I usually post one version to my flickr, unless I re-edit a photo and forget that I have already posted it to the site.
@prosicience Its funny, I have never shot a vertical photo that didnt need a crop afterwards. I dont own vertical grips for any of my cameras, and the way I hold the camera in that orientation always results in photos that are off center and askew from what I had in mind.
Your areial just gave me an idea for a drone series! Unfortunately I do not own a drone, nor have time to shoot these days, so it will have to be shelved for now. Very cool shot, although it shows the limits of the camera gear that can be lifted by a small quadcopter.
@munnin understandable! Hard without grips to get something level, I'm right there with you.
As far as quadcopter quality - yeah you can definitely tell the limits. I'm still learning the camera, and after doing some reading up this weekend I found that with my Phantom 4 - you basically never want to go above 100 ISO. So that's something I'll have to keep in mind as that last one was at 600 I believe. I'm also trying to get better at manual camera controls, but it's a bit rough as you can imagine since I'm trying to keep an eye on my P4 in the air while trying to shoot. It's definitely added a nerve racking element to photography.
I've been mainly shooting old nikon glass with adapters on my Fuji XE-2, but whenever I plop my fuji lens on the camera I'm always surprised at the quality that comes from such a tiny lens. 105 by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
Ooooh we have a photo thread! Finally somewhere to spam all my stuff!
Lemme do a quick introduction bit first. I started seriously looking into cameras about a year and a half ago, and after about a year of browsing amazon and reading reviews and yearning for gear I finally got a bit of a windfall and bought me a really nice DSLR last fall, a Pentax K-3 II. I don't exactly know how it happened, but I'm up to 13 lenses now. (I blame ebay.)
Lens lineup:
Plus another vintage 28mm f2.8 I got given by a friend when I visited LA a month ago.
Here are a few of my recent shots I'm quite happy with. All criticisms are very welcome! Still figuring this stuff out as I go.
Yay new blood! Welcome @Kashaar and please continue to dump and post. First two bird photos are good, but don't catch my eye as much as the photo with the two birds (the third photo... wow I couldn't have said that in a more confusing way). The photo of the two birds has some great framing and leading lines to the subject. Also got some great bokeh/dof effects going on. Guessing that was one of your older lenses, just a great capture all the way around. It's pretty rare that I've said this, but I really love that cat photo as well (same reasons).
@bsjezz That first one makes me excited for springtime.
I had a moment with this red winged blackbird. 303 by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
There was a great fog in the boulder area the other day, I wanted to take photos of everything through the haze. If only I had the time. Hazy Mornings by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
There was a great fog in the boulder area the other day, I wanted to take photos of everything through the haze. If only I had the time. Hazy Mornings by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
I thought it was a diptych for a moment. Great composition. Wish the black werent as crushed, but thats just me. Very cool shot!
Thanks! Lightroom and Photoshop both seems to interact weirdly with my hardware-calibrated monitors, and things will look fine in app, but differently graded on export. Drives me nuts...
@tynic don't worry about everything always being in focus. I think the dog being oof along with the water gives the photo a nice sense of movement and brings focus more to the man anyways!
So I'm looking to go full frame some time this year (I like shooting landscape and low light, and my current DSLR body is very lacking in options as it's pretty low end).
I was originally looking at the D810, because it had really great reviews, and sounded like it did well in low light, and the 64 ISO sounds sexy to me.
Then I decided to compare it to the D750, and now I'm all confused.
The 750 is like 1k cheaper, and all the comparison reviews say it's better all around and has better low light performance, but for landscape or architecture you may want the 810 (better dynamic range, higher MP).
Long term, the price difference is not a huge deal. But if the 750 is essentially "just as good" why spend the money?
HALP!
[Edit] After reading caomparison articles all day, I think I'm leaning towards the 750. The low light performance is more important to me then that sexy sounding ISO 64. The extra megapixels isn't a huge deal to me since I rarely crop in on anything, and don't currently print anything either. And the money I save I can put towards another nice lens. (looking at you Nikkor 28-300).
When you say "low light", what sort of situations are we talking about? Concerts, sporting events and other poorly-lit activities where timing is important, or night-time cityscapes and dense jungle foliage where you have more time to compose?
In the case of the former, you're probably going to get more value out of spending $1k on a faster lens than you will from whatever low-light improvements the D810 brings. In the case of the latter, $1k will get you more tripod than you could possibly hope to use. (Though, honestly, just go the Gitzo traveller as a model you'll actually want to take around with you.)
Full disclosure: I don't own and have never used either of these cameras. If it were my money, of the two, I'd go for the D750. If I were feeling really extravagant, I'd parlay the difference into a fast prime lens. I base this on the fact that there's no appreciable difference between the two cameras for my use, and unless you're regularly printing large, the extra mp wouldn't make that much of a difference. Not sure how often the 64 ISO would be useful, either -- I love shooting low ISO film, but it's another case where you need a tripod to really take advantage of it in all but a few situations.
@Baron Dirigible Thanks! interestingly, the D750 has better high ISO performance between the two! (supposedly). I don't really do concerts and stuff, mostly landscape and cityscape stuff. But as you mentioned, I don't really plan on printing, and don't know how often I would use the 64 ISO. Better to use the money elsewhere I think!
.....Now jut to wait a couple of months before being in the position to pull the trigger on this lol!
Also, I think I've convinced myself to drive 2 hours after work out to a park with low light for tonights new moon. Astro here I come!
Looking at https://photographylife.com/nikon-d750-vs-d810/, one significant (perhaps) difference is that the 750 has a fold-out screen but the 810 doesn't -- that sort of thing can make a big difference to usability at times. (for instance, setting up wide-angle landscape shots close to the ground for foreground interest, it's much easier not having to squash your head down at ground level to compose).
It's also (a bit) lighter and smaller, which can make a difference to how often you bother taking a camera with you. I shoot micro 4/3, and the ability to just shove a camera +lens in one (jacket) pocket, a second lens in another pocket, and go is very nice indeed; I know I'm losing resolution and stuff in exchange, but when I had 'classic' 4/3 bodies, I found myself not wanting to haul the entire kit along at times, and 4/3 is still smaller and lighter than full-frame.
Canon did a really similar thing a while back with the 6D and the 5DMKIII. Very minor differences between the two, but essentially the 5D just had a bulkier body, more AF points, and an extra card slot. No loss of image quality and 1K cheaper for minor inconveniences. It sounds like Nikon basically did the same thing - coming out with two body styles, one being a more Elite" version which they can make a little extra money on. I've bought two 6Ds since they came out. I've known a couple wedding photographers and a concert photographer who bought two 6Ds for just a tiny bit more than the full price of the 5DMKIII so they don't have to switch lenses while they shoot (actually a pretty smart idea).
As an owner of the venerable D800, I would say go with the D810. That camera ruined all other cameras for me.
First things first. Where the 800s excel is resolution and dynamic range. Gain in resolution seems inconsequential since you done seem to be eager to print, and web and screen resolutions are not that demanding, but the ability to downsample can hide a lot of high iso noise or camera shake if necessary. Dynamic range is the stuff that useful in landscape photography, and especially at night where most scenes are pretty high contrast.
If you want something small and portable, I would say go with something like the mirrorless fuji system, since with the D750 you will still have the deep mirror box on the camera and the big lenses that go with it. If you really want something that can see in the night, sony makes the a7s and its ilk.
But when it comes to night landscapes, nothing beats a solid tripod.
Anyways, I would suggest you spend some money and rent both of these cameras and see if either one satisfies your needs.
Also go through flickr and see what is possible with either camera at night.
Attempted my first astro last night. Went ok. Learned a lot. Didn't get the milky way in there, as it had not risen yet. (Didn't know it does that! But makes sense.)
The hardest part was focusing! Tried live view, but it was so dark it was useless. (no exposure simulation on my current body). So this is just the best exposure I had the was mostly in focus.
That's actually a good point on the mirror-less if you're just looking for lighter weight @munnin hadn't thought of it from that perspective. Which is silly because I mostly carry around my mirrorless anymore when I'm not shooting for work.
Lovely photo! I wish that the blacks would have more detail in them, and the pink hue of the rocks was slightly more brighter/pronounced. But thats what the latitude D810 would bring to the picture.... (I love my D800)
That's actually a good point on the mirror-less if you're just looking for lighter weight @munnin hadn't thought of it from that perspective. Which is silly because I mostly carry around my mirrorless anymore when I'm not shooting for work.
I have been eyeing the fuji system just for that reason for a while... convenience of digital at the size of film gear... the only thing that is holding me back is absence of fully articulated touch screen, and no god-like dynamic range of film and to some lesser extent D800.
See, that is the sort of White House trump should be living in and not the one I photographed.
Trump lives in the White House?
Baron, you can't say you went to New Zealand and only post one picture. Need more.
fiiiiiine
Here's something probably closer to what you'd expect from New Zealand.
Lake Wanaka by Rohan Bassett, on Flickr
Have a few more 4x5 to scan, but the overwhelming majority of my shots are on 35mm. Not looking forward to scanning all of them in...
(Also Wanaka is beautiful, and I'd highly recommend it over Queenstown if anyone ever faces that decision.)
I swear, I'm totally not procrastinating, but I just had a mental whoa dude moment when I applied something my dad told me about how to unscrew stuck things. Don't you love it when a filter gets stuck to a lens, or to a step-up ring or when step-up rings get stuck to each other? Well, a little while back I realized that one of the vintage lenses I inherited from my mom (a gorgeous 135mm f2.5) had a light blue filter stuck to its front. The thing wouldn't budge. To make matters worse:
(Here illustrated with one of my polarizing filters after the fact)
Turns out there's a simple, low-cost mechanical solution for that problem! It requires nothing but a piece of string and a pen. Wind the string tightly around the bit that's stuck, tie the loose ends around the pen, keep winding until the string is really tight. Then use the pen as a handle for the bit you couldn't unscrew, and voila!
In other news, I took some portraits of a friend the other day and tried some new retouching techniques I learned on them. She was very happy with how her skin doesn't look all blotchy and pimply, so she gave me permission to post them ;-) I'm quite happy with the editing, but not very happy with the sloppy focus... that needs more practice.
Yeah, the focus being off really kills the photos. Are you manually focusing or using auto focus? If auto focusing are you using the multiple point focus or a single point? Personally I recommend auto focusing with the center focus point and then recomposing.
Also, might want to cut down on the size for posting in the thread.
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Yeah, the focus being off really kills the photos. Are you manually focusing or using auto focus? If auto focusing are you using the multiple point focus or a single point? Personally I recommend auto focusing with the center focus point and then recomposing.
Also, might want to cut down on the size for posting in the thread.
Good point on the size. These ones were manual focus with a vintage f1.4 50mm lens... still trying to figure out how to use those properly!
Posts
@prosicience Its funny, I have never shot a vertical photo that didnt need a crop afterwards. I dont own vertical grips for any of my cameras, and the way I hold the camera in that orientation always results in photos that are off center and askew from what I had in mind.
Your areial just gave me an idea for a drone series! Unfortunately I do not own a drone, nor have time to shoot these days, so it will have to be shelved for now. Very cool shot, although it shows the limits of the camera gear that can be lifted by a small quadcopter.
As far as quadcopter quality - yeah you can definitely tell the limits. I'm still learning the camera, and after doing some reading up this weekend I found that with my Phantom 4 - you basically never want to go above 100 ISO. So that's something I'll have to keep in mind as that last one was at 600 I believe. I'm also trying to get better at manual camera controls, but it's a bit rough as you can imagine since I'm trying to keep an eye on my P4 in the air while trying to shoot. It's definitely added a nerve racking element to photography.
I've been mainly shooting old nikon glass with adapters on my Fuji XE-2, but whenever I plop my fuji lens on the camera I'm always surprised at the quality that comes from such a tiny lens.
105 by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
Minimal Grain by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
My Portfolio Site
Serene Waters by jeremy o., on Flickr
Trees / Industry by jeremy o., on Flickr
Gettin' Steamed by jeremy o., on Flickr
Lemme do a quick introduction bit first. I started seriously looking into cameras about a year and a half ago, and after about a year of browsing amazon and reading reviews and yearning for gear I finally got a bit of a windfall and bought me a really nice DSLR last fall, a Pentax K-3 II. I don't exactly know how it happened, but I'm up to 13 lenses now. (I blame ebay.)
Lens lineup:
Plus another vintage 28mm f2.8 I got given by a friend when I visited LA a month ago.
Here are a few of my recent shots I'm quite happy with. All criticisms are very welcome! Still figuring this stuff out as I go.
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
@bsjezz That first one makes me excited for springtime.
I had a moment with this red winged blackbird.
303 by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
My Portfolio Site
Frosted Foothills by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
There was a great fog in the boulder area the other day, I wanted to take photos of everything through the haze. If only I had the time.
Hazy Mornings by Lee Stonehouse, on Flickr
My Portfolio Site
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
Love it!
I thought it was a diptych for a moment. Great composition. Wish the black werent as crushed, but thats just me. Very cool shot!
Old shot. Gotta get out more.
DSCF7429 by Maciej, on Flickr
haven't taken anything for months except some bad beach snaps. I cannot get this bloody dog to stay in focus
Children and animals, man. Can't catch them with shutter speed slower than 1/1000sec...
Thanks! Lightroom and Photoshop both seems to interact weirdly with my hardware-calibrated monitors, and things will look fine in app, but differently graded on export. Drives me nuts...
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
@munnin thanks man. Dig yours, always so grimey!
@tynic don't worry about everything always being in focus. I think the dog being oof along with the water gives the photo a nice sense of movement and brings focus more to the man anyways!
My Portfolio Site
As someone who has extensive experience working with models you just need to hire the right dog model.
As you can see, the bait I put up is working. I accidentally overexposed this one, but turns out I quite like it!
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
I like my models still and behind glass:
Had to climb some rather precarious cliffs to get to this vantage point. So that spot was slightly less mobbed by tourists.
So I'm looking to go full frame some time this year (I like shooting landscape and low light, and my current DSLR body is very lacking in options as it's pretty low end).
I was originally looking at the D810, because it had really great reviews, and sounded like it did well in low light, and the 64 ISO sounds sexy to me.
Then I decided to compare it to the D750, and now I'm all confused.
The 750 is like 1k cheaper, and all the comparison reviews say it's better all around and has better low light performance, but for landscape or architecture you may want the 810 (better dynamic range, higher MP).
Long term, the price difference is not a huge deal. But if the 750 is essentially "just as good" why spend the money?
HALP!
[Edit] After reading caomparison articles all day, I think I'm leaning towards the 750. The low light performance is more important to me then that sexy sounding ISO 64. The extra megapixels isn't a huge deal to me since I rarely crop in on anything, and don't currently print anything either. And the money I save I can put towards another nice lens. (looking at you Nikkor 28-300).
In the case of the former, you're probably going to get more value out of spending $1k on a faster lens than you will from whatever low-light improvements the D810 brings. In the case of the latter, $1k will get you more tripod than you could possibly hope to use. (Though, honestly, just go the Gitzo traveller as a model you'll actually want to take around with you.)
Full disclosure: I don't own and have never used either of these cameras. If it were my money, of the two, I'd go for the D750. If I were feeling really extravagant, I'd parlay the difference into a fast prime lens. I base this on the fact that there's no appreciable difference between the two cameras for my use, and unless you're regularly printing large, the extra mp wouldn't make that much of a difference. Not sure how often the 64 ISO would be useful, either -- I love shooting low ISO film, but it's another case where you need a tripod to really take advantage of it in all but a few situations.
.....Now jut to wait a couple of months before being in the position to pull the trigger on this lol!
Also, I think I've convinced myself to drive 2 hours after work out to a park with low light for tonights new moon. Astro here I come!
It's also (a bit) lighter and smaller, which can make a difference to how often you bother taking a camera with you. I shoot micro 4/3, and the ability to just shove a camera +lens in one (jacket) pocket, a second lens in another pocket, and go is very nice indeed; I know I'm losing resolution and stuff in exchange, but when I had 'classic' 4/3 bodies, I found myself not wanting to haul the entire kit along at times, and 4/3 is still smaller and lighter than full-frame.
TLDR: my suggestion is the 750.
My Portfolio Site
First things first. Where the 800s excel is resolution and dynamic range. Gain in resolution seems inconsequential since you done seem to be eager to print, and web and screen resolutions are not that demanding, but the ability to downsample can hide a lot of high iso noise or camera shake if necessary. Dynamic range is the stuff that useful in landscape photography, and especially at night where most scenes are pretty high contrast.
If you want something small and portable, I would say go with something like the mirrorless fuji system, since with the D750 you will still have the deep mirror box on the camera and the big lenses that go with it. If you really want something that can see in the night, sony makes the a7s and its ilk.
But when it comes to night landscapes, nothing beats a solid tripod.
Anyways, I would suggest you spend some money and rent both of these cameras and see if either one satisfies your needs.
Also go through flickr and see what is possible with either camera at night.
Attempted my first astro last night. Went ok. Learned a lot. Didn't get the milky way in there, as it had not risen yet. (Didn't know it does that! But makes sense.)
The hardest part was focusing! Tried live view, but it was so dark it was useless. (no exposure simulation on my current body). So this is just the best exposure I had the was mostly in focus.
Excited to try again!
My Portfolio Site
Lovely photo! I wish that the blacks would have more detail in them, and the pink hue of the rocks was slightly more brighter/pronounced. But thats what the latitude D810 would bring to the picture.... (I love my D800)
I have been eyeing the fuji system just for that reason for a while... convenience of digital at the size of film gear... the only thing that is holding me back is absence of fully articulated touch screen, and no god-like dynamic range of film and to some lesser extent D800.
Glacial ice as found in Iceland.
US Capitol dome by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
Lincoln Memorial by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
WWII Memorial by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
Library of Congress by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
Virginia Fog by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
Metro by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
Lincoln Memorial by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
Library of Congress by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
US Capitol Statuary by Jeff Fryer, on Flickr
Edit: One of my coworkers pointed out that I must really like ceilings.
I actually want to go back and do some touristy shots hehe.
You've got some nice ones!
White House by Rohan Bassett, on Flickr
I took large-format photos of restaurants while attracting a lot of attention!
Baron, you can't say you went to New Zealand and only post one picture. Need more.
fiiiiiine
Here's something probably closer to what you'd expect from New Zealand.
Lake Wanaka by Rohan Bassett, on Flickr
Have a few more 4x5 to scan, but the overwhelming majority of my shots are on 35mm. Not looking forward to scanning all of them in...
(Also Wanaka is beautiful, and I'd highly recommend it over Queenstown if anyone ever faces that decision.)
I'm just going to get some cheap ones to start with I guess. is that crazy?
(Here illustrated with one of my polarizing filters after the fact)
Turns out there's a simple, low-cost mechanical solution for that problem! It requires nothing but a piece of string and a pen. Wind the string tightly around the bit that's stuck, tie the loose ends around the pen, keep winding until the string is really tight. Then use the pen as a handle for the bit you couldn't unscrew, and voila!
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
Also, might want to cut down on the size for posting in the thread.
Good point on the size. These ones were manual focus with a vintage f1.4 50mm lens... still trying to figure out how to use those properly!
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.