A good streak coming to an end...

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

01/21/2007 03:17:43 AM · #1

Since tonight's rollover is going to deliver a 5.1 into my lap, I thought I'd remark how pleased I am with the good streak I have been running the first 4 challenges of the year:

Fireworks, 2nd place, 99th percentile)
Fences, 95th percentile
Procrastination, 98th percentile
Song Titles, 87th percentile

For me, this is remarkable consistency, albeit over a very short period of time. Better yet, they are 4 completely different images, and not one of them is a sunset/sunrise with dramatic clouds.

Now, back to earth, with my 3 current challenge entries running 5.1, 5.1, 5.7 :-(

R.

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

01/21/2007 03:25:57 AM · #2

If you're entering Minimalism then I'm pretty sure you'll pick it right back up with whatever you enter.

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

01/21/2007 03:28:38 AM · #3

Id enter minimalism living here in Baltimore City you dont see much of a shot oppurtunity right here but i had a couple of ideas.

1 The 1st Mariner Bank tower has no buildings around it more then one story tall and its about 25 storys tall itself a good distanced shot across the harbor should give it clear dominance in the frame.

2 The Natty boh tower a Red glowing face in the sky can be shot from afar and give small yet dominating focus.

I also think lighthouses in north carolina might work well for this frame of focus.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

01/21/2007 03:29:27 AM · #4

Originally posted by yanko:

If you're entering Minimalism then I'm pretty sure you'll pick it right back up with whatever you enter.

With that ruleset it's a crapshoot, though... Plus, all the skiffs are high and dry for the winter (see my "Procrastination" entry). Jejejeâ�¢

R.

BeeCee

Nikon D40

01/21/2007 03:35:14 AM · #5

So shoot crap and you should be fine? ;)

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

01/21/2007 03:37:46 AM · #6

Heh well theres gonna be alot of crap, but ive seen alot of straight from the camera shots that turn out good, so maybe 10 or 20 good shots and then 100 crap shots....

Key is to set ur god damn manual white balances sicne we cant use auto level.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

01/21/2007 03:51:29 AM · #7

Originally posted by rainmotorsports:

I donno about that. At least with the 20D, Auto WB works exceptionally well except in very difficult lighting, so that's the way I'm working so far.

Interestingly enough (or maybe not) I'm making it a point of pride NOT to bracket my shots for that challenge. I mean, I use a tripod, so I could just set up a shot and run what, 30 variations of it and cherry-pick the best one, right? For things that stand still, at least. But where's the challenge in that? For me the challenge is figuring out the exposure, contrast, saturation all ahead of time. Of course, to be fair, I did so much color transparency shooting back in my business days, of landscapes and architecture, that those sort of decisions are pretty much second nature to me now. It's rare that a shot of mine is seriously mis-exposed, unless I forgot to reset something.

I am still bedeviled by my occasional failures to re-zero the EV compensation after making use of it, which is why I mostly shoot in full manual mode. But when I am shooting something dynamic, I go to AV or Tv and use exposure compensation, and therein lies my Achilles heel ;-)

R.

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

01/21/2007 03:58:19 AM · #8

Well most cameras under 2500 seem to still have an issue with AUTO WB indoors only indoors i dont think ive had a cameras over 90 dollars have an issue with outdoor WB but i have tried what 60 or so cameras thats about 2% of the market in the past 3 years.

Indoor's about 90% of the cameras ive had a chance to mess with the tungsten preset works nicley.

Ive only had the chance to own 11 of the cameras ive tested. And i still cant shoot owrht a damn hehe....

Before you pull my portofolio know that the Photograph(s) submission was actually shot with a cell phone lol.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

01/21/2007 04:12:37 AM · #9

Originally posted by rainmotorsports:

Agreed, if you're shooting indoors use tungsten, or even a custom WB if you have a white wall handy. And, for that matter, if you're shooting early or late light, sunrise/sunset light, it's usually better to use "daylight" than "auto"; auto takes all the warmth out of it. But for all-around shooting, auto strikes a nice balance between shadows and lit areas, color-wise, for exterior work.

R.

BeeCee

Nikon D40

01/21/2007 04:39:08 AM · #10

Robert dear, going back to your original post...

When I get depressed over a run of bad scores such as I've had the past few months (they haven't been good months overall, not just photographically) and feel I should just give up, I find comfort and inspiration in the fact that greats like you have your off times too, yet always come back with something beautiful. Makes me feel that there may be hope for me yet :)