I just finished reading most of a very helpful Lightroom book (Lightroom 2: Streamlining your digital photography process by Nathaniel Coalson), so I should have some photos posted soon.
Perhaps there is a good side to this Photoshop glitch. As I had considered before, Lightroom may end up being my main processing tool, for which I would then only then go to Photoshop for things Lightroom can’t do.
I very much appreciate Coalson’s writing style. Based on the later copyright date and how clearly it’s written, it’s obvious this book wasn’t thrown together to meet a publisher’s deadline, like so many computer books are. Though it still doesn’t cover everything that Lightroom can do : (
Also, the fall colors are finally hitting Turnagain Arm and the lower elevations in Anchorage, so I hope to get some colorful shots during the next few days.
God bless!
Jeff : )
Maxine
Hi Jeff
Like the first portrait. Great shot!!!
I’ve been out shooting some of the fall colors this past weekend. Sure is staying pretty for a long time. Can’t wait to see what you will bring to the Oct. meeting. I haven’t sorted anything out yet. I suspect there will be some outstanding and exciting photos to see from everyone. Good luck on your shooting. Maxine
Jeff Fenske
Maxine,
I’m glad you liked the first portrait. What about “Jeff Lightyear?” Just kidding. You don’t have to answer that. I had a lot more fun with that Sigma 12-24mm (at 12mm), doing hand-held self-portraits under the airplanes. I’ll try to get a few up soon. They’re a riot, but the main shot I want to put up today or tomorrow is the moonlit Powerline Pass shot. Full moon will be out soon, by the way. I think the shots have to be totally away from city lights; though, as they’d blow out, unable to handle the long exposure.
I did get out quite a bit during the last few weeks trying to get some good fall color shots. I did get some that I really like, but ended up spending more time shooting moving water shots at places we talked about. I’d still like to shoot the one location some more, but I ended up getting a cold (or something) this week.
Winner Creek Gorge was one of my destinations, but the hand tram was a lot more work than I expected, and there was one other factor. I did pull myself out 1/3 of the way and took a 12mm-lens photo which I’ll post (after having to pull it all the way from the other side by myself, and then help a guy pull it back over to himself so we could then pull him back over…). A friend was going to go out with me, but I got this cold, so it looks like that will have to wait till next year. At least now I know what to expect. It’s way harder than I remember the McCarthy hand-tram was, but then I had a friend help pulling then too. The ropes are really tight, so it feels really stable, but it’s a tough workout. I would bring gloves next time.
I’ll be interested to see what you shot. You seem to be able to pull something incredible out when to me it looks like there is nothing to shoot. I almost called you last week, but I work weekends. It would have been fun to try to shoot the leaves like we did the flowers.
Did you see that the 100mm IS macro is available http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/09/ef-100-f2-8l-is-macro-in-stock-at-bh. I was going to get it, but I can’t afford it. It’s going to be hard enough to have enough resources print and mount my work so I can try to sell it. I need to get a paper cutter too.
And I still haven’t gotten my Photoshop off-colors problem worked out. I’ve been spending a lot of time on my other blogs too.
Anyway, I must tell you that I don’t plan on bringing any photos to the October meeting. I’ll be there, but there is still too much of the competitive thing going on among some of the men. I just don’t want to be a part of that at this point. I’m enough of a target for the other stuff I do in my life that I’d rather stay low key for now. If it was just ladies, or also among guys who really knew me well and were for me, I’d do it enthusiastically.
[If anyone else is reading this and would like to attend, we’re talking about the ASONP meeting in Anchorage, which I have a link at http://ToBeFree.wordpress.com].
Take care,
Jeff : )
Maxine
Wow on that Powerline pass fall picture. How long of an exposure did you have to go?? Don’t like 4am but for a picture like that it is worth it.
I like the pics at NWA where the light is very unusual, don’t remember what you named them, and the one self portrait with distorted wide angle lens.
I got a lot of fall pictures but don’t think they compare to yours. I didn’t get up to Hatcher Pass this year and that’s one of my favorite places for fall shots. I really like that pic from Susitna River too!!!!!
Sorry that you chose to not show some of your work, but I can understand what you are saying. Always things when you put the humans in the equasion.
Any time you think you want to shoot, don’t hesitate to give me a call, if my schedule is open, I’d be glad to shoot with you.
And yes, anytime we are vocal about christianity, we open ourselves to criticism from the world. I am not as vocal as you but I have progressed and am not afraid to say that I am a christian church goer and thank God for all his blessings. I also try to live a godly life but I am sure I fall down/short in many areas but I know that God will forgive me if I believe and am trying. Keep the faith.
Maxine
Jeff Fenske
Maxine,
Sorry to keep you waiting. This is such a cool subject, I thought I’d wait till I could give a more complete report to you and others that are also interested.
The Powerline Pass photo was about 20 seconds. Glad you liked it.
NWA photos:
I have many more that I haven’t posted. Frankly, it’s not as fun anymore, now that we’re getting close to the end of this era (and the lack of the sunshine vitamin every year seems to sour the crew about this time). One of the remaining two freighters that has the traditional CARGO paint job (my favorite) was decommissioned a few days ago. It’s sitting in the desert, never to fly again.
I also upgraded my G10 to the new G11, which has taken most of the NWA photos. The ones you mentioned were mostly taken with the 5D2. Adobe still hasn’t upgraded Photoshop and Lightroom to RAW convert G11 photos. Photoshop just recently started getting the colors right for me again since installing the latest Mac software. Apparently, an Apple update finally solved the problem.
I shot some God-beams yesterday morning with the G11, but the highlights were still completely blown out at -2/3 f/stop. I should have underexposed even further. Practice makes perfect. But how far can one underexpose without adding serious noise and loosing vital info?
The 1/3-fewer-pixels G11 has not disappointed in any way. It’s greatly improved for low-light work and is almost at the same par as the G10 for resolution. And it’s now capable of capturing fast action. The viewfinder now is actually useful. And the articulating screen can be used to shoot flowers from the ground up in macro, something I’ve been wanting to do.
I can’t tell if dynamic range has been improved yet. The highlights seem to blow out at the same identical spot, but there may be more shadow detail to pull out, given the fewer-but-larger pixels.
I think this is about as good of a compact camera one can get in this size; however, I would really love a slightly wider wide-angle, starting at 24mm instead of 28mm. In my opinion, wide-angle just starts getting good at 28mm. It would be really nice to also have a larger sensor compact if the pancake lenses were available at 24mm (35mm equivalent). I’m keeping my eyes open as I would definitely have fun with such a rig. And the results could often be printed big.
If you or anyone is interested, you may have heard about Canon’s also-brand-new S90, which uses the same sensor as the G11. It would be much easier to constant-carry, but its lens has a bit less reach and a whole lot more barrel distortion at the wide end. And it’s missing some of the G11’s features that I find useful.
Signs of the Times:
During this jobless ‘recovery,’ it’s interesting that Canon cut three features in the G11 which the G10 had and that I would use.
I really like the G10’s sound recorder! It’s always good to have a means of being able to record visions, dreams or words from God. So now, I got the 32 Gig card so I could use the low-res video instead. But that will suck battery power. Why would Canon drop a feature that was already developed and adds no weight or material to the product? It must be to cut every little bit of R&D they can.
And the hold-to-review-images feature. Gone. And the stitch-assist feature. Gone. I hadn’t used this yet on the G10, but was planning to. It not only helped compose panoramas, vertically and horizontally, but also 2-over-2 images, in which one could take four shots in order to make one big print! How much R&D is Canon saving by dropping these really cool features? All of those man-hours of development having already made these features — not utilized in this ‘upgrade.’
I did order the new Canon 100mm IS macro, using the Permanent Fund Dividend. I decided that it’s only a win-win for me as flowers may end up being my bread and butter. It’s much sharper wide open (where I often shoot) than my standard Canon 100mm macro. It’s not heavier (crucial for shooting handheld with the fairly heavy 5D2). And the state-of-the-art image stabilization totally rocks (I’ve shot flowers more often than not hand-held this summer)! I’ll end up with a lot more keepers and can spend much less time editing. There is often still the wind to deal with though.
Hatcher Pass:
Well, that late-afternoon adventure was one of the highlights for the year for me. The Eagle River valley was gorgeous, as were the lower elevations before the ascent to Hatcher Pass, which I was too late for. It was still interesting up there, though. It reminds me of the scenery in ‘Braveheart.’
I watched most of “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” series on PBS recently. It brought back so many good memories. My dad led Mom and me through many of the parks west of the Mississippi, including the Canadian parks. And I’ll be forever grateful. My dad was so cool in especially this way! This little trip I had on that beautiful fall day felt like I was driving through a national park. We are blessed!!!
I didn’t get many other fall photos other than the moving water stuff, which I’m actually still working on. Footing is sometimes dicey at my currently favorite spot, or you’d probably like to participate too. I’m also using waders for the first time. Standing in the water for a couple of hours is still really cold on the feet. I need to try thick socks, perhaps.
Not showing my work:
Yeah, I played it safe and feel better for it. I need to be as relaxed as I can about what I’m doing. I do often show my photos to friends (usually via the back of my camera), so I’m getting useful feedback. But I need to be careful. I’m doing much better at forgiving, but I’m not totally there yet. So I can feel the enemies’ attacks (or the “Enemy’s attacks through people”), and this can still slow my progress. My support base isn’t big enough. It’s only wise for me to be out there so much considering all the flack I take for my other projects. And I’d like to make a living from photography someday. It’s fun, and it’s an area in which my meticulousness can actually pay off financially. I’m hoping that people will one day appreciate how careful I am in theology to make sure that I only write what God says, for example, when it is a word from God — or how careful I am in my Bible studies. It’s frustrating to be mostly ignored, and watch America go down the tubes partly as a result. My new, white glasses are partly saying: “Hey, I’ve got something to say, you all!”
I’d like to do well in photography so I don’t have to charge much for my “Let Us Be ONE” book, if it ever does get completed and printed. I still am planning on adding my fine-art pics into the pdf version of it in hopes that this will help people see the beauty of the prophecy as well. And I do need to write the commentary for it. But I’m kind of frustrated that it doesn’t get more attention the way it is. It’s such an important document, and I was ultra careful to not add any of my thoughts into it, which isn’t that hard to do (at least for me, a mono-tasker) when there is only one voice.
As far as going out to shoot,
I’m big into emailing. If you have any ideas somewhat in advance of actually going out, please consider emailing me. And I could do the same with you. My email is in the form of a JPEG at the first post in this blog and also at About Jeff Fenske (linked at the top of page, right). And you have my phone number. I’m sure there are some projects that I’ll be thinking of that will work for us both.
Living the Christian life:
It’s really heart-breaking for me to see the desire for real Christianity (what is often called revival, but I think should be the norm) only now somewhat increasing now that it looks like the writing is on the wall for some real tough times ahead. For I’ve been trying to help get revival going since the mid-eightees. And many others have tried longer than that. It’s so sad to see us lose so much in the natural in order for people to be more interested in the spiritual. It didn’t have to be this way….
But the REALLY GOOD THING is that once real Christianity happens (what I often call ‘ONE,’ Jesus heart-cry/prayer in John 17), it will be so easy to always overcome and be right with everybody, freed up totally from the junk, inside!!! My goal is to be that way now, but it’s still really hard without hardly anyone helping. We were never meant to be lone-rangers. The body of Christ hardly is…. It’s a joke, right now. “The church” is hardly the church. But when a group of people are really ONE with each other in Christ, it will be so easy to be on cloud nine, 24/7, easily overcoming, doing the two greatest commandments so we’re always totally free!!!
May it happen real soon!
In the meantime, trying to capture the glory of God through photographing what He has made (and what those who have been made in His image have made) is a very enjoyable and meaningful task….
Maxine, please send me an email so we can plan something. The colors are mostly dullsville right now, but magical moments are definitely still there to be had. I have some ideas, and am interested in yours. And perhaps we can also think ahead as to how to capture the fresh green shoots that will come again in May. I have some ideas, but I’m still so far unable to get even one great shot of this lovely green color bathed in sunlight (backlit?).
Freedom!
Jeff : )