Posts for: Raybo
Apr 19, 2020 08:52:45 #
jaymatt wrote:
Nice variety--the cotton boll is my favorite.
Mine, too. Had walked by it several times and really wanted to try to get a decent shot of it. Imported and attempted to grow it commercially several decades ago and never really worked. So now there are a few volunteer plants the pop up in rather unexpected places.
Thanks to all for looking.
Apr 18, 2020 11:39:41 #
Like many, we're pretty much locked down. Grocery store, pharmacy, Dr., and gas station on alternate days based on surname..A-K one day, L-Z next day. Actually only allowed to be out for 90 minutes of "exercise" a day. And as of a few days ago, you can't even drive to get to a place to do that. You have to walk. Too many people stopped that were quite obviously not headed to "exercise". And it's up to a $4,000 fine if you get caught violating the curfew...
But we do count our blessings for we live where. We're both able to work from home, and the tight lockdown here is pretty much a necessity. We have a lot of modern amenities, but a healthcare system adequate to deal with much of an outbreak isn't one of them. Good healthcare, just not very large.
So we've been just walking in the neighborhood the last few days. Other day there were so many flowers in bloom, I took the camera with us yesterday to see what I good find. Some of them aren't particularly sharp, but neither are my eyes anymore, and manually focusing a macro lens through the viewfinder handheld...well they looked good when I took them...
Picked a few of the ones I liked and thought I'd share them. Hoping they give someone as much pleasure viewing as I had taking and posting.
All the best, and stay safe and well.
But we do count our blessings for we live where. We're both able to work from home, and the tight lockdown here is pretty much a necessity. We have a lot of modern amenities, but a healthcare system adequate to deal with much of an outbreak isn't one of them. Good healthcare, just not very large.
So we've been just walking in the neighborhood the last few days. Other day there were so many flowers in bloom, I took the camera with us yesterday to see what I good find. Some of them aren't particularly sharp, but neither are my eyes anymore, and manually focusing a macro lens through the viewfinder handheld...well they looked good when I took them...
Picked a few of the ones I liked and thought I'd share them. Hoping they give someone as much pleasure viewing as I had taking and posting.
All the best, and stay safe and well.
Mar 26, 2020 22:21:51 #
wrangler5 wrote:
Bidets are probably on back order everywhere. Expect 'em back in stock after TP is readily available again.
$25 or less at Home Depot (Or Lowes or Ace Hardware) and a workable solution if that's the way you want to go...
Feb 25, 2020 19:32:19 #
I got a 6D mkII last fall. Still learning how to use it.
Went for a drink ( a "Cayman Sunset"...rum OJ and grenadine layered so a well made one looks pretty close) and to grab a photo of the real one. Turned out they had a duo there playing at the time. After the sun went down, I thought I'd set the auto iso pretty high and see what happened. By the time I decided to give a go at the Duo, it was pretty much full dark with just the string lights and table lamps. Was actually dark enough you would have to stick a menu under the table lamp to read it.
Below are a couple that surprised me a bit...
Comments on the ISO results much appreciated.
Went for a drink ( a "Cayman Sunset"...rum OJ and grenadine layered so a well made one looks pretty close) and to grab a photo of the real one. Turned out they had a duo there playing at the time. After the sun went down, I thought I'd set the auto iso pretty high and see what happened. By the time I decided to give a go at the Duo, it was pretty much full dark with just the string lights and table lamps. Was actually dark enough you would have to stick a menu under the table lamp to read it.
Below are a couple that surprised me a bit...
Comments on the ISO results much appreciated.
Feb 14, 2020 19:24:59 #
Anecdote from an idiot...
About 6 months ago, just for fun, I bought a Yongnuo 50mm/2.0. Stupid cheap. Experimental. Took it out of the box and put it on the camera... Don't remember which camera Canon T6 or 6DII. Had an ugly blue tint to it. Really bad.
I had bought one of these a bit before that.
https://www.amazon.com/Hand-held-Photography-Consistent-Accurate-Diameter/dp/B005MWKKPG
Took a shot with it, applied it as a custom white balance, and I was quite surprised that it corrected the nasty blue tint pretty well.
Now here's where the idiot comes in...turns out, there was a small piece of translucent protective film on the camera side of the lens that i hadn't looked closely enough to notice...or maybe I looked at it without my glasses...or maybe I didn't even look at it at all...!!!
In the end, pulled it off and the lens actually isn't all that bad.
But moral of the story is this cheap little toy corrected the WB. You just put it in front of the lense, point the camera in the direction of what you're shooting and then set a custom white balance using that shot.
I usually just use either auto, daylight or cloudy if it's "obvious" what is appropriate, but if I'm in a situation where things are really funky, I'll pull this out and set a custom balance.
YMMV....
All the best
About 6 months ago, just for fun, I bought a Yongnuo 50mm/2.0. Stupid cheap. Experimental. Took it out of the box and put it on the camera... Don't remember which camera Canon T6 or 6DII. Had an ugly blue tint to it. Really bad.
I had bought one of these a bit before that.
https://www.amazon.com/Hand-held-Photography-Consistent-Accurate-Diameter/dp/B005MWKKPG
Took a shot with it, applied it as a custom white balance, and I was quite surprised that it corrected the nasty blue tint pretty well.
Now here's where the idiot comes in...turns out, there was a small piece of translucent protective film on the camera side of the lens that i hadn't looked closely enough to notice...or maybe I looked at it without my glasses...or maybe I didn't even look at it at all...!!!
In the end, pulled it off and the lens actually isn't all that bad.
But moral of the story is this cheap little toy corrected the WB. You just put it in front of the lense, point the camera in the direction of what you're shooting and then set a custom white balance using that shot.
I usually just use either auto, daylight or cloudy if it's "obvious" what is appropriate, but if I'm in a situation where things are really funky, I'll pull this out and set a custom balance.
YMMV....
All the best
Feb 4, 2020 05:50:25 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
Your Havana have a natural colorful look, but I think Acadia Lake, NH RR Bridge and Sandwich MA may have been stretched beyond the capabilities of the original file. If the skies had minimal blue to begin with, it can take a lot of pp experience - especially with a jpg - to make them look right. With Acadia and NH, there is also a sort of flat look to the light which could be your edits or just the reality.
Havana was with a better lens. 35mm F1.8 prime. And taken as RAW. And I think you're right on the others. Those were among the first 100-150 clicks on that camera, so some learning going on. And light was extremely flat the whole trip to New England, but even though many of them aren't all that great, it was still a good time, will provide many memories.
And more importantly, rekindled an interest in photography. Have since expensed (as opposed to invested...I don't do it professionally) in better glass and now shooting pretty much only Raw.
Still learning...
Thanks to all for the replies
Feb 4, 2020 05:30:31 #
Curmudgeon wrote:
I have never been to Cuba so I can't comment but I have been to Pigeon Point literally more times than I can remember and there is nothing wrong with that picture. I am curious when it was taken
October 2016, Olympus TG870, F8.5, 1/640 sec., ISO 125...a small point and shoot.
Feb 3, 2020 20:45:44 #
I'm pretty new to post processing...didn't even realize until recently what that "RAW" thing was in my cameras and why i should should use it. (Don't worry...I'm now fully converted to RAW, and actually almost always in manual mode.)
Anyway, below are a few photos from the last few years. Most of them were JPG's to start with. M4/3 Olympus on the California photos, Canon T6 with a kit EF-S 18-55 for the New England, and the T6 with a Tamron 35mm/F1.8 VC for the Cuba photos. Those were shot RAW.
I've been messing around (using ON1) with trying to get some "pop" out of them, but don't really know if I've taken things too far.
The NE stuff has been a challenge because it was almost always overcast, and my edits to the sky to try to get the blue to come out almost looks unnatural to me...
Any suggestions and positive criticism in this regard would be greatly appreciated...for either editing or composition.
Anyway, below are a few photos from the last few years. Most of them were JPG's to start with. M4/3 Olympus on the California photos, Canon T6 with a kit EF-S 18-55 for the New England, and the T6 with a Tamron 35mm/F1.8 VC for the Cuba photos. Those were shot RAW.
I've been messing around (using ON1) with trying to get some "pop" out of them, but don't really know if I've taken things too far.
The NE stuff has been a challenge because it was almost always overcast, and my edits to the sky to try to get the blue to come out almost looks unnatural to me...
Any suggestions and positive criticism in this regard would be greatly appreciated...for either editing or composition.
Acadia Lake
Alcatraz Library
Cape Cod LH
Havana Residence
Sandwich, MA
Pigeon Point LH
Havana Storefront
NH RR Bridge
Dec 20, 2019 09:20:50 #
Definitely a land locked in time, and such stark contrast of so many things. We had the opportunity to travel Central america for an extended time a few years ago, but I think Old Habana has to be one of the best places I've ever seen for some really unique photo opportunities.
Most of the old cars in these photos are in the "Grancar" fleet...totally for tourism. There's a logo for it in the Red 59 Impala photo. We were told those are owned by the government. Probably confiscated soon after the revolution. But they indeed do a great job of keeping them going and looking good.
For those of us old enough to remember, most of the cars in that era had what we called "tree on the tree" manual transmissions. Two of them (taxis) we rode in had 5 speed transmission...was a bit of a surprise when he shifted to 4th, and even more so when it went to 5th!
And I could tell by the sound of the engine they were not the (mostly) old straight sixes in a lot of them when they were new. I'd guess they had been replaced with truck engines and transmissions. So mechanically, yes, it truly is an amazing feat of creativity.
Truly amazing place...
Most of the old cars in these photos are in the "Grancar" fleet...totally for tourism. There's a logo for it in the Red 59 Impala photo. We were told those are owned by the government. Probably confiscated soon after the revolution. But they indeed do a great job of keeping them going and looking good.
For those of us old enough to remember, most of the cars in that era had what we called "tree on the tree" manual transmissions. Two of them (taxis) we rode in had 5 speed transmission...was a bit of a surprise when he shifted to 4th, and even more so when it went to 5th!
And I could tell by the sound of the engine they were not the (mostly) old straight sixes in a lot of them when they were new. I'd guess they had been replaced with truck engines and transmissions. So mechanically, yes, it truly is an amazing feat of creativity.
Truly amazing place...
Dec 19, 2019 19:54:49 #
Had an opportunity to go to Cuba for a few days last week.
I work with a number of people that are from there (both locally and vendors in Miami...I live in Cayman), and they are incredibly friendly and resilient people. Having now visited, it only reinforces my opinion of them and their culture. Hat's off to them from me.
I have a Canon 6D-II, and a Tamron 24-70 F2.8, as well as the Tamron 70-200 G2 (and the 150-600G2), but just didn't want to be obtrusive in a country I hadn't been to before. Not to mention the potential political issues. So I opted to take a Crop Frame EOS T6...if they confiscated it, I wouldn't be all that bothered. With one exception, all of these are taken with a Tamron 35mm prime.
I'm pretty new to this, but it didn't take but a couple of clicks to miss the back button focus...and the much faster AF on the 6D-II. But it was also a conscious decision to force myself to attempt to improve my technique and not rely on the camera.
Attached photos are a few of what I managed to get...
Most of them have only had PP to take away either blown highlights or shadows. A number of them are SOOC.
Being new to the sport, constructive criticism is always more than welcomed. Thanks for looking...
I work with a number of people that are from there (both locally and vendors in Miami...I live in Cayman), and they are incredibly friendly and resilient people. Having now visited, it only reinforces my opinion of them and their culture. Hat's off to them from me.
I have a Canon 6D-II, and a Tamron 24-70 F2.8, as well as the Tamron 70-200 G2 (and the 150-600G2), but just didn't want to be obtrusive in a country I hadn't been to before. Not to mention the potential political issues. So I opted to take a Crop Frame EOS T6...if they confiscated it, I wouldn't be all that bothered. With one exception, all of these are taken with a Tamron 35mm prime.
I'm pretty new to this, but it didn't take but a couple of clicks to miss the back button focus...and the much faster AF on the 6D-II. But it was also a conscious decision to force myself to attempt to improve my technique and not rely on the camera.
Attached photos are a few of what I managed to get...
Most of them have only had PP to take away either blown highlights or shadows. A number of them are SOOC.
Being new to the sport, constructive criticism is always more than welcomed. Thanks for looking...
Sep 6, 2019 13:39:55 #
Long zoom isn't really that much of an issue, but a short zoom as opposed to a prime might be useful.
We're going to AZ in November. I'll have a 6D mkII with several lenses up to 300mm (not dragging the 150-600 along...not looking for birds in the desert...well, maybe not!) and may have my D850 with lenses up to 200mm by then. But those will be more for the landscape which is what I focus on. But both of those would be a handful for her to learn between now and then. So it's more just something small to throw in a jacket pocket on a hike not purely dedicated to photography kind of stuff.
I like stuff about both of them, that's why it's a bit of a toss up for me, and hence, the request for thoughts and/or experience with them.
Thanks.
We're going to AZ in November. I'll have a 6D mkII with several lenses up to 300mm (not dragging the 150-600 along...not looking for birds in the desert...well, maybe not!) and may have my D850 with lenses up to 200mm by then. But those will be more for the landscape which is what I focus on. But both of those would be a handful for her to learn between now and then. So it's more just something small to throw in a jacket pocket on a hike not purely dedicated to photography kind of stuff.
I like stuff about both of them, that's why it's a bit of a toss up for me, and hence, the request for thoughts and/or experience with them.
Thanks.
Sep 6, 2019 12:17:50 #
Looking to buy something to upgrade for my wife. She's been using various iterations of the Olympus "Tough" line point and shoot. Used them while we were cruising on a sailboat in Central America a few years ago, and she has a ton of really nicely composed shots, albeit that the IQ is limited due the camera. She likes to use the "in camera" scenes and special effects. But she's also seen some of the stuff I get with a DSLR, and is about ready to get out of the "auto" mode, and actually learn the subtleties of Aperture, ISO and shutter speed.
I've been looking at some of the "super zooms" like the Panasonic FZ1000, Sony RX10 & Nikon Coolpix P900 lines, but at the cost and size, I figure it's best she just learns to hold the DSLR with an appropriate lens. But there's lot of time she won't want to haul that around, so I started looking at some of the fixed lens options.
The two that I've narrowed it down to in that category are the Fujifilm X100F and Panasonic LX100 II.
Kind of leaning toward the LX100-II, mostly because of the (albeit short) zoom. Any thoughts suggestions or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.
Below are a couple of samples of the kind of stuff she (likes &) does. These were done with the in camera modes. Not PP on a computer.
I've been looking at some of the "super zooms" like the Panasonic FZ1000, Sony RX10 & Nikon Coolpix P900 lines, but at the cost and size, I figure it's best she just learns to hold the DSLR with an appropriate lens. But there's lot of time she won't want to haul that around, so I started looking at some of the fixed lens options.
The two that I've narrowed it down to in that category are the Fujifilm X100F and Panasonic LX100 II.
Kind of leaning toward the LX100-II, mostly because of the (albeit short) zoom. Any thoughts suggestions or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.
Below are a couple of samples of the kind of stuff she (likes &) does. These were done with the in camera modes. Not PP on a computer.
Aug 10, 2019 20:45:26 #
Sunnely wrote:
You started it...
(I think a couple were photoshopped)
(I think a couple were photoshopped)
OK...altered (created?) or not, those are cool!!!
Thanks
Aug 9, 2019 21:14:56 #
Tired of my cell phone taking better photos than a "budget" oriented ASP-C camera I bought last fall does. Took photos on vacation in NE last fall that were really good, pretty much properly exposed, but just lousy resolution...
So, about to pull the trigger on a D850. Looking for feedback on the lens selection I'm looking at to get started with to put together a starter kit.
Interests are as follows:
1. Landscape...sunrise, sunset, mountains (valleys) when on vacation I live on an island (very small and flat), so SR/SS with and without clouds is a primary source of opportunity.
2. Low light night, moon, lightning.
3. Macro....but none of the lenses below apply. For a later discussion.
4. Wildlife
5. All the rest...really have somewhere between little, and no, interest in people being in my images. (Wife of 37 years and 32 year old daughter excepted)
Have little to no loyalty to "name brand" lenses...if it works, and is more economical, all the better.
I'm not a "professional", but I am, by nature, critical, so want something in >85% range on quality
These are what I'm looking at to get started with on the D850:.
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
Tamron 24-70mm F/2.8 G2 Di VC USD G2
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2
Any and all comments and constructive criticism welcome
Cheers
So, about to pull the trigger on a D850. Looking for feedback on the lens selection I'm looking at to get started with to put together a starter kit.
Interests are as follows:
1. Landscape...sunrise, sunset, mountains (valleys) when on vacation I live on an island (very small and flat), so SR/SS with and without clouds is a primary source of opportunity.
2. Low light night, moon, lightning.
3. Macro....but none of the lenses below apply. For a later discussion.
4. Wildlife
5. All the rest...really have somewhere between little, and no, interest in people being in my images. (Wife of 37 years and 32 year old daughter excepted)
Have little to no loyalty to "name brand" lenses...if it works, and is more economical, all the better.
I'm not a "professional", but I am, by nature, critical, so want something in >85% range on quality
These are what I'm looking at to get started with on the D850:.
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
Tamron 24-70mm F/2.8 G2 Di VC USD G2
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2
Any and all comments and constructive criticism welcome
Cheers
Aug 9, 2019 20:46:22 #
Just for fun...
No...I haven't been smoking anything. OK, Friday evening, maybe a little Rum & Coconut Water...
Didn't see this till I got it transferred to the computer.
This could probably be psychological study...
I have a perception of what I see in this...What do you see?
Sorry about the resolution...new D850 soon come
No...I haven't been smoking anything. OK, Friday evening, maybe a little Rum & Coconut Water...
Didn't see this till I got it transferred to the computer.
This could probably be psychological study...
I have a perception of what I see in this...What do you see?
Sorry about the resolution...new D850 soon come
