Re: Using GPS to location-tag images

2008-01-26 Thread David Dixon
Stan Halpin wrote:
 Thanks Mark. Given that Derby and you had produced two possible  
 solutions, I just did a Google to see if there might be others out  
 there.
 ...
 2. http://www.prairie.mb.ca/product/pg-photolink.php
 ...
 3. http://oregonstate.edu/~earlyj/gpsphotolinker/
...
 
 Now I just need a good cheap GPS...
 
 stan

I've just started playing with this sort of thing, so hopefully my 
suggestions will be of some help.
Another geotagging alternative is GPicSync 
(http://code.google.com/p/gpicsync/) - free, for Windows  Linux.
This will take a track log from a GPSr, and use this to geo-code PEF  
DNG files, as well as JPG - make sure you accurately set the time on 
your camera, or know how much it is out by!
It will also create a kml file for Google Earth showing both your route 
and your photo locations, eg:
http://www.ddixon.force9.co.uk/misc/doc.kml - note that this part of 
GE's data is a few metres adrift!
As an added bonus, Lightroom is GPS-tag aware, and will link a tagged 
raw file to its location in Google Maps.

David


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Re: Well.. I did my best (comet photo)

2007-01-13 Thread David Dixon
Charles Robinson wrote:

 http://charles.robinsontwins.org/images/imgp5058b.jpg
 
 Did anyone else manage to finally see this elusive thing?

Good effort Charles!

Much better than my attempt - got a brief look at the comet on the 11th, 
but the weather here in NE England was not too clement.

http://www.ddixon.force9.co.uk/McNaught1.jpg (cropped from original)
http://www.ddixon.force9.co.uk/McNaught2.jpg (Comet detail; EXIF data 
retained).

David

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Re: K10D with AF540FGZ

2007-01-05 Thread David Dixon
J and K Messervy wrote:
 I received my flash the other day and have been playing with it a bit 
 indoors and out.
 
 First impressions are good, however the exposure results in P-TTL are a 
 little disappointing.  I'm finding that for a shot indoors of my kids or 
 similar at quite close range, bouncing off the white ceiling, I get spot on 
 results...but only when I've set the flash exposure compensation to +1.
 
 Anyone have any suggestions?
 
 Cheers
 
 James 

OK, here's my suggestions:
1.  Perhaps the camera deliberately underexposes slightly with flash - 
keep it with +1 comp. and forget about it?
2.  A lens-specific problem.  With P-TTL, the pre-flash is at full 
aperture, and the strength of the main flash is calculated from this. 
If the lens stops down to say f/11 when it should be f/8, you'll get 
underexposure.  I've run into exactly this problem recently.  Test by 
comparing images in manual mode (no flash) with the same settings, but 
do 1 shot with the aperture set in-camera (i.e. lens on A), and another 
with the aperture set to the same nominal value using the lens aperture 
ring.  Exposures should be identical, so any difference means the 
aperture actuator (either on lens or body) is miscalibrated.
3.  P-TTL seems to use focus distance in its calculations, so perhaps 
close-up pictures using bounce flash cause the camera to throttle the 
flash output too much?  Again, mis-information from the lens re distance 
(is it a Pentax lens?) may be a cause.

David


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Re: A problem of reassembly

2006-05-08 Thread David Dixon

Ann Sanfedele wrote:

William Robb wrote:

- Original Message -
From: David Dixon
Subject: Re: A problem of reassembly


Place the filter up to your eye, and look at yourself in a mirror.
If the camera-side is nearest you, you will be able to see the reflection
of your eye.
If the camera-side is away from you, your eye will appear black.
Hope this helps!

Good tip, David
It's the little nuggets of information like this that really make this list
worthwhile.

William Robb


Except that it isn't true... if you rotate the polarizer
with it facing in eitehr
direction you can give yourself a black eye 
at least with my tiffin  polartizer


ann


Ann,
Rotating the filter shouldn't make any difference - if it does, it 
suggests there is another polarising layer present.  Tinted glasses or a 
fancy mirror perhaps?  If not, you must have a peculiar polarising 
filter as both theory  practice say that my method should work for 
circular polarisers, and this is the basis for some of the more 
expensive anti-glare filters for monitors, etc.

John - did this work for your filter?

David



Re: A problem of reassembly

2006-05-07 Thread David Dixon

John Francis wrote:

I was out shooting yesterday, and my polarizing filter
fell off the front of the lens and onto the path.
Fortunately the glass didn't break, but it did pop out
of the filter holder, leaving me with three pieces to
reassemble - holder, glass and retaining clip.

My problem is - which side of the filter should be to
the front?  There are no distinguishing marks, but I
believe that (as it's a circular polarizer) the way
it goes in is important.

So - how do I find out which is the right way round?


John,

Place the filter up to your eye, and look at yourself in a mirror.
If the camera-side is nearest you, you will be able to see the 
reflection of your eye.

If the camera-side is away from you, your eye will appear black.
Hope this helps!

David




*istD built-in flash - update

2005-12-16 Thread David Dixon
A few weeks ago I mentioned that my the built-in flash on my *istD had 
failed 18 months after purchase (and outside the 1 year guarantee).


Well, I wrote a polite letter to the retailer's head office (Jacobs - a 
smallish chain of UK photo shops) asking them to repair it since the 
problem was most likely due to a latent fault at the time of sale.  They 
agreed to take the camera back, forwarded it to Pentax UK, who forwarded 
it to Pentax Europe, who have replaced the flash PCB at no cost to me. 
The camera returned today and works fine.


Although UK consumer law was on my side, I was expecting to have a bit 
of a fight to persuade the shop to honour their obligations, so I've 
been pleasantly surprised by the excellent service from Jacobs.
I'm now very glad I bought my camera from a real shop rather than an 
internet site; I can't imagine many of them would have been as helpful.


David



Re: *istD and built-in flash

2005-11-01 Thread David Dixon

Thank you Leon, Max, Dave  William.
It looks as if this *is* a weakness with the *istD, but fortunately 
doesn't affect too many owners. Based on this, its probably worth trying 
to get Pentax UK to foot the repair bill.


David

Leon Altoff wrote:

David,

My first *istD developed this fault.  When it was repaired they used an 
upgraded circuit board.  This may mean that they knew it was a weak spot 
and have fixed it but didn't think it was worth a recall.  I don't know 
when they changed the board but it was in the first year as I got one of 
the first D's in Australia (first shipment released for sale) and had it 
repaired under warranty.


 Leon

http://www.bluering.org.au
http://www.bluering.org.au/leon


David Dixon wrote:
Reading about Don's problems with his *istD and built-in flash has 
prompted me to write.
My *istD developed a similar problem while using the built-in flash - 
no charging, coupled with apparent draining of the batteries and 
refusal to trip the shutter. The flash charging circuitry is obviously 
damaged and it needs a repair.
If this is an unfortunate one-off then so be it, but if this is a 
common fault I'll try to persuade the retailer to fix it for free (of 
course, warranty has expired ...).

So - how many other *istD owners have had this problem?

David





*istD and built-in flash

2005-10-30 Thread David Dixon
Reading about Don's problems with his *istD and built-in flash has 
prompted me to write.
My *istD developed a similar problem while using the built-in flash - no 
charging, coupled with apparent draining of the batteries and refusal to 
trip the shutter. The flash charging circuitry is obviously damaged and 
it needs a repair.
If this is an unfortunate one-off then so be it, but if this is a common 
fault I'll try to persuade the retailer to fix it for free (of course, 
warranty has expired ...).

So - how many other *istD owners have had this problem?

David



Re: trap focus with AF lenses

2005-06-16 Thread David Dixon

Doug Franklin wrote:


On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 22:10:36 +0100, David Dixon wrote:


can't check if this actually works at the moment, but I think
you can do this on certain AF bodies [...]
   


I don't know about any others, but it works just fine on my ZX-5 and
MZ-S.


You need a custom electronic cable release -
   


You don't need one if you're willing to stand there and hold the
shutter release down.  I've done it while hand holding.

...] you'll only take a photo if 
the subject comes into focus.
   


Well, you'll get a photo one lock time after the subject comes into
focus.  It does take some (small) amount of time for the logic to
recognize the in focus condition, and for the mirror to move out of
the way.  If your subject is moving quickly, and the DOF is shallow,
the part of the photo you expected to be in focus might not be the part
that's in focus when the shutter slit finally starts moving.

or this to work, you'll need an AF lens mounted normally, and focus 
mode set to AF-S.
   


Nope, you need an MF lens mounted normally.  I don't recall whether it
requires AF-S or works in both AF-S and AF-C modes.  It's been a while
since I did it.

TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ

 

Doug,  you misunderstand me - Collin specifically asked about trap focus 
with AF lenses.  As you describe, trap focus with MF lenses is 
straightforward, but for AF lenses my technique stands.


David



Re: trap focus with AF lenses

2005-06-15 Thread David Dixon

Collin Brendemuehl wrote:


I know it works with manual-focus lenses just fine.
But to use the feature with AF lenses, what's needed?
Cover the AF data pin on the mount?
Disallow engaging the AF mechanical connection?
Anything else?
 
 


Collin,

I can't check if this actually works at the moment, but I think you can 
do this on certain AF bodies - works on (P)Z-1, doesn't work on MZ-7 
(ZX-7).  Possibly works on all AF bodies with an AF (continuous) and AF 
(single) selector:


You need a custom electronic cable release - either make your own or 
modify an existing one.  The normal release triggers focusing/metering 
with a light press, then takes a photo with a firmer press.  If you wire 
a release so that the focus never gets activated (ie connect only 2 of 
the 3 wires) and then lock it pressed down, you'll only take a photo if 
the subject comes into focus.
For this to work, you'll need an AF lens mounted normally, and focus 
mode set to AF-S.
Actually, I'd be interested to know if my recollection is correct, and 
also which cameras this really does work on.


David



Re: Photo micrography

2005-04-28 Thread David Dixon
Don Williams wrote:
I had hoped to hear from anyone in the group who has an *ist D 
attached to a compound microscope. I'd like to know if the shutter 
vibration is a serious drawback. I know the mirror can be fired in 
advance to help reduce this problem. But with a selection of other 
Pentax SLRs I found the shutter to be a real nuisance. I now use (for 
film) a dedicated Wild/Leica MPS 51 camera and MPS 48 electronic 
controller with a shutter that does not vibrate at all. But I'd like 
to move over to digital for routine work. I have all the attachments 
to fit Pentax bayonet bodies to my instruments.
Don,
I've used an *istD on a fairly sturdy microscope (binocular, so not 
ideal), with a standard Pentax adapter and using the 2 second mirror 
pre-fire to minimise vibrations. 
I haven't yet had a chance to exhaustively test out this arrangement, 
and I'm a long way from optimising everything but there's no reason why 
it shouldn't work well.
Here's one example:  a closeup of some arthropod (can't remember which) 
leg - possibly taken with x40 objective, x10 eyepiece, 0.7s exposure.
Whole image:
http://www.ddixon.force9.co.uk/micro1.jpg
1:1 detail:
http://www.ddixon.force9.co.uk/micro2.jpg
As you can see, the image isn't particularly sharp but it's not bad, and 
I believe that it is the optics rather than vibration that's causing 
this lack of sharpness.
Looking at another 1/125 s exposure (which is probably about the speed 
at which vibration is likely to have greatest effect), I get similar 
results.
Of course, using a flash as the light source would help solve vibration 
problems, and I've had some success introducing an unmounted flash tube 
into the pre-condenser optics.  Again, I need some time to get this 
optimised though!

I hope this helps,
David


Re: Pixmantec Rawshooter 2005 - my review

2005-04-25 Thread David Dixon
Frantisek wrote:
DD of priority or for deletion during a slideshow.  My only niggles at the
DD moment are that there's no direct access to curves (although the 
DD highlight/shadow contrast sliders and appearance selector appear to
DD apply pre-set curves), and that the converted images look slightly
DD different in other applications when compared with the Rawshooter preview.
DD I now use Rawshooter instead of the Pentax software, and considering
DD that it is free, it is excellent software that's rapidly improving.

WRT the converted looking different - are you viewing the result in a
CMS aware application? RSE will output files that are in the working
colour space (it can't convert them to sRGB if you want to work on
them in AdobeRGB for example). If the other application doesn't colour
manage them, they might indeed look wrong (either higher contrast and
more garish colours in case of viewing sRGB file in e.g. AdobeRGB
space, or slightly greeny and low contrast in case of viewing AdobeRGB
file, without colour management on).
 

Thanks for the pointer, Frantisek. I'm now getting a much closer match 
between Rawshooter preview and colour management-enabled software.  I've 
not really bothered too much with colour management in the past as my 
final printed images have been close enough to my intended look, but I 
really should make the effort and do it properly.

Dario - I'm glad the latest version fixes your 'too dark' problem.
David


Re: Pixmantec Rawshooter 2005 - my review

2005-04-24 Thread David Dixon
Dario Bonazza wrote:
I wrote:
Except that even with shadow contrast at it lowest, the shadows can 
still be pure black!

And I even tried setting exposure compensation (up to +3!), but black 
areas still remain deep blacks, while both the straight in-camera jpeg 
and the file converted using PentaxPhotoLab show nice detail.

Are you using version 1.1.1 or earlier?  These versions had a bug with 
setting the black point on some istD files, that has been fixed with v. 
1.1.2.  I noticed this problem with shadow detail, that's now gone in 
the latest version.
I'm still getting used to Rawshooter, but I'm liking it more  more.  
It's much more streamlined than the Pentax software (which is my only 
alternative), and I particularly like the ability to tag files in order 
of priority or for deletion during a slideshow.  My only niggles at the 
moment are that there's no direct access to curves (although the 
highlight/shadow contrast sliders and appearance selector appear to 
apply pre-set curves), and that the converted images look slightly 
different in other applications when compared with the Rawshooter preview.
I now use Rawshooter instead of the Pentax software, and considering 
that it is free, it is excellent software that's rapidly improving.

David


Re: Need Flexible Flash Bracket

2004-07-25 Thread David Dixon
Joseph Tainter wrote:
Can anyone recommend an affordable flexible flash bracket that will 
flex forward for macro shots? I don't want to spend $160 for the one 
that Wimberly offers.

Any advice on this, or other solutions, appreciated.
Joe
My solution was a cheap medium-format flash grip from eBay - tilt  
swivel at the base, with a ball  socket cold-shoe mount.  Coupled with 
a Pentax AF240FT flash, this setup isn't too heavy, and the grip makes 
it very comfortable to hold.  As you can see from the links below, there 
are enough degrees of freedom to position the flash pretty much anywhere 
you need. 
http://www.ddixon.force9.co.uk/misc/flashgrip1.jpg
http://www.ddixon.force9.co.uk/misc/flashgrip2.jpg
An example of the results of this setup:
http://www.ddixon.force9.co.uk/gc_david/France2004/Dragonflies%20%20Damselflies/imgp1645.html

Incidentally, I've broken the knob on mine, so if anyone comes across 
one of these and doesn't want it, I'd like to know!  Mine is 
German-made, possibly by Rowi, if that helps,

David


Re: Anybody shooting auroras?

2003-10-31 Thread David Dixon
mike wilson wrote:

It's been cloud as anything here (NE England) for the last three days,
so no joy.  Looking good for tonight, so, for sure, there will be
nothing.
mike

I hate to say this Mike, but in Durham (about 15 miles away from you?) 
we've had two fantastic nights of aurora - Wednesday night from 7pm to 
8pm had aurora over the whole Northern half of the sky, while last 
night, despite the forecasts, the cloud suddenly cleared at 10pm to give 
an utterly amazing display for over an hour, and all in the Southern 
half of the sky!  Many photos taken, but on the downside my Z-1 fatally 
malfunctioned while shooting.  I'll get the films developed tomorrow.  
As you say, tonight has been relatively clear, but no signs of a repeat 
performance (check out http://www.dcs.lancs.ac.uk/iono/aurorawatch/ for 
a good predictor for current likelihood of aurora).

David



Re: Who else has admired the eclipse?

2003-05-31 Thread David Dixon
I too made the effort - here in Durham (N.E. England), we got a 
theoretical maximum of about 92% eclipsed at sun-rise.  For once, it was 
beautifully cloud free, but heavy haze meant that the sun slowly 
appeared a few minutes after sunrise, as a deep red, thin crescent.  My 
site was a few minutes walk from home, with the sun rising between the 
towers of Durham Cathedral - the same viewpoint as one of my PUG 
submissions:
http://pug.komkon.org/01jun/durcath1.html
Took photos with a Z1 and 300mm with and without one or two 2x 
teleconverters - no ND filters required due to the thick haze! 
Hopefully they'll come out better than my '99 attempts, when all my 
pics of totality were hugely underexposed ...

David Dixon
 

Alin Flaider wrote:

 This is particularly addressed to our friends in the northern Europe
 who were in the position to see and photograph this annular sun
 eclipse in all its beauty.
 So, any other reports? Did anyone succeed the ring-like sun shot?

 




Re: functional difference pz-1p/pz-1?

2003-02-16 Thread David Dixon
I'm a different David, but I'll stick my oar in.  I've tried your expt 
below, with a Z-1, and a SMC-M 200/4.
I can definitely get spot metering - a four-fold difference in exposure 
changing between centre-weighted and spot.
However, if I change Pentax function 1, so that activating the spot 
option instead uses centre-weighted metering, I get the same reading 
with/without spot option - as expected as both modes are using 
centre-weighted.  Hve you checked your PZ-1 to see what setting PF1 is 
using?
My results agree with my interpretation of the manual:
  
   K, M lenses
   A, F, AF lenses
Normal metering Centre-weighted  Matrix
Spot metering (PF1=SP)Spot  Spot
Spot metering (PF1=CE)Centre-weighted  Centre-weighted

So, all our (P)Z-1s work the same, but are probably set up differently?

David Dixon

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

David,
To clarify, you tried the experiment below.  You mounted a K or M lens 
and checked metering without and with Spot?  You got significantly different 
reading using Spot?  Can you tell us what lens you used?
My PZ-1 has never worked this way since purchased new.  I was an early 
purchaser, but many others have noted this discrepancy before.  Mark Roberts 
and others have web pages devoted to modifying M  K lenses to allow spot and 
matrix metering.
Regards,  Bob S.


 

Try it in a dim room with a table lamp and a wide angle K or M lens. 
The SPOT metering area is about the same size as the [ focus ] area of 
   

the 
 

PZ-1.  Put the lamp in the focus area and meter - center weighted.  Turn 
   

on 
 

spot metering and do the same.  You will find identical readings.  Now
try it with an A, F, or FA lens.  You will get different readings.
   




 






Re: Pinhole Question

2002-05-11 Thread David Dixon

A normal SLR's TTL metering won't be any good for pinhole photography
sincethere's no aperture size feedback to the camera's exposure circuit.   A
normal lens' aperture ring operates the camera's diaphragm resistor to
tell the meter what aperture you've selected.   With pinhole photography, there will 
be no such connection.   Metering will be via hand held meter or
Sunny 16 (Moony 11) and aperture will be calculated.

Scott Nelson wrote:

Actually not true.  On M and K series lenses, the lens tells the body how
many stops down from wide open the aperture is set using the mechanical
aperture coupler.  These lenses do not communicate the absolute aperture.
If there is not such coupler on the lens, the body just reads it as wide
open (which is the correct exposure, because there is no auto aperture on a
pinhole).  After all, most Pentax bodies still work with screwmount lenses
(no aperture info) and mirror lenses (also no aperture info, because it is
fixed).  The more important issue is whether the TTL meter is sensitive
enough to give an accurate exposure with so little light.

Try this:  Take a Pentax K body set on auto exposure, and a lens set at 
full aperture.  Slowly twist the lens off the camera while looking 
through the viewfinder.  You should find that although the image 
brightness stays the same, the calculated exposure will increase as you 
twist.  In other words, without a lens or other object to turn the 
aperture coupling lever fully clockwise, the camera will calculate the 
exposure assuming the lens will stop down when the shutter is pressed, 
when for a pinhole, etc. this won't be the case.
Therefore (if not using an LX), for getting correctly exposed photos for 
pinholes, microscopes, etc., you need to make sure the aperture lever is 
locked at maximum - a T2 mount or M42-to-PK mount both move the aperture 
coupler and ensure this is the case.

David Dixon
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Re: Pentax K 300mm f/4

2002-05-06 Thread David Dixon

William Robb wrote:

Hi;
I have the opportunity to purchase the above named lens. One
thing that bothers me is the lack of a tripod mount. If any
owners of the lens would care to comment on the qualities of it,
and whether the lack of a tripod socket is a fatal flaw, I would
be interested in your responses.
Thanks

William Robb


I had one of these until recently, but sold it and bought a Sigma 300/4 
apo macro instead, partly to get a tripod mount.  I used the lens with a 
monopod on a number of occasions, and using the camera tripod mount 
makes the camera  lens very front-heavy and difficult to use, 
especially with a ball  socket head, and even more so if using a 
teleconverter or extension tube.  I eventually resorted to cobbling 
together a make-shift tripod mount for the lens, which while not 
particularly sturdy, did allow for easier use on a monopod.
The optics were fine, except that very high contrast subjects would show 
the effects of slight chromatic aberration, giving magenta fringes 
around very bright objects (not usually a problem though).  The Sigma 
lens appears to be much better corrected (but with significantly poorer 
lens coatings).
The focusing on the Pentax is beautifully smooth and well damped, but 
quite slow due to the long travel; the Sigma is loose with a very short 
travel, but suprisingly easy to focus manually, with the added advantage 
of a much closer focus, although the internal focus effectively shortens 
the focal length even at quite modest distances - at 4m, the view is 
~20% wider than the Pentax.
Hope this helps,

David Dixon
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Moon Jupiter - photo

2002-02-12 Thread David Dixon

Well, I got a reasonable photo of the lunar occultation of Jupiter I 
mentioned a couple of weeks ago - see 
http://www.the-dixons.fsnet.co.uk/moon_jupiter.jpg
This picture was taken ~ 10 mins before Jupiter dissapeared behind the 
moon.  I was using a terrestrial 'scope which shows considerable 
chromatic aberration, so the picture is a greyscale version of  just the 
green channel.

For those in the East US, you've got a great chance to see a lunar 
occultation of Saturn on 20th Feb - see below for more details:
http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/occultations/article_297_1.asp

David Dixon
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Re: a shot in the dark - OT re: the bodies in the night sky

2002-01-27 Thread David Dixon

Not Saturn, but Jupiter, with at least 3 of its 4 bright moons visible, 
in a line to the lower left (towards the moon when you saw it).  
A few hours earlier (6pm UK time) the moon actually passed in front of 
Jupiter (for those in the N of UK) - an amazing site, and for once it 
wasn't cloudy here!  Tried to get a few photos, (MZ7 attached to small 
'scope via a set of bellows) but the wind was battering camera, scope  
tripod so I'm expecting some rather blurry pictures...

David

Hi, if I were to take a stab at it, I`d say you`re looking at Saturn
and its brightest moon Titan.
Steve Larson
Redondo Beach, California

Not that I'm that much into astro-photography, but
walking out tonight in the est village of NYC I look up
and see an almost full moon  (This is at about 6 pm EST and
I am looking east)
and see above and to the right a planet that LOOKS like it
has a tinier celestial object right next to it. A moon? a
satellite? a start that just looks like it is close?
Was I lucky enough to be looking at Jupiter and one of its
moons?
It is now about 8pm and I can still see the moon and the
same juxtaposition
of planet and whatever near it - well, nearly the same. 

Any star people among us?  Seems to me there have been. 

annsan
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Re: more scanner problems...

2002-01-08 Thread David Dixon

I've had this problem with an Epson 1200 photo when scanning negatives.
The transparency unit has a narrow window above the main scanning area
which is kept clear and used to calibrate the CCD before scanning to
minimise any banding.  If a piece of dust or hair got in here, I ended
up with a vertical line through my scans - cleaning this window
meticulously solved the problem.  I assume the 1640 uses a similar
system, and hopefully it's just a case of giving that window and the
light source a good clean!
If however you get the same banding when scanning without the
transparency lid, (i.e. prints), it sounds more serious.

David

Ann Sanfedele wrote:

 Ok, so I got the Epson 1640su photo in August - this is only
 January. And I was gone for 2 months and didn't use it.
 alas! suddenly I have GREEN LINE :(  one narrow green line
 right down the middle.  Suggestions??? Is this terminal?
 Help!

 annsan
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Re: My PUG comments: David Dixon RK

2001-06-17 Thread David Dixon

Gianfranco,

Many thanks for your comments:

  Durham Cathedral 
 by  David Dixon, UK
 As you state, this shot may be better classified as a landscape, or, maybe, as
 'architecture in landscape'.
 The strenght of the shot is in its colors: I think the autumn trees become
 very well the buildings.
 The light itself looks wonderful. The only flaw I can find is that the shot
 appears a little static.
 I'd like to see the uncropped version.

I am glad you liked the light; I was determined to get a photo of the cathedral on
a frosty morning, and this was one of the few opportunities I've had.
I've uploaded a much less cropped version for you, and if anyone else is
interested:

http://www.the-dixons.fsnet.co.uk/durcath3.jpg

David


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Re: May PUG comment: Frog by David Dixon

2001-05-03 Thread David Dixon

Many thanks Jostein for commenting on my submission, and thank you also to those
who have taken the time to pass comment.

 Had this been mine, I would have cropped away the foreground that is visibly
 out of focus. Probably up to the small area on the left edge with no
 duckweed.

I've tried out your suggested crop, and while it does make quite a difference to
the picture, I can't decide whether I like it better or not.  Nevertheless, it's
always good to hear other people's opinions!

 One little question: is the frog's presence arranged? -Not that it matters,
 really, it's just a technical question...

I usually try to take my nature shots more or less as I find them, and this
holds true for this picture.  I wasn't out to take photos, but had to move the
pond to do some work, and noticed that the frog (who's often there) was either
not to bothered, or too lazy to swim off, so I grabbed my camera.  Having the
pond out of its hole allowed me to get down to near water level to take the
pic.  In fact, the frog even allowed me to wipe the duckweed from its head, but
dived before I could get some more photos.

David

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