Photography/Videography Discussion

[nobuffalo]

This thread is intended for pretty much all discussion related to photography and videography. It could be about gear, concepts, techniques, editing, locations, past experiences and future desires or whatever you want to discuss that's related to the world of photography and videography.

This thread is not intended as your own personal gallery or for simply showing off your work. If you want to post a photo/video or two that's fine but it needs to pertain to the discussion and be said why. If you want to post a photo/video for the purpose of discussion that is also fine but please start the discussion, don't simply post a photo/video hoping someone else will chime in. If you have more to show you can post a link.

With all that said I don't actually have anything related to talk about right now so hopefully someone else can get things going. 👍

 

[photonrider]

This thread is intended for pretty much all discussion related to photography and videography.

@casey_2005 - that would make all the other topic-specific threads, in here, redundant, no?

See what I mean?:

It could be about gear, concepts, techniques, editing, locations, past experiences and future desires or whatever you want to discuss that's related to the world of photography and videography.

So . . .

With all that said I don't actually have anything related to talk about right now so hopefully someone else can get things going. 👍

All right, then. How about we discuss Vivian Maier for a start?
Most photography bods would find her interesting - and that would be some general photography-related chit-chat to get things going.
I watched the documentary on her life - and this has to be one of the most fascinating people when it comes to taking photos.

Here's a bit of an introduction to this mystery:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...nny-with-a-secret-life-as-a-photographer.html

 

[nobuffalo]

@photonrider: No, I don't see why a general all-purpose discussion thread can't exist along with topic-specific threads.

Think of it as a more casual discussion thread, in a way like the premium ramblings thread in the infield. If you would like to have a discussion on a specific topic and don't want it interrupted with discussion of other things you are more than welcome to use topic-specific threads. If you want an opinion on a lens or body you're interested in and don't feel like starting a thread this could be a good place to ask. I understand we have a gear thread but it's not exactly meant to serve this purpose.

Maybe you want to post a story of a photographer you find inspirational. Maybe you want to dissect how a particular photo was made with other members of the forum. I hoped this wouldn't turn into a personal gallery for members but that doesn't mean photos can't be posted here. Maybe you want to discuss a current trend or maybe you have an idea for a photo or series of photos and you want to discuss that idea with other individuals.

The only threads I can see this thread making redundant are the ones that don't really see any use, and maybe this thread will actually promote disccusion that can be later carried over to those threads.

 

[photonrider]

I agree. In fact I thought that was what I said.

@casey_2005
Most photography bods would find her interesting - and that would be some general photography-related chit-chat to get things going.
I watched the documentary on her life - and this has to be one of the most fascinating people when it comes to taking photos.

So what did you think about Vivian Maier?

 

[nobuffalo]

I agree. In fact I thought that was what I said.

Well then I either do not understand what you said or your reason for saying it. I'll comment on that crazy lady when I have the time to say what I want to say.

Edit: @photonrider - In the statement below what are you referring to?

all the other topic-specific threads, in here

 

[nobuffalo]

So what did you think about Vivian Maier?

The Vivian Maier story is pretty fascinating, I watched a documentary on her again last night after you brought her up and today I've been looking at her photos that are available. I'm really enjoying pretty much everything I've seen so far, she was clearly an amazing photographer. I love photos from the 40's, 50's and 60's, especially big city photos. 👍

 

[photonrider]

The Vivian Maier story is pretty fascinating, I watched a documentary on her again last night after you brought her up and today I've been looking at her photos that are available. I'm really enjoying pretty much everything I've seen so far, she was clearly an amazing photographer. I love photos from the 40's, 50's and 60's, especially big city photos. 👍

I had a feeling (from seeing the many photos you post - I've even voted on yours in the photo-comps ) that that would capture your interest.


I stumbled on Vivian Maier via a serendipitous moment sorting laundry and watching TV - and then just sat - as a fellow photographer, (and hard-core camera nuts will identify with this right away) and watched the life of this strange creature, who like us, always had a camera on her, and took thousand upon thousand of rolls.
Hundreds of thousands of pictures, AFAIK, are being revealed, and there's many hundreds of rolls still awaiting processing.
The whole complex issue of her personal life (for instance the stacks and stacks of newspapers she would collect and archive away and - (at least according to the mores of the day) the surreptitious taking of all these amazing candid moments of humanity.

In today's image-superconscious world everything is exposed - we've almost seen it all, (even before it happens!) and photo-shopped, too; in a time where the camera was still new - uncommon almost and mostly used at more newsworthy events or used for scripted documentaries - in a time like that, for a 'nanny' (notice the quotes ) to go around and boldly take pictures of everyday life - privately and publicly - and capture this record for us, a rare and unique record from an almost cold and objective perspective, yet with techniques and showmanship of a genius photographer with a sharp eye for the very essence of life expressed by humanity in its most unconscious moments, is a stupendous achievement in itself.


Obviously we don't need a whole thread for her. We'll have to have a thread for every Diane Arbus that comes along. Or for that matter separate threads for Richard Avedon and Ansel Adams. I'd make one for Eve Arnold. !
In fact I mentioned Maier here to get the thread started - we don't need a whole thread on her and I'm furnishing a random example of what we might see in this thread. Ultimately it will be just a few relevant links posted and a few short posts on her.



Which brings me to this:

This thread is intended for pretty much all discussion related to photography and videography. It could be about gear, concepts, techniques, editing, locations, past experiences and future desires or whatever you want to discuss that's related to the world of photography and videography.

Do not worry.
I'm here to help you get this started.

We need a thread like this in the Photo Forum - a 'Cafe' thread where we can talk - randomly - about small items or even some current news about photo-/video-graphy - related items that don't really need a thread of their own (with just a dozen posts in it); clutter bothers everybody - especially when navigating Forums.

That doesn't mean we should frown on anyone who thinks that they would like to start a separate thread about a specific area that this 'general-topic' thread covers.

For instance someone may want to discuss the merits of film versus digital photography at length - and with all data available - and will have a thread for it, but doesn't mean either that someone just wants to pop the question here, and a few opinions then will always be welcome.
Someone might just want a quick opinion between two cameras - no need for a whole thread, question can be asked here.
Someone learned a new tip on making bean-bags? - hey - we want to hear about that - and quick. No need for a whole thread on it.
Some recommended snacks for photographers hiking all day in the woods after an elusive tanager? Tell us here.
Photo of the latest bag that celebrity photo-dogs are carrying? Hey, what are they using?
Just want to clarify what you said and hopefully have everyone on the same page.
We have many of these general-topic 'cafe'-style threads (the HW thread and the 'Pony' thread are good examples out here in the Public Forums) that work quite well, are very active, provide lots of info, and is a stable meeting-ground for many members with like-minded interests.

So if everyone can see that difference, then we can make this particular thread into a long and fascinating discussion about any and everything under the sun (and moon) and wait - yes, beyond the stars, too - about capturing images.
Working with them. Transmitting them.
Receiving them.

Having fun with them and having fun talking about it.

Good luck - and yah - I'll be visiting often.

👍

 

[Crash]

I think I’m going to get a lot of flack for this, but I really don’t understand what’s so awesome about Vivian Maier’s work. Perhaps I’m just too uncultured, but I’m just seeing a bunch of snapshots of daily urban life, and very few of them actually stirs that emotion for me.

Are her pictures good and interesting? Sure, and I absolutely won’t deny the breadth of her work, but there’s so much hype about how her composition is amazing, or amazing vision, or the exposure is perfect. I get that she is photographing daily life and the people of the 50s and 60s, and the photos demonstrates urban life then, but I think any decent photographer now who does the same, taking hundreds of thousands of candid pictures of people, street scenes, life, could have the same “story” in 50 or 60 years time, even if the each individual contemporary photographs themselves now aren’t really outstanding.

There’s are nice, good pictures, but even taking into account that it was an analog film era without instant image review, I’m not seeing the amazing evocative emotions or technical abilities.

 

[photonrider]

I think I’m going to get a lot of flack for this, but I really don’t understand what’s so awesome about Vivian Maier’s work. Perhaps I’m just too uncultured, but I’m just seeing a bunch of snapshots of daily urban life, and very few of them actually stirs that emotion for me.

I don't see any reason you should get flack for that opinion, Crash. In fact she probably has her fair share of critics, if not people actually downright indifferent to her work.

Are her pictures good and interesting? Sure, and I absolutely won’t deny the breadth of her work, but there’s so much hype about how her composition is amazing, or amazing vision, or the exposure is perfect. I get that she is photographing daily life and the people of the 50s and 60s, and the photos demonstrates urban life then, but I think any decent photographer now who does the same, taking hundreds of thousands of candid pictures of people, street scenes, life, could have the same “story” in 50 or 60 years time, even if the each individual contemporary photographs themselves now aren’t really outstanding.

I think part of the lure is that she did all this in a time when photography was not as common as today - as well she was using equipment that even professional photographers today may not find automatically easy to use.
Another layer is the fact that there are not too many images of that time (in comparison to the flood of images post-millennium) and that probably adds depth of charm to the breadth of her work.

All told, though - just another interesting novelty in the world of photography.

Now hold still, please, and say 'cheeeeese' !

 

[F1GTR]

I watched a documentary on her a while ago (I've yet to see John Maloof's documentary, which has been nominated for an Oscar), and I own Maloof's first monograph on her. The the story behind the discovery of her photographs make up a fair chunk of her appeal as a photographer. The photographs themselves are fine actually - they're exactly what I expected and they fit well within the canon of photography from that time, even if they benefit from a bit of nostalgia. I think if Maier really put her mind to it she could have made a living as a photographer, her work was of a high enough standard, and her hit rate on her contact sheets definitely showed that she thought like a pro as well. It does raise questions about authorship over photographs though, as she obviously didn't want them to be seen by a wider audience, and I've spoken to other photographers who feel that her wishes should have been respected since she obviously has no control on how the photographs are sequenced and printed. But I do feel that having her photographs out in the open is the lesser evil. We wouldn't have Kafka and his wonderful works if his friend followed his dying wish to burn all his writing after all.

 

[photonrider]

I watched a documentary on her a while ago (I've yet to see John Maloof's documentary, which has been nominated for an Oscar), and I own Maloof's first monograph on her. The the story behind the discovery of her photographs make up a fair chunk of her appeal as a photographer. The photographs themselves are fine actually - they're exactly what I expected and they fit well within the canon of photography from that time, even if they benefit from a bit of nostalgia. I think if Maier really put her mind to it she could have made a living as a photographer, her work was of a high enough standard, and her hit rate on her contact sheets definitely showed that she thought like a pro as well. It does raise questions about authorship over photographs though, as she obviously didn't want them to be seen by a wider audience, and I've spoken to other photographers who feel that her wishes should have been respected since she obviously has no control on how the photographs are sequenced and printed. But I do feel that having her photographs out in the open is the lesser evil. We wouldn't have Kafka and his wonderful works if his friend followed his dying wish to burn all his writing after all.

Pretty much my sentiments, too - she was quite a character, and certainly knew her camerawork.

_________________________________

I'm beginning to find out that more and more people are using miniature cameras as surveillance in their offices and other public-access areas. In addition, I'm finding out that there can be two sets of cameras - the more obvious ones, and the second set - which are the hidden ones.
These are the smaller ones - not the ones that look down ominously at you from ten feet high and a corner of the building - but are sometimes just plugged into a socket like an adapter.

Videography has come a long way.

 

[nobuffalo]

Videography has come a long way.

Most definitely, have you seen the kind of low light/high iso video you can get out of the Sony A7s? I am so blown away by this and can't wait to see what happens if they combine that with their image stabilization that's found on the A7ii. I'm a night time person so I'm very excited to see the continued advancements in high iso.

Here's a clip shot in pure moonlight, I still can't get over this.

 

[photonrider]

Low-light photography is not the same, that's for sure.
The first time I went digital and started shooting in low light I was stunned at how many photons a CCD could capture.
Could Einstein or Maxwell even guess what we would do with their discoveries?
When I was into film I would purchase various ISOs (or ASA as we would call them) and have two bodies loaded with different film - 200 in one, 800 in another, and so on.
Shooting candles was a favourite challenge. How much I struggled with grain!

And then . . . even a cheap 5MP camera could get me this in a flash:

Without the flash, of course.
In fact, I very rarely use a flash now, though I have nothing against using the occasional slave as a lighting solution to an exposure problem.

I'm thinking of Adams with his iconic light meter . . . so retro now with all the built-in bells and whistles on the new cameras.

 

[35mm]

A very quick comparison between the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/2 (and a couple other lenses), for those interested: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3814051#forum-post-55478388

 

[photonrider]

I like the foreshortening that the Rokinon 135mm gives at F/5.6 than the 85mm does at the same f-stop. Great shot of the model with the 85mm. I have the Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm; a super lens, very versatile, I have used it a lot way back when on my AE1.

Quite a nice community - I jumped in here awhile back and saw your post, investigated the site - so well-laid out, and tons of stuff, and the community is a nice mix of techies and artists - almost registered as a 'junya mamber' myself - but decided to not get my feet too wet.

Thanks for the link. 👍

 

[35mm]

New Mitakon Speedmaster 85mm f/1.2 Lens.

Contrary to the 50mm f/0.95 (which was only for FE Mount), this one will be available on Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony FE, Sony A and Pentax K mounts.

Sweet Mother of Bokeh!

 

[F1GTR]

Hmm, that or the 85/1.4G...

 

[nobuffalo]

What is 1.2 compared to 1.4, a third or a half stop? Either way it would be hard to justify it when I already own a nikon and samyang 85 1.4. Also I wonder how this will compare to Canon's 85mm 1.2 in FD mount, I'm sure we'll know soon enough.

Sort of random but sort of related, did you guys know that Canon actually released a 50mm f1.0 with autofocus? I had no idea this lens existed until it was mentioned on canon rumors several months ago, pretty crazy.

https://fstoppers.com/gear/ultimate-lens-bokeh-canon-50mm-f10-5059

 

[35mm]

What is 1.2 compared to 1.4, a third or a half stop?

Just 1/3, me thinks. But then, it's not about the light, is it?

Also I wonder how this will compare to Canon's 85mm 1.2 in FD mount, I'm sure we'll know soon enough.

Good point, since both would be MF only.
I've been seriously considering this one for some time, but then decided against it.
They can be found for around 600€.

Sort of random but sort of related, did you guys know that Canon actually released a 50mm f1.0 with autofocus? I had no idea this lens existed until it was mentioned on canon rumors several months ago, pretty crazy.

https://fstoppers.com/gear/ultimate-lens-bokeh-canon-50mm-f10-5059

That is some weird bokeh... I had no idea such thing existed, too.

 

[Crash]

So Lightroom 6/Lightroom CC has been announced and I'm considering buying it, though I haven't decided which route I'll go.

Anyone else that uses Lightroom considering moving up to the new version of LR?

 

[Mike Rotch]

Anyone else that uses Lightroom considering moving up to the new version of LR?

I haven't investigated the new features over LR5.6 so unlikely for me, unless it's revolutionary. I'd rather send funds to nik collection to get Color Efex.

 

[phillgt2002]

Meh, I don't like Lightroom. I think the file management system causes more problems than it solves. I'll rather manually manage my files. I usually just pick through my SD and get the ones that I think are the best and then I just import them to Photoshop.

 

[Azuremen]

New Mitakon Speedmaster 85mm f/1.2 Lens.

Curious to see if it performs as well as the 50/0.95, which seems like an amazing lens for the money.

@casey_2005 - I was aware of the 50/1 from stumbling around LensRentals ages ago. Doesn't seem they have it available anymore but I recall the focusing ring only worked electrically and some other odd bits to accommodate that much glass while preserving auto-focus.

Anyone else that uses Lightroom considering moving up to the new version of LR?

I'm still using 4 at the moment so, unless it literally does magic, I don't feel too much need to update.

@phillkillv2 - That system works till you want to turn around a few hundred images in a short time, completely with watermarks and cropping. I avoided LR for a long time but now it is how I edit and export most of my work. I still have a folder structure to keep everything sorted outside of LR as well.

 

[35mm]

I couldn't live without Lr. From the cataloging to the presets, it's the best thing since sliced bread. I'm constantly backing up my Lr catalog file, in fear of losing it.

About the new one, HDR and panorama merging seems to be its biggest features. Personally, I'm not in a hurry to uptade.

 

[F1GTR]

So Lightroom 6/Lightroom CC has been announced and I'm considering buying it, though I haven't decided which route I'll go.

Anyone else that uses Lightroom considering moving up to the new version of LR?

I'm on Creative Cloud but I haven't bothered to update Lightroom, the upgrades seem minimal. Was hoping that the GPU acceleration would make for big speed gains but from what I've seen it's still pretty much the same.

 

[35mm]

For anyone who hasn't tried it yet, VSCO is finally offering a "starter pack", for you to try for free.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Following on from here

@Mike Rotch - I know you're just poking fun but I kinda wanted to expand on my opinion on the cropping and cloning and pretty much editing in general. I feel that when you fundamentally change a photo because you couldn't get it right the first time, such as cropping out a very large portion of the original image, you're in a way devaluing the photograph and yourself as a photographer. It becomes less about what you've made and more about what you've fixed. Also to me taking the picture with the intention of editing it a certain way is different all-together. I don't know, there's just something about cropping to fix a photo that feels wrong to me. Ultimately there is no real right or wrong, it is art after all. I have posted two photos in bi-weekly contests that I did a major crop to and I'm not happy about it, it's just this weird feeling and as 35mm pointed out it's not exactly rational.

It will be one of those things that everyone has a view on and that view will ultimately be different.

I probably feel what you feel about cropping, but about digitally altering artifacts within an image. If a lamp post or cup or person is digitally removed from an image, the image was compromised to begin with and it's being 'rescued' in editting.

Cropping is relative. If you are on the street and have a millisecond to frame, meter, focus and shoot, I think cropping out someone's arm poking into the side of the frame is fine. People have this dreamy vision of the 'grandmasters' of (street) photography getting everything perfect in their famous shots, but 95% of them were staged or cropped and not 'spontaneously perfect'. If you are a landscape or still life photographer and have to crop things out, I am probably more rigid and feel there is a lack of skill/ forethought.

My own quirky view is that editting should be confined to what would have been available in a darkroom. Cross processing, push/push, dodge and burn and duotones are fine. Extreme / selective colouring, cloning, fake bokeh etc all seems artificial.

As you say, not logical

 

[nobuffalo]

Thanks for being the discussion into here. I realize I pretty much said the same thing I initially said in 35mm's thread so I'm gonna try to discuss this more next week when I'm not working 16-18hr days.

Related to the thread, outdoor photoshoots can be tough. Wake up and be where you need to be before dawn then stay out past sunset. I think I've averaged 4 hours of sleep each night since Saturday and have already flown across the country twice.

 

[otis21]

Hi guys,
I recently shot this video featuring a bike trackday at Castelloli Motorpark, Barcelona (some Top Gear clips have been shot there) and was willing to share it with you to get some feedback.


I'm using a stock Nikon D3200 with a 18-55mm and editing with Premiere and After Effects CS6.
I would appreciate some advice in video lents and if it's worth to buy a shotgun microphone for further interviews or some kind of sliders or stabilizers.
In the future I want to produce something similar to the videos from Petrolicious.

Thanks and enjoy

 

[Crash]

Following on from here

It will be one of those things that everyone has a view on and that view will ultimately be different.

I probably feel what you feel about cropping, but about digitally altering artifacts within an image. If a lamp post or cup or person is digitally removed from an image, the image was compromised to begin with and it's being 'rescued' in editting.

Cropping is relative. If you are on the street and have a millisecond to frame, meter, focus and shoot, I think cropping out someone's arm poking into the side of the frame is fine. People have this dreamy vision of the 'grandmasters' of (street) photography getting everything perfect in their famous shots, but 95% of them were staged or cropped and not 'spontaneously perfect'. If you are a landscape or still life photographer and have to crop things out, I am probably more rigid and feel there is a lack of skill/ forethought.

My own quirky view is that editting should be confined to what would have been available in a darkroom. Cross processing, push/push, dodge and burn and duotones are fine. Extreme / selective colouring, cloning, fake bokeh etc all seems artificial.

As you say, not logical

I just want to put in my two cents that I think I agree with what you said. I want to add though that sometimes I crop the edges because the viewfinder doesn't have a perfect 100% coverage, and some stuff that appeared in the OVF as outside the image ended being in it, and I think that's an ok situation to crop.

Though I generally try not to crop.

Related to the thread, outdoor photoshoots can be tough. Wake up and be where you need to be before dawn then stay out past sunset. I think I've averaged 4 hours of sleep each night since Saturday and have already flown across the country twice.

Maybe doing this day in and day out would get tiring (ignoring the getting tired from lack of sleep part), but that sounds fun...