Quake3World

nice one! so is this manual focus, or using c-af? always wondered how you can get the focal plane accurate on a constantly (and fast) moving object!

tnf wrote:
Where did form go by the way? He left immediately after telling me I suck.

That's not a bad thing. he defo had issues.

he went away to conduct peer-reviewed research into how much you suck, which he'll be presenting in due course no doubt

urgrund777 wrote:nice one! so is this manual focus, or using c-af? always wondered how you can get the focal plane accurate on a constantly (and fast) moving object!

It was an auto-focus, manual exposure mode though - shutter speed was too slow to get sharp wings, but I did manage to keep the face pretty sharp. I was using a Canon 100-400L lens with the AF set at 6.5m - infinity so it would focus faster on things that were farther away. Focus is very fast, I just panned along with the bird and rattled off about 6 shots. Takes a little hand-eye coordination and a steady enough hand to keep everything from being blurry.

Our local taco stand, Endless Summer, staying true to its name during our first big snow in NYC.

sensor-cleaning success! damn those swabs are pricey though

meanwhile, some amusing statuary:



and some flying rat home-makers:

Long time no post.

Here's a portrait I took yesterday



Inolen, that taco stand is an amazing shot

Is there a specific workflow you use to get the 'hyper real' portrait look you have here or do you just approach each shot on its own and tweak until you have the look you are going for? I've watched some online tutorials, but wasn't impressed by the results they ended up with.

tnf, it's a shame you don't have a mac. aperture is a fantastic tool for effects and image management.

Doombrain wrote:tnf, it's a shame you don't have a mac. aperture is a fantastic tool for effects and image management.

When it comes time to upgrade cpu's again that will be what I get (I'm only 1.5 years into the current windows machine I built the summer before last.) Usually I build a new machine about every 3 years, so when that time rolls around, I'll be getting a mac. Maybe sooner if I start doing wedding photography this summer - but that won't happen unless I feel I'm really ready to do it. I've seen the work of too many people who aren't really ready for that line of work yet that are doing it right now.

Here are a few more eagle shots from the boat trip I was on.
Cloudy conditions so I couldn't keep the shutter speed where I would have liked for the most crisp images, and I had to have the ISO higher than I like to with the 50D (I've found this camera not to handle noise at higher ISO settings very well - one thing I am really looking forward to the performance of the 1DMkIV for). Still, most people I have shown the pics to are more impressed with the eagles themselves than they are distracted by the details that I tend to worry about.







Just took this zoomed out shot to give people an impression of how many eagles we were seeing at once - you can count a lot of eagles in the trees, and there are a few immatures that you can't see as easily due to their darker color. Check out the full size and you can see them.

[lvlshot]http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/6655/lotsofeagles.jpg[/lvlshot]

that's a lot of eagles

tnf wrote:Is there a specific workflow you use to get the 'hyper real' portrait look you have here or do you just approach each shot on its own and tweak until you have the look you are going for? I've watched some online tutorials, but wasn't impressed by the results they ended up with.

I sat and pondered this for a couple of minutes before I answered, but the truth is, I really don't know what I do to get that look. I don't use any filters, all of my work is done with layer masks and blend modes. I use a couple of adjustment masks as well as some high passes. That picture is comprised of about 40 layers or so.

Also, if you are concerned about high ISO performance, it's probably best to steer clear of Canon altogether. Nikon's bodies are far superior to Canon's in almost every way. Especially ISO performance.

Some shots from my ride today. also, jesus it was cold. so cold i could use the camera after a few mins....







[lvlshot]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/4202904609_6d375abd15_o.jpg[/lvlshot]

Check this hill out...
[lvlshot]http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/8205/statsv.jpg[/lvlshot]

what the heck:lol:

whybike in the freezing cold lol

dude

It's great fun in the snow and i have the right gear to keep warm

The pano's clicky btw

i like that pano

the amount of snow u have is almost exact to what we have here atm

quite little for the this far into dec

I noticed something strange in that photo.

what?

reference to YGP's stupidity in the other thread re: stitched photos

did you skid and fall off in the ice?

i hurt my thigh yesterday, it's all bruised :<

Fender wrote:reference to YGP's stupidity in the other thread re: stitched photos

actually, there is a mismatch on the horizon and middle distance between the far right two shots, which is weird because i thought stitching progs only had problems with foreground elements (which appear to be fine)

on a related note, i hate snow. the one positive about the weather in southern england is it only snows about x2 a year (though even that is greeted like the fucking apocalypse)

Fender wrote:reference to YGP's stupidity in the other thread re: stitched photos

it's done in CS4's auto stitching automation tool. I didn't have any input apart from selecting the images. wasn't that bothered about it.

phantasmagoria wrote:did you skid and fall off in the ice?

i hurt my thigh yesterday, it's all bruised :<

no, and i reached 30mph at points. twas good fun.