Kevin's Watch

Yeah, B&W is a whole artform all on its own. Some really stunning possibilities.

Not bad pics at all MM. I'm a big fan of image manipulation myself. (And PsP) Always amazes me what a difference a judicious use of certain effects can have.

--A

Those are great, Matrixman! Where is that?

(I'm also a big fan of PSP.) Although, sometimes 'off' colors can lead to surreal 'otherworldly' images. (Filters can do some seriously amazing things.)

Two of the numerous pictures I took up north this year. I was being sloppy, so these two are actually the only good ones.

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=833
kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=832

omg! the Dyer Bay one is absolutely ethEReal alynna! just gorgeous.

i LOVE the Matrixman photos too.


um....what is PSP?

Paint Shop Pro

oh. thanks.

here's a couple from the trip to DC...


a little girl standing in front of the Gettysburg Address at Lincoln Memorial


the armed forces memoral

I like the monumental quality of your Lincoln Memorial shot, Lucimay - how the girl is dwarfed by the structure. Being in B&W gives the pic a heightened sense of drama that a color photo version might otherwise obscure, imo.

Gorgeous shots, Alynna! Especially Dyer Bay - WOW! Plenty of visual drama in that color picture!

Okay, I've uploaded a pic to the KW Album, too. First time I've put anything in there:

Tree At Dusk -- it's a scan of a photo from my old 35mm point-and-shoot camera.

Sorus wrote:Those are great, Matrixman! Where is that?

Thanks, Sorus (and Lucimay)! I'm pleased that you're pleased by them . The locale is our city's central park (as with the tree at dusk pic).

Matrixman wrote:I like the monumental quality of your Lincoln Memorial shot, Lucimay - how the girl is dwarfed by the structure. Being in B&W gives the pic a heightened sense of drama that a color photo version might otherwise obscure, imo.

Well said MM. I agree. Nice pics indeed, all three of you.

--A

Thanks, guys.

Lucimay, I like both of those BWs - the first one is such a great size contrast, and the second one looks like some ancient ruin rising out of the forest.

MM, your composition's pretty good. Have you considered getting a more professional camera (or do you already have one)? The depth of field I get with a camera where I can manipulate the shutter speed and focus really makes the whole exercise more fun. In all honesty, though, my best pictures in recent years have been from my digital camera (mostly because I'm terrible at exposure time and picking the right filters, but the camera does it automatically).

My old Pentax is on its way out, I think. I haven't had my most recent pics developed yet, but the last stuff I shot was terrible - it was partly the developer's fault, but I had a lot of stuff that was badly exposed. I'm wondering if I have a light leak somewhere, or if the shutter's catching or the timing isn't right anymore. I dunno what to think. Don't know enough about the camera.

wow! MM! Tree at Dusk is wonderful!!! mind if i save it for wallpaper?

thanks for the nice things said about the b & w's! i really enjoy working in black and white altho i'm not so great at composition.
if i get a good shot, it's usually luck.

it's REALLY really easy to get lucky at the Acoma Pueblo near Albuquerque. This is atop the mesa, Sky City, occupied continuously by the Acoma for the last 500 years. This is what our guide Kevin called "the Acoma National Forest"!! it's the only tree on the mesa. (man they make GREAT fry bread up there too!!)

Lucimay wrote: if i get a good shot, it's usually luck.

it's REALLY really easy to get lucky at the Acoma Pueblo near Albuquerque...

LOL! Dyer Bay is like that, too. Many of my good Maine shots are from there. The intertidal zone is huge, so there's always interesting stuff between the water and the trees, the evening light is close to perfect, and a fog rolls in now and then just to make shots of the lobster boats more fun.

oh i've been dying to go to Maine. i have a friend whose mother lives near Bangor and intend to go up there with her at some point!

she just sent me photos that she took while there a few weeks ago.
awesome photo ops up there!

all that and Steven King too! heh!

Okay, I gotta post a pic of Busby that I took on Sunday. The "hard day's work" was a ten minute walk around the outside of the pasture. He's acting like he's been ridden for two hours.

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=835

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote: MM, your composition's pretty good. Have you considered getting a more professional camera (or do you already have one)? The depth of field I get with a camera where I can manipulate the shutter speed and focus really makes the whole exercise more fun. In all honesty, though, my best pictures in recent years have been from my digital camera (mostly because I'm terrible at exposure time and picking the right filters, but the camera does it automatically).

Thanks, Alynna, I've consciously tried to improve my photo compositions. But it's a little frustrating because, of course, the viewfinder on a 35mm compact doesn't show you exactly what will be in the frame, unlike an SLR camera. Yeah, it would be cool to own something more pro-level, but SLR's are still beyond my budget, so I haven't had the opportunity to practice with manual settings. I'm slowly learning about stuff like depth of field, aperture size and shutter speed through some digital photography books I bought, but it's all just theory in my head for now. I've lately been poring over web reviews of digital and film cameras, and I think I'd be happy with digitals (like the Canon Powershot series) that can be used as fully automatic point-and-shoots, but that also feature a full/partial manual mode. Not to mention they're more affordable than any digital SLR. (Though the Pentax *ist "baby" digital SLR is almost within reach.)

My old Pentax is on its way out, I think. I haven't had my most recent pics developed yet, but the last stuff I shot was terrible - it was partly the developer's fault, but I had a lot of stuff that was badly exposed. I'm wondering if I have a light leak somewhere, or if the shutter's catching or the timing isn't right anymore. I dunno what to think. Don't know enough about the camera.

Have you tried the Pentax website? It's got archived manuals of older Pentax models, but don't know how much help that would be to you. A few months ago I re-discovered my sister's old Pentax automatic that she had left with me. I tried it out and it still took nice pictures, but it's a clunky sort of unit. Then last month I bought an Olympus Stylus automatic. I figured I ought to get one last 35mm automatic before stores phased them out entirely. I'm still saving up for a mid-range digital camera, but it's nice to have this small and inexpensive Olympus ($100 CAN) that I can enjoy right now.

Here's a pic from the Pentax automatic:
Bears For Cancer

Lucimay wrote:wow! MM! Tree at Dusk is wonderful!!! mind if i save it for wallpaper?

Hey, no problem! I'm honoured that you like it. I was pleasantly surprised by how well that photo turned out. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying your black&white photos very much, Lucimay. I must try B&W someday.

Matrixman wrote:Tree At Dusk

Many thanks, my friend. Since the second destruction of the one forest, I had been unable to manifest until the appearance of this glorious tree.

You have returned! I'm glad to be of service to you, Taiga.

All hail our long lost Forestal Taiga Tzu!

--A

SF MoMa

What a great sculpture.

--A

Lucimay wrote:
SF MoMa

Great sculpture, beautiful picture!