Jeff Lear
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Everything posted by Jeff Lear
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The bottom third of this is quite captivating. The contrast between the rays and background are well-captured and the golden light is beautiful. The problem is that most of the image is pixelated, compression-ridden clouds. Now I understand they provide some yin to the yang but maybe a little too much. I think the image would be stronger with the top two-thirds cropped out and a higher quality jpeg conversion to reduce the compression artifacts. If you're concerned about theft (the large, conspicuous watermark suggests you are) I would recommend reducing the dimensions of your upload. -
Great shot, Lenny. It really captures the spirit of Burning Man. I especially like that you maintained some environmental context. My only critique is that (and maybe it's just my monitor) the lighting on your subject seems a little flat. It has a bit of a post-apocalyptic/Mad Max feel to it, even though I know it's just a big party in the desert. Nicely captured. -
Old dilapidated shack on the high prairie of the Eastern Sierra
Jeff Lear commented on bart_slawinski's gallery image in Uncategorized
Great shot of an often photographed building. You've captured it well and provided some context with the mountains. Every time I drive by this old place there is someone stopped along the side of the highway with their camera pointed at the building, I doubt many of those photographs are as good as this. If you ever get the chance to do this again, I would recommend early morning as the building faces east and catches the dawn light brilliantly. Regarding the contrails: With a concentration of three major airports located just 300 km (180 miles) due west of this location, contrails are inevitable from westward air traffic. This was shot from a location about 2 miles east of the shack in Bart's photo. There are literally more contrails than blue sky, editing them out would require replacing the sky with something else. http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r34/F1Addict/Contrails_s.jpg -
This has been steadily moving through my little block of Followed Photographers images and I didn't want to let it slip away without letting you know my thoughts. I follow some pretty amazing photographers but, at the moment, nothing they've done can compare to this. The romance of old-school dodging and burning, the suggestive title, the allure and mystery of what lies beyond, it does everything a photograph should and it does it beautifully. I can find nothing negative to say about this, but I tried. -
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Your horizon is a little crooked and, unfortunately, they don't make any sort of software to correct this so I think you should go back to this spot and try taking it again ;) -
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<p>Mike, I think you've missed the point of the analogy. It's about having something taken away. Many of us pay to be here and many of those who <em>don't</em> pay contribute to PN's income through page clicks and ad clicks as well as bringing in new members because they have established this community as a place to come to learn about photography. If those new members are to learn, there must be someone to teach.<br /><br />Off Topic existed for five years before Cara took over and quickly decided to pull the plug. They (not trying to single out Cara) also thought the very popular Photo of the Week was not to their liking so they pulled it from the main page and buried it somewhere so deep I have yet to find it. Sure, there were promises, some fulfilled and some not but taking popular things away so obviously for their own convenience is not the way to endear yourself to the folks who have been here for a while and have the potential to be valuable allies as PN moves forward.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm going to leave it at that. I've already invested more energy into this thread than I ever intended. I just missed far more things in Off Topic than I didn't and wanted to voice my opinion and support for those fighting for its return. I honestly didn't know the decision had already been made to permanently delete it.</p> <p>-Peace</p>
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<p>Let me give that some thought, Fred. I've had ideas in the past that I never pursued. I'm certain my hesitation had something to do with my experience supporting a project started by PN Community Member (should we still use that term?) Nathan Gardner. His <em>Daily Photo Project</em> (which enjoyed great participation for the three days it existed) was axed by a moderator. Their reasoning? It was too exclusive, they said those who shot film wouldn't be able to participate. Nathan stuck it out for a while, managing the Canon Thursday Photo over in the EOS forum but eventually gave up. His last contribution was about 11 months ago.<br /><br />Can you post (or PM me) a link to the <em>Weekly Discussion</em> thread?</p>
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<p>I think we need to accept that some of us are dinosaurs and no longer relevant to the new PN model. We were once the reason PN was different, it was "A SITE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS BY PHOTOGRAPHERS" and we knew that because the administration fostered that thriving community and because they plastered the motto at the top of every page. The motto remains but the spirit has departed. As Mr. Palm said, this is now "a site about <em>photography</em>... It's really that simple." While I agree that administration does not create a sense of community, they certainly can ruin it. This is sort of like an employer closing the break room. It's not necessary, you're there to work, not socialize. When you aren't working, leave the factory. I guess the flaw in my analogy is that the break room was sort of a perk to the veterans who, instead of being paid by their employer, actually paid them.<br /><br />The solution is to either accept and adapt to the new model or find somewhere else. PN is still of value to me but not what it once was and the amount of time I spend here reflects that. I'm still looking forward to watching it transform. Whether or not I'm a part of that remains to be seen.</p>
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<p>Fred, I completely understand that you weren't a fan of Off Topic, I get that. I'm not a huge fan of the Minox forum and guess what? I don't believe I've ever visited the Minox forum! (maybe once, by accident). So I've confirmed that it is possible to avoid the things that don't interest me. I don't think anyone is advocating offtopic.net but this site can be both a resource <em>and</em> a community. When I run into a friend at the grocery store I don't limit my conversation to the contents of my cart. We are human beings with a passion for photography but we are not single-minded photography robots and this is supposed to be a <em>community</em>. Expecting that single-mindedness from your membership simply because you're not willing to invest in moderation will certainly make many feel they are being shown the door.</p> <p>What about making Off Topic available only to paid members... and Gordon.</p>
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I agree with Mike and Alf regarding the elegant simplicity, the way two land masses embrace from this angle, the limited color pallet, it all works together to engage the viewer. It's beautiful. If I were to offer constructive criticism it would be regarding the horizon. Because so little of the actual horizon is visible, I would have tilted this a bit (clockwise) to level out the boat and closest peninsula which seem to funnel my view into the bottom left corner and away from the splendid view. -
<p>I miss Lupo's recipes. I want to talk woodworking and advanced carpentry with Sarah. I want to discuss last week's F1 race with Michael. Your solution to this is for us to go elsewhere. Think about that for a moment.</p>
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Reminiscent of the great Jerry Uelsmann. Photographically wonderful with nicely rendered textures and tones but it's the layers of storytelling that intrigue and captivate me. Well done. -
It's a pleasant casual portrait that I think would have worked better as a head-and-shoulders portrait due to the shadows. The light on her face and exposure is very good but the entire image must be considered and there are a lot of distractions beyond the shadows. I would recommend a slightly different pose or shooting angle to emphasize the fact that she has two legs. Also, her right hand that appears to be growing out of her lower back. There's tons of potential and I look forward to seeing more. -
What a fantastic portrait. Your frame could not contain that hair. I, too, love the sly smile and agree with Mike regarding her resemblance to a young Andie MacDowell. You could easily convince me that this required and received no processing which is a credit to your abilities. Any grievances I have aren't worth mentioning. -
"Quality" settings for Canon 60D
Jeff Lear replied to anthony_donofrio1's topic in Beginner Questions
<p>Your camera likely came with an application called Digital Photo Professional (DPP). It's located on the Canon Digital Solutions disc. That application is pretty capable and includes the ability to convert and resize your photographs either individually or as a batch process.</p> -
What equipment will I need for baby and family photography
Jeff Lear replied to stephen_harland's topic in Beginner Questions
<p>I would definitely recommend a fast prime lens like a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, a seamless backdrop and lighting. The lighting can be DIY as long as you invest in identical bulbs with identical color temperature (5500º K is fine). The seamless backdrop can be anything. I sometimes use a 3 meter wide roll of butcher paper but a large piece of fabric from your local yardage store will work fine. Welcome to Photo Net!</p> -
Why are my photos so flat?...Table top photography
Jeff Lear replied to angela_smith9's topic in Beginner Questions
<p>I would recommend trying 1/20th second @ f/8 ISO 200 or 1/10th second @ f/11 ISO 200. Both will produce identical exposures but will be two stops brighter than your original and one will have slightly less depth of field. I also think you need a bit more light on the front of the shoe to bring out the texture in the brocade.</p> -
Why are my photos so flat?...Table top photography
Jeff Lear replied to angela_smith9's topic in Beginner Questions
<p>It appears to be under-exposed by about two stops, leading me to believe that it's somehow exposing for the white background, even though it seems like you've taken appropriate actions to prevent that. It's still rendering the backdrop as medium grey.</p> -
<p>You are correct, Q.G. I incorrectly recalled the illumination percentage rather than the apparent disc size. 30% <em>brighter</em>, 15% larger.</p>
