The Relaxed Photo Thread

[BotchQue]

This is a slough in between Grand Forks ND and the air base, was stationed there 3 years. Shot many, many waterfowl, raptors, and deer there, and donated quite a lot of blood to the local mosquitoe population (State Bird of North Dakota). I have somewhere a wide-angle view of this sunset, but the brilliant orange in the center really caught my eye (no filter used), so I put on my 200mm and isolated the orange:

It wasn't until I got the slides back (Kodachrome 100) that I saw the solitary duck, dead-center at the bottom. This was shot in 1992, one year after Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Phillipines (?); that summer my dawn/dusk photos were all shot one more stop open, there was still so much dust from the eruption in the upper atmosphere, but the orange quality of the light made for some fantastic photos that year.
Fun thread!

 

[deep diver]

These are some of Dad's images from his many trips to Europe, Asia, and Africa.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

These are some of Dad's images from his many trips to Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Thanks! Great photos.
Being able to show these kind of images was near the top of my list of reasons for creating this thread.

 

[deep diver]

These are all of the same pictures cleaned up: levels, lighting, cropping, and haze removal.

The canyon pictures show a lot of interesting geology. One of the new things I learned has to do with the red and green bands of rock. The area is just about all iron rich sandstone. The red bands are where the iron rusted in air. The green bands are where it rusted under water.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

This is a slough in between Grand Forks ND and the air base, was stationed there 3 years. Shot many, many waterfowl, raptors, and deer there, and donated quite a lot of blood to the local mosquitoe population (State Bird of North Dakota). I have somewhere a wide-angle view of this sunset, but the brilliant orange in the center really caught my eye (no filter used), so I put on my 200mm and isolated the orange:

View attachment 2362980

It wasn't until I got the slides back (Kodachrome 100) that I saw the solitary duck, dead-center at the bottom. This was shot in 1992, one year after Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Phillipines (?); that summer my dawn/dusk photos were all shot one more stop open, there was still so much dust from the eruption in the upper atmosphere, but the orange quality of the light made for some fantastic photos that year.
Fun thread!

I am so glad you posted this. Simply can't beat Kodachrome, both for image quality and permanence. It is an absolutely stunning photo and a wonderful story.

It also indirectly reminded me of a story I was thinking about when I started this thread. I recall that the effects of Pinatubo lingered into the winter of 1993. At least in the mountains of Colorado where I was living. About the beginning of March a good friend dropped by our shop and said Bob we both need to get out of this for a few days. Barely a week later we were putting our kayaks into the San Francisco River west of Albuquerque, NM for an overnight wilderness river trip.

This winter I finally got around to digitizing the negs from that trip. These two photos were the first I took on that trip. The first is actually the second. I took it when I realized I had failed to shade the lens and the first shot would have lens flare. When it came time to invert the copied negatives I started working on the one without lens flare and realized it just was not doing it for me. Converted it to B&W to see if I could pinpoint the issue. While I love the texture and contrast, there is no getting around the fact that your eyes slowly follow the flow to the lower left and leave the picture never to return.

So then I inverted the first image and low and behold the lens flare has a solid positive impact. More importantly these images reminded me of the feeling I had at the moment I released the shutter. It was sheer joy as I looked at the blue sky and orange cliffs, and felt the warmth of the sun on my face. Months of winter blahs banished in a single moment. So glad I embarked on what has proven to be a major project this winter just past. Capturing and reliving moments like these are what photography is all about!

 

[OldMacs4Me]

@deep diver I love how those Moab shots came together. Do you have any more images from Dead Horse Park?

 

[OldMacs4Me]

While this is the relaxed thread there was nothing relaxed about the snow melt. Two days ago this was a 3 foot high bank built by shoveling snow from two decks and that bit of sidewalk you see. By yesterday afternoon it had been reduced to this.

Did a parallel stereo image as well. You need to be back from the screen probably about 3 feet. You view the left side with the left eye, the right side with the right eye and bring the images together for a 3D effect.

BTW About four inches of new snow over night.
Better description of how to see 3D here:

How to view with parallel viewing

Everything shot with the little Oly TG-6

 

[deep diver]

@deep diver I love how those Moab shots came together. Do you have any more images from Dead Horse Park?

I will, but it's going to be a couple of weeks before I can even begin culling.

 

[deep diver]

@deep diver I love how those Moab shots came together. Do you have any more images from Dead Horse Park?

I'm sitting here sick and BORED.
I decided to throw up a picture of my grand-puppy, Loki. We had not met him before. He's extremely special.
This was at a hiking spot on the way to Dead Horse.

 

[splifingate]

The elusive two-leaf clover.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

I will, but it's going to be a couple of weeks before I can even begin culling.

Hence the 'Relaxed' part of the title.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Two stories that intertwined. A few days ago I opened up a storage box containing my old camera gear and found this Nikkor 50mm ƒ-2 lens.

The lens is in great shape but the first story focuses on that dent in the filter ring. Happened probably in 1988. My wife and I were waiting at the top of an embankment for the little Cripple Creek tourist train to chug by. Wind steals her hat and she grabs for it. Camera goes tumbling down the embankment. Not my better half's best day. I suffered some scratches and bruises but was able to recover both camera and hat.

So finding that lens reminds me to put a strap on the new Z50 before going out later that day to give the new camera a workout.

First stop was Lundbreck Falls. I was standing on the cantilevered platform indicated by the upper arrow in the photo below. Of course the wind lifted my hat and I made an instinctive grab. The strap did its job and the camera was unscathed. I walked out to the end of the platform expecting to see my hat floating down the river. No such luck, it was perched on the edge of the cliff indicated by the second arrow.

To get to the hat I contemplated climbing the chain link fence. Instead I followed the fence to its end where it dangles in mid-air as shown by the lower arrow. It was much easier to latch onto the fence and swing around to the other side. I then walked along the fence and behind the rock formation until I could retrieve the hat.

Two windy days, two lost hats, and thanks to one camera strap two very different outcomes.

BTW the camera behind the damaged lens was my first Nikormat FTN. It required a prism/mirror realignment and got a cleaning thrown in, then continued to function flawlessly. From that day forward it was my beater camera, and despite further abuse continued to serve me well.

 

[bunnspecial]

I'm sorry to have never used Kodachrome 25.

I shot 3 rolls of K-64 over the 2006-2010 time frame, but was never wowed the way I expected to be. I should scan a few of them, as time has given me a different take on them. One of those was shot a family reunion in 2007, and there's defnitely a subtle and special quality to the colors and especially skin tones I see in the slides.

Still, though, my mistake was never really playing to the films strengths. Even today, I can often spot Kodachrome in scans or printed images(such as in National Geographic, where for a long time probably 3/4 of the color photos were on Kodachrome) for its unique red rendering. Arguably one of the most famous photos ever to appear in National Geographic, "Afghan Girl", screams Kodachrome from a mile away(although the green of her eyes are what makes the photo IMO.).

Still, though, I didn't shoot it that much since in the 2000s, it was already a pain to shoot it, where I could get E6 processed locally. I was also wooed by the smooth, almost grainless rendering of E100G/E100GX and the color pop of Velvia, and shot a lot more of those.

Since this is a photo thread, though, I'll share a special Kodachrome one, or at least special for me. This 17-year-old photo shows my grandfather, now gone nearly a decade, holding my oldest nephew who will soon be starting college. Kodachrome 64, Canon T90 and probably a 50mm f/1.4...

 

[OldMacs4Me]

I'm sorry to have never used Kodachrome 25.

I shot 3 rolls of K-64 over the 2006-2010 time frame, but was never wowed the way I expected to be. I should scan a few of them, as time has given me a different take on them. One of those was shot a family reunion in 2007, and there's defnitely a subtle and special quality to the colors and especially skin tones I see in the slides.

Still, though, my mistake was never really playing to the films strengths. Even today, I can often spot Kodachrome in scans or printed images(such as in National Geographic, where for a long time probably 3/4 of the color photos were on Kodachrome) for its unique red rendering. Arguably one of the most famous photos ever to appear in National Geographic, "Afghan Girl", screams Kodachrome from a mile away(although the green of her eyes are what makes the photo IMO.).

Still, though, I didn't shoot it that much since in the 2000s, it was already a pain to shoot it, where I could get E6 processed locally. I was also wooed by the smooth, almost grainless rendering of E100G/E100GX and the color pop of Velvia, and shot a lot more of those.

Since this is a photo thread, though, I'll share a special Kodachrome one, or at least special for me. This 17-year-old photo shows my grandfather, now gone nearly a decade, holding my oldest nephew who will soon be starting college. Kodachrome 64, Canon T90 and probably a 50mm f/1.4...

View attachment 2366517

Obviously it was at least a stop under exposed. I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised at how beautifully it will clean up.

 

[deep diver]

The lens is in great shape but the first story focuses on that dent in the filter ring. Happened probably in 1988. My wife and I were waiting at the top of an embankment for the little Cripple Creek tourist train to chug by. Wind steals her hat and she grabs for it. Camera goes tumbling down the embankment. Not my better half's best day. I suffered some scratches and bruises but was able to recover both camera and hat.

Sacrificing camera, life, and limb for a hat. That's hard core dedication.

 

[bunnspecial]

Obviously it was at least a stop under exposed. I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised at how beautifully it will clean up.

I need to redo the scan. I haven’t looked at the transparency in a while but I remember it looking great on the light table.

This was from days of mostly shooting Velvia 50, which is even touchier than I remember K64 being. The meter and shutter on the T90 certainly aren’t suspect either..,

 

[Strider64]

Yesterday's visit to Kensington Metro Park was ideal for a relaxing day spent walking in nature and photographing wildlife. The weather was beautiful—sunny and perfect for a stroll—and the wildlife was particularly cooperative.



It was pretty exciting to catch a Pileated Woodpecker eating an insect at Kensington Metro Park today. This was the first time I managed to observe one on my own, without any other photographers nearby. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind having others around, but there's something special about being alone in nature—it feels like you become a part of it.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

I need to redo the scan. I haven’t looked at the transparency in a while but I remember it looking great on the light table.

This was from days of mostly shooting Velvia 50, which is even touchier than I remember K64 being. The meter and shutter on the T90 certainly aren’t suspect either..,

I'd spend a few minutes on it in PhotoShop or whatever you use. You may not need to rescan.

Even Ektachrome had very little latitude. I can recall one photographer who always shot slides. I think he shot 5 frames with 1/2 stop step bracketing. I think he went from 1/2 over to 1&1/2 under. At the end of the day he did terrific slide shows. I miss those days.

Over the winter I did 1/3 stop bracketing when copying 35mm negs and slides to give me the best starting point for the post imaging side of things.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Yesterday's visit to Kensington Metro Park was ideal for a relaxing day spent walking in nature and photographing wildlife. The weather was beautiful—sunny and perfect for a stroll—and the wildlife was particularly cooperative.



It was pretty exciting to catch a Pileated Woodpecker eating an insect at Kensington Metro Park today. This was the first time I managed to observe one on my own, without any other photographers nearby. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind having others around, but there's something special about being alone in nature—it feels like you become a part of it.

Hopefully people following this thread take the time to view images like this at full resolution. It's worth a few extra seconds.

 

[bousozoku]

I spent a few hours at the Trona Pinnacles, outside Ridgecrest, CA and near Death Valley.

 

[deep diver]

I'm enjoying this thread a lot. No critiques, no contests, no egos, no trying to outdo the other person......
It's just a bunch of us sharing and enjoying. I'm glad there's a place for me to come back as an active participant.
Thank you OldMacs4Me for getting this going.

 

[bousozoku]

I'm enjoying this thread a lot. No critiques, no contests, no egos, no trying to outdo the other person......
It's just a bunch of us sharing and enjoying. I'm glad there's a place for me to come back as an active participant.
Thank you OldMacs4Me for getting this going.

That's right. He was good to start this thread.

I'm always interested in why some people make snide remarks about someone else's work. We should all be getting along. This thread is the best way to share without negativity.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

I spent a few hours at the Trona Pinnacles, outside Ridgecrest, CA and near Death Valley.

Really liked those shots.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

I'm enjoying this thread a lot. No critiques, no contests, no egos, no trying to outdo the other person......
It's just a bunch of us sharing and enjoying. I'm glad there's a place for me to come back as an active participant.
Thank you OldMacs4Me for getting this going.

Thanks! Glad you see the value and the intent. I love seeing what inspires others. And some of the photos here have been inspiring. Thanks to everyone who has participated so far. Hopefully it will continue to grow.

Also a reminder to take advantage of the relaxed nature of the thread and zoom in to full resolution on some of these photos. It takes only a few seconds and I think you'll find it a worthy investment of your time.

 

[bousozoku]

Really liked those shots.

Thanks! I liked using the fisheye lens a bit at that location. Most of California looks so much better if you imagine it under water.