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Re: [OM] ( OM ) New photos - non-film, sorry

Subject: Re: [OM] ( OM ) New photos - non-film, sorry
From: "Brian Swale" <bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:41:27 +1300
Jeff Keller wrote

> Wow, there's a lot of very nice pictures there Brian. I don't see any need
> for mousification. There does seem to be some post processing going on ...
> the tulips look more like a painting than a photo (great picture). 

Thanks Jeff.  Yes, some photos were heavily modified using FastStone 
Image Viewer to overcome various deficiencies. From memory, the two 
internal shots of the clock-tower, and the tulips, more than others. Re the 
tulips, the camera chose to take the exposure reading from the (very late 
afternoon) sky at a rainy moment. This defeated the composition I wanted. 

I used the micro-rotation feature of IrfanView to rotate two hand-held shots 
of Mt Cook (digi-lens).

In many ways I still live in the 35mm film era when, to make the most of the 
little available film, I try to compose so that ALL the frame makes the 
picture, 
and cropping is not required. So I still usually do this in digital (but not 
always - for example when I photograph buildings, want parallel vertical 
sides, and don't fit a shift lens - I keep the back of the camera vertical, use 
the zoom to get the framing right, and try to remember to later crop out the 
un-wanted foreground). 

Anyway, for the tulips image in-camera, the sky was beautiful but the land 
was nearly black. So I cranked up Gamma, modified Contrast, sharpened, 
possibly added Saturation, and accepted the heavy noise as being part of 
the unavoidable price for rescuing a shot otherwise fit only for the discard 
bin.

Some more points for general consumption.

The shots of the workings of the fabulous (nearly 100 years-old) fully 
functional (and WORKING) clock are quite unable to impart the movement 
of all the parts that DO move.  The heavy pendulum on its rod swinging 
gently but resolutely from one side to the other, the two rotating brass air-
paddle governors whirring around, the clack and movement of the 
escapement mechanism which transmits the power of the falling weights to 
the pendulum to keep it going, and minutely turning the great brass/bronze 
cogs, to keep the clock hands far above showing the right time. And to 
cause the chimes to sound on every quarter hour. It was amazing to me, 
listening to the loud chimes in this crazy PC (Politically Correct) era that we 
live in, that such chimes would be allowed and not silenced by some 
complainer or other. I guess that answer to that one is that the clock is in an 
area of town where nobody lives.

In other towns/cities here, church bells and clock bells are often silenced 
due to complaints about excessive noise. I remember fondly when I lived in 
College at Oxford Uni (UK), and all colleges around including my own had 
some bells or other chiming right through the 24 hours. My own (St Johns) 
hand-chimed 51 at 9 pm in memory of the 51 very first students who had to 
be inside the walls by 9pm. Fabulous.

About the Mt Cook scenes; while I do respect the expertise of our Moosie 
with his computer, as far as cameras and computers can capture colour 
well, the powder blue of the shots I have posted is pretty accurate and I did 
not mess with that (except to not use the Circ Pol Filter shots I have from 
the Zuiko 100/2). Moose may have apparently removed the haze, but in 
doing so also removed the essential colour element of those photos. 
Remember, it was just under 40 miles (as the blow flies) from the camera to 
that hill. The air clarity was exceptionally good for that area, that 
afternoon..

The combination of great visibility and colour induced me to break a trip that 
was eventually to take 11 hours, to spend nearly 2 hours on taking photos.

:-)

Brian Swale. 
-- 
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