Not much sailing in Tucson.

Kinda feels like I could step into it.

I'm still having trouble capturing the real feel of the spot. Next trip I'll be using the telephoto.

They sky pulls me into the photo!

The skies have been impressive down there the last few days.

I didn't really want to include the breakwater in the foreground, but cropping it out didn't work either.

Still experimenting with how to shoot from this area.

I like the breakwater! It adds depth and dimension. ...how much post production work was involved? It really turned out great.

I've been a "back porch photographer" my whole life, but retired now at 52, I'm only now getting into good camera's and lenses and ISO's and f/stops and all that jazz, and this is actually the first "photography" group I have ever belonged too. Excuse my ignorance, but is it "bad form" or a faux pas to ask someone what camera and lens they used on a photo? ...or what camera settings they used?

I'm really just teaching myself, and I've stumbled upon some vintage lenses I am using with my new Canon EOS 60D body, which has been an amazing teacher in manual photography. And being a newbie to the f/stop:ISO:shutterspeed, with respect to manual settings, and still trying to learn the intricasies of the relationships and correlations between settings, etc... I'm just extremely interested in the ...."recipe" if you will.... of a particular resulting image. Boy was that a lot of garbage..lol. But you get my meaning I hope. My wife says I tend to overdo an explanation. ....or as she likes to say "ask him what time it is, he'll tell ya how to make a watch!"

Anyway, do you mind sharing what camera, lens, and settings you used on this shot? ...and is that considered ok to ask of a photographer??

Thanks!

in this forum to ask questions. They answer mine all the time!

Last edited Wed Dec 19, 2012, 03:40 AM - Edit history (1)

I've had SLR cameras in the distant past (I'm 57 now and also retired) but I spent the last couple of decades taking snapshots with several Canon point-and-shoots of their PowerShot line. I did most stuff on the various auto settings, and maybe played around a bit with different exposure times, a little f/stop experimentation, and post-processing. Those little point-and-shoots can actually do quite a bit; here are a couple of my favorites, taken with a Canon SX200 IS:

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Soooooo...what I'm getting to (in my own tortured, roundabout way) is that I've generally relied a great deal on post-processing to correct for exposure, saturation, cropping, etc. There are several excellent photographers in this group who really understand the in's-and-out's of their equipment. I'm just not one of them.

This last May my wife and I took a 14-day road trip through Virginia, North and South Carolina, and corners of eastern Tennessee and Georgia (one week down Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, and across to Savannah; then one week back up the coast of the Carolina's, to Virginia). Before we left, my wife bought me a Nikon D5100 (Costco had a kit on sale for a great price). So, I've been trying to learn to use this camera on something other than the onboard pre-sets.

I'm finding it slow going, and I still rely on Lightroom a great deal. For instance: this shot was taken with a Nikkor 18-55mm lens, set at 20mm, 13 second exposure at f/3.8, ISO 100. I adjusted for exposure and saturation in Lightroom4, then used the graduated filter to isolate the breakwater, desaturate it, and soften the clarity a bit. I've gotten better results with my point-and-shoots but the fault certainly lies in my knowledge base, not the camera's capabilities.

As far as I know it is perfectly OK to ask people how they achieve certain effects, etc. I know a couple of top rate photographers in this group have benefited greatly over the years from advice and critiques given by other excellent photographers. BTW, Blue-in-AK is a serious photographer (and seriously good at it) and she is a big fan of Canon DSLR's, so she would be a good one to ask about techniques you are curious about.

Good Luck! I think you have shared some excellent work with the group. Those shots you took of that industrial facility were first-rate! I look forward to seeing more from you. If you have questions but don't want to post on the board just PM folks. People in this group are very generous. It is the best place in DU, imho.

For all your info and help! I really appreciate ya. Great shots above as well. I love the center one. I've always been a big "film noir" fan, and the gritty night shots combined with a lit interior is just fascinating to me when you can catch the image so well. The good ones are almost a little voyeuristic. They make you wish you could peek inside and and make you wonder whats going on in there. That's where the good eye comes in. I have some shots of a catfish restaurant south of Oxford, Ms called Taylor Grocery that I will post in a new thread. A friend of mine was playing guitar there this night, and I wanted to arrive before sundown to get some exterior shots, but with the time change the sun was down before I got there. I was really disappointed and sick, until I set up my camera and took these. What a happy and fortunate twist! I love my night photos much more.

Really! The sky, the lights, the bridge, the water........

I'm still trying for a better capture of what it is like down there at various seasons and weather. Not satisfied yet.