Either that, or Argument. or Contradiction. Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 2:55 PM, Bruce Walker <[email protected]> wrote: > Oh, it was abuse you wanted? You should have said so. :-) > > > On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 2:45 PM, Daniel J. Matyola <[email protected]> > wrote: >> Thanks, Bruce, for looking, and for your very helpful comments. >> >> You are right; it is not such a valuable image that I should spend a >> lot of time on it, but I need the practice, so perhaps I will anyway, >> as a learning exercise. >> >> While this is not the last frog in the world, or the last of its >> species, he is a special frog to our family, it was my last chance to >> capture an image of him this season, if not forever. He invaded our >> pool, and kept returning, despite several efforts to remove him and >> take him to a more suitable location. After three captures, in which >> we released him in the woods, then in a local creek, and finally on >> the banks of a river, he returned yet again. >> >> I was taking our dog out at 7:00 AM, while my wife went to check on >> the pool, since she was expecting a guest. She called out to let me >> know that "Kermit" had returned. I ran to get my camera, and my flash >> unit (which was out of batteries). The dog of course was excited when >> he saw the frog, and kept getting in the way. I also grabbed our >> butterfly net (used to scoop things out of the pool), so we could >> catch the frog and deport him once again before the pool was closed >> for the season (which was done earlier this week). >> >> Once I discovered my flash batteries were dead, I tried to use the >> internal flash, but that merely reflected off the surface of the >> water, ruing the image entirely. I then tried to switch to Macro >> mode, then to TV. Somehow, apparently, in my haste, and without my >> glasses, I managed to change the ISO to 12,800, which even I recognize >> is a bit of overkill, since the exposure was 1/1250 sec. EGADS. >> That, and the fact that the frog was on the steps, in 6-8 inches of >> water, made it a bit tricky (<g>) to get a decent shot. All the time, >> my wife is warning me that I'm already late for work, but she wants me >> to catch the damn frog before it dives to the bottom of the pool, >> where I will never be able to capture it. >> >> In any event, that's my story, and I'm sticking with it! >> >> Now, my wife wants to see the picture I took of Kermit on his last day >> as our pool guest, so I had to try to salvage one of the 3 frames in >> which it is at least identifiable as an amphibian of some sort. After >> all that, I couldn't resist sharing the result with all my PDML >> friends. Actually, I had anticipated abuse rather than the helpful >> comments and suggestions that I have received. What a group! >> >> Thanks again, >> >> Dan >> >> . >> Dan Matyola >> http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola >> >> >> On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 10:57 AM, Bruce Walker <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> Dan, nice looking frog, but if it were me I'd not put any more time >>> into it. You already stated what weakens it: soft and noisy. So I'd >>> just set it aside and get another shot, particularly under better >>> lighting conditions. >>> >>> Now if it was the last frog shot you were ever going to get, the last >>> member of its species or something, then I would use multiple passes >>> of unsharp filtering to increase the local contrast to make the frog >>> appear sharper. On each pass you reduce the Radius and increase the >>> Amount slider. Then I'd use a noise reduction plugin to reduce the >>> artifacting that running many unsharp filter passes will create. The >>> setting values need trial and error, and it could take hours of >>> experimenting to get right. I'vd done it as a learning exercise and >>> also to rescue a shot of a deceased pet (oof eyes in particular). >>> >>> If it was an environmental shot that included more interesting >>> elements, then the issues with the frog wouldn't be so important and >>> you could work on the overall shot to improve it. >>> >>> >>> Can you mount a flash in an umbrella or softbox and have it ready to >>> setup outside quickly? Even an LED flashlight would be an improvement. >>> >>> >>> On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 10:15 AM, Daniel J. Matyola >>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> Thanks, Frank. >>>> >>>> I like the photo, but is it far from what I want it to be. I posted >>>> it here for comments, so I could get some ideas of how to make it >>>> stronger before I put a lot more time into it. >>>> >>>> There are a few things about the image that make it hard to work with: >>>> >>>> It was taken early in the4 morning. The frog was in the shade. The >>>> frog is under several inches of water in my pool. Since the pool >>>> filter was off all night, there are a lot of bits of pollen, dust and >>>> hair on the surface of the water, that detract a bit from the enlarged >>>> image. Therefore, the ISO is extremely high, and the focus is not >>>> quite sharp enough. >>>> >>>> I had to play around a lot in PS with levels and contrast to make it >>>> even slightly presentable. I intend to start all over again, perhaps >>>> in LR4. >>>> >>>> BTW, the background is one of the steps into the pool. It is >>>> patterned and a bit rough, in order to make it less of a slipping >>>> hazard. >>>> >>>> Thanks again for your helpful comments. >>>> >>>> Dan Matyola >>>> http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola >>>> >>>> >>>> On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 8:30 AM, [email protected] >>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> Very cool! What surface is it walking on? Almost looks like a mattress or >>>>> something? Whatever it is I think it really adds to the photo - not so >>>>> strong as to distract but visible enough to be a subtle yet interesting >>>>> element. >>>>> >>>>> Very good photo but two little nits: Might crop a bit off the top and an >>>>> even tinier bit off the left to get the frog a bit more off-centre and >>>>> make the photo a bit more dynamic. >>>>> >>>>> And I find the photo a bit dark, but since I am looking at it on my >>>>> android you may take this criticism as worth a grain of salt. >>>>> >>>>> All in all, though, a wonderful photo! >>>>> >>>>> cheers, >>>>> frank >>>>> >>>>> "What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." -- >>>>> Christopher Hitchens >>>>> >>>>> --- Original Message --- >>>>> >>>>> From: "Daniel J. Matyola" <[email protected]> >>>>> Sent: September 27, 2012 9/27/12 >>>>> To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> >>>>> Subject: PESO: Frog >>>>> >>>>> http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=16474954 >>>>> >>>>> Comments are invited. >>>>> >>>>> Dan Matyola >>>>> http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>>>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>>>> follow the directions. >>>>> -- >>>>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>>>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>>>> follow the directions. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>>> follow the directions. >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> -bmw >>> >>> -- >>> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >>> [email protected] >>> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >>> follow the directions. >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > > > -- > -bmw > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
