Real Camera

[DrEntropy]

That's a new on for me. I've heard it called the white rocket before but never the white whale.

That's what the real fighter jocks called it.

 

[waltesefalcon]

I found LR on mobile and downloaded it, and played with it some while I was waiting on my son today. Messing with the mask feature was pretty interesting. I wound up making a new cell phone wallpaper with it.

 

[Basil]

I've never messed with LR mobile version, only LR Classic for desktop;

 

[waltesefalcon]

I was waiting on the lobby of an Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City in hour three of a scheduled two, having already read the book I brought, when I had this bright idea to see if Adobe made a mobile version of LR, having used their mobile version of Acrobat for work. It wound up making the remaining hour more bearable.

 

[GregW]

Just for fun, my take on the furry cow.

 

[GregW]

Hey Basil, can a drawn mask in Lightroom be reused in other adjustments? In Darktable, I can create a mask to adjust levels, then switch to color correction and select that same mask, invert it, then use it on the rest of the photo.

 

[Basil]

Hey Basil, can a drawn mask in Lightroom be reused in other adjustments? In Darktable, I can create a mask to adjust levels, then switch to color correction and select that same mask, invert it, then use it on the rest of the photo.

That's a good question. Lemme try....stand by.
Short answer is yes. Basically I can do a mask (in multiple different ways) and, for example, adjust what ever settings I want to that mask. I can also duplicate that make and adjust other settings if I want. One of the coolest things about LR masking, and a feature I really use a lot, is the concept of "intersecting masks". You can create a mask based on any type of mask, then "intersect that mask with another mask.

 

[waltesefalcon]

My 18~140mm Nikkor lens arrived, so I decided to take it out and try it. This was a lens that was very highly recommended by Doc, and after using it some I can see why. It worked well for landscapes as well as closeups, and everything in between.

Today I tried to work on my understanding of light some more, and to that end I mostly played around with the f stop. Virtually all of these photos were taken at 1000 speed and iso 800, with the f stop anywhere from 5.6 to 11. Getting the good contrast of the stones on the tower at Jed Johnson lake, as well as the contrast in the clouds, and the water I used f stop of 11. Picking up as much detail on the flowers as I could, I used f stop 5.6. Most of the others are taken at 8.

I have decided that I am not a good enough photographer to be messing around with editing software yet, so I cancelled my lightroom for the time being. Right now I need to focus on trying to understand how to take good photos. Once I have a working understanding of photography, then I will allow myself the luxury of editing software. Until that time I am going old school and using the camera in 100% manual mode (manual f stop, manual iso, manual shutter speed, manual focus), and the most photo editing I am doing is resizing photos so that they will upload here.

 

[Basil]

Getting proper exposure when you have very bright background but a scene with lots of bright and shadows is next to impossible without either using software or, if your camera has the capability, using "High Dynamic Range" (HDR). When you shoot in HDR, you usually want to be on a tripod, Then, when you press the shutter, the camera will actually take three successive images (pr more but three is a standard default). One image will be over exposed to get details in the shadows, the next will be normal exposure, then one more will be underexposed for the highlights. Then the camera will "blend" the images and give you one image that is well exposed across the board. Does your camera have an HDR mode?

 

[GregW]

First off, congratulations on getting a DSLR. Just the difference in lag time when pressing the shutter is huge from a cell phone.
I think your plan to tackle one thing at a time is wise. Shooting with the sun to the side and behind you should give e you nice results. Mind you, Buffalo will not always cooperate. Magic hours at the beginning and end of the day help as well. I like your tower shot. The sun is off to one side. With the turtle and flowers, try getting really low to enter their world. I think you'll see a difference when you do that.
Darktable is free and is ported to all OS's as far as I know. Linux and Windows for sure when you want to delve into the software side.

 

[waltesefalcon]

Getting proper exposure when you have very bright background but a scene with lots of bright and shadows is next to impossible without either using software or, if your camera has the capability, using "High Dynamic Range" (HDR). When you shoot in HDR, you usually want to be on a tripod, Then, when you press the shutter, the camera will actually take three successive images (pr more but three is a standard default). One image will be over exposed to get details in the shadows, the next will be normal exposure, then one more will be underexposed for the highlights. Then the camera will "blend" the images and give you one image that is well exposed across the board. Does your camera have an HDR mode?

My camera has HDR. For the time being, though, I'm going to focus on taking things slowly and progress towards using things like HDR once I trust my own capabilities more. I want to be halfway competent on my own merits. Some of you guys' photos are simply amazing and while I know y'all use some form of editing I also know that you have a much greater skill set and more knowledge. I just learned about the light meter on my camera, and how to use it this afternoon. Right now I'm still trying to learn how to walk before I run.

 

[waltesefalcon]

First off, congratulations on getting a DSLR. Just the difference in lag time when pressing the shutter is huge from a cell phone.
I think your plan to tackle one thing at a time is wise. Shooting with the sun to the side and behind you should give e you nice results. Mind you, Buffalo will not always cooperate. Magic hours at the beginning and end of the day help as well. I like your tower shot. The sun is off to one side. With the turtle and flowers, try getting really low to enter their world. I think you'll see a difference when you do that.
Darktable is free and is ported to all OS's as far as I know. Linux and Windows for sure when you want to delve into the software side.

Thanks Greg. I probably should have been shooting towards the west this morning instead of towards the east, but I wasn't thinking about it enough. I try getting down next to flowers next time.

 

[Basil]

The Texas Thistle and Indian Blanket blooms are very nice! I also like the tower - what / where is that?

 

[waltesefalcon]

The Texas Thistle and Indian Blanket blooms are very nice! I also like the tower - what / where is that?

Thanks Bas. I went out to Jed Johnson lake at the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge.

As I'm learning more about f stop, do you think it wild be advisable to shoot landscapes with an f stop of f11 to f16 with a lower ISO, 400 or so, and a slower shutter speed? I've been keeping my ISO at about 800 and running my speed at 1000 and f stop at 8. I also need to be smarter about framing and get the sun either to the side or behind me.

 

[GregW]

The only reason to shoot at higher shutter speeds for landscape is high wind in the trees or ripples in the water. That is a choice, not a hard and fast rule.

 

[GregW]

One of the coolest things about LR masking, and a feature I really use a lot, is the concept of "intersecting masks". You can create a mask based on any type of mask, then "intersect that mask with another mask.

Your video seems to cover what has been in Darktable for at least 6 years. Parametric masks, or a combination of parametric and drawn masks.

 

[Basil]

Your video seems to cover what has been in Darktable for at least 6 years. Parametric masks, or a combination of parametric and drawn masks.

Darktable looks like a great alternative to those not invested in the Adobe suite of software.

 

[GregW]

My investment in Adobe was in the thousands. 5 versions of Photoshop starting in '92 with V 2.5. Illustrator 9, Font Manager and CS4 creative suite. When the subscription scheme came along I was done with them.

 

[DrEntropy]

My investment in Adobe was in the thousands. 5 versions of Photoshop starting in '92 with V 2.5. Illustrator 9, Font Manager and CS4 creative suite. When the subscription scheme came along I was done with them.

We went thru about the same experience, both with Adobe (Pagemaker) and Corel. Eleven floppies and money. Published a 16-page tabloid monthly for a few years. Mitsy has gone back to Adobe for graphics production, so she's in the "spider's web" so-to-speak. The various ouptters all use Adobe wares to produce product.

 

[Basil]

My investment in Adobe was in the thousands. 5 versions of Photoshop starting in '92 with V 2.5. Illustrator 9, Font Manager and CS4 creative suite. When the subscription scheme came along I was done with them.

I never did purchase stand alone LR but I did buy an older version PS once. I do subscribe to the Adobe Cloud suit for $10 a month. I figure I could spend 10 bucks on a lot worse things (and I’m sure I have). I realize why some may not like the subscription model, but so far I’ve been happy with it. For one thing it gives me access to many more apps than just Lightroom or Photoshop and I get all the updates as soon as possible. I like the seamless integration between all the Adobe products and the rather large availability of presets and plugins. But whatever works for ya is what works. Different strokes and all that.