Remixed Bag (warning: lots of images)

invisible · Sep 18, 2008

Yet another batch of odds and ends that don't deserve their own thread (maybe they don't even deserve to be in this one!

).

Thanks for looking!

DRATOM · Sep 18, 2008

Nice work. Thanks for sharing.

On The Way · Sep 19, 2008

You have a verey nice ideas

joecoulsonphotography · Sep 19, 2008

I like #7

invisible · Sep 20, 2008

Thanks for stopping by and commenting

matt-l · Sep 20, 2008

I've got to say the #5, ripples is the winner for me. it looks great, also #4 , the path is very nice to.

great work!

realitycheck3907 · Sep 20, 2008

I really like number five, the ripple one it looks really cool. Looks just like ripples I think the light you captured it in is what it made it look that way. Good job!

manaheim · Sep 20, 2008

All nice as always. Particularly like 3 and 4.

Really nice exposure on the statue, though I tend to struggle with statues as they never seem to be as interesting as they should be when captured. Still this one is funky and I think you exposed it flawlessly, so it's pretty cool.

5 is very neat, though I think the focus missed by JUST a hair... it almost looks like maybe you took the picture up very close and the DOF was just so extreme that none of it was dead-on. Still, I think it's salvagable. Just a sharpening pass and it will probably really pop.

It almost looks like that easel isn't level... :lol:

Weird.

9 is interesting. I like it. It almost looks like something right out of a Valve Software game (Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2). I think you may have been a bit heavy-handed in PP on 9 and 10, but it's a style thing, so if you like it, just ignore me. I think you represented the style very well, it's just not my personal preference.

Regardless, all nice as always. I think I already said that. :lol:

manaheim · Sep 20, 2008

hmmm... you know, I just noticed... I think the horizons in 1, 3 and maybe even 4 are just SLIGHTLY off. (not that 4 has a horizon, but it does look slanted slightly)

invisible · Sep 21, 2008

manaheim said:
5 is very neat, though I think the focus missed by JUST a hair... it almost looks like maybe you took the picture up very close and the DOF was just so extreme that none of it was dead-on. Still, I think it's salvagable. Just a sharpening pass and it will probably really pop.

The DOF being extreme is the right answer here. The sun was setting and there wasn't much light. I try not to go higher than 200 ISOs to avoid noise (my camera is a D70s), so in these situations I have to resort to the widest aperture possible. The result of the shallow DOF is something that looks like ripples

manaheim said:
9 is interesting. I like it. It almost looks like something right out of a Valve Software game (Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2). I think you may have been a bit heavy-handed in PP on 9 and 10, but it's a style thing, so if you like it, just ignore me. I think you represented the style very well, it's just not my personal preference.

I've been post-processing all the old-looking subjects like this lately, and I guess it shall pass at some point

And I agree, it looks like a videogame. Number 9 was shot at a hydro dam, by the way.

manaheim said:
hmmm... you know, I just noticed... I think the horizons in 1, 3 and maybe even 4 are just SLIGHTLY off. (not that 4 has a horizon, but it does look slanted slightly)

Number 1 is indeed tilted; number 3 shows off my lens' distortion; number 4 looks even to me...

Thanks everybody for your comments!

manaheim · Sep 21, 2008

Ah. D70 gets noisy at any level above 200? Inteesting. Didn't know that. I love that camera, though.

Were you ok with the result of the tree pic, or have you considered sharpening it PP? I really love the picture so I'm like compelled to think about it.

invisible · Sep 21, 2008

The D70s doesn't always produce noise above ISO 200, but I've found myself too often tossing photos that were otherwise fine because of this issue. Noise-reducing software helps, but sometimes you need to compress the image too much to obtain satisfactory results in terms of noise... but then you lose detail

So... I resort to higher ISOs only when I don't have a choice.

Here's a sharpened version of the tree pic. I also corrected the lens distortion. The original image actually was, as you pointed out, tilted. (The lines in the field produce an optical effect that makes it seem that the image is now tilted to the other side.)

There is a "fossilized" dragonfly hidden in one of the images above. Can anybody spot it?

jeroen · Sep 21, 2008

Nice series. I like the No Smoking best. Nice textures.

Antarctican · Sep 21, 2008

Ooo, I like all of these! Nice series. 2-6 inclusive are my faves

manaheim · Sep 21, 2008

Oh wow, check out the optical illusion tilt. That's crazy. :lol:

I know what you mean on the noise reduction stuff... in the past, I've even opted to not even take pictures if I required high ISO.

Of course, if I had done that about a week ago, I would have literally missed 5 of the best shots I have ever taken in about 20 minutes worth of time. I've learned I will accept the noise if I have to, and deal with the pains of progs like NeatImage if necessary. So worth it.