Tell us what pictures you have taken recently (that are interesting)

[Reemul]

The upper fighter is a Hawker Hurricane.

Great set of photos!

Thanks and yeah not the best sort of typo, it was a battle of Britain display so I should have known better.

[Reemul]

I know I say this every page or so but, wow, you guys are awesome. Some of the pictures literally take my breath away.

How much of a difference does doing post on some of these pictures make? I’d love to see some before / after. All of my blog pictures are as I took them (and also at 20% to save on bandwidth) as I’ve been a bit lazy on revisiting them to see if I could improve them. I at least need to fix the ones from that day in San Francisco when I had a smudge on the lens. If it makes a huge difference I really should tweak some, I suppose (the originals, not the lower-rez blog ones, of course).

Edit: Man, I really should’ve gotten a RX-100 before my trip this year. That was stupid of me, my existing camera (2010’s DSC-HX5V) is getting a bit long in the tooth.

Sme need more work than others re post processing. I always shoot raw
If I can. Also sometimes the processing is more going for a specific look rather than a need to process.

I will put a few up this weekend for you. I do find my sky/clouds, landscapes Anderson seascapes shots can need more work where as people and planes cars etc need less but really it depends on the photographer.

I generally shoot at -.3 and bracket at - .7 meaning I get shots at -1’-.3 and +.3 if I’m unsure on the exposure side giving me a bit to play around with.

[Juste]

I know I say this every page or so but, wow, you guys are awesome. Some of the pictures literally take my breath away.

How much of a difference does doing post on some of these pictures make? I’d love to see some before / after. All of my blog pictures are as I took them (and also at 20% to save on bandwidth) as I’ve been a bit lazy on revisiting them to see if I could improve them. I at least need to fix the ones from that day in San Francisco when I had a smudge on the lens. If it makes a huge difference I really should tweak some, I suppose (the originals, not the lower-rez blog ones, of course).

Edit: Man, I really should’ve gotten a RX-100 before my trip this year. That was stupid of me, my existing camera (2010’s DSC-HX5V) is getting a bit long in the tooth.

I am in the process of learning to use Lightroom, so I do a lot (probably too much sometimes) post-processing on my good shots. I shoot RAW exclusively so I can experiment freely, Lightroom does non-destructive edits so I can always undo anything. Most times I correct exposure, often only on parts of the picture, crop anything that needs to be cropped and experiment with colour/vibrance/sharpness to get the desired result. I’m only a Noob at Lightroom so far but I’m getting there.

[corsair]

Metropolis II Exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). I swear, there was not a single person, age 3 to 70, who did not leave that exhibit without a big silly grin on their face. The din of the toy cars racing around was reminiscent of the Freeways (10, 60, 101, 5, 110 - All roads lead to Rome, but all Freeways lead to Los Angeles) lacing through downtown LA.

[Alan_Dunkin]

Last week I went back up to Marin in heavy fog conditions to see what it was like and generally… it’s a bit funky. In SF we have massive amounts of marine fog that drives in off the ocean at like 15-20 mph. It ain’t no still, tepid static thing. It blows in, creeps down valleys and blasts across bridges and highways. Inside, it’s windy, not incredibly moist but still somewhat chilly. On top of the layer it was awesomely sunny and warm. The skyline itself is interesting in varying conditions of fog, and it never really burned off completely that day. Was up in the headlands for about two hours, and hung out with some birders for part of that time, who are always up there.

— Alan

[Alan_Dunkin]

— Alan

[nKoan]

Lots of details are still present in the clouds (put it through Photoshop), which are blown out at the moment. Also, I feel like I am listing - I’ve stood at that spot many times and taken photos there, and I don’t quite remember getting that feeling. Opening second window - yeah, look at the trees.

And from Twin Lakes looking back up towards where I took the above pic (I was standing near the top of the waterfall for that one).

Same with the mountains/sky here - a little overexposed. It can be brought down a little to recover detail. Take the trail up to Crystal Lake and you’ll get some great views of the Crag as you hike along (I think I have one on this thread somewhere).

Awesome, thanks for the feedback. The clouds were heavy that day and drifting in and out and casting weird shadows. The shadow on the crag is something I’m not entirely happy about and wasn’t really able to fix post-processing (though, there may be a little more I could do). Further, when it comes to photography, I’m not a very patient person. I’d rather snap a few shots, then sit back and enjoy the view. That’s mostly because I feel that at my skill level, it would be a waste of a day to wait for the perfect light (and I’d still get something else wrong). But hey, it still fun to take the shots I can.

[Reemul]

Cracking Shots Alan , really love them.

[Alan_Dunkin]

Thanks! It’s going to be the last for a bit. In a few days I’ll be it Vietnam for a week, with a 10-hour layover in Seoul on the way back, so will be out of touch for the most part (well I may be able to post here but not on FB I don’t think), but am bringing the camera rig and extra memory cards as I won’t have the laptop either. Hoping to return with something interesting :)

— Alan

[tromik]

Just returned home from Ireland. I lost my little point-and-shoot during a recent move, and had to use my Blackberry for photos.

The Cliffs of Moher, Co Clare

Bay in Sligo, Co. Sligo

Village pub Linnett Inn, Boho, Co. Fermanagh

Main Rd, Glynn, Co. Antrim

[Omniscia]

Thanks! It’s going to be the last for a bit. In a few days I’ll be it Vietnam for a week, with a 10-hour layover in Seoul on the way back, so will be out of touch for the most part (well I may be able to post here but not on FB I don’t think), but am bringing the camera rig and extra memory cards as I won’t have the laptop either. Hoping to return with something interesting :)

— Alan

Where in Vietnam are you going, Alan?

Also, hey, bring American cash to the Seoul airport. They will accept greenbacks, but cards won’t work there.

[Manresa]

Last week I went back up to Marin in heavy fog conditions to see what it was like and generally… it’s a bit funky. In SF we have massive amounts of marine fog that drives in off the ocean at like 15-20 mph. It ain’t no still, tepid static thing. It blows in, creeps down valleys and blasts across bridges and highways. Inside, it’s windy, not incredibly moist but still somewhat chilly. On top of the layer it was awesomely sunny and warm. The skyline itself is interesting in varying conditions of fog, and it never really burned off completely that day. Was up in the headlands for about two hours, and hung out with some birders for part of that time, who are always up there.

— Alan

Nice photos (they make me envious, since I love the Bay area).

Here’s what the San Francisco fog looks like from way, way above: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79119

[Alan_Dunkin]

Flying into HCMC but going immediately to My Tho, few days there, some more in Dalat, then back to HCMC for about a day and a half. Redeye back to Seoul for a long layover, which I figure I’ll take the express train into town for a few hours before heading back.

I’ll have a ton of cash on me so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

— Alan

[Omniscia]

Sounds like a nice itinerary, especially the conspicuous lack of Hanoi. Shame you won’t get to the central highlands around Da Nang; it’s gorgeous up there.

[Reemul]

My son will be 6 in a few weeks and this morning he said he would like a camera for his birthday. He likes taking photos with my camera as well as videoing himself with his cars. Not sure what to pick up but a nice colourful P&S might do the trick.

[SleepFighter]

My son will be 6 in a few weeks and this morning he said he would like a camera for his birthday. He likes taking photos with my camera as well as videoing himself with his cars. Not sure what to pick up but a nice colourful P&S might do the trick.

I’ve made similar recommendations for people looking for a vacation camera, but for a six year old I’m doubling down recommending something like this.

Not too expensive. You can put it in automatic mode. He could take it to the pool or the beach or a sandbox or a dirt pile and you wouldn’t have to worry about it. And best of all if he drops it, it is going to be a lot harder for him to break than compacts in general, and those that have telescoping lenses in particular.

We’ve got a similar model that we use to take on vacation, and while it is not what I would call a spectacular camera, it gets the job done

[Dejin]

Nice photos (they make me envious, since I love the Bay area).

Here’s what the San Francisco fog looks like from way, way above: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79119

Interesting to see it pour right through the Golden Gate, and how thick it is off coast. Thanks for the link.

[Reemul]

I’ve made similar recommendations for people looking for a vacation camera, but for a six year old I’m doubling down recommending something like this.

Not too expensive. You can put it in automatic mode. He could take it to the pool or the beach or a sandbox or a dirt pile and you wouldn’t have to worry about it. And best of all if he drops it, it is going to be a lot harder for him to break than compacts in general, and those that have telescoping lenses in particular.

We’ve got a similar model that we use to take on vacation, and while it is not what I would call a spectacular camera, it gets the job done

That looks like a really good idea, however no sign of it in the UK but definitely something along those lines.

[Reemul]

Trip to Longleat Safari Park, a few of the more interesting ones below.

Lioness by Reemul, on Flickr

Giraffee by Reemul, on Flickr

Butterfly by Reemul, on Flickr

Anteaters by Reemul, on Flickr

Gorilla by Reemul, on Flickr

Lemur’s by Reemul, on Flickr

Bird by Reemul, on Flickr

[Editer]

Flight sim fans will like this one… My son and I went to Everett, WA to see Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection’s IL-2M3’s first public flight today. It’s built from a couple of wrecks (mostly from two planes, but parts from four aircraft total), and has an Allison engine from a P-38 as they weren’t able to obtain a workable/reliable original engine. (Interestingly, they used a P-38’s Allison because the prop spins the “wrong” way, and the contra-rotating props on the P-38 meant one engine was reversed from the typical Us Allison direction.) It’s not a reconstruction that would please hardcore restoration purists, but I’m glad they did what was necessary to get one back in the air! It’s an amazing thing to see in the air; it’s the world’s only flying IL-2.

They also flew a P-47D along with it. Really amazing to see an IL-2 in the air; possibly the first time an IL-2 has ever been flown for a public audience in the western hemisphere.

Full gallery here for aviation geeks. :)