Rays of hope- for a better tommorow

Rays of hope- for a better tommorow, originally uploaded by green umbrella.

I saw this photo while posting to one of the groups on Flickr that i belong to. I thought that you might enjoy it as much as i did! Posted by permission as always!



Rays of hope- for a better tommorow

Uploaded by green umbrella on 21 Oct 08, 6.18PM CDT.

Stained Glass: Crop

Stained Glass: Crop, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I did a crop of the photo and this is what i got. Lighted brick on one side and negative space on the other broken with the stained glass window in the middle.

Exposure: 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Sun & Clouds...

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Processing RAW Files in Adobe Lightroom

I saw this article in a post that i read on Flickr and thought that you might like to read it.

The following tutorial on Processing RAW Files using Adobe Lightroom was submitted by John Short from www.canonphoto.co.uk and www.johnshort.co.uk

Why do we read so often then it is best to shoot your image in raw and not as jpegs?

The first image in this tutorial is a jpeg of a Gannet where I have deliberately blown the highlights. One of the problems with a jpeg image is once exposed it is processed in your camera and the raw data is lost. If you have blown the highlights the information is simply not there for you to recover in your favourite processing application.

The following images are the basic steps in processing a raw file and I hope will demonstrate to you the benefits of shooting in raw mode. If you want to try to emulate my final image using the jpeg file and your favourite image editing software be my guest. It will be interesting to see what can be achieved in comparison with working with the raw file.

Adobe Lightroom is not just a processing application for raw files, it is also a library for storing, retrieving and searching for images. I have 20,000 raw files on my computer and Lightroom has catalogued them all in the library for instant display. Images can be filed by title,date metadata and so on. This aspect of Lightroom is really for a different tutorial and if there is interest I will put one together but for today let us concentrate on processing your raw files.

First we must open our raw file in the develop module of Lightroom. This screen capture shows the basic image in Lightroom with the develop module circled in red. The picture of the Gannet is ‘as taken’ and saved as a jpeg for you to see the blown highlights.( if you feel like taking on the challenge feel free to try and process the basic jpeg version of the image.

The first change I always make to an image is to try and correct exposure problems by reducing or increasing the exposure slider. The exposure values are roughly equivalent to f stops and you can either type directly into the box or move the slider with your mouse. In this instance I have reduced the exposure by 1.27, just over 1 f stop.

Now we can adjust the recovery slider.This tool will only effect the highlights and will recover additional detail that may not be visible in the original image.

leave the fill in tool for now and go instead to the Blacks, this darkens the darkest parts of the image without affecting the highlights. It is the opposite of the recovery tool used earlier. Moving the slider only a slight amount will give the appearance of more depth. In this instance I have increased the blacks by 5

The fill tool brings details back into the shadow areas without affecting the highlights. This is a great tool for pulling detail back into the shadow areas and in this example I’ve increased the fill tool by 11.

In the top left corner of Lightroom select 1:1 this will enlarge the image in your viewing screen to full size. the clarity slider increases local contrast making the image appear sharper. This tool needs use with care, it is all too easy to overdo the effect.

The vibrancy control will enable you to increase the depth of colour without the risk of over saturation , I find it a subtle enhancer for colour depth.

All that remains now is to export the image as a tiff to your favourite processing application for the final touches.

In this example I have only shown the basic processing tools available in Lightroom. The objective is to whet your appetite and to illustrate the benefits of working In raw. If you think you can achieve the quality from a jpeg then do try with the gannet.jpg image. You will soon see that the lost highlights are lost forever.

Here’s the first and last image side by side (click to enlarge):

At a later date perhaps it will be worth while looking at some of the more advanced tools such as noise reduction and curves!

DSC09037: Doll

DSC09037: Doll, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I little guy sitting on the trailer at the church for the pumpkin sale.

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 250 mm
ISO Speed: 200

dreadnought

dreadnought, originally uploaded by telmo32.

Origional Photography by telmo32

USS Bonhomme Richard

Fleet Week San Francisco

A carrier is not really a dreadnought, which is a battleship; but who could resist that word?

Uploaded by telmo32 on 19 Oct 08, 10.28AM CDT.

Old P&S Camera Contest!

These are the winners from the contes that was going on in the Sony Alpha DSLR-A200 group that i am an Admin for.

I have supplied Hyper-links to the photographers work as well.

The contest ran for about 8 days and here were the rules:
Post photos taken with your older P&S Cameras.

+MEDIUM FORMAT+
+Number Photographs+
+Post 4 Lines of EXIF Data+
+Tell What Kind Of Camera Used+
+Tell Where It Was Taken+

Here are the 4 that i have choosen to post on my blog!

1:

manimalmagic has fleas (don't touch)

Kodak P880
1/80s
f/2.8
24mm (in 35mm terms)
ISO50
Taken in Hillegom, the Netherlands, at the mental health facility grounds which I frequent :/

2:

Naomi Frost

FujiFilm FinePix S7000
2secs
f/5
ISO200
R72 filter
tripod and shutter release

3:

L' Moy...ॐ

Camera: Kodak Z812 IS Zoom
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 5.9 mm

Manistee, Michigan... Spring Break 08

4:

manimalmagic has fleas (don't touch)

Kodak P880
1/500s
f/4.1
ISO50
140mm (in 35mm terms)
Heemstede, the Netherlands


What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

DSC09059: Me = Reflection!

DSC09059: Me = Reflection!, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Me taking a reflective photo at the church yesterday evening. A new self portrait if you will!

Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08987: Lines and Angles

DSC08987: Lines and Angles, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is a photo of the exterior of the church. My main focus of this photo was the sky and how it is broken up by the angles and lines of the structure of the church. The white low roof line that is through most of the photo and then the main sanctuary and the shingles of the roof and how it sweeps up to the sky. I used a high f/-stop to give a good depth of field to this photo. I love the lone tree that stands above the main entrance to the church. The building was built in 1970.

Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/10
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC09024: Blue Light...

DSC09024: Blue Light..., originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is perhaps my favorite photo that i took in the church sanctuary today. I was able to be let in to get some photos while i was there helping sell pumpkins. The lighting was all turned off and i placed my camera in BULB mode so i had total control ov it. I love the blue light that is spilling into the dark seating area with just a glimpse of the stained glass that is i the triangular windows.

Exposure: 0.1 sec (1/10)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Late evening sky!

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Late Season Rose.

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
OFallon IL Methodist Church. From RMStringer

X marks the spot!

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Evening Con Trail.

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Obama's Citizenship (Ep. 6: October Surprise)

October Surprise!

Good Morning Sky!

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

DSC08843: Plow Tracks

DSC08843: Plow Tracks, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I love the plow rows in the field. They really stand out.

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/14
Focal Length: 80 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Tears For Fears - Mad World

I love this song. It is one that got away from me though. I remember it from the 80s but did not really discover it until several years ago.

DSC00017: Getting Bigger!

DSC00017: Getting Bigger!, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Another in the Forest Park Balloon Glow Fireworks set.

Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Harvesting Corn...

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

DSC00132: Boom!

DSC00132: Boom!, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Another firework explosion from the 2008 Balloon Glow held in Forest Park located in St Louis MO.

Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08949: The Dance

DSC08949: The Dance, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is my second attempt at taking a "portrait" type photograph. I did several in color which i was not very happy with, and more in B/W on Saturday of my daughter and her friend.

It was "Homecoming" dance night in our town so we made our daughter suffer through several photograph of her and her friend.

She suffered and complained but i took many photos of her because me and the wife wanted to and it was good practice for me.

I think that this is an incredible photo of her and i really love the way it turned out. I used the Minolta 35-105 for this photo and a "Back Flash" for the photo outside.

Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08826: Split Personna 1.1

DSC08826: Split Personna 1.1, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is a wider view of the field located off of Millburn School road close to HWY 159. The urban scenery and the rural setting makes for a very stark contrast that we do not live in a very big world anymore.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08838: Soybean

DSC08838: Soybean, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is of a Soybean that is ready for harvest. I had never seen what they looked like in nature. They do not look like much. If i did not know better, i would have said that they look like a dried weed near the ditch i had to cross to get this photo.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 105 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Vacant Field...

Vacant Field..., originally uploaded by RMStringer.

As i was driving home on Millburn School Road today i saw a field that i have driven by many times. I looked and just happened to have my camera today so i got out and took several photos. I then decided to take a series going from left to right to make this panorama creation. To me, this photo symbolizes the Autumn is upon us.

I used my Minolta 35-105mm lens to take the initial series of photos. I could have cropped the photo to give it nice straight lines but i wanted for people to get the whole photo, not just a portion of it. So many photos that we look at are nice and neat, cropped to *perfection* and processed to the Nth degree. I wanted people to feel the rawness of this photo and also the beauty of it!

DSC00036: Fireworks

DSC00036: Fireworks 1.1, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Manual Mode
Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
No Tir-Pod, Hand held.

DSC00037

DSC00037, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Taken at the Balloon Glow held in Forest Park, St Louis, Missouri. All photos were hand held.

Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Gas...

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

DSC08764: MIG Welding 1.2 [Crop]

DSC08764: MIG Welding 1.2 [Crop], originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Same person as before using a MIG rig to weld some carbon steel pipe. I was just trying a cropped photo to take some of the negative space out of the photo.

Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

The Lamp Project.

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.

The Lamp Project

We just decided to go and see if we could find this place before we went to the concert last night. If i had of know, i would have brought my a200 and set up to take a photo of this in high quality.

From RMStringer

Band list 2night

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

DSC08777: Plasma Cutter

DSC08777: Plasma Cutter, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

From Wikipedia:
Plasma cutting is a process that is used to cut steel and other metals (or sometimes other materials) using a plasma torch. In this process, an inert gas (in some units, compressed air) is blown at high speed out of a nozzle; at the same time an electrical arc is formed through that gas from the nozzle to the surface being cut, turning some of that gas to plasma. The plasma is sufficiently hot to melt the metal being cut and moves sufficiently fast to blow molten metal away from the cut. Plasma can also be used for plasma arc welding and other applications.

I wanted to let everyone see the bevel on the edge of the pipe that the craftsman was making using the Plasma Cutter.

Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 105 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08758: Welding

DSC08758: Welding, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I really like this photograph. The light from the welding illuminates the craftsman's front. The smoke from the contact is really amazing. I love the interaction of his hands and the welding rig that is taking place, how he protects one of his hands with a glove and keeps one open to get a better feel.

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08794: Smoke and Light

DSC08794: Smoke and Light, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I love how the smoke is kind of bubbling up from the MIG lead and how the light is going at an angle over the top of the steel almost between 30-45 degrees. Very strange!

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 45 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Street Dogs in St Louis!!

They will be here tomorrow, October 7, 2008 at the Bluebird in St Louis.

The Bluebird - St. Louis

The Bluebird is located at:
2706 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103

Tuesday, Oct. 7th 2008
featuring: Street Dogs, Time Again, Flatfoot 56, Benedict Arnold
Doors: 8:00 PM
Cover: $15/ $18
all ages

STREET DOGS - Mike McColgan - Vocals; Johnny Rioux - Bass; Marcus Hollar - Guitar; Joe Sirois Drums; Tobe Bean - Guitar.