burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You do have to *have* that context for it to be useful. What looks like normal procedure for the initiated looks like a mistake to noobs who know just a little something.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

I completely concur. Happy New Year to you and yours good Sir!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

And to you, too, Peter!

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I am going to agree with Bob and say that the EXIF data is just that, data. It is a single data point set of data. Not sure what conclusion you can draw from it if much. Many Flicker images have EXIF data included but I have usually only looked at the camera and lens used, maybe the aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Otherwise I have to assume they have likely manipulated the image with post processing tools in some manner.
Best,
Todd Ferguson

tdekany Loc: Oregon

If I had to guess, most people who look, look at the very same thing as you. Camera, lens, iso, aperture and shutter speed.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

And that data can have some value, but it can also be a 40,000 foot view of what is going on in a finished image. I think that is Bob’s point. People will use the data as they please but hopefully they learn that there are limits to its usefulness.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Understanding has many layers, context helps understanding the data at each layer, but without context, how does one interpret the data?

Watch the movie "The Imitation Game" it is fictional/fictionalized, but it shows the underlying principles...

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

I am a newbie in photography and I can say that any and all info that comes my way is appreciated. That said, I will explain to some of the, how do you say...... excitable posters here, that those of us that are new to the field have probably found something that excites us, photography, and are eager to get to the Hows and Whys as soon as possible. Up until I joined UHH, I paid no attention to EXIF. What gave me a starting point was to actually read the camera manual, get to know my equipment better and as the saying goes, practice, practice, practice. Through trial and error, many errors, I found that under/overexposed captures could still be brought in to create a great photo. I find Bobs example and question interesting. I will explore that technique. I still try to create my photos as to look good in the lens, but have found that to be not always possible. So Bobs white balance technique and the settings for the camera give me, a newbie, an interesting path to follow. But for me now, I am used to the way my camera captures data and I am getting better at adjusting things on the fly to get the shots I want. EXIF was useful for a time, but not so much now.
I suppose the answer to the primary question is, EXIF can be useful to the ignorant such as I, but not the answer to our questions. For that, we do research and ask more questions. And practice. Did I mention that we practice a lot?

WDCash Loc: Milford, Delaware, USA

I just finished reading the above article. Wow. I am way short on my uphill March of actually using this but fascinated by it non the less. I'm sure I picked a couple bits up that will be helpful along the way.
Thanks
Btw the image at the top of the article is wonderful.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Thanks, for joining in and thank you for the compliment on the photo.
--Bob

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

The thing about the internet,forums and largely unverified information or data if you will is that one has to build their own knowledge and experience to help determine what is good information and want may not be good or accurate. Each day I see information on forums that I feel
is just not correct. And this is frustrating as there are people who might not know better and will take the information as gospel fact.

quote=pmorin]I am a newbie in photography and I can say that any and all info that comes my way is appreciated. That said, I will explain to some of the, how do you say...... excitable posters here, that those of us that are new to the field have probably found something that excites us, photography, and are eager to get to the Hows and Whys as soon as possible. Up until I joined UHH, I paid no attention to EXIF. What gave me a starting point was to actually read the camera manual, get to know my equipment better and as the saying goes, practice, practice, practice. Through trial and error, many errors, I found that under/overexposed captures could still be brought in to create a great photo. I find Bobs example and question interesting. I will explore that technique. I still try to create my photos as to look good in the lens, but have found that to be not always possible. So Bobs white balance technique and the settings for the camera give me, a newbie, an interesting path to follow. But for me now, I am used to the way my camera captures data and I am getting better at adjusting things on the fly to get the shots I want. EXIF was useful for a time, but not so much now.
I suppose the answer to the primary question is, EXIF can be useful to the ignorant such as I, but not the answer to our questions. For that, we do research and ask more questions. And practice. Did I mention that we practice a lot?[/quote]

tdekany Loc: Oregon

I appreciate your concern, but I don’t think that the exif info falls in that category.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

[quote=Notorious T.O.D.]And this is frustrating as there are people who might not know better and will take the information as gospel fact[quote
Some might, but hopefully they will learn.
I was informed many eons ago that we should believe none of what we hear, half of what we see and always get more than one opinion because opinions are like, ahem, elbows. Everyone has one.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

We are talking about photography here and the old timers who had no access to exif info still made it. The worst thing that can happen is that we don’t become great at taking pictures. Unfortunately that is most of us and I can bet my life on it that many snapshots shooters don’t ever look at exif data. In fact most who swear by DXO couldn’t take a decent photo if their life depended on it.

Like SS pointed it out, to get into a gallery, you just need to know how to press the shutter. If you are gifted, artistic and have the eye, you are 99% there. For the rest of us, it is an uphill battle. Since we can’t learn to have the eye, we mumble about techy stuff. Except that it can’t help.

I see no harm in utilizing the exif info. In no way would it make you a worse photographer. Happy 2018 to you!

blackest Loc: Ireland

A lot of photos are straight out of camera which tends to help make the exif somewhat useful but what about the ones that have been adjusted.

https://www.capturemonkey.com/presetripper/

Basically its a tool to retrieve the adjustments made to a photo from the exif data, if it is there.

Some times you can find answers , sometimes clues, and sometimes nothing at all. Sometimes it can reveal copyright infringement My camera bodys stamp their serial number on every photo I take and yours do to. Sometimes you can pick up the photographers website even his or her address. Clues and mysteries, some of us with enquiring minds want to know :)

There is a great quote "thats funny" and that is from probably the most important discovery of the 20th century, and to be fair I wouldn't be posting this now, without it. Pretty good chance many posters on this forum wouldn't be posting either.

A curious mind is a wonderful thing to have, and the answer to the first posts question what can you learn from the exif information of the first 2 images posted is nothing, the exif data has been stripped away! It was a trick question there was nothing to find!