FEATURED The Big Photography Thread

Hi all! I just wanted to say I'm back from a few days at the beach and had a lot of fun taking my first long exposure photos, which I'll share (a couple at a time of course) whenever I get them processed. It was a lot of fun. I definitely need a new tripod though. This plastic POS is not good enough to hold a gripped camera stable vertically.Heck, I had to drop one of the tripod legs just to level the camera. Sigh...it's always something.

Speaking of something, I received my first flash for father's day! I was expecting it for my birthday later this month, but father's day is cool too, and sooner. It's a Yongnuo YN-500EX, which exchanges some guide number for features like TTL and HSS (high speed sync) to keep it affordable. I can't wait to get to know it and use it, especially with the 70D's external flash firing capability. Good times (and a review'ish thread, of course) ahead!

Flashy goodness!



EDIT - I should have mentioned that's a new'ish YN-500EX. It's cheaper than the big dogs, but trades some guide number for extras like HSS & TTL. I'm hoping to play with it off-camera some just to have some fun. When I'll actually be able to do that is anybody's guess.

hokiealumnus -
You realize the 70D only uses Line of site triggers, so you have to use the on camera flash the initial trigger point. Instead of a true wireless or Radio system?

I ask this cause the documentation and their claims about remote flash support are difficult to understand at times and not very straight forward.

Also you loose the ability to do second curtain sync past about 1/200th of a second, so highspeed sync is incapable of having second curtain sync enabled. Infact the option will disappear all together when you are in high speed sync mode.

Yep, I got that about off-camera flash, it's optically triggered until I get a radio trigger. If I find the on-camera trigger too limiting I'll invest in a radio system. Yongnuo has them for relatively cheap to moderately expensive, depending on whether you want them to have TTL and/or HSS or not.

Re: second curtain sync - I haven't really even gotten that advanced and am not sure how it would be useful at speeds above 1/200. However, it should be up to 1/250 - native sync is 1/250-1/60 on the 70D.

Anyway, you're absolutely right, as it stands it will be limited, and thanks for pointing it out in case others didn't know! I'll just have to work within those limitations for now.

second curtain sync is used for when your trying to slow action shots and give a slight trail of motion to the object. Second shutter sync is needed to make the object appear to be moving forwards in the frame, Otherwise they will appear to be moving backwards, due to the way that linear plane shutters work.

Just have one of your kids run outside at night, and try taking a shot with the two settings. You will immediately see what i am talking about. Its kinda fun in the rain as well. You can make it look like its raining upwards or snowing backwards.

Originally seen @ POTN.

Nice 70D deal here: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=9930

70D body
Adobe Lightroom 5
Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Professional Inkjet Printer
Paper

$896.99 after $400 mail-in Printer Rebate

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wow that a quite large discount there

That is a crazy good deal.

Very convenient I already have one.

Patient has been realized...new additions to the family.


Little camera Sony a7


Sony a77 vs a7 Top view


Sony a77 vs a7 Front angle view


Test shot using the new Sony a7

I got a couple goodies today. 82mm wide angle adapter ring, Lee foundation kit, and a Lee Big Stopper (10 stop ND filter). I ordered a Little Stopper (6 stop) as well, but they're on backorder for about a month it sounds like.

That's a heck of a FF/APS-C combo Sam, very nice. I prefer OVF cameras, but if a person wants to go mirrorless + EVF, that's a great combo for it!

The filters look sweet DnB, looking forward to some funky landscapes from you.

I can't wait to see what the a77 and you can do. I was looking at one when I got my Nikon D7100.

Your D7100 is a fine piece of electronic I was thinking upgrading from D7000 which my wife being using for the last 2 years.
I wanted to move up to full frame and be able to utilize Alpha/Zeiss A-mount lens collection that I built with the a77 for almost 3 years.
Sold the D7000 two days prior to the newly accquired a7

I took the new a7 out for a day and love it. Especially for its compactness.
Practically no CA wide open at f1.8
Un-edited pictures are shown at 100% cropped (except the giant old tree clinging on a cliff)

DSC00239_copy_100p_crop2
55mm, 1/5000, f1.8, ISO 100


DSC00245_copy_100p_crop2
55mm, 1/5000, f1.8, ISO 100


DSC00326_copy_100p_crop2 .... Oh craps!
55mm, 1/100, f5.6, ISO 100


DSC00342_copy_100p_crop2
55mm, 1/1000, f1.8, ISO 100


DSC00282copy_Clinging_on_a_Cliff ..... notice two people at top right side.
55mm, 1/125, f5.6, ISO 100

Just got a new flash today! Some test shots with it can be found here.



Enjoying it so far, and I've already "flashed" my roommate

Great looking flash setup!

Right, so I've decided to completely forego watermarking my images. It's not doing anybody any good that I can tell, and it can distract from the photograph. I own the photos, which is obvious and easy to prove. I understand why people watermark their images, but since I don't make money from them anyway, why detract from the image with a copyright that already exists?

Discuss, if you feel so inclined.

hokiealumnus said:

Right, so I've decided to completely forego watermarking my images. It's not doing anybody any good that I can tell, and it can distract from the photograph. I own the photos, which is obvious and easy to prove. I understand why people watermark their images, but since I don't make money from them anyway, why detract from the image with a copyright that already exists?

Discuss, if you feel so inclined.

Click to expand...

This is quite a coincidence, because I was talking with a pro friend of mine about this very thing the other night. The truth of the matter is, the watermarks that you, or I, or others have used in these forums is easily cropped out. Unless you plaster it across the center of the photo, it's not going to stop anyone from using it if they so desire.

Photos are stolen all the time. It recently happened to another friend of mine who called me in a panic at midnight wanting to know how to watermark her photos because she found one of hers was being used on a site without permission. I explained that a watermark in the bottom corner wasn't going to help, and gave her the advice that will follow shortly.

If a photo is stolen, there really isn't a whole lot of recourse. You can ask a site admin to remove it, and if they're not just complete jerks that is sometimes enough. Proving ownership in court, though, is not as easy as it may seem. This is especially true if you only shoot in JPEG.

If you're truly concerned about retaining full control over your images... DON'T POST THEM. That's the only real safeguard. Short of that, there are a few other things you can do, but they're not foolproof.

1. Set up your camera to embed your name and copyright info into the EXIF data. You can easily do this on Canon DSLRs, and I'm sure others. This can still be removed using various software, but gets overlooked.

2. Resize and post low-rez images online. There's really no reason to put a full 5184x3456 image online. Some sites, like facebook, automatically resize it when you upload it. Make it suitable for the digital world, not for print. A file that is suitable for most desktop backrounds won't end up on a billboard or in a gallery somewhere, because it can't be blown up and printed that big without a serious loss in quality.

3. Shoot in RAW or RAW+JPEG, and keep the RAW file to yourself. About the only way to prove a photo is yours is to be able to produce the full size raw file when nobody else can.

4. Use 500px (I'm sure there are others) rather than Flickr. Photos can't be downloaded from 500px. They can be bought in printed form, or downloaded as a desktop backround file, but your uploaded file is safe. If you use Flickr, be mindful of what sizes can be downloaded.

I had a request a few weeks back from a guy who wanted to get my Kansas City skyline picture printed. He wanted to get a large canvas print for his office, and was wondering if I could send the file. I gave him the options of going to 500px and buying it in the store, or I could get it printed and he could buy it directly from me. It's not that I have any desire to make money at this, it's just a hobby that I really enjoy, but I wasn't going to send him a hi-rez file to do with as he pleased. I got it printed on canvas, and after signing it as he requested and receiving payment, sent it to him for the costs involved. He's happy, and I'm humbled.

So there's my take. I'd be interested in what others have to say as well.

Thank you for your detailed, well thought out response. Interesting that you talked about it with a pro, because my ultimate decision came down to seeing pro work...without watermarks. You're absolutely right - the only way to be 100% sure nobody has any of your work at all is not to post them. You're also right that unless your watermark is totally intrusive, it can easily be cropped out.

To go through your points, here's my take.

1. Already done. If anybody hasn't done that (and your camera has the capability), go into your camera menu and make sure you do. It's too simple a thing to just ignore.

2. This is precisely the tactic I have undertaken. Flicker & 500px both get 1280px max in either direction. It's big enough to get a feel for the photo and even to use as a desktop background, but not big enough for quality prints.

3. I always shoot RAW+JPEG, but I don't have storage space to keep all my RAW files. What I do is cull ruthlessly. The ones I actually edit for upload to services like Flickr, etc (and especially Crated, which is the only place I sell stuff) I keep the RAW. All else gets deleted. That way I have the RAW for the files that might be worth printing, and don't waste space on those that aren't.

4. 500px is a fun service to get feedback or make yourself feel good (via likes/favorites) but it's cumbersome because there isn't any easy BBCode, which is why I use Flickr. Since I have Crated for prints, I upload resized photos to 500px just like Flickr. Though maybe I should upload full size versions to 500px too for the potential sales aspect? Hmm...

It's great the guy wanted and purchased your photo on canvas, that's awesome!! I actually have my own story to tell on that front. A friend of mine from college saw the pier photo on Facebook and sent me a PM.

Yo, that's an awesome picture. My brother in law does digital art reproduction, but can also work with photos. I could totally get that printed on a canvas and send it to you (no charge). That deserves to be hanging on the wall.

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I was so flattered I didn't know what to say other than thanks, and to decline because I know canvas prints aren't cheap. So I politely and humbly declined, thanking him for the very flattering message. Long story short, he wouldn't take no for an answer and I sent him the full res photo. He's going to send an ~18x24" canvas print to me, free of charge, just because he liked the photo. I'm flattered and humbled that someone would think highly enough of a photo I took to do something like that.

Speaking of work, I've found myself shooting a company conference this weekend, so things are coming my way that I never would have expected. It's not for pay (my own company), but still it's flattering to be included. I'm a second shooter to help the guy that does it every year. Should be fun, and will give me something to do that's not awkward small talk with people I see once a year. Tell you one thing - I'm glad to have that flash now!

hokiealumnus said:

4. 500px is a fun service to get feedback or make yourself feel good (via likes/favorites) but it's cumbersome because there isn't any easy BBCode, which is why I use Flickr. Since I have Crated for prints, I upload resized photos to 500px just like Flickr. Though maybe I should upload full size versions to 500px too for the potential sales aspect? Hmm...

Click to expand...

I agree with you. I still use Flickr, and 500px also. I really wasn't trying to promote 500px solely, but I do like the fact that pics are secure there. The novelty of 500px has worn thin though, so whether or not I stick with it is up in the air. As far as the whole pulse thing, that really has as much to do with when it's posted as it does the actual photograph. I've had pretty good pics not do well in their scheme, and not so good ones do very well. I accidentally deleted one photo, reposted it, and it got almost 5x the number of likes and loves the second time. I pretty much take that whole thing with a grain of salt. I do appreciate a couple of people who are much better than I who have taken the time to contact me and comment though.

And another new toy!
Getting rid of my 75-300mm... Silly rotating filter ring, it was messing with my polarizer!