Thanks Graham. I'll follow your suggestions. As for the lean, you're right, it's leaning. I shot this with my a7r, with the viewfinder level activated. It IS leaning & I just left it that way. Maybe I should have corrected it. It sure would be a simple procedure. Anyway, thanks again.

Thanks Charles. I feel like you. I like it as a photograph, but it doesn't have the feeling I had. I think I'm looking for a late or early winter day, when the leaves have fallen, no snow yet, and a yuck overcast day; then shoot in B&W. It wouldn't probably be a "nice" image, but the mood would be just how I feel about the scene.

Thanks Nightski. The sky was just plain gray yuck that day. I tried several times to add blue and each time I failed to get a nice sky blue. So I gave up. My biggest goof of the day was that I did forget to pack my 15 foot Fiskars tree trimmer! Don't leave home without it! In the raw file there were a couple of small dead branches and a couple of leaves that were quite intrusive on the silo. In PP, I blew on the screen real hard and the offenders blew off. TNX AGN for commenting.

At one time this farm had a house made of stones. It had a nice barn. Now, the family is gone. The house is gone. The barn is gone. The memories and traditions are gone. The only thing remaining is this silo. And now the progression of natures growth patterns are removing even the silo from view. I thought of doing this in B&W, but the tone range wasn't to my liking. So does my image convey my impression of the scene? all cc welcome. TNX!

The Last of the farm

(Download)

I like the composition, and the line. Color is good, detail very sharp. The fog is beautifully treated. A truly wonderful image. Over all, "ya done good," young lady.

My answer is limited because the largest print I usually make is 16x20. Once in a while a 17x22. At normal viewing distance, I can't really tell much difference. The Oly with a prime lens does very well. Oh course if you get really nit-picky, the a7r is almost unbeatable, especially if the image had been improved with a crop. I got the a7r first, then I learned of Oly on UHH. I use the oly most of the time because it has better stabilization and faster range finding. You can make perfectly acceptable prints from your Oly. Sure, if you sold really large landscaped prints, a bigger file is better. For most people the Oly is enough. Bigger is only better if you, or your customers, really need it. I feel really great when I walk out the door with my em-1 and 6 prime lenses in a small bag & whole thing weighs in, at most 5 lbs, enough said. I also have a 12-40 Oly Pro zoom. It's sharp, very nice. It's also heavy enough that if I'm going to shoot zooms, I'll shoot the a7r with Zeiss or Sony G glass because there isn't any perceptible weight difference. If I had purchased the Oly first, there would be no a7r in my life. I hope you now feel you made a great purchase.

I just love my em-1. I usually use prime lenses. I also have a Sony a7r. It doesn't run as smooth as the Oly. I have had no problems with the Oly. I have observed that when I check the specs on their Pro zoom lenses, they are about the same weight as the a7r lenses. Either outfit is sooo much easier to carry than my previous dslr's. You'll love Oly!

Hi streetshot. As usual in photography, there is not really correct answer to your question. I have a book, I picked up a few years ago by Tony Corbell and Joshua Haftel Called: Nik Software Captured. In the chapter on SE Pro it stated that this program has more image controls than any other NIK product. It also explains how there are some adjustments in SE that are not in ANY other product. In my case, I open an image in ACR and check WB, Exp, and lens correction. From there it's in to SE Pro. You have total command in SE Pro. I'm just getting used to not using the presets and playing in a do-it-yourself mode. Now that I'm getting used to the controls, I'm having way more fun than I used to in my darkroom film days. If you can find a copy of the book in mentioned, you'll love it.

Linda, you have a grand question here. In my case, many times I fly freely into a scene and without thought record images. The number of successful images I've recorded with this procedure would fit in flea's naval! I have to explore a scene. (I didn't say work it.) I still don't have the ability to know exactly what draws me into a scene with consistent certainty. I have to walk around the scene, and hopefully discover a strong view. I have to be very critical of what I record because I have a tendency to, "fall in love" with what's in front of me, well before I've found a strong composition. So my procedure, if I have one, has to be quite meditative, for me to get good results. I don't have a gift for naturally "seeing" strongly; only once in a while do I do that. You, on the other hand, do see strongly quite frequently. What every way you do it, keep it up. You do very well.

Hi Billy. I've not been to a site like this one. So here goes. First, you've made a technically fine portrait. I agree with previous comments that this young man looks like he feels he is the official "screwee" of the day. Now I wonder if it was your intentional or unintentional plan to use a camera height an inch or so above eye level to your subject? An inch or two of looking down at you subject records him as below you, and this could directed viewers to look down at him thus belittling him. An inch or two of looking up at your subject makes him look an egotist, a real 24 caret suppository model, a guy you would not trust. And looking at your subject at eye level, with just tad of forward lean, makes him look like your friend, and a person you would vote for. Does any of this make any sense to you. Your subject is probably just what he appears to be, but your input to the subject, photographically, could also add to this expression. See ya, Lynn

I like your composition, plenty of right side breathing room for the subject to look into. Good use of the log. Nice sharpness. Back ground treated nicely. And I assume the modeling fee was reasonable. A well done image.

You have captured the perfect moment in this image. Your processing in B&W is Graham-like and makes a great photo, illustrating your basic thought. This guy looks like someone who would smoke any time, any place, around any one. Very successful image.

Granddad, ya got a good one here. Very good focus and great detail. I like the composition, maybe a little less space behind the bird, but it's really good the way it is. And I like your background in this photo. I think it works better here with this subject.

Nicely done Minnie. The sky is beautifully done and the reflection in the water was demanded by the sky. To me, this scene cried for a vertical composition. I'm not good enough to see anything unbalanced. I think it's a beautiful image. And yes, thank you for your little people. They really define the vastness of scene.

A beautiful capture of a Bushy tail. Perfect focus. Nice composition and very & sharp. I agree that the brown thingy behind him would be better if it "went away." Photographically, your background is OK and it does highlight the subject. For my country-boy taste, it's too obviously PS ed. I'm all for shallow DOF to highlight the subject, but this, as Minnie said, is a bit too dark for me. It's a bit to blurred. In real life, I would expect to see a bit of background trees, brush pile, grass, fence line, something back there, out of focus, yes, but still be there. I don't want to rain on your parade, your image is quite nice. Just my thoughts as old guy who feeds bushy-tails 365 days a year.