Cohen has a BA and MA in Fashion Photography. According to her Wikipedia Page, she has photographed some iconic women and directed more than 5 films. Art and fashion magazines (including Vogue) have featured articles on her work. She was been invited to photograph a special edition of Playboy and was one of 5 artists invited to produce a video for Maison Margiela for its haute couture collections. Whether or not you like her work, she has become a widely respected visual artist.

I came across this article on CNN about Nadia Lee Cohen and her upcoming exhibition "My name is ..." in LA. I'd never heard of her but I find her work fascinating. Her creation of wildly different 'imagined personas' (using makeup and prosthetics) is reminiscent of Cindy Sherman's work.

Let's have fun while we learn (and show) how we use our imagination, creativity and skills in post-processing. There are no rules or guidelines: your post-processed images can be 'adjustments' that you think improve the image or 'wildly creative' interpretations. Entirely up to you. Please summarize your PP so we can all learn from each other. If you would like to post a PP challenge next week (or any other week!), please do! Any Photos/Images can be posted for PP challenges. They should be of sufficiently high resolution, for example, 3000 px on the long side. Mike

I'm a Canon, not a Nikon user and I don't have anywhere near the depth of knowledge or experience of previous posters. I just read on Wikipedia that when released, the D800 was a 36.3-megapixel professional-grade FF camera that got the highest Dxomark rating for image quality and received a Gold Award by Digital Photography Review. So if it still meets your current needs, I would have no hesitation in picking up the 2nd one at such a reduced price! FWIW I still use a (2nd hand) Canon 6D which was released in the same year as the D800 at 80% of the D800 price but probably with much-reduced capabilities relative to the D800 (image size and quality). As always, I still believe that the photographer (and not the equipment) makes great (or not so great) photos. The equipment just has to be 'good enough for the photographer to express himself/herself. PS. After reading up on the D800, the thought occurred to me that a new category 'classic digital cameras' might be added to PN :).

Someone once commented on this photo that it was a "chiaroscuro" effect, which made me look up what the term meant :)

Apart from the interesting content (text + photos), I also like his (well-structured, direct, explicit, and humourous) language! It makes for interesting reading.

IMHO, many documentary photos - however powerful - aren't 'likable'. I would never buy this photo ( or most others) or hang it on a wall. The only (very few) photos I ever hang up (and rotate) are my own photos and those of others who inspire me.

All good advice so far! I've used a (now long discontinued) Lowepro Fastpack 350 a couple of times a week and on vacations for about 12-15 years and it still shows no signs of wear and tear. Like the Protactic 450 looks to be from the photos, it's very comfortable to carry and highly configurable. Especially on long hikes, the hip straps are important! I have a 'standard' configuration to store the stuff I usually need. But I can detach the segments and just use it as a backpack. My 350 has a 'top section' and a 'bottom section' that are fixed with only the bottom section being configurable. The Protactic 450 looks to have just one large configurable section. I can fit a 17" laptop (and a reflector) into my 350. It's worth checking which Laptop/Tablet sizes the Protactic 450 supports. Good hunting!

@Ricochetrider I'm definitely not the photographer (I just wish I was!) but I do appreciate your insightful comments. They help me learn how to better appreciate photos. My personal thanks also go (of course) to @samtevens for hosting this weekly event from which we all learn and to the photographer who provided this week's great, wonderfully questioning, and thought-provoking photo! I'm old enough to remember the 'older days' of photo.net in which long and convoluted discussions took place (sometimes - in my memory - with animosity between members) on the 'photo of the week'. In my memory, many of the discussions centered on "yes but is it Art?". That was about the time I left PN and - out of curiosity - re-visited some 5 years later. PN is IMHO now a very much healthier, positive, and supportive forum these days. This weekly forum is proof of this. Mike

Oh, I also like the low sun and long shadows of the fence!

An intriguing scene that I'm sure has a story behind it. The main thing I like about the photo is the apparent incongruity in the scene. Beyond the fence are two fenced-off enclosures littered with junk next to a railroad track (three, if you include the elevated pillar). The area on this side of this fence is cracked and stained. And yet, someone on this side of the fence has carefully spaced out clothes to dry on the fence. Judging by their position, it seems they were hung on the barbs of the top wire. So for me, the photo poses some questions such as: - who hung the clothes up and what were his/her/their living conditions? - how come the person/people chose (or had no alternative than) to hang the close on the top barbed wire? - is the dog just a 'wandering stray' or a pet of the person/people who hung the clothes up? I also like the 'stark' exposure/PP which seems to fit the scene well.

It's a great image and I only made some minor adjustments: - cropping - brightness and contrast

All good suggestionsto the OP, but I humbly question (again) - based on the OP's context - what's wrong with the native W10 Photos app? It allows users to crop photos, choose a 'style' (WB) and separately adjust color and luminosity. It's quick and easy to use, The only limitation that I can see is that the app uses the Windows 'standard' color management protocol with printers. The app has no options for adjusting the 'print profile', For most users (IMHO) this is not a big problem They''ll make one or two 'test prints' and and make one or two adjustments to color and/or luminosity. They might even re-calibrate their printers. Mike

IHMO there's 'serendipity' (weather/sun) and literally going the extra miles to make optimal use of this. Not to mention your skills in quickly finding the right location, composing an excellent series of photos and (which didn't occur to me) combining these in PP into one photo. I'm in awe! Mike

As an amateur, I only ever take 'in-context' portraits at work/home/leisure locations to support articles. I very rarely use a flash and I've never invested in multiple off-camera flashes. Or spent much time learning how to use a flash ;). I don''t feel confident using one. On the few occasions I use an (on-camera) flash, it's always manually dialed down and bounced off a wall or a reflector. I'd never heard of a Thyristor(Auto) flash so just out of curiosity I looked it up. I came across this article on Thyristor(Auto) flashes (and how best to use them) which you might be interested in. In places, it goes into a lot of detail but it also seems to give some practical tips. I have no idea whether it's useful but I thought I'd just share it.

I really like the composition of this photo. As a whole, for me, it just 'works'. The most striking aspect for me is the way the irrigation water - as a fountain - gradually 'merges' into the sky. The angle of the irrigation boom -perfectly draws my eye into the center of the photo and the rainbow. This is supported by the leading lines in the landscape and by the finer lines in the foreground. The cloud formations are wonderful and both the forms and the contrasts add a lot of interest! I really like the low placement of the horizon which clearly makes the sky the main area of interest. It's only later that I realized that the irrigation boom was not only a 'leading line' but the connecting factor between the foreground, the sky and the rainbow. Congrats to the photographer for this amazing photo! I can well imagine it being included in an exhibition about themes such as 'rural landscapes or 'agriculture'.

I really like this composition too. As already mentioned, the leaning tree with its gothic/monster character, the contrast between the dark solid tree and the yellow lace-like texture of the tree on the right. I also like the way the forms of the two trees complement each other. Almost like a dance. that creates a flowing 'empty space' between them. Well spotted and wonderful, deliberate composition! Like @jochen, I did wonder about the sharpness and DoF. As you say, the image posted is relatively small (1000 px) and I'm sure the original photo is sharper.