watmm photographers

[keltoi]

let's talk cameras and shit.

 

favourite camera?

 

favourite lense and why?

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

most used or favourite accessory?

 

care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

any tutorials, websites or forums you can recommend?

 

do you always touch up with software or prefer not to use it? which software(s) do you use?

 

ever tried hdr photography? link to results/examples please? (i just downloaded the free picturenaut but haven't tried it out yet)

 

please link your flickr(or similar) accounts.

[Guest Mirezzi]

favourite camera?

 

The one that works. I like Nikon's flat but natural colors over Canon's red plastic tones. Right now, I am shooting with a Nikon D7000. Great for stills and great for filmic video.

 

favourite lense and why?

 

I shoot with a set of old Nikkor primes. I wish I had more of them, but they're expensive, even used. That being said, 35mm F2, 50mm F1.4, 105mm F2.5. I'm in the market for a good wide and a stop-gap tele/portrait lens. I have shot with the 85mm F2 and loved it.

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

I shoot JPEG. RAW is overrated and mostly just chews up memory. If you're shooting in a studio and you plan on Photoshopping the fuck out of your images, fine, but otherwise it's unnecessary.

 

most used or favourite accessory?

 

ND filters so I can shoot wide open with 1/50 shutter in video mode at noon. That + monopod for quick and dirty stability.

 

care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

Take 100,000 photographs if you can. I take a lot of photographs and I still suck.

 

any tutorials, websites or forums you can recommend?

 

I like Ken Rockwell for photography info, dvxuser for filmic video info.

 

do you always touch up with software or prefer not to use it? which software(s) do you use?

 

Photoshop for color. I wanna fuck around with Lightroom some day, too. I have tried to use photo management software but I get frustrated with all of them and end up managing my shit manually anyway...

 

ever tried hdr photography?

 

There's nothing wrong with tone mapping, but when I see "HDR" I typically puke. It's what happens when an aggressive nerd takes an otherwise ordinary photograph and ruins it. Of course, I have seen stuff that's done very well and emulates the dynamic range of the human eye (I guess). Still, I actually enjoy the way cameras interpret light, shadow, texture...its imperfections are why I love it. Basically, most HDR processing looks like a giant computer fucked a photo in the ass.

 

E.g.

 

Great job, dumbass! The fucking sky is darker than the foreground. Brilliant!

[o00o]

favourite camera?

 

The one that works. I like Nikon's flat but natural colors over Canon's red plastic tones. Right now, I am shooting with a Nikon D7000. Great for stills and great for filmic video.

 

favourite lense and why?

 

I shoot with a set of old Nikkor primes. I wish I had more of them, but they're expensive, even used. That being said, 35mm F2, 50mm F1.4, 105mm F2.5. I'm in the market for a good wide and a stop-gap tele/portrait lens. I have shot with the 85mm F2 and loved it.

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

I shoot JPEG. RAW is overrated and mostly just chews up memory. If you're shooting in a studio and you plan on Photoshopping the fuck out of your images, fine, but otherwise it's unnecessary.

 

most used or favourite accessory?

 

ND filters so I can shoot wide open with 1/50 shutter in video mode at noon. That + monopod for quick and dirty stability.

 

care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

Take 100,000 photographs if you can. I take a lot of photographs and I still suck.

 

any tutorials, websites or forums you can recommend?

 

I like Ken Rockwell for photography info, dvxuser for filmic video info.

 

do you always touch up with software or prefer not to use it? which software(s) do you use?

 

Photoshop for color. I wanna fuck around with Lightroom some day, too. I have tried to use photo management software but I get frustrated with all of them and end up managing my shit manually anyway...

 

ever tried hdr photography?

 

There's nothing wrong with tone mapping, but when I see "HDR" I typically puke. It's what happens when an aggressive nerd takes an otherwise ordinary photograph and ruins it. Of course, I have seen stuff that's done very well and emulates the dynamic range of the human eye (I guess). Still, I actually enjoy the way cameras interpret light, shadow, texture...its imperfections are why I love it. Basically, most HDR processing looks like a giant computer fucked a photo in the ass.

 

E.g.

 

Great job, dumbass! The fucking sky is darker than the foreground. Brilliant!

 

totally agree to the HDR statement. ND filters look interesting have to try that. you can still do pretty neat stuff with RAW and I like that. for example I did this picture in RAW mode:

 

[Silent Member]

I'm a nub and know nothing, but hdr can suck it.

[keltoi]

favourite camera?

 

The one that works. I like Nikon's flat but natural colors over Canon's red plastic tones. Right now, I am shooting with a Nikon D7000. Great for stills and great for filmic video.

 

favourite lense and why?

 

I shoot with a set of old Nikkor primes. I wish I had more of them, but they're expensive, even used. That being said, 35mm F2, 50mm F1.4, 105mm F2.5. I'm in the market for a good wide and a stop-gap tele/portrait lens. I have shot with the 85mm F2 and loved it.

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

I shoot JPEG. RAW is overrated and mostly just chews up memory. If you're shooting in a studio and you plan on Photoshopping the fuck out of your images, fine, but otherwise it's unnecessary.

 

most used or favourite accessory?

 

ND filters so I can shoot wide open with 1/50 shutter in video mode at noon. That + monopod for quick and dirty stability.

 

care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

Take 100,000 photographs if you can. I take a lot of photographs and I still suck.

 

any tutorials, websites or forums you can recommend?

 

I like Ken Rockwell for photography info, dvxuser for filmic video info.

 

do you always touch up with software or prefer not to use it? which software(s) do you use?

 

Photoshop for color. I wanna fuck around with Lightroom some day, too. I have tried to use photo management software but I get frustrated with all of them and end up managing my shit manually anyway...

 

ever tried hdr photography?

 

There's nothing wrong with tone mapping, but when I see "HDR" I typically puke. It's what happens when an aggressive nerd takes an otherwise ordinary photograph and ruins it. Of course, I have seen stuff that's done very well and emulates the dynamic range of the human eye (I guess). Still, I actually enjoy the way cameras interpret light, shadow, texture...its imperfections are why I love it. Basically, most HDR processing looks like a giant computer fucked a photo in the ass.

 

E.g.

 

Great job, dumbass! The fucking sky is darker than the foreground. Brilliant!

 

i agree with you re RAW. i was wondering if someone might be able to convince me otherwise.

 

i kind of like that hdr pic. i agree it transforms it into something else entirely but i like the OTT painterly quality.

[Terpentintollwut]

There's nothing wrong with tone mapping, but when I see "HDR" I typically puke. It's what happens when an aggressive nerd takes an otherwise ordinary photograph and ruins it. Of course, I have seen stuff that's done very well and emulates the dynamic range of the human eye (I guess). Still, I actually enjoy the way cameras interpret light, shadow, texture...its imperfections are why I love it. Basically, most HDR processing looks like a giant computer fucked a photo in the ass.

 

very true. I don't see what the big deal about HDR is.

 

 

I have a Canon EOS 350 D with the standard lens it came with, it's very nice, but I keep telling people it's not the camera that makes for a good photograph. I'm working with moving images more often than with still photography, but that phrase goes for both I think.

 

I haven't yet seen any good tutorials on photography or film to be honest, since everyone has their own ways. I guess its best to start with the basics and work your way up, dull as that may sound. Think about what you want and then think about how you can translate that feeling into angle, focus, light and so on. Tripods often help but I wouldn't say ALWAYS use a tripod, some shots need spontaneity. It can be a good thing to set up lots of steady shots for learning though. Don't ever think a computer will turn a crappy shot into gold for you (well, it can happen, but it's rare)

 

I do use software for color adjustment after all, not always, but often. Used to do extreme editing, nowadays I'm more into subtler edits.

[keltoi]

favourite camera?

 

The one that works. I like Nikon's flat but natural colors over Canon's red plastic tones. Right now, I am shooting with a Nikon D7000. Great for stills and great for filmic video.

 

favourite lense and why?

 

I shoot with a set of old Nikkor primes. I wish I had more of them, but they're expensive, even used. That being said, 35mm F2, 50mm F1.4, 105mm F2.5. I'm in the market for a good wide and a stop-gap tele/portrait lens. I have shot with the 85mm F2 and loved it.

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

I shoot JPEG. RAW is overrated and mostly just chews up memory. If you're shooting in a studio and you plan on Photoshopping the fuck out of your images, fine, but otherwise it's unnecessary.

 

most used or favourite accessory?

 

ND filters so I can shoot wide open with 1/50 shutter in video mode at noon. That + monopod for quick and dirty stability.

 

care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

Take 100,000 photographs if you can. I take a lot of photographs and I still suck.

 

any tutorials, websites or forums you can recommend?

 

I like Ken Rockwell for photography info, dvxuser for filmic video info.

 

do you always touch up with software or prefer not to use it? which software(s) do you use?

 

Photoshop for color. I wanna fuck around with Lightroom some day, too. I have tried to use photo management software but I get frustrated with all of them and end up managing my shit manually anyway...

 

ever tried hdr photography?

 

There's nothing wrong with tone mapping, but when I see "HDR" I typically puke. It's what happens when an aggressive nerd takes an otherwise ordinary photograph and ruins it. Of course, I have seen stuff that's done very well and emulates the dynamic range of the human eye (I guess). Still, I actually enjoy the way cameras interpret light, shadow, texture...its imperfections are why I love it. Basically, most HDR processing looks like a giant computer fucked a photo in the ass.

 

E.g.

 

Great job, dumbass! The fucking sky is darker than the foreground. Brilliant!

 

totally agree to the HDR statement. ND filters look interesting have to try that. you can still do pretty neat stuff with RAW and I like that. for example I did this picture in RAW mode:

 

 

nice shot man. would you not have got the same result with a JPEG?

[o00o]

RAW mode is great when take long exposure shots as you can fine tune the exposure later

[o00o]

 

nice shot man. would you not have got the same result with a JPEG?

 

I could but it would take me much more time. with RAW I just take the picture roughly like I want it and fine tune the exposure later

[BOCfan]

favourite camera?

 

Depends on the siutation, I suppose. I like digital cameras for their instant feedback and convenience, and they're excellent for quickly learning if you're new to photography. I shoot with a wide variety: a DSLR, 35mm film bodies, a Mamiya RB67 medium format camera, and a holga. I love them all for different reasons and I don't think I could pick an absolute favourite.

 

favourite lens and why?

 

I love the cheap plastic lens on my holga for the effects that it can give. Usually it has a focal sweet spot and the rest can blur a little, creating some lovely visual effects. My 18-70mm lens for my Nikon is a wonderfully solid lens, and I like shooting with primes that have fast apertures. The shallow depth of field you can produce is just lovely.

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

Always RAW. Sure, it might require post work that jpegs do not, but RAW allows you to tune things digitally like you could in a darkroom. Jpegs are defined by settings on your camera, and working on them in post is destructive.

 

most used or favourite accessory?

 

Got to be my tripod and remote controls.

 

care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

Read as much as you can, look at the work of others, and experiment. Above all else, shoot. The more pictures you take the better you get at it.

 

any tutorials, websites or forums you can recommend?

 

Ephotozine, Deviantart, Flickr.

 

do you always touch up with software or prefer not to use it? which software(s) do you use?

 

Photoshop.

 

I generally always use it as I shoot RAW digitally. Often it can just be touching up levels and contrast etc if you get it right in-camera, but some shots take more work to get it the final result looking like the thing you originally saw. If I'm scanning film, I generally have to do colour balancing to reproduce the colour of the orignal slide/negative.

 

ever tried hdr photography? link to results/examples please? (i just downloaded the free picturenaut but haven't tried it out yet)

 

Only ever messed about with it a few times. When it's done well the results can be superb, but I've seen too many shots that just look hideous (like the example posted by The Overlook).

[o00o]

the hdr iphone app is nice so. I did this picture with it and it would not look like that without it:

 

 

I like HDR in general but not the overdone way mentioned before. on the other hand I have some kind of twisted relationship with iphone photography. on one hand you have lots of filters with you on the go (some are very generic so) on the other hand the camera itself is pretty shit especially when it comes to low light situations. hope this gets better when I buy my iphone 4

 

I would use the EOS I have for everything but I cant take it everywhere its just to heavy for that

[Guest Mirezzi]

Yeah, I think one of the key benefits of RAW is AEB (auto exposure bracketing). If your camera doesn't have AEB, shooting RAW will give you poor man's equivalent. BUT, I generally subscribe to Rockwell's thoughts on the matter: if you want to shoot raw, shoot film.

 

I'm a huge fan of the Nikon D40 for those looking for a cheap entry level DSLR. It does just about everything you'd want and you can probably get one for $300-350.

[keltoi]

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

Always RAW. Sure, it might require post work that jpegs do not, but RAW allows you to tune things digitally like you could in a darkroom. Jpegs are defined by settings on your camera, and working on them in post is destructive.

 

 

nice explanation.

 

i'd need to upgrade my shitty home laptop to work with raw files.

[Guest Mirezzi]

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

Always RAW. Sure, it might require post work that jpegs do not, but RAW allows you to tune things digitally like you could in a darkroom. Jpegs are defined by settings on your camera, and working on them in post is destructive.

 

 

nice explanation.

 

i'd need to upgrade my shitty home laptop to work with raw files.

Meh...I'd read this, too:

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/raw.htm

[Guest Mirezzi]

I got my D7000 a few weeks ago. On Halloween weekend, I took candid photos of my friend's kids. JPEG w/ ultra sloppy correction. Nikkors: 50mm F1.4 and 105mm F2.5.

 

[keltoi]

I got my D7000 a few weeks ago. On Halloween weekend, I took candid photos of my friend's kids. JPEG w/ ultra sloppy correction. Nikkors: 50mm F1.4 and 105mm F2.5.

 

 

the 4th and 5th shots are excellent. love the snot hanging.

 

when you say sloppy correction what exactly did you do? just minor colour tweaking?

[cichlisuite]

-- favourite camera?

 

i have pentax k10d and zeiss ikon 35s (analog).

i'm an enthusiast, which means i experiment and don't make money out of my photography. therefore superior quality and performance is out of reach for me. that's why i bought Pentax body, which allows me to use countless old vintage manual lenses and they come very cheap. the only drawback i've experienced is the pentax's CCD sensor. through my experience i gathered that a CMOS sensor would be nicer. that's why i'm considering to buy Pentax K20. but that's as far as i'd go.

 

-- favourite lense and why?

 

Zeiss Flektogon 25/2 and Helios 85/1.5

these are old lenses with superb image, but manual focus.

 

-- do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

for snapshots JPG, RAW is seriously very necessary for post-production and prints.

 

-- care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

look for CMOS sensor if not going Full-Frame. stay away from Sony and Olympus.

[BOCfan]

If I had the money, I'd go out and get a D7000 right now. My digital camera is showing it's age a bit and the D7000 looks like it's worth my while upgrading to. Hope you enjoy it, as it looks like a great camera.

 

Shot are nice, btw.

[Guest Mirezzi]

the 4th and 5th shots are excellent. love the snot hanging.

 

when you say sloppy correction what exactly did you do? just minor colour tweaking?

Yeah, just adding an adjustment layer and tweaking levels. I am not worth a shit in Photoshop, quite regrettably, which might explain my ambivalence about RAW.

 

Agreed about the snot hanging. Hilarious. She thinks she's a 4 year-old princess at all times, so she referred to that photo as "silly".

 

Zeiss Flektogon 25/2 and Helios 85/1.5

these are old lenses with superb image, but manual focus.

Delicious.

 

By the way, the Canon 5D is full frame, CMOS, and lovely (it was out of my budget). Pretty much all higher end DSLR cameras have CMOS sensors.

[Guest Karnov]

favourite camera?

 

Haven't had that many to compare, but I love my Canon 350D. May be looking to upgrade to something like a 40D soon.

 

favourite lense and why?

 

Canon 50mm 1.8 II - it's incredible value at <£100. Stops down to f1.8 for really shallow depth of field and, again for it's price, capable of really sharp images (gets a bit soft at 1.8, but is lovely at 2.8)

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

JPEG - Keep meaning to try RAW, but need to invest in a lot of memory first and brush up my editing skills. For the level of editing I do at the moment, JPEG is fine.

 

care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

Take loads of photographs, basically. Try shooting the same scene, but with different shutter speed/ aperture/ ISO settings and see how the relationships between these affect your image

 

any tutorials, websites or forums you can recommend?

 

talkphotography.co.uk is a good forum

 

do you always touch up with software or prefer not to use it? which software(s) do you use?

 

I'm finding myself processing more and more as I get better at it. Started off using Canon's Zoombrowser for really basic stuff, now getting used to GIMP - Quite a steep learning curve, but for free software it's very powerful.

 

ever tried hdr photography? link to results/examples please? (i just downloaded the free picturenaut but haven't tried it out yet)

 

99% of HDR images look awful - they're the modern equivalent of the 80s airbrushed ferrari posters. If done subtly and not too over the top it can look good.

 

Also HDR'd skies often look really noisy.

[Guest Mirezzi]

If I had the money, I'd go out and get a D7000 right now. My digital camera is showing it's age a bit and the D7000 looks like it's worth my while upgrading to. Hope you enjoy it, as it looks like a great camera.

 

Shot are nice, btw.

What are you shooting with now? I love the D7000 so far. Of course, I'm a self-described filmmaker before photographer, so I bought it for its low-light capability at 1080p. The pros and cons of a DSLR as "cinema" camera is probably best saved for another thread, but for the money, I'm definitely in the pro camp.

 

I wanted the 5D, but it's not affordable and I don't own any Canon glass, nor do I want to fuck with adapters.

[BOCfan]

If I had the money, I'd go out and get a D7000 right now. My digital camera is showing it's age a bit and the D7000 looks like it's worth my while upgrading to. Hope you enjoy it, as it looks like a great camera.

 

Shot are nice, btw.

What are you shooting with now? I love the D7000 so far. Of course, I'm a self-described filmmaker before photographer, so I bought it for its low-light capability at 1080p. The pros and cons of a DSLR as "cinema" camera is probably best saved for another thread, but for the money, I'm definitely in the pro camp.

 

I wanted the 5D, but it's not affordable and I don't own any Canon glass, nor do I want to fuck with adapters.

 

Take two zeros away from your new camera and that's what I'm using. It's old now, but I still get good shots from it on low ISO's and with good lenses. I've not upgraded until now as I've been waiting for high end noise control to get better, plus a few other factors. It seems worth (finally) making the jump now, and the video functions of the D7000 are very attractive, and I'd like to start shooting my own films on it as well.

[Guest Mirezzi]

For those interested in that, here is literally the very first thing I shot in video with my D7000. Of note, you can't shoot handheld without producing unbearably jittery footage. I used my neck strap's tension to fake a third point of contact. Also, I shot this in 1/320 shutter speed; hence, it looks like Saving Private Ryan, which is rather ridiculous.

 

This is a 720p down-rez, but nonetheless it gives you an idea of how nice things can look.

 

http://vimeo.com/16506100

 

EDIT: IPB doesn't recognize Vimeo embeds with media tag? Bullshit.

[goffer]

favourite camera?

 

My favorite camera is my rangefinder... a Voigtlander R3A 35mm film camera. Second is my medium format Mamiya C330, then my Nikon D700. I have to give it to the rangefinder because of my style of shooting which I guess is considered street photography, although I'm not fond of the term. It's light, discrete in both looks and sound profile... a very low profile camera... no one takes me seriously (security, candid opportunities, other photographers) when they see my with my kit. When I carry the D700 I get all sorts of unwanted attention... especially from the nubs, "OMG UR CAMERA IS BIG MUS TAKE GUD PIXURS LOL."

 

The Mamiya has BEAUTIFUL negatives and is a TLR system, a system I really enjoy. It doesnt have a meter or take batteries... it's very refreshing\liberating to use as it's just me and my understanding of light.

 

favourite lense and why?

 

Like Overlook, I have mostly old AIS Nikkor glass: 20mm f2.8, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.2, 55mm f2.8 with PK13 tube, CV 58mm f1.4... on my rangefinder I have a 15mm f4.5, 21mm f4, and a 40mm f1.4... I hope to acquire a 28mm f2 and I'm pretty sure that will be my go to lens.

 

do you work mostly with JPEG or RAW? pros and cons?

 

With my D700, I shoot RAW. Although as I take pictures I try to expose them and get them to look as close to my vision as possible, but it is always nice to have the option to easily correct and alter your photographs. The only con I see is it's making this digital age of photographers even more lazy... not only do they have their cameras making most of the decisions for them, they now have their computer doing the same.

 

For my film stuff, I develop my film and scan at 3200 DPI TIF file.

 

most used or favourite accessory?

 

Probably my light meter... I don't use filters much at all... actually now that I think about it, my bag is my favorite accessory.

 

care to share any nuggets of wisdom or tips for the novice/hobbyist?

 

Learn about light and how it works, understand your hardware, and NEVER shoot with one of those god damn preset modes.

 

any tutorials, websites or forums you can recommend?

 

If you are into nikon, www.nikoncafe.com is a nice/helpfull community... not many ego problems that one would find at say dpreview or the likes.

 

do you always touch up with software or prefer not to use it? which software(s) do you use?

 

As I kind of explained in question #3... I prefer as little photo alteration as possible.

 

I use Adobe Lightroom for all my post processing.

 

ever tried hdr photography?

 

I share the same thoughts as Overlook

[Guest Mirezzi]

favourite camera?

Mamiya C330

 

mmmmmmm tasty...I'd love to buy an old analog camera like that.

 

favourite lense and why?

 

Like Overlook, I have mostly old AIS Nikkor glass: 20mm f2.8, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.2, 55mm f2.8 with PK13 tube, CV 58mm f1.4... on my rangefinder I have a 15mm f4.5, 21mm f4, and a 40mm f1.4... I hope to acquire a 28mm f2 and I'm pretty sure that will be my go to lens.

 

Beauties. You even sprung for the 50mm F1.2? That's serious business. So is the 35mm F1.4. I have been tempted by the 20mm F2.8. How do you like it? It's pretty spendy, even for a used one. $450 on KEH. Ouch. The 24mm F2 runs close to the same. Meanwhile, you can pick up the 24mm F2.8 for $120 or so...

 

I use Adobe Lightroom for all my post processing.

For color correction, too? I must get this program. I think my computer is maybe too slow...