Photographers: tips, tricks, equipment, etc

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by Yukon Don

Two is allegedly the Milky Way Galaxy (that's me in the middle ). Blurrier than I hoped for but I find it interesting how the different colours of the stars show up.

The colors of the stars may be a result of the light being "bent" as it goes through your lens. You see that in many refracting telescopes, but not so much in reflecting telescopes. Reflecting telescopes us a mirror to magnify the stars, then a small lens to focus. A refracting telescope uses multiple lens, resulting in the light being bent more....similar to light passing through a prism.

[Oakman]

Canon has come out with the SX160is just in time for my birthday. While my SX110is has served me well, it is showing signs of wear and will become my backup camera. I really like the small size and versatility of this camera series from Canon.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by Yukon Don

*a further problem with focusing and maintaining a good stance while crouched behind an upward-pointing camera is that I tend to drink beer while I wait for it to become full dark. I usually commence this activity around three in the afternoon. However I realize this problem is best solved by a wife or some other form of adult supervision rather than by an experienced photographer...

Hey, wait a minute.....that might be my problem, also.

[Yukon Don]

Fortunately, the days are getting shorter...

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by rjshiflet

And, I love the blueish tint that showed up just a few minutes later.

very nice !

[Glenn5995]

Great thread and photos everyone! I was using a point and shoot for several years (Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5):



Decided I had the photography bug and wanted something better, but didn't want to start off with a huge investment, so in March I purchased an excellent condition used Pentax K-7. For my first lens I purchased the Pentax 18-135mm which is working well as a walk around lens. I have since purchased a tripod and remote. Next will be a good flash and then additional lenses.






Lots to learn!!!

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Glenn5995

Great thread and photos everyone! I was using a point and shoot for several years (Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5):



Decided I had the photography bug and wanted something better, but didn't want to start off with a huge investment, so in March I purchased an excellent condition used Pentax K-7. For my first lens I purchased the Pentax 18-135mm which is working well as a walk around lens. I have since purchased a tripod and remote. Next will be a good flash and then additional lenses.






Lots to learn!!!

please pick a dozen of each of those and send them to my dw in my name to her workplace !

[Coops1]

Here are a few of my shots taken in Jasper on Panoramio, a couple of them are on Google Earth as well if you want to see them there. I have a Nikon D80 with a bunch of lenses.

[Yukon Don]

Beautiful work, Coops1.
How do you like the D80 ?

[Coops1]

Thanks

I love the camera, it has it's pros & cons but most of the cons are my abilities

[Glenn5995]

Originally Posted by Yukon Don

OK, here's a question for you advanced guys (and gals).
These photos were all taken from the top of King Solomon's Dome just outside Dawson City. It doesn't matter which way you face, the view is the same.
If you look closely, there are mountain ranges in the distance. They are hard to distinguish from the clouds.
I shot these mid-afternoon, using the auto settings on the camera (something for which I am admittedly lazy).

Question: How would I make those distant mountains stand out to better effect ?
Would a polarizing filter help ? (I've never used one) Or would fiddling with my depth of field have made a difference ?
How would you guys improve these ?

Yukon Don,

I am in no way an experienced photographer, but I have learned a little bit and I will share what little I have learned. One thing is that the lighting conditions at mid-day are harsh and make it difficult to get good photos such as you found out. Another thing is that although it is always desirable to get the camera set up for that great shot, the reality is the photos are frequently disappointing. When that occurs and it is a photo you really wanted, some post-processing can frequently benefit the final product.

You have already received responses about what to do with the camera (pre-processing). I hope you don't mind, but I played with your photos a little for an example of what can be done post-processing. This most certainly is not a great example and should not be used as a standard as to what can be done. I say this because photos posted on forums such as this have a very significant reduction in quality to save space and I did not spend much time on them. With the originals and more time invested, better results could be obtained. This a generic "get the idea" kind of post.

FRF only allows 4 images per post, so I will break this up into 2 posts so you can have before and after comparisons.

If you prefer I didn't do this, just let me know and I'll delete this.

Glenn

[Glenn5995]

[Yukon Don]

The photos aren't showing up, Glenn.

[Glenn5995]

- I am seeing them on my computer, not sure what needs to be done. Where is Lou (Herk7769)???

[Glenn5995]

I may have figured it out. Can you see them now?

[Yukon Don]

OK, got 'em now.
Vast improvement. Are you using a photography program ?
Back when I had a PC (and more hair -as opposed to a Mac and a drinking problem) there used to be something called "auto correct" that I would use occasionally. Kinda seemed to be cheating but it did improve a lot of my stuff.

[Glenn5995]

I used Lightroom and Photomatx.

I first made three virtual copies in Lightroom and with three exposure levels:





I then used Photomatix to combine them (layer):



I have used my 4 image limit so this will be continued in the next post:

[Glenn5995]

I then went back to Lightroom where I adjusted the Clarity, Sharpness, Vibrance, Saturation, Highlights, Contrast and Noise Reduction:



I used the same process with this photograph taken with my point and shoot, but obviously I had the benefit of the original quality and invested more time. I added Pic Monkey for the text and border:

[Glenn5995]

Before and after:

[Yukon Don]

That's neat.
I notice if I enlarge them they start to look a bit "pixely" for lack of a better word - I take it with the original and more time you could tweak that a bit ?
(granted the D50 I use is only a 6.1 mp camera)

I definitely like the way it brings out those distant mountain ranges.

As an aside, I looked at your photos -that looks like some pretty interesting country you're in there.