As threatened, here's some pics from Kew Gardens. Less than I thought I had worth sharing tbh, so I've added some taken that night, too.

#1

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/320s, f/2.8


#2 The lake and fountain in front of the palm house at Kew.

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/1000s, f/2.8


#3 The palm house itself.

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/200s, f/8


#4 A water lilly.

A700, Minolta 50mm, 1/3200s, f/2.2


Well that's quite enough flower & nature pictures for now. Later that night, I was strolling around the Embankment and the South Bank. Well, I say "strolling" - what I actually mean was battling with a gale force wind blowing down the Thames, which makes me all the more pleased with the following photos as they were all handheld in a strong wind, and you can see below each one what the shutter speed was.


#5 The Embankment.

A700, Sony 18-70 @ 18mm, 1/6s, f/4


#6 Charing Cross station and Hungerford Bridge.

A700, Sony 18-70 @ 35mm, 1/3s, f/5.6


#7 I don't believe this one really needs any explanation...

A700, Sony 18-70 @ 30mm, 1/2s, f/5


Looking back through these pics makes me all miserable now - had such a nice time in London that I didn't want to come home, especially since the new neighbours in the flat upstairs are doing an admirable job of proving how little sound insulation there is.

Last edited by STROBE, Mon 2 Jun 2008, 23:55.

Quote from SamH :

Here's a question for everyone.. if I take a photo, I feel okay about adjusting the saturation, exposure, contrast, brightness, white balance etc. I even feel okay about sharpening up the images, when I'm resampling down, just to prod up/maintain the impact of a photo.. but there often comes a point when I'm touching up, where I feel like I've begun to cheat.. where it's no longer the photo that I took, and it's become a photoshop production and no longer anything relating to the thing I achieved with the camera itself.

Since we're all in the digital age, now, and we're not only responsible for taking the photo these days, but also for what happens in the darkroom.. my question is, how far do you go before you feel like you're cheating? How far do YOU go before you start backtracking/hitting undo? Do you use NeatImage to get rid of grain? Do you add vignettes, or burn areas of your image? What's the limit of acceptability before you've broken the thing you've made?

Good question - one I've often pondered myself. Usually when I see forums with people posting pictures (much like this one) it's not too long before someone posts an image that gets people cooing about how good it looks, but I'll sit there and think, "hmm, that's not really a photo anymore, it's just a jpeg that once started life as a photograph". I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to photo manipulation. I really can't stand HDR, it looks so fake - 99% of the time a much better photo could have been taken by using an ND grad filter.

Things like tweaking contrast, saturation, colour balance, slight cropping, sharpening, etc, are all ok in my book. After all there's a hell of a lot of this going on inside a digital camera regardless of whether we tweak the images in such a way afterwards. Dodging and burning is of course a valid technique from the days of film, but now that it's so easy I'm always reluctant to do it myself. Rather than darkening a specific part of the image I always ask myself whether I should've taken a better photo with better lighting/composition/exposure in the first place - no excuses not to on digital. Noise reduction is fair game too, imho. Film grain could be aesthetically pleasing, but rarely can the same be said for digital high ISO noise.

I think it depends on what you're trying to create as well. If you're aiming to produce an arty shot of a certain style or ambience then a fair bit of PP is fair game. I don't do much of that personally, and I aim for my photos to be interesting but realistic representations of how a scene/object/person looked.

So some lad who can do a bit of acrobatics and is a decidedly average breakdancer wins a national talent contest simply because he dances under a giant shower, while other acts (like that modern string quartet) that are actually talented get nowt?

Riiiiiiiiight.

Nice one, great british public. F***tards.

Lucky you. For contrast, here's a shot out of my living room window.

Lovely panorama Sam - is that kind of scenery what you live amongst? I've never mastered panoramas myself - only really tried a couple of times but they never seen to join up properly.

@ mrodgers - nice PP. I don't think the "busyness" of the line of trees is too bad, although maybe shallower DoF would have been more complementary to the image, with the focus on the tractor.

Quote from Fordman :

...don't call them SubaGlue's for nothing

I don't - these days I call them ChavWagons.

Quote from Speedy Pro :

Since you were able to use the Tammy on whatever you had previously, I take it you had another Sony/Minolta? Or does the Sony system accept other mounts?

Previously I had a Sony A100 (still do in fact, although it'll be going on fleabay soon to help finance the A700 & grip). Sony mount = Minolta mount. They're one and the same. (And no, you can't use other mounts lenses, with the exception of converters for things such as the ubiquitous M42).

Thanks Speedy. Yes, A700 is the Sony Alpha 700. Absolutely cracking camera - most comfortable, fast and intuitive thing I've ever held. And I've only had it a week!

The Tamron 90mm macro I've had a little longer - it's full frame, with full 1:1 reproduction ratio at closest focus. Bit slow to focus but otherwise great, and brilliant value for money.

(EDIT) Lovely pics Tweak - what lens were you using? The pics all look sharp and shallow, so I'm guessing it's something fast and fast-focussing. Either that or you're a whiz at manual pre-focussing.

Quote from mcintyrej :

I got it for £75 brand new at my local shop. One of the best prices around, even beats most on the net and definately beats Jessops £130.

Nice. I'm still hurting from the cost of the battery grip for my A700. It set me back £179, which is the cheapest I've seen it from any reputable retailer.

Lovely shots of the Beemer - especially the first one. Nice look you've achieved with whatever tweaks you've done to it in PP, too.

CBA to go to the gym tonight, so here's some shots from my trip to London instead.

First, on the evening we arriving, a wander round Hyde Park which was a stone's throw from the hotel. It was generally cloudy but a break in the cover allowed a lovely warm light through.

#1

A700, Minolta 24mm, 1/320, f/8


#2 From the bottom of the Serpentine as the light began to dim slightly...

A700, Minolta 24mm, 1/320, f/8


#3 At Chelsea Flower Show the following day, I swapped the 24mm for the lovely Tamron 90mm to get up close and to the details of the flowers and scenes laid out. I'm no gardener, so don't expect me to caption these, they're just plants to me...

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/1000, f/2.8


#4

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/200, f/4


#5

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/640, f/8


#6

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/200, f/2.8


#7

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/160, f/2.8


#8

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/250, f/2.8


#9

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/125, f/4, with flash


#10

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/125, f/7.1, with flash


#11 A reflection in a water feature. Please ignore my flashgun spoiling the reflection.

A700, Minolta 24mm, 1/160, f/13


#12

A700, Minolta 24mm, 1/1000, f/2.8


#13 This is the tribute garden to George Harrison. Could barely get near the damn thing, the crowds were two or three deep all the way round.

A700, Minolta 24mm, 1/400, f/6.3


#14 A quick snap of the Royal Hospital, whose grounds are used to host the flower show.

A700, Minolta 24mm, 1/400, f/8


#15 Back to the Tamron 90...

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/100, f/2.8


#16

A700, Tamron 90mm, 1/40, f/4

Later this week, I can also bore you all with pictures of Kew Gardens, the South Bank at night, and various other touristy stuff.

Quote from SamH :

A vertical grip is a must, for sure. I've been well blessed, both the F4s and the D1x come with vertical grip/release, and it does make a colossal difference to your psyche.. you automatically rotate the camera (even though I didn't in the first pic, I know! ) when composing a shot, if it suits.. no contortion necessary.

You're absolutely right. Bought a battery grip this weekend while I was in London, got back and found half my photos are potrait orientation without me even realising it. So much more comfortable to hold the camera, more steady and balances a longer lens well too. Now I just know that when I remove it because I want to travel light, the camera will feel all wrong.

Will get some London and Chelsea Flower Show pics posted by the weekend hopefully.

RacerX, I think everyone* pretty much figured this out back in 2003 when they invaded and immediately started building permanent military bases while all the cameras were focussed on toppling Saddam statues. Y'know, cos you need lots of permanent huge military bases to find some WMDs.

[size]* Everyone with the exception of rednecks, Republicans, inbreds, Dubya fanboys, and those generally who believe the US can do no wrong and is always right and that its' government is always honest and just and not at all evil.[/size]

Quote from the_angry_angel :

and I'm sure I'd be "pleased" if I was held up by someone doing that in the UK...

Held up? Just drop it into second or third (depending on your gearing), floor it and swerve near him, with hilarious consequences.

Although, even though it's wrong, it's an impressive wheely.

Quote from SamH :

A vertical grip is a must, for sure. I've been well blessed, both the F4s and the D1x come with vertical grip/release, and it does make a colossal difference to your psyche..

Yeah, the D1X is a handy shape... I prefer my grips to be removeable though...

Quote from SamH :

You obviously have a lot more confidence than I do.. I can't take people photos, even though I would love to. I'm far too self-conscious.. and I can't bear the thought of people thinking I'm just a belts, buckles and gadgets freak - or a paparazzi-wannabe, perhaps. I've known too many oddball photographers over the years that exude something of a sleazy air, too. Some really strange middle-aged blokes. God forbid anyone regard me like that! LOL!

There's a post on the previous page where I originally posted some pics from a fashion show that I shot, but then removed them as I wasn't sure where I stood with permission to reproduce people's images for non-journalistic/newsworthy purposes (none of them had signed any contract or model release). Nonetheless, I was in front of a crowd at a charity fashion show at my gym, shooting the models. I was desparately challenged by my equipment (my Sony A100 is not designed for shooting moving models with flash in dim light - it's the absolute worst thing you could use it for) and spent more time winding the exposure compensation up and down whilst desparately hunting for focus than actually shooting, and I was up against a pro with a full-frame Canon 5D and 28-300 IS USM, but just got stuck into it. It sounds silly but I probably wouldn't have the balls to stand in front of a crowd and bunch of models normally, were it not for the camera and flashgun. In the end, the images were good enought to sell, simply because I forgot about where I was (and thus any self-consciousness) and immersed myself in the view through the camera.

Nonetheless, the pro with the 5D wanted to go and shoot in the changing rooms.... hmm, I figured I'd just stick to the "catwalk". Another guy there that couldn't stay to shoot the event due to him being double booked with a beauty pageant came across as a complete perv. My experience so far is that being genuinely modest and innocent in your intentions can get you some genuinely beautiful shots in such situations.

Quote from SamH :

Instead, I pursue my other passion most of the time, and hunt out landscapes and architecture. I have a fascination for old buildings that are being gradually reclaimed by nature - I think that developed while reading Ted Hughes poetry, years ago. I drove thousands of miles around the midwest, from Ohio to Iowa, Wisconsin to Missouri, looking for old barns and rusting farm machinery to photograph. The Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria are good locations for that, too

I like landscape and architecture too, but what really intrigues me is urban stuff. Urban decay, waste, dereliction and subsequent vandalisation makes for such interesting photojournals that I've wasted hundreds of hours reading such sites by those who have the balls to go and do such stuff. Needless to say there is little chance of me taking my gear into some areas of my locality without some kind of safety in numbers, or an ASP baton...

That's remarkably professional. Properly composed and arrangedm it seems. Nicely done!

"hotty hot lapper" perhaps needs a less literal translation though.

Hehe, well, maybe it's not so special to have such details in eye reflections then. Nice shots though guys. Especially that portrait of your dog Sam - it's lovely. And I'm not a pet person either!

(Are you sure the white balance is correct, though? Looks a bit orangey).

Unfortunately the next purchase for me isn't going to improve my image quality particularly, but I want a vertical grip. Mainly for the reasons of improved portrait controls, better stability, and the extra bulk gives me more of a "pro" look.

The latter of which sounds silly but is handy for getting extra attention & photo opps when I do stuff for my local gym. Which just happens to be full of rediculously fit blondes. Oh well.

Really need a high quality general zoom though. What I really want is my crappy kit lens 18-70 to be made as a constant but sharp f/2.8, even though it would probably cost the best part of a grand.

Quote from Jakg :

I CANNOT find an ingame screenshot (i.e. one with the HUD) - All I get are ones that look edited or from a movie sequence.

GTA doesn't use pre-rendered movie scenes. Any animated cut scenes are generated in real-time by the game engine, and look the same as the gameplay itself. The same goes for all the trailers for GTA4. They're rendered in real-time, so although they're well edited and nicely scored, they represent the game itself.

http://www.gta4.net/trailers/

Quote from SamH :

Awesome photos! That's a really fantastic lens by the looks of those results!

Cheers! Yes it is a fantastic lens, especially for the money. My Sigma 70-300 is another star performer. It's APS-C only, and is a bit soft at the long end, but apart from that it provides really quite incredible image quality considering the low cost of it.

It doesn't match the Tamron 90 for detail or sharpness though. You remember the scene in Bladerunner where Deckard recrates an entire image from a tiny reflection in a picture? Maybe that's not so farfetched. I'll not post the entire image as I'd rather not splash his identity across the internet, so below is a 100% crop from the centre of the frame of a photo of my gorgeous 2 year old nephew, but I never expected the Tamron 90 (this time with A700) to capture such room detail in the reflection!



And that was shot wide open, too (1/125s, ISO200, bounced flash). I've definitely never taken a photo before where you can see my reflection, the light fitting, the picture on the wall, the doorway etc in the reflection of someone'e eye.

Quote from Jakg :

as it still doesn't look much more advanced than GTA SA.

Wow - that's hilariously incorrect on such a massive scale that it's almost sig-worthy.

Quote from SamH :

I wouldn't mind seeing some photos pulled out of that setup, when you're ready!

Here ya go (albeit all with the A100, not the A700):

#1 Thermalright HR-03-GT...



Something a bit more natural...

#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8




And continuing the plant theme, taken with my 24mm:
#9

Last edited by STROBE, Sat 17 May 2008, 18:42.

Quote from Shotglass :

tape a few pages of black paper to a ring and fax that back to their number

That's an infamous and excellent way of getting revenge over the phone lines, but sadly most fax machines these days seem to scan all the pages before they'll dial and send, preventing you from taping one end to the other and creating an endless loop.

Cards I use:

3× Sandisk 2GB Extreme III
1× Bytestor 2GB (it's shit)
1× Kingston 1GB 50x
3× Transcend 2GB 266x

The Transcends are by far the best. They're the only UDMA compatible cards I have, so now with my new A700 they'll be the cards I use the most.

15GB of CF storage here.

Well Sam, at least you know your camera/lens isn't mucking up. I was aware that the effective aperture of macro lenses drops as you approach 1:1 but had no idea it was by that much. I'm curious whether the same thing applies to my Tammy. It's f/2.8 at infinity, but I've read that it drops to ~f/6-7 at 1:1. Not that it matters of course as you need to stop down to get enough D0F for close-up work anyway - the Tammy seems surprisingly resilient to diffraction even down to f/16 and beyond.

That surely can't be right. It means your 55mm lens has an aperture of only 0.9mm?

"f*ck off" usually does the trick.