Re: Last 2001 PUG assignment: Lahuerta Theriault
Hi, Gianfranco, Thanks for your comments. I just wasn't very inspired, I guess. It happens... I still haven't made my comments for December, but I'm off work at noon today, so I promise, this afternoon. regards, and Happy New Year to you and yours, frank Gianfranco Irlanda wrote: Hi everybody, I didn't want to come to this, but, for a lot of reasons, I've postponed to comment on the PUG assignment shots once too long. I hope you'll be so kind to be indulgent... The Tower and the (Ghost) Church by Jaume Lahuerta. I like it. There are many things I can point out (like the building in the lower left corner, or the dark - dust? - spots in the upper part of the frame) that I feel a bit annoying, but the whole image works. I'd suggest to redo the shot with a tele in the same situation to see what happens when cropping on the field. The grain is not disturbing, though, and helps to the final result. Helpless by Frank Theriault. As you say, this is not a very good shot, neither is a really ugly one, though... What really doesn't work, IMNSHO, is the lack of a human presence under the inscription. I would have avoided to include in the frame the white edge of the sign over the inscription, too. I appreciate your intentions, though. That's all guys, I'm sorry I'm not able to say more. I promise I'll try to comment on the PUG pictures as soon as they appear on the web starting from January... Gianfranco = Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings.yahoo.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . -- The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true. -J. Robert Oppenheimer - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Last 2001 PUG assignment: Lahuerta Theriault
Hi everybody, I didn't want to come to this, but, for a lot of reasons, I've postponed to comment on the PUG assignment shots once too long. I hope you'll be so kind to be indulgent... The Tower and the (Ghost) Church by Jaume Lahuerta. I like it. There are many things I can point out (like the building in the lower left corner, or the dark - dust? - spots in the upper part of the frame) that I feel a bit annoying, but the whole image works. I'd suggest to redo the shot with a tele in the same situation to see what happens when cropping on the field. The grain is not disturbing, though, and helps to the final result. Helpless by Frank Theriault. As you say, this is not a very good shot, neither is a really ugly one, though... What really doesn't work, IMNSHO, is the lack of a human presence under the inscription. I would have avoided to include in the frame the white edge of the sign over the inscription, too. I appreciate your intentions, though. That's all guys, I'm sorry I'm not able to say more. I promise I'll try to comment on the PUG pictures as soon as they appear on the web starting from January... Gianfranco = Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings.yahoo.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Latest PUG Assignment : FACIT
Sorry this is so late but I didn't know that Facit = Fabio Cittadini. Makes sense NOW though :) SO... Whirls By Facit It looked like a man-hole cover at first :) Could easily have been the top of a hot air balloon as well. But it's a building. Looks like it was really close but then I noticed it's a 500mm lens (drooling). The building in the upper right corner is a little distracting.. There's an interesting blue shadow on the top ( far side) of the disc, was it a cloud? Not much detail in the water on my screen but I guess it was a little way from your position... Once I get past the what the heck IS that thing? phase, the disc isn't all that interesting. I'd be interested to see the other shots you took from this location that might include some more elements. Oh, and what are those things on the outer circle of the disc? Lightning-rods perhaps? I wonder if it's possible to take a shot of the top of this building anymore... Nice shot Good Shooting Cory Waters - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
PUG Assignment?
I have lost the email from last month about PUG assignments and I didn't seem to get one this month, will the coordinator please contact me? Cory Waters Having the worst day in a couple months - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: PUG Assignment?
On Wed, 3 Oct 2001, Cory or Brenda Waters wrote: I have lost the email from last month about PUG assignments and I didn't seem to get one this month, will the coordinator please contact me? Hi, Cory. I'm sending the comment requests out later tonight. I left it for a few days to give the general comments some time to appear, and also because I'm lazy. :) chris - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Cory's comments (Was: My PUG Assignment.)
Thanks Cory. I appreciate your comments. Cory wrote: The Finish Line -- Lasse Karlsson I have to admit that on the first pass through the list I didn't notice that the runners were the only things in color. Guess my mind disregarded the obvious difference. Yes, that's funny. You're the second one to report this experience. On second look though, it's a striking change-up. Leaves me wondering how it was done. At first I picked this picture because of it's kind of (to me) archetypical scene. The six human bodies and minds going for passing that line sooner than anybody else. As I earlier mentioned this is quite a crop of the original, where I opted for this perspective rather than the more commonly expected. But partcularly beacuse of the back light on the runners and the high intensity of the (beautiful) colour of the track itself, competing for attention from the runners, I decided to try to pull them out by desaturate the colours around them. This was done in Photoshop by selecting (and desaturating) the areas in the various ways allowed by Photoshop. It took a while (a few hours), since my technique is not very well developed. If you look closely you will find that it's not perfect in this regard. There are small areas and borders that still would need some work. I simply had to leave it in order not to miss the deadline. Anyway I enjoy the result too. I agree with some others that I would like the shot to include more of the stadium and less of the track in front of the runners. Yes, except for comments in private, this seems to be the taste of the majority of commentators. (Guess I'm lucky it's not a popularity contest...:) ) I would also like to see a little more space to each side, though I think you said there were offending items to each side that you chose to omit. No, no offending items. I just wanted to bring out, as much as possible of the runners that the max 600 pixels wide rule allowed me. It is of interest to hear that you'd prefer more space. Love how you were able to capture the runners at various stages of their finish-line stride. It's good to get all the runners in a single shot like that. Yes, there's always an element of luck (or unluck) in these kinds of shots. (On this roll I had at least one before and one after this shot. On another roll (another body) I think I have a few shots from the early part of the race.). They were indeed lined up well for a shot like this. I understand you were actually in the run-off area. It's an extraordinary place to be for that race, those guys seem like they would be so focused on their race that they'd run you over in a heartbeat and get up wondering what happened. Yes, I had a pass for the track and particular shooting areas, but unfortunately not for the inner field where I would have loved to go. (Well, in fact I did in one particular case (a javelin throwing girl that I did a piece on) without having any problems from the organisers.) Anyway, the runners are used to having photographers around so they do look out for not hitting anyone. It's mostly a matter of keeping still at crucial moments and watch out, and you'll be fine. (It helps, or actually is required, that you do know about the various disciplines going on - where and when different things will be happening etc. I love being there shooting.) Keep your head up mate. Looks like they were all pretty close at the end, who won? I seem to recall that the (blue-white) Finn in the middle actually won, although it looks like it's the Swede doing a victory sign. (Not absolutely sure though. Would have to look it up.) Thanks, Lasse - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Cory's comments (Was: My PUG Assignment.)
Lasse Karlsson wrote: I decided to try to pull them out by desaturate the colours around them. This was done in Photoshop Hi Lasse, Did you select the runners and then go to the inverse? Did you use the wand or the pen or both? I think you did a very credible job, certainly adequate for a lo-res jpeg. And I think the effect is dramatic and fascinating. A commentator wrote: I agree with some others that I would like the shot to include more of the stadium and less of the track in front of the runners. snip I would also like to see a little more space to each side, I like the way the photo is cropped. The lanes extending into the foreground give it a scope and power that might be lost in a crop that included more background. I think it's an excellent photo and is certainly among my favorites in this month's gallery. Paul Stenquist. - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Lasse's picture (Was: Cory's comments (Was: My PUG Assignment.
Paul Stenquist wrote Lasse Karlsson wrote: I decided to try to pull them out by desaturate the colours around them. This was done in Photoshop Hi Lasse, Did you select the runners and then go to the inverse? Did you use the wand or the pen or both? I think you did a very credible job, certainly adequate for a lo-res jpeg. And I think the effect is dramatic and fascinating. Thanks. Your questions make me have to admit that there is a lot more to be desired regarding my yet primitive command of Photoshop. (First of all (in case there is anybody who thinks there is anything special to what I did): Anyone with even a cheap freeware program that allows Selecting and Saturation (and preferably Zooming) can do what I did to this picture. Anyone, even only slightly more experienced in using Photoshop, could have done it in a fraction of the time I spent doing it, and much more perfectly at that.) At first glance, once having decided to go this route, I was naively thinking: Oh, yeah, I will select the runners one by one using the magic wand, inverse, and then by a click on desaturate the picture would magically and instantly appear as intended. I immediatley noticed that the runners weren't that easily selected (at least not to me). The wand, of which I am not a master, would crawl out in all directions and it also proved to be too slow for me to try to add or subtract to the selection, so I gave it up at this stage. (Btw. I didn't even use layers. (Each time I do, sooner or later I seem to get stuck in some mysterious function that I don't understand yet.) Furthermore my version of Photoshop (v4) has only one level of undo, why you have to be careful at each command.) What I did at first was simply panorama-selecting close to the runners, inversed the selection and desaturated. Then I simply went by using the various types of selection tools, the wand, the square, the circled, the elliptic etc., which ever seemed useful for any particular area. This was roughly my time consuming method - Select/Desaturate/Select/Desaturate (often at high magnifications.) You asked about the Pen tool, and I have to admit that there are a few Tools that I haven't yet used or learned how to use. The Pen is one of them. I did use the Lasso though. (Unfortunately my mouse is not very good. Sometimes when I move it an inch, the cursor/pointer won't move at all. Then all of a sudden that ball in the mouse makes a jump and the line I am about to draw will also jump into areas where it is not supposed to. I am dreaming about when I will afford that Wacom(?) pen and tablet.) As far as I recall I didn't have to use any corrective tools, like the Smudge, Rubber stamp (Clone) etc.Nothing was added or cleaned up. Normally I would have taken some time working with levels, colors, contrasts etc, but I was very late for the submission deadline so everything had to be done very hastily. A commentator wrote: I agree with some others that I would like the shot to include more of the stadium and less of the track in front of the runners. snip I would also like to see a little more space to each side, I like the way the photo is cropped. The lanes extending into the foreground give it a scope and power that might be lost in a crop that included more background. I think it's an excellent photo and is certainly among my favorites in this month's gallery. Thanks, you read it the way I was hoping for. (I guess we're suspects of having founded a mutual admiration society though... :) ) Lasse - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
My PUG Assignment.
I have been fortunate to draw a couple pictures that have received other comments on the list for my first set of assigned photos. Here goes nothin: The Finish Line -- Lasse Karlsson I have to admit that on the first pass through the list I didn't notice that the runners were the only things in color. Guess my mind disregarded the obvious difference. On second look though, it's a striking change-up. Leaves me wondering how it was done. I agree with some others that I would like the shot to include more of the stadium and less of the track in front of the runners. I would also like to see a little more space to each side, though I think you said there were offending items to each side that you chose to omit. Love how you were able to capture the runners at various stages of their finish-line stride. It's good to get all the runners in a single shot like that. I understand you were actually in the run-off area. It's an extraordinary place to be for that race, those guys seem like they would be so focused on their race that they'd run you over in a heartbeat and get up wondering what happened. Keep your head up mate. Looks like they were all pretty close at the end, who won? Our Lady Of Three Graces --Jim Brooks I was struck by the ghostly look of the faces. The grain is a little distracting. I'd like to see a little more definition in the face on the right, though that might lessen the ghost-effect I like so much. Why are the noses glowing? I find it amazing that this is a photo of statues outside. It's something I'd like to see in person. I would really like to see the rest of the statues, I'm curious to see how the faces are portrayed in real-life :) Alto -- D. Glenn Arthur Jr. This is an interesting shot. I know I would have included the whole instrument, probably to the detriment of the image. That lavender tint in combination with the star filter reminds me of the Seventies and ABBA for some reason. The watch is distracting. Three flashes eh? Some day I may work that hard and achieve a nice images like this. Probably not though Where's the other hand? Of course, I could be full of it. I don't really know anything about pictures anyway :))) Cory Waters Atlanta, GA USA - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: August PUG assignment: Whitlock, Brendemuehl, Matyola.
Gianfranco Irlanda wrote: Roue de Paris by Dan Matyola Nice shot. I find the roofs in the lower part a bit distracting. I know that you stated you wanted the reflections on the car roofs to be part of the image, but I think you could have done better with a wide angle in this regard. Maybe a bit of cropping could improve the image. Thanks for your comments. What I saw with my eye in the reflections on the cars roof appealed to me, but I couldn't get a good shot of both the reflections and the wheel, and without the wheel, the reflections were incomprehensible. This shot was the best I could get at the time showing both. On reflection (pun intended), I agree with you; the shot would be better if I crop out the automobile roofs. Thanks again for your helpful comments. Dan -- Daniel J. Matyola mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Stanley, Powers Matyola mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Suite203, 1170 US Highway 22 East http://danmatyola.com Bridgewater, NJ 08807 (908)725-3322 fax: (908)707-0399 - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: August PUG assignment: Whitlock, Brendemuehl, Matyola.
Thanks for the comments. This was an experimental shot and controlling the light was not foremost on my mind. Getting something from the candles onto the chess board would have allowed that. Collin From: Gianfranco Irlanda [EMAIL PROTECTED] Players by Collin Brendemuehl Interesting the role played by the two candles. It's nice that you chose not to follow a geometrical composition too still. I don't know if it's my monitor, but the image looks too grainy. Did you expose it @100 or more? I think that the impact could improve if you printed (or at least showed) darker, leaving the dark part in a nice black background. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
August PUG assignment: Whitlock, Brendemuehl, Matyola.
Hello everybody, As usual, I'm late with the comments but, you know, it's summer time... The Blue Hour by Rodger Whitlock You said that, it's not a great photograph. Even with the obvious limits due to the situation (the camera on the roof of a car) I must say that there is a great fault in the image: it is, how can I say, without subject. There is nothing that draws the attention, nothing that is the centre of the image. Too many things in the frame that are unimportant... Try to leave out more from the frame next time. Players by Collin Brendemuehl Interesting the role played by the two candles. It's nice that you chose not to follow a geometrical composition too still. I don't know if it's my monitor, but the image looks too grainy. Did you expose it @100 or more? I think that the impact could improve if you printed (or at least showed) darker, leaving the dark part in a nice black background. Roue de Paris by Dan Matyola Nice shot. I find the roofs in the lower part a bit distracting. I know that you stated you wanted the reflections on the car roofs to be part of the image, but I think you could have done better with a wide angle in this regard. Maybe a bit of cropping could improve the image. Gianfranco __ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
August PUG assignment - D. Glenn Arthur Jr.
My last assignment this month is: D. Glenn Arthur Jr., Curry Well, for starters, I'm a cat person, so I'm a sucker for a good feline shot like this one. The lighting is extremely effective here. I find the effect of almost total blackness on the left to be dramatic, just capturing the outline of the cat's right ear. The expression on Curry's face is fascinating. I could stare back at her for a long time - it's mesmerizing. I'm forever trying to capture such moments, and inevitably, the cat, animal, or person, moves a split second before I'm about to squeeze the shutter release - damn, missed another one! Well done. I wonder if the shot might be a bit more effective if the cat were a bit sharper? I'm not really criticizing here, because I might look at this shot with a sharper cat, and think that the less-sharp one works better. Just wondering. I've also got to say that the orange monochrome isn't really to my liking, but hey, that was the colour of the lighting that you were presented with. And, certainly, the positive aspects of this shot outweigh the whatever might be taken away by the colour, which is only a personal opinion, in any event. All in all, like all the other shots in this month's gallery (excluding mine, of course), a wonderful image. Other's have said it already, but the August PUG was stunning! Thanks, Glenn. regards, frank -- The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true. -J. Robert Oppenheimer - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
My PUG assignment: Dombek, Smith, Sundstrom, Kanto
My assignment this month is to comment the shots of Ed Dombek, Mike Smith, Patti Sundstrom and Ayash Kanto. Cherry Rooster by Ed Dombek That's what I call a lucky shot. You've been able to catch a very quick movement and you have nicely put the subject not exactly in the center of the frame (even if you did it by cropping the print). I'm sure you couldn't in such a hurry, but I would have compensated the metering (+1 or +1,5 EV), the shadow are really dark and I barely see any detail of the plumage. Sitting Pretty by Mike Smith Pretty indeed (the squirrel...) but rather still. I would have avoided to place the eye of the subject in the center leaving so much room in the upper part of the frame. Maybe a little more of the trunk where the rodent sits would have made the difference. I find the clear branch in the background (the one that crosses the ears of the squirrel) a bit distracting, too. Anyway, I understand that shooting at little wild animals in their environment is rather difficult. I like the color rendition of the shot. Buick Hood Ornament by Patti Sundstrom, USA I like the colors of the shot and the composition, except for two details: the lower part of the windshield seems to be there by mistake (the reflex on the engine hood is enough to suggest its presence) and what appears to be like a wooden door on the background should have been more out of focus - hard to obtain with a 400 ISO film (the contrast of the colors is nice, though). Too bad the scan looks very poor on the screen. Do Ants like Tap Water? by Ayash Kanto Nice shot. I like the act of seeing and catching the moment, and the framing too. The shot looks soft, but it's probably a fault of the lens, used wide open. Gianfranco Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1 - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
