The Big Photography Thread

[Lindaru]

Love it, Richie!

 

It has been way too many years since I got to see those types of formations up close and personal.

 

In 2005 we went to Arizona, Utah and Nevada, then in 2012 we went through Wyoming and Yellowstone.

 

When I get some time, I will have to set up an album on Flickr with some of those. Not the best quality pictures from 2005 since I took them with an old Sony Mavica (uses disks), but great memories and fun places.

 

 

[KenElevenShadows]

West Mitten Butte[/url] by Rich Pantaleo, on Flickr

 

That's such an amazing rock formation.

[KenElevenShadows]

 

"How like a queen comes forth the lonely Moon

From the slow opening curtains of the clouds

Walking in beauty to her midnight throne!"

~George Croly, Diana

 

Photo: Ken Lee Photography

[Lindaru]

Majestic indeed!

 

 

[Theo Verelst]

Some pretty hefty picture subjects and wonderful pictures !

 

A little more subtle one, taken with a Samsung S6, with the "Camera FV-5" application (non-standard) which supports taking High Dynamic Range pictures in .DNG format:

 

http://theover.org/Pic/DSC_0060b_pp1.png

 

In order to accommodate the number of colors I've made a .png versions that's uploaded to a faster server than my own which is behind ADSL with limited upload speed, it's a bit bigger than average.

 

It shows off what can be done with processing in 16 bits per color, for which I used two programs (both Free and Open Source), called "Shotwell" and "Luminance HDR", going from the one to the other using 16 bit per color component (R and G and B) TIFF (loss-less). So there's the original image ftp-ed of the phone in 48 bits per pixel .DNG, then it goes through those programs for correction expose and color, and lifting up the relative brightness of the shadows (possible in HDR !), apply some film-ish effect, and after that some (not all too much) processing in 8 bits per color using GIMP, which saved the .PNG image above. Very satisfactory as photographer to get 5000 pixels horizontal in HDR format to work from!

 

T.

[Lindaru]

Theo . . . this is beautiful!

 

The gentle curve of the grasses in the golden color, the still dark of the water, the muting of the trees on the other side and the clear bright sky with just a hint of vapor . . . very relaxing, very serene!

 

 

[KenElevenShadows]

Really nice texture in that photo too.

[KenElevenShadows]

 

Looks like this photo is getting in to a National Geographic book later in the year! Cross your fingers! It would really be cool to get a long exposure night sky photo in Nat Geo. I don't think they always have a lot of those. Anyway, thank you so much for the support and props a while back. I think it may have really helped push this over!

[Lindaru]

Pulling for you to get this gorgeous photo in the book and when it comes out, let us know!

 

 

[xKnuckles]

I'd put it on the cover, Ken! I am so delighted for you!!!

[KenElevenShadows]

Thanks. I hope it makes it. Looks good so far. I'll find out in about a month or so.

[xKnuckles]

How's the weather, you might enquire............

 

 

Approaching Storm by Anne, on Flickr

 

Southwold Pier in a Storm by Anne, on Flickr

 

Southwold Storm by Anne, on Flickr

[Lindaru]

Gorgeous, Anne! Something really cozy feeling about that. Seek shelter and watch from the camera lens (or window).

 

 

[xKnuckles]

LOL! Thanks! But I wasn't under cover, Linda - I was out in it..... Hands rapidly turning numb as I attempted to press the camera's shutter.....

[Lindaru]

Shuddering shutters, Bat Man!

 

I hope you got in before it really let loose.

 

 

[Joe Muscara]

The contrast between the dark clouds and the lighter areas is excellent, Anne!

[xKnuckles]

Thank you Joe!

[Daniel Wade]

 

That is just some very beautiful photography Anne. Makes me want to visit wherever it is.

[xKnuckles]

Thank you very much Daniel! It is Southwold in Suffolk, England. A very beautiful part of the world. .

[Sospiri]

Three very good photographs there, Anne, and the buildings on the pier have hit me as they have obviously hit Joe. They look as if they have just been freshly painted in Brilliant White - I won't mention the brand! And the skies so threatening in numbers 2 & 3 too. Well done!

 

Maurice

[Theo Verelst]

It always struck me digital photographs suffer from the "what would look good digital" syndrome: a photo is good or bad, regardless of being a traditional developed one, or a digital shot in jpeg format. Now, I know jpegs and (hopefully at least) 8 bit per color computer screens have various limitations, as well as resolution issues so it's an interesting challenge to put relatively small (I used 1024 wide pictures on LCD beamer already in the early 90s) pictures on display. Some come out wonderfully well, bravo for that!

 

Here's a (smart-)phone picture:

http://www.theover.org/Keybdmg/Pictures/DSC_0106p1_mant1pcm.png

 

processed without major damage to picture data averages, without drawing or large geometric changes, clipping or posterizing color components, without adding vignettes or something, and even without automatic or manual object recognition/selection for separate processing of image parts. I did use an image processing tool, adapted exposure and saturation a bit on the HDR original, and did a few tricks to bring out certain sharpnesses more than others, and added a bit of an color-equalized effect..

 

Now the result is probably not too dependent on screen brightness and settings, and makes the loss-less compressed png format ok. Unfortunately, scaling the image isn't great, so pixel-for-pixel display is best.

 

T.

 

[xKnuckles]

Three very good photographs there, Anne, and the buildings on the pier have hit me as they have obviously hit Joe. They look as if they have just been freshly painted in Brilliant White - I won't mention the brand! And the skies so threatening in numbers 2 & 3 too. Well done!

 

Maurice

Really pleased you like my photos - Thank you so much Maurice.

(....and I think the pier has been recently painted......)

[Lindaru]

Theo . . . the richness of the sky and water being brought forward in contrast to the trees and grass is nicely done.

 

 

[Theo Verelst]

It would probably be more fun to go back to some nice model shooting, but as it goes, this phone has an excellent camera in it when well used, so I feel good about these pictures, and keeping nature alive and well is important, too. I'm glad you like the contrast, the particular part of nature is not much cultivated by human beings, even though it isn't all too far from city life, and is like a stretch of field where a variety of animals live. The contrast is pretty much coming from the natural setting, funny enough, and less from my processing of the HDR images. Anyhow I recommend trying HDR if you can, it's quite fun.

 

T.

 

 

[KenElevenShadows]

 

This photo was taken in a remote part of Joshua Tree National Park at night. I drove there with two other photographers, David Dasinger and Timothy Little. Our journey involved a 10 mile drive on a dirt road, and then traipsing across a desert with no trail for another mile, all done at night. There, half-buried in a sandy wash are over ten cars, left to decay on the desert air. On the return journey, we stopped for a young couple standing forlornly next to a car parked in a way that people do not park cars, completely perpendicular to the dirt road. They had attempted to turn the car around and gotten their wheels stuck. We couldn't push the car out, so I gave them a ride back to town. Finding an obscure location in the dark, night photography, and early morning rescues - all this made the night seem like an adventure.

 

Night photo. Illuminated by a ProtoMachines LED2 flashlight and a full moon. 194 second exposure. The photo also hows the movement of the stars over a long period of time, created by the movement of the earth.This is not a post-processing creation. No pixels were harmed during the creation of this photo.

[Lindaru]

I admire that you literally go the extra mile for your craft. Talk about needing to be in the right place at the right time for the couple.

 

Kudos!

 

This is beautiful.

 

The light and color give it back its spirit even in its deteriorated state of existence.

 

 

[Theo Verelst]

Why Ken, people don't have to start teasing you about always searching for star light and long exposure flash lights to make pretty pictures, do they ?

[KenElevenShadows]

No, I suppose not, and thanks, peeps.

 

Fortunately, the moon was out during our trek, so it wasn't completely dark.

 

For photographing Samuelson's Rocks, also in Joshua Tree National Park, it was totally dark when I set out and arrived. But I had timed it so the moon would be coming out shortly thereafter, which you can see here. For this, I had a flashlight and a cellphone GPS, and that was pretty much it.

 

 

Here's the info for this photo.

 

"The Rock Of Faith And Truth" (9894)

Another fun mile-long walk in the dark of night across the desert to photograph this area, with some fascinating carved rocks left by a former miner and rancher in the 1920s. I am grateful to my handy GPS, and not so grateful for the cactus that nailed me on the return trip.

 

John Samuelson was a miner and rancher for the Keys Ranch. In the 1920s, he built a cabin and began carving messages into the rocks nearby in what is now Joshua Tree National Park. He eventually moved to Los Angeles with his wife, where he then killed two people in Compton. He was declared insane, but later escaped from the hospital. Illuminated by a ProtoMachines LED2 flashlight and a full moon. 251 second exposure. The photo shows the movement of the stars over a long period of time, created by the movement of the earth. This is not a post-processing creation. No pixels were harmed during the creation of this photo.

 

There are eight rocks with carvings on this hill. Yes, I found all eight.

 

 

 

 

 

[Daniel Wade]

I'm curious Ken how you avoid rattlesnakes and such, that come out and hunt at night. It seems with the distance you are walking, and at night, you inevitably are going to cross paths.

 

And excellent photo (as always) Ken.

 

 

[KenElevenShadows]

Daniel, I wear boots, step over rocks, wear thick socks and pants, and hope for the best. When I did this photo a few weeks ago, it was already rattlesnake season, so I just tried to be as careful as possible. Rattlesnakes often hide in rocks, and this route seemed safer because there were little rocks, going overland. Most of the time that I do this, I do it during the cold season when they are much less active, and I was pushing it a little by doing this in March.

 

I am asked many times about whether I am scared of predators. Scared, no, but concerned, sure.

 

But I am more concerned about cactus and people.

 

So far, I haven't been bothered by people. I take precautions and go out during times in which I won't run into too many people, often going out very late at night during cold weather when there is less likely to be people out.

 

But I have been scratched up and stabbed by cactus numerous times, as I was on the return trip. I really got nailed. And I don't know why, but it seems like when I get nailed by cactus, it is when I am standing still and adjusting my backpack. I've really scratched myself up good.

 

The sort of night photography that I do is not for the timid. And it requires a certain amount of physicality and athletic ability, hiking in for miles in the dark with a big backpack, running while light painting, hiking at high altitude, and constantly bending and squatting. I won't always be able to do this, so I want to get a lot of it in now.

 

And thank you for the kind words about the photo.