darrell_styner

<p>Happy WedNEsDAy Everyone--Some of the pictures pictures I've seen here have inspired me to play with some in-camera techniques for creating abstract images. This is a sunset over the ocean taken from my backyard. I zoomed during a long exposure and there happened to be a small plane flying through the frame to create the light trail. Other than cropping, the image is exactly as I took it. No Photoshop, etc. D700, 200-400, ISO 200, 5 sec. at f/11.</p><div></div>

<p>I didn't shoot much this week, but I was able to document some sort of battle between a girl named Dorothy and a wicked witch in my living room. D700, 38mm f/4, 1/60, ISO 400, SB800 held low and left with -2 EV compensation.</p><div></div>

<p>In honor of Halloween I decided to try and create a place I'd be afraid to go trick-or-treating. Hence, this week marks my first attempt at converting an HDR image to B&W. Definitely over the top and hopefully just a little bit scary:-)<br>

<br /> D700, 24-70 at 24mm, f/8, 2 exposure HDR processed in Photomatix and converted to B&W in Silver Efex Pro.</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks to those who commented on my photo last week. I was inspired to get out and take something specifically for the occasion this week! This is North San Diego, CA as seen from Mt. Soledad, taken Monday, 10/12. D700, 24-70 at 70mm f/6.3, 13 sec., ISO 400.</p><div></div>

<p>Wow, some really great pictures here! Here's my latest taken two weeks ago near Toulumne Meadows, California. D700, 24-70/2.8 zoom at 45mm, f/8, 5 exposure HDR combined with Photomatix Pro. Exposures range from 0.8 to 13 secs.</p>

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<p>I'll second Bob's suggestion of Acadia National Park. I live in San Diego and fly there almost every October and never run out of things to photograph and do. There are miles of flat carriage roads to hike or ride bikes (at sea level), but if you want a slightly more challenging hike you can shoot up any number of small "mountains" that top out below 1500 feet. It's truly an amazing place and it's on your side of the country.</p>

<p>I'm seeing tons of new interest in lighter, high-end systems from people on message boards lately. I got so tired of lugging my D700 and lenses around that I bought a Panasonic LX3 before a recent trip to Guatemala and Mexico. I was hoping this would be my new travel camera and I'd be content to leave the heavy glass at home on most trips. Alas, I was disappointed with the image quality, but I loved the video and portability! I now wish I'd brought BOTH as they really serve totally different functions. I now realize that I will probably never be able to replace my DSLR with any P&S, just as I've never really been able to replace my tower computer with a laptop (believe me, I've tried). Bigger, heavier boxes can always deliver more and better features. When you're looking for ultimate quality you'll want to bring a DSLR (unless you're ready to move up to medium or large format). When you're looking for portability and ease of use you need a good P&S. Buy both and give up the urge to conflate them into one "super camera."</p>