Out of Focus & Off Topic MkIII...

magicbastarder

some nice shots here:

https://medium.com/@john_46212/amazing-photos-of-everyday-overlooked-dublin-d81c9363d232#.eeccqu84k

The Black Oil

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/news/2016/02/05/Flintportraits/001flintportrait.adapt.1190.1.jpg

The pic is somewhat large, so I won't use img tags for mobile users. I was quite struck by this when I first saw it as given their get up, etc, I thought they were kids from the theatre, or something.

More on the water crisis in Flint.

magicbastarder

bit of a weird HDRy look to the photo on the front page of the london independent, or is it just me?

http://cf.broadsheet.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Cb2jsj3W8AEunAw.jpg

mystic86

magicbastarder wrote: »

bit of a weird HDRy look to the photo on the front page of the london independent, or is it just me?

http://cf.broadsheet.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Cb2jsj3W8AEunAw.jpg

Definitely! Odd looking, especially for a paper

OldGoat

My lovely Canon 350D has gone the way of the Norwegian Blue parrot.

Alanstrainor

Where do you guys get your SD cards? I was hoping to pick up a couple of 32GB full size SD cards, ideally as fast as possible. I notice that micro SD cards are generally cheaper than the full sized, and even faster too. Does anyone know of any disadvantage to using a micro card with an adapter in my DSLR? Perhaps running them through an adapter slows down their write speeds...

flyingsnail

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Where do you guys get your SD cards? I was hoping to pick up a couple of 32GB full size SD cards, ideally as fast as possible. I notice that micro SD cards are generally cheaper than the full sized, and even faster too. Does anyone know of any disadvantage to using a micro card with an adapter in my DSLR? Perhaps running them through an adapter slows down their write speeds...

I have bought my last couple of cards from Amazon (Direct from Amazon rather than market place) the price seems to be about half of what shops here are charging. As for SD vs Mico-SD I have no idea.

dinneenp

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Where do you guys get your SD cards? I was hoping to pick up a couple of 32GB full size SD cards, ideally as fast as possible. I notice that micro SD cards are generally cheaper than the full sized, and even faster too. Does anyone know of any disadvantage to using a micro card with an adapter in my DSLR? Perhaps running them through an adapter slows down their write speeds...

I've no idea about quality but https://www.7dayshop.com/ seem to have good prices, I've used them in the past.

magicbastarder

not meaning to restart the debate about taking photos of children playing in a playground, from a distance; but here's, well, a photo taken of a child in a playground (plus mother) taken from a distance, and behind a hedge, being used in the indo.

http://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/dublin-can-be-heaven-for-adele-as-she-treats-little-boy-angelo-3-to-a-day-out-in-the-capital-34507399.html

Alanstrainor

dinneenp wrote: »

I've no idea about quality but https://www.7dayshop.com/ seem to have good prices, I've used them in the past.

Ah yes, had forgotten to check there. Got a fast full size 32GB SD card for around 10quid delivered. Nice. I was going to get a larger card, but I don't want to have too many photos on the one card!

Bored_lad

Just in case anyone hasn't heard about B&H and were planning on buying gear off them soon. http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/29/us/bh-photo-lawsuit/

Ben D Bus

"The wonderful photographer behind the 'Humans of Dublin' Facebook page"

http://www.independent.ie/life/the-wonderful-photographer-behind-the-humans-of-dublin-facebook-page-34440599.html

OldGoat

I was once approached by Peter to take a photo of me. I'm usually a total camera whore and will pose and preen for anything that has a lens on it but that one time I was running late and I was a bit abrupt with him. Felt guilty for dismissing a photographer so curtly for the rest of the day.

D.S.

Thought this was a good read for anyone interested in a different take on the quality of modern optics...

http://www.thephoblographer.com/2016/03/12/the-problem-with-modern-optics/

I have to say - I have been thinking for awhile myself that the newer lenses are v clinical but didn't have the technical knowledge to explain why. i have the 35mm Sigma Art f1.4 and while it's a nice lens, it doesn't have the same magic as my old Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4....Will consider I think hunting around for some of the older lenses if/when I consider a new purchase

magicbastarder

interesting article, but it would have benefitted far more from direct comparison shots. the two shots showing 'lifeless' lenses are also much flatter in terms of lighting; the next two (the 'good' shots) are taken in flattering sunlight.

kevc2

Here's a recent photo series of photos of Wicklow from Above: http://bit.ly/irefromabove

magicbastarder

abandoned european security checkpoints:

http://www.featureshoot.com/2016/02/eerily-abandoned-checkpoints-and-border-crossings-of-europe/

mystic86

magicbastarder wrote: »

abandoned european security checkpoints:

http://www.featureshoot.com/2016/02/eerily-abandoned-checkpoints-and-border-crossings-of-europe/

interesting idea. unusual processing.

DaireQuinlan

I saw this on Petapixel. I'm just hoping they picked it up 8 days too late :-D

http://zerooptik.com/projects-1/pl-mount-pinhole-lens

flyingsnail

Inspiration

dinneenp

2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Part I

Part II

AnCatDubh

From the BA Udemy Thread:

Photoshop Essentials - https://www.udemy.com/photoshop-essentials-for-beginners/ - Currently FREE.

Lots of short lessons. 2.5 hours in total. Might be of casual interest to anyone starting out with Photoshop.

dinneenp

A few years old but stumbled across this on my laptop, don't think I posted it before


Amateur Photographer Magazine by Patrick Dinneen, on Flickr

Dair76

I follow a photographer called Mike Browne on YouTube for his tips/tutorial videos. Lately he's been advertising a hosting site he's involved in called Clickasnap (terrible name). Just wondering if anyone here is using it and how they find it?

Dartz

So. I took a trip to Japan recently and started nosing around under the bridges in Akihabara, coming home with an old Asahi Pentax Spotmatic to join the Minolta from washington. I'm sort of a technology fan more than anything, and have a weird thing about putting older equipment to work, when it still works.

This thing's on another level of old, being fully mechanical. The only power required is for a light-meter which doesn't work since the plastic battery case was destroyed by a leak a decade ago. The circuitry might still be there in one piece, but getting 1.5v power to it will be a trick.

As it is, I've been using a simple lightmeter app on my phone to sort of ballpark where it's supposed to be set and see what happens. Already I'm learning that it's far to easy to accidentally overexpose because of how the lens is designed to work for focusing (wide-open to focus, with a switch on the side to set it back to what it needs to actually be - I keep forgetting the switch). On the other hand, it's beautifully smooth and easy to focus by hand right up to spitting distance.

Whatever it does, it'll do. It feels all the more remarkable that it's still able to do it. I dont know whether this is turning into a hobby or what, but theres something about old machinery. And old Japanese cmeras seem to work longer than most.

DaireQuinlan

Dartz wrote: »

As it is, I've been using a simple lightmeter app on my phone to sort of ballpark where it's supposed to be set and see what happens. Already I'm learning that it's far to easy to accidentally overexpose because of how the lens is designed to work for focusing.

Are you talking about having to stop down manually before taking the shot? Which lens have you got on it? It'll likely have an A/M or Auto/Manual switch on it somewhere. Switch it into A or Auto and it should stop down to the chosen aperture when you hit the shutter button. All the spotmatics from what I remember had that paddle that actuates the pin on most M42 lenses.

If there's no switch on the lens it might lack the auto stopdown mechanism, or could be that it's always in 'Auto' and the mechanism is broken. If there's no little pin at the back of the lens then it's the former. If there's a pin and pressing it doesn't stop the lens down then it's the latter.

Dartz

The lens on it's the earlier 1.8/F55 Super-Takumar and does have that pin. But I don't think it's coupled to the shutter release. I simply forget to hit that switch after focusing.

It's an ID10T error rather than the hardware, which for something that might be from 1964-1965, still ticks like a watch. I'm still learning how to use it - just about halfway through a roll of film.

DaireQuinlan

Dartz wrote: »

The lens on it's the earlier 1.8/F55 Super-Takumar and does have that pin. But I don't think it's coupled to the shutter release. I simply forget to hit that switch after focusing.

Hmm it should be. Is the lens in 'Auto' mode? I'm guessing it is if you say you hit 'the switch' which stops down the lens (that's the meter switch which stops down and turns on the metering because the spotties can't do open aperture metering). When you hit the shutter button though it should also stop down the aperture. If you look here https://simonhawketts.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/20160102-_igp8638.jpg that small metal 'paddle' inside the lens mount is what engages the pin. When you hit the stopdown/meter switch that should move forward. It should also do it when you hit the shutter button, so there could be something awry with your spotmatic.

Dartz

I've seen that paddle move alright when I was checking it out before I bought it. It moved with the shutter, so you're probably right about it. I'll know for sure if it's working right when it gets developed.

If I can get the meter working during the week, I'll be a happy man.

DaireQuinlan

Dartz wrote: »

I've seen that paddle move alright when I was checking it out before I bought it. It moved with the shutter, so you're probably right about it. I'll know for sure if it's working right when it gets developed.
If I can get the meter working during the week, I'll be a happy man.

If stuff is still overexposed, and the mechanism on the camera is working properly it might be your aperture blades are sticky. I've seen this a couple of times. They'd stop down if I hit the meter switch, but slowly. So if I hit the shutter button they wouldn't stop down fast enough to be closed when the shutter opened.

Meter wise clean off the contacts and hope for the best. I stick energizer 394 cells into my spotmatics, silver oxide. The meter is accurate to within a stop or so.