mikemorrellNL

W.r.t. to the OP's question, I (as an exclusively digital photographer) seriously doubt whether whether film gets in the way of shooting. I firmly belive that different cameras and image capture media are just tools that enable (video)photographers to produce the results that they want to achieve under different circumstances. I agree that the quality of images shot on film is qualitatively different to those shot digitally. And I love the quality of film images! In my opinion, there are certain genres - and shooting situations - that just look better when shot with film than digitally. The converse is also true. Digital 'burst photos' enable the very best sport and action photo's to be selected from the 'burst'. IHMO this is not 'spraying'. I (voluntarily) take photos at events and interviews. For 80% of the time, my camera just hangs on my shoulder. Whenever I anticipate that 'something is about to happen', I take a 'burst' of photos. Mainly to ensure that I have at least 1 photo of my subjects with their eyes open, preferably smiling and with some kind of expressiveness (face/gestures). TBH, I would have no idea how to capture this kind of images on film. But I would be up for capturing (static) portraits on film.

Colorised version.

There are no rules for how to post-processing this photo. Just use you creativity. Feel free to post your own photos for PP challenges! Mike

Sorry it doesn't work for you Dieter, I suggest contacting the mods about the OS & browser you're using. For me (using W11 and Chrome) I see both for posts and photo's who's 'liked' them. Even if I don't 'hover: Posts: Photos:

@Dieter Schaefer cc. @Sanford, @Jon Eckman Just hover with your cursor over the 'likes' button to see the members who have liked your post or photo.

IHMO, the second photo expresses the title "In Memoriam" much better than the first one. With typical British understatement 😉I can say that "I don't entirely agree" with @samstevens' opinions on drama and boldness of composition. In fact, I would say the complete opposite. In the first photo, the 'drama' (for me) is in the majestic trees (90% of the photo) shown starkly against the sky. The gravestones (10%) are important but (for me) also serve as 'leading lines' towards the trees. So my main visual focus is on the trees that 'preside' over the gravestones which are not in themselves depicted dramatically. In the second photo, things are completely (and IMHO for the better) reversed. My main visual focus is on the gravestones. On the identical 3-D structure of each one and on the patterns: rows across and the columns in depth. Both the shadowed nearsides of the gravesides and - especially - the long shadows of each one make for a truly dramatic effect. The trees are still there as a backdrop but they (visually) take second place to the graveyard. There are also the visual elements of repetition of repetition of forms (gravestones) and lines (shadows) that strengthen the composition. I think the that second photo has much more 'visual impact' (w.r.t. to the title) that the first. I also think that the second photo - to a greater extent than the first - stimulates viewers to reflect on and perhaps create their own 'visual stories' for this photo My made-up story is this. 1. Because the gravestones are identical and ordered in neat lines, this looks to me to be a graveyard for fallen servicemen and -women 2. Each single - dramatically depicted - gravestone suggests to me that in our deaths we are essentially alone (perhaps supported by compatriots, medical staff, family, etc.). 3. The graveyard as whole suggests a contrary view: that there is a togetherness and 'belonging' in death. If it is a military graveyard, then the 'ordered' distribution of gravestones seems fitting for the ordered way in which military servicemen en -women served their country. FWIW, the first photo didn't stimulate me to think up any 'story'. IHMO, the second photo is a powerful image that has many 'layers'. Under each gravestone lies an individual story. Being buried in this collective, ordered graveyard also tells a story. The starkness of the 3-D gravestones and long shadows with the trees in the background evoke strong emotions. I wonder how Vets associations would react to a photo like this. Congtrats from me, Mike

Lots of good responses to the OP's question. Worth mentioning, I think, is that when deciding whther or not to upgrade (and if so to what) it's good to have a clear idea about your needs for photo-editing. Things like: - the effort and time you want to spend editing single images vs. applying 'quick edits' to a whole series - portability/space (Laptop or Desktop) - screen quality (Laptop/Monitor) - processing power AImost all my photos are published digitally. So I never need large, super-high quality prints. I use Lightroom to select and edit more than 90% of my 'keeper' photos. I don't tend to use plugins or Photoshop unless really necessary. The basic (Topaz and other) plugins run without problem using 16B of RAM. The newer (still optional) Photoshop neural filters and Topaz "AI filters" (noise reduction and sharpening) use up a lot of processing power and seem to take forever. I've recently invested in a new Laptop (with more SSD) so everything runs that bit faster. Still, I'm very selective about applying processor-intensive filters!

My 2 cts: I consider 'light balance' (warmth, coolness, tint) to be very much a personal preference. That said, similar images should ideally have the same 'light balance'. In your series, your 'WB' seems to be all over the place. Adjusting WB is easier if the photos are shot in RAW but also works reasonably in JPEG photos. My suggestions are therefore that you: 1. Choose your preferred light balance setting for 1 photo starting from 'auto WB' (or from a 'spot' WB reference point) in LR. Tweak this to make the auto/spot WB warmer or cooler or with a different tint. In some lighting situations I deliberately 'warm up' the photos (of people) beacause I find the photos too cool or neutral. In others I cool photos down to make them look more 'objective' 2. Set this WB setting (and other optional settings) as a 'custom preset' in LR. Apply this preset to all photos in the series 3. Eyeball the different photos in the series and tweak the WB settings per photo as nececessary (warmer/cooler/tint) to get a consistent WB that matches your preference. FWIW, my experience (as an amature event photographer) is that 'WB consistency' is more a question of percepetion than of 'technical WB settings'. Minor differences between photos are often not perceived by viewers. A significant difference between warm/cool or tint does. Mike FWIW, in your series, I also notice differences in exposure. The first photo looks to me to be darker than the last. Before adjusting the WB, I suggest you adjust the exposure of different images to make sure that they look similar in terms of brightness, darkness, etc.

+1 1. Most people are increasingly 'exposed' to a vast number of images each day from a wide variety of medias sources, some more 'trustworthy' than others. As a consequence, my guess is that many people increasly spend ever less time viewing each image and are less 'critical' as they do so 2. Fake/manipulated photos on social media are increasly difficult to distinguish from authentic ones for everyone (video's too!); most people don't have the time to look critically at each photo and they don't have the skills that many experienced photographers might have in looking for clues as whether a photo is fake, manipulated or authentic. 3. Regarding information in general (visual or otherwise) people have their own 'truths' based on their personal beliefs convictions or preferences. The psychological term 'cognitive dissonance' explains why people are much more ready to accept (non-critically) information that matches or supports their 'personal truths' than information that runs contrary to these. Look no further than the 'media preferences' of citizens who hold different political or religious views. Not only in the US but in NL too! FWIW, a multi-talented and well-respected Dutch photographer (Hans Aarsman) made a name for himself years ago in his weekly columns in a national newspaper as a 'photo detective'. In his weekly column, he posted an international news photo and discussed 'what's wrong with this photo?' Among his many photography books, are 2 in which his 'photo detective' column have been bundled. A current Google search on 'photo detective' brings up many hits! Mike

Wow, this really sucks! I've never used Macbooks so I can't speak from experience. my 2 cts. From what I read on other forums: - Genius Bars have looked at 'orange spot' hardware and found it to be OK; they recommended a $700+ screen replacement - Some users who did spend $700+ on a screen replacement found tthat the 'orange spots' reappeared, in one case after 6 months; the warranty on the replacement screen seems to be 90 days Your Macbook is 4 years old. If - apart from the screen - it's still fit for your purposes, I think I'd go for a portable monitor. See PC Mag's picks. I'm sure if you google you can find a portable monitor that suits your size, quality and price requirements. All are cheaper than a Macbook screen replacement. Unless you want touch screen and/or pen functionality, you can buy a portable monitor (14"-17") for about 50% of the screen replacement price or less. Not ideal, but at least you avoid 1) the high cost of screen replacement and b) the futire risk of 'orange spots' reappearing. A new Laptop/Desktop? Always an option but personally I think I'd prefer to do that if and when you experience limitations from other Macbook components (SSD/disk, RAM, etc.). FWIW my Laptop screen got damaged more than 2 years ago. Then the keyboard went too. The 'innards' of the Laptop worked fine so I used an external monitor and keyboard during this period. My 'Laptop' essentially became a 'Desktop'. I recently (finally) bought a new Laptop. Mainly to save space in my small appartment. And portability is sometimes important. Good luck in deciding! Mike

Another PP challenge. There are no rules for how you PP this photo. Just use your imagination and your skills. Feel free to post your own PP challenge in the 'Digital Darkgroon' forum. Next week or any other week. Mike

Hi @caroljames972022, I'm by no means a Photoshop expert. But based on your question, I suspect that the answer lies in the combination between your 'Photoshop Preferences' and the physical capabilities of your device (Desktop, Laptop, Tablet, phone) with which you use Photoshop. Under Photoshop/Edit/Preferences, you'll see a range of options for how you choose to use Photoshop, Most (or at least many) may be unintelligble to you (as they are to me!). But one 'preference' to look at is 'Scratch Disks'. This setting determines how much 'working space' Photoshop has on you main disks(s). Indepedently of any USB disk. Basically, Photoshop needs to first complile (for example a .PSD, TIFF or .JPG file) in working memory (RAM) or on a 'Scratch Disk' (usually the C disk) before exporting the file to a specific location. In your situation, a USB stick. The more RAM (for example 16 or more GB) you have on your device, the less 'Scratch Disk' Photoshop will need. Less RAM (for example 4 GB or 8 GB) means that Photoshop will probably need more 'Scratch Disk' as a temporary working space. You can choose the amount of 'Scratch Disk' you allocate to Photoshop (and on what storage device) under the Edit/Preferences/Scratch Disk options. I make no guarentee that this is the 'solution' but this seems to me to be the best place to start in solving the 'not enough memory' error'. Keep in touch and let me know how you get on. If this suggestion doesn't help you solve the problem, I'll work with you to find a solution. Regards, Mike

Again, my 2 cts as an ex-IT'er and as a voluntary moderator and manager of websits, forums and platform migrations. Website/Forum version upgrades (on the same 'platorm') are often challenging in terms of (user)functional and technical changes. Migrating a website/forum from one 'platform' to another is a wholly more greater challenge. Just consider the challenge of migrating all user accounts (user names, passwords, profile), forum categories and messages to a completely different (technical) 'platform'. And the ongoing task of migrating hundreds of thousands of 'images' and relating these to the authors. The new PN 'test site' was evaluated by various PN members who gave their feedback. The 'migratration strategy' was clearly outlined on the 'old site' well in advance. If you missed it, you weren't IMHO paying attention. IMHO, the new owners/developers/moderators of PN have done an excellent job in making the migratiion from the 'old' PN to the 'new' PN as seamless as possible. Sure there are still some tweaks to be made. The 'porting' of the vast number of images from the 'old' site to the 'new site' is still in progress. But all in all. I believe that the new owners/developers/moderators have done a wonderful job. Occasional 'glitches' are solved quickly, which leads me to believe that the new PN website has great support I echo @samstevens's sentiments in asking members to just keep calm, have some patience and have faith that the remaining issues will be resolved soon. One great benefit from the new site is that if you have an issue, you can report it and someone will quickly respond to it,

Hi @Terryro and welcome to (the recently renewed) Photo.net! I'm an exclusively digital photographer but I'm in the minority here at Photo.net. Most members are film photography enthusiasts (and many experts) so I'm sure you'll quickly feel at home at Photo.net! Mike

I totally agree, @Sandy Vongries. I'm impressed by the relativlely seamless transition so far. And I have every confidence that the 'Galleries'' will soon be restored. It gives me great confidence in the future of PN, knowing that a) there is renewed investment and b) there is more technical support for the 'new site'. I saw little reason to renew my paid membership on the old site or many years. On the 'new site'. I intend to renew my paid membership. Just to support its maintenance and devlopment. I sincerely hope that the new site will make life a lot easier for Admins and Moderators. Though I do notice more 'spam' on the new site which may reguire more active moderation.

I find it difficult to comment on such an expessive photo. But my first comment is that I strongly recieved the visual message and impact of the 'bleak impact of war'. Yes there are a few technical details that might be improved but I think your composition is superb. Through your composition you (IMHOI) visually link the bleakness of the winter trees with the graves. The combination creates (for me) a sentiment of respect and sadness.

Snowy/Icy version. Free background courtesy of rawpixel.com.

Same here, @DavidTriplett. Though I got locked out out the 'old' forums only for 3 months (after attemting to change my e-mail address and password). Strangely, I could access my account via my mobile phone. So it'd a relief to be able to fully access the forums again either via my (new) Laptop or via my phone. I was also pleasantly suprised my attempted changes to my e-mail address and password on the old site were already active on the new site 🙂

Hmmm ... again unable to edit my previous post. I just wanted to add that having been 'locked out' of the 'old' PN forum via my Laptop for a couple of months, I'm enjoying accessing PN via my Laptop again.

I also like the 'Active topics' on the Home page and the 'Popular Contributors' and 'Trending Content' on the Forums page. Both give the impression that the new site is always 'up to date' with the latest forum trends. For some reason, I couldn't edit my post to include this comment. I do hope that the 15 minute 'edit timeframe' on the old PN site has been extended!

Yes, I know that some features (notably Galleries) are still 'work in progress' but I am personally enjoying the 'user experience' of the new PN site. Everything looks and feels fresh and I've found the forum features very easy to use (for example drag and drop image upload). The forum features all seem to work well both via my Laptop and via my phone. Migrating an existing website/forum to a different platform is always a big challenge and I personally think that the Admins, mods and support staff have done an excellent job in preparing the migration and getting it done reliably within a couple of days. It doesn't matter much to me how many badges I collect or how what my user status ("newbie -> rookie") is. These kind of features are probably superfluous for most users of the 'old site' but they may IMHO well be attractive to potential newer (and younger) members. There are also some interesting new features (under "Explore") on this new PN site which, admittedly, might take some time to take off. For example 'Blogs'. I'm not yet sure how these will work. I don't yet see a button for creating a blog. But the feature might be interesting for people wishing to post updates on their development or an ongoing project. It's nice to see the list of "staff" (Admins and moderators) under 1 menu option. I also like the features like "Downloads" and "Leaderboard" that show which images, members and posts are most popular. Does this really matter? Probably not but I like seeing 'trends'. The same applies to "Online Users" which now includes "Guests" (who are not logged in as members). The "Online Users" feature shows not only the "who" but also their current activity. So, for anyone interested, you can get an idea (live) of the content that - probably non-members - are viewing. Most probably IMHO via a search engine. Perhaps some (or all) these features were on the old PN site too, but somehow I find them more easily accessible on the new site. All in all, I find the new PN site a much more attractive, user-friendly and mature website than the 'old site'. Much more in keeping with the times (as far as forum websites are concerned).

No problems using my Android phone. Uploading photos was easy.

Hi Sandy, from what I've done so far (creating a post including an image, reacting to posts) I'm loving this new site! Vastly improved from the 'test site'. Some users primarily access PN (old and new sties) via mobile. Having been 'locked out' of the old site forums via Laptop for months, I made much more use of my mobile through which - for some reason - I could access PN forums. At the moment, I'm enjoying having 'full Laptop access' again. But I will test how the various functions work via my (Samsung) mobile. I have full confidence that the platform for PN is 'mobile friendly'. But I'll keep you up to date. Mike

Yay! Posting this PP challenge pic via 'drag and drop' worked like a dream.