Even MORE Yosemite pics.....lol

[Steve Cavigliano]

Hello All,
I just scanned through some of the great shots my fellow Shootout participants have posted :thumb :thumb GREAT work guys and gals :clap :clap

As I mentioned to Andy and Gus, even thought the weather sucked this was one of the best learning experiences I've ever had :D Working next to all these fine shooters and having Mark Meunsch, the Pro, with us and watching his presentation has helped me tremendously (and boy did I need help...lol) I also got to use a 600mm lens (thanks Denny aka Lark) :thumb :thumb What a piece of white iron. Heavy, unwieldly and a bear to wrestle with on a tripod. But, oh what a lens :rolleyes Is the image quality worth spending 8 times the Bigma's price? IMHO, you betta believe it :jawdrop


Here's (http://www.pbase.com/slo2k/image/43166361/original) a little 600mm candid portrait from about 100 feet away. Slightly cropped (very slightly), but otherwise straight from the camera using Parameter 1. I linked to the original size image so you can check out the color, contrast and detail for yourself :lust

A Sony 717 IR shot on the one clear period we got
http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/21646385-L.jpg

It mostly looked like this

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/21648207-L.jpg

A slow exposure of the same scene Andy has posted, but with the 18-55mm kit lens.
http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/21651438-L.jpg

Yosemite falls inverted and rotated, as seen in a puddle of meadow water
http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/21651446-L.jpg

600mm deer (or 3/4 of a deer....lol) who had just run through one of those puddles :uhoh

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/21651453-L.jpg

Finally, a 600mm woodpecker (you didn't think you were going to get through this without seein' a bird shot, did ya? :lol )

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/21651449-L.jpg


As you've seen, we all got some good pics and despite the weather, the weekend was a great success :thumb :thumb I highly recommend that you start saving now for the Zion Shootout next year. You won't regret it :D

Thanks for looking,
Steve

[ginger_55]

Good gosh, Steve. Your color shots are great, but your blk and white ones are stupendous. Did you buy that lens? :rofl If it is worth it, well, what the hey.

And from those shots, it is worth it.

ginger

[Sam]

Damn! Now I'm gona have to get me one those there IR cameras!

Sam

ps: Great stuff..................

[Nir]

Steve,

Simply fantastic!

[ian408]

Those IR shots are wonderful as are those of the deer. How was that to swing
around?

I $ee a 600mm in $teve$'$ future :D

Ian

[johno]

Great shots. What a great time you must have had.

peace.
johno~

[Dee]

Did you get a good one of those colorful blue western jays? I tried, but failed miserably!

Some nice pictures Steve... Love the reflection in the puddle, I have a few of those myself to post.

Nice meeting you in person.

[SusanB]

You guys were cookin' out there! Terrific variety of shots Steve:clap :clap :clap


Susan

[CatOne]

Those IR shots are wonderful as are those of the deer. How was that to swing
around?

I $ee a 600mm in $teve$'$ future :D

Ian

Will you feel like less of a man, given you only have a 500mm? :wink

With the 500 and the 2x, I would have been able to verify whether any of the climbers on El Cap, 2000 feet up, were suffering from digestive distress :uhoh

[ian408]

Will you feel like less of a man, given you only have a 500mm? :wink

With the 500 and the 2x, I would have been able to verify whether any of the climbers on El Cap, 2000 feet up, were suffering from digestive distress :uhoh
Negative. I'm comfortable :thumb

Ian

[Daniel Chui]

Steve, these shots are fantastic! I think that the 2nd shot is my favorite. Have you considered dropping your black point a bit (in the curves) for the tree-area of the shot? Or for the cloud area of the shot?

Perhaps by dropping the black point on the curve while keeping the bright point where it is, you would be able to bring out more details and definition not only in the trees, but in the clouds.

Cheers!

- Chui

[MuskyDude]

I've said it before and I'll say it again :jawdrop

Stunning and breathtaking are some of the words that come to mind looking at these.

:bow

AJ

[SusanB]

Steve, these shots are fantastic! I think that the 2nd shot is my favorite. Have you considered dropping your black point a bit (in the curves) for the tree-area of the shot? Or for the cloud area of the shot?

Perhaps by dropping the black point on the curve while keeping the bright point where it is, you would be able to bring out more details and definition not only in the trees, but in the clouds.

Cheers!

- Chui
I agree,:agree these are sooo wonderful!:clap :clap :clap . I do see what you are getting at Daniel. My impression was to maybe try a touch of dodge/burn by about 3% to bring out the contrasts a bit more. There is so much that is breathtaking and awesome in these images.

Susan

[Steve Cavigliano]

Good gosh, Steve. Your color shots are great, but your blk and white ones are stupendous. Did you buy that lens? :rofl If it is worth it, well, what the hey.

And from those shots, it is worth it.

gingerThanks Ginger :D

I knew everyone would be posting fantastic shots (and I wasn't wrong), so I figured I'd shoot some IR as something unique. I used to really enjoy shooting IR and sort of got away from it while being on my 20D kick. I found out that I need to get back to it more often :lust

How these were shot is, I used a Sony camera with NightShot capability. An F-717, to be exact. I put it into the NightShot mode, attached a 6 stop ND filter and an R72 infrared filter and adjusted the exposure using EV Comp. The Sony NightShot mode is crippled (due to it's ability to see through certain materials) and limited in this camera to 1/60 speeds and wide open aperture (F2.0-F2.4).

Andy shot his using an IR modified DReb. You can also get the Sonys modded so that they don't need filters and aren't crippled.

If you like the IR effect, I have some others in my galleries HERE (http://www.pbase.com/slo2k/717_ir) and Andy has some also :cool

Thanks for the comments,
Steve

[David_S85]

Steve, first of all, great shots there.


You can also get the Sonys modded so that they don't need filters and aren't crippled.
Steve
You'll still need the regular filters for IR work with a Max-Max converted 7 or 8 series Sony. But you won't be limited to 1/30th or below sec. exposures as in the default NightShot™ mode.

You'll also need to shoot through a hot-mirror filter for all regular color shooting.

[bfjr]

Great stuff Steve :thumb
Really proud of all you guys/gals shots
Beautiful eyes seeing beautiful sights sharing here :clap:

Hey ever notice how a running deer looks like a "Roo", or is that what the 600mm does :lol4

[Steve Cavigliano]

Damn! Now I'm gona have to get me one those there IR cameras!

Sam

ps: Great stuff..................
Thanks Sam :D

Pick up a 2nd hand Sony off Ebay or Andybay :lol . But only after you get your 20D :wink

It was a pleasure to meet, talk and shoot with, you :thumb

Thanks for looking and see ya at Zion, if not before :D

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Steve,

Simply fantastic!
Thank you Nir :D

Clear your early May 2006 calendar and join us at Zion :thumb

Thanks for looking,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Those IR shots are wonderful as are those of the deer. How was that to swing
around?

I $ee a 600mm in $teve$'$ future :D

IanThanks Ian :D

That lens was a bear. But, if I had one, I'd probably use a Wemberly and have a sturdier pod with my bag hanging from the center shaft. I was really worried about the lens since I din't want to break it, then have to buy it :yikes

There's a thread (http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=13426578) going in DPR Canon Lens Forum, where at least 2 guys are swearing by handholding this beast. :huh I might agree to a point if they were shooting BIF's, but they are shooting birds at rest :crazy

Ian, that lens is gonna be in my dreams for awhile. I must be getting really old. I never used to dream of lenses.....LOL

Thanks for looking and as usual it was a ball to see and shoot with ya :thumb


Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Great shots. What a great time you must have had.

peace.
johno~
Thanks John :D


We all got some very nice shots. But Andy, Gus and I were sitting around on the veranda chewing the fat and we agreed that even if we came away from Yosemite without 1 decent image, the weekend would have been a rousing success. Meeting the people, the tips that were flying around, shooting with Mark M, and hearing what he does to get the most out of his shots, were priceless. My photo philosophy is to try to come back with some good pics, but by all means have a ball. I think we all adhered to it this weekend :thumb

Thanks for looking,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Did you get a good one of those colorful blue western jays? I tried, but failed miserably!

Some nice pictures Steve... Love the reflection in the puddle, I have a few of those myself to post.

Nice meeting you in person.
Thanks Dee :D

Nah, believe it or not, Gus got the best bird shots of our group. He not only got 3 or 4 really nice Jay shots, he got a woodpecker in flight shot too. He doesn't even like birds.....lol I'm really starting to dislike that guy :lol

I saw that you have a reflection thread going. I'll be sure to check it out. I just loves reflections. The only thing I'm disappointed about is that we missed Mirror Lake. That would have been awesome in both color and IR.

It was a pleasure meeting yourself, Ed and Rayna. Gimme a holler if you want to go shoot the Baylands in the near future :clap

Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

You guys were cookin' out there! Terrific variety of shots Steve:clap :clap :clap


SusanThanks Susan :D

Yep, it was certainly a target rich enviornment :thumb I beleive there are still a number of participants yet to be heard (or seen) from. So I'm sure you'll see an even larger variety of shots in the coming days.

We had a blast. You might want to join us next year. Zion isn't all that far :):


Thanks for looking,
Steve

[aero-nut]

Steve,


Outstanding captures! It was great meeting you up there.

[SusanB]

Thanks Susan :D

Yep, it was certainly a target rich enviornment :thumb I beleive there are still a number of participants yet to be heard (or seen) from. So I'm sure you'll see an even larger variety of shots in the coming days.

We had a blast. You might want to join us next year. Zion isn't all that far :):


Thanks for looking,
Steve
Hey Steve,

I'm seriously thinking of how to do that:D . I passed through Zion in the late eighties for a brief glimpse via a fast stop by the brim. Another world, that's for sure and a wondrous photo op of good ol' mother nature too.

Thanks,

Susan

[Steve Cavigliano]

Steve, these shots are fantastic! I think that the 2nd shot is my favorite. Have you considered dropping your black point a bit (in the curves) for the tree-area of the shot? Or for the cloud area of the shot?

Perhaps by dropping the black point on the curve while keeping the bright point where it is, you would be able to bring out more details and definition not only in the trees, but in the clouds.

Cheers!

- Chui
Thanks Daniel :D

I will gladly accept all of the post tips you want to give me :): . I am pretty bad with it :dunno And you are very good at it. I will try to split the shot and play with the black point on the trees/rocks and the sky/clouds areas.
Thank you for posting this most useful information. I thought I could make them better, but was a bit frustrated that I didn't have enough skill/knowledge to do so :rolleyes I've got about 100 other IR's from this trip to practice on also....lol

Thanks for taking the time Daniel,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

I've said it before and I'll say it again :jawdrop

Stunning and breathtaking are some of the words that come to mind looking at these.

:bow

AJ
Thanks AJ :D

This place is full of "Stunning and Breathtaking" sights. I am wowwed by some of the pics I've seen posted in the last few days. I'm beginning to wonder if some of those guys were shooting the same park I was .....lol

Thanks for looking,
Steve

[jwear]

Steve how did you get the time to shoot these great shots ,every time i saw Steve he was the meet and greet ambassador a great guy made everyone around feel at home .plus as you can see take fantastic shots :thumb :clap how did you get that bird if you want to see how it looks in blur I have 20 great shots :D great meeting you

[Harryb]

Hey Steve,

Fine shots, all of them. I'm glad you dusted off the 717 and did some iR shots. I've always enjoyed your IR work.

Sorry about the weather but I think I have the answer. Since I've moved to Florida I haven't had a drop of rain on any planned shoot. When I was in NYC the weather usually sucked when I did a planned shoot in the city. When I shot on Long Island or Westchester the weather was fine. Now when I shot in the city, who did I shoot with? Andy. Who was at Yosemite, Andy. If I recall correctly you have had some less than great weather when you have shot with Andy. The answer seems very clear to me. :rofl

[ian408]

Hey Steve,

Now when I shot in the city, who did I shoot with? Andy. Who was at Yosemite, Andy. If I recall correctly you have had some less than great weather when you have shot with Andy. The answer seems very clear to me. :rofl
But the food is good. No? :thumb

Ian

[Steve Cavigliano]

I agree,:agree these are sooo wonderful!:clap :clap :clap . I do see what you are getting at Daniel. My impression was to maybe try a touch of dodge/burn by about 3% to bring out the contrasts a bit more. There is so much that is breathtaking and awesome in these images.

Susan
Dodge and burn? :scratch I've crashed and burned before, but I've never dodged or burned :dunno This sounds like something I should learn huh? Are you sure I can't fix it with Levels or Curves? :rofl My 2 PS mainstays.....lol Blackpoint, I understand. Dodge and burn are now on my things to learn list :D

Thanks for bringing up an alternative method I can use to bring out the contrasts Susan :thumb

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Steve, first of all, great shots there.


You'll still need the regular filters for IR work with a Max-Max converted 7 or 8 series Sony. But you won't be limited to 1/30th or below sec. exposures as in the default NightShot™ mode.

You'll also need to shoot through a hot-mirror filter for all regular color shooting.
Thanks David :D

Also, thank you for correcting the mis-information I gave to Ginger :thumb That speed limitation (1/60 on the 7x7's) caught me a few times on some zoomed shots. But, I was happy that I could handhold it fairly well at 150-190mm's :):

Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Steve

[MHughes]

Steve it was so nice seeing you again, love the ir shots I have always loved those to since I first saw one of Ed's I am sure he is surprised I have not just taken over his sony LOL.. Just to take ir. Beautiful pictures I am hopefully going to slow down tonight and go back and look at pictures and chat with everyone. I have been so tired and Connies been wanting me to show her pictures so I just posted a couple of hers and tonight am going to try to process some of mine..

[Steve Cavigliano]

Great stuff Steve :thumb
Really proud of all you guys/gals shots
Beautiful eyes seeing beautiful sights sharing here :clap:

Hey ever notice how a running deer looks like a "Roo", or is that what the 600mm does :lol4
Thanks Ben :thumb :thumb

We missed ya. Be sure to keep early May open on next year's calendar :D

Yeah, I was sort of surprised at the look of that deer. It had just run through a pretty deep puddle (small pond....lol) and it's fur was funny looking. Using that 600mm was one of the highlights of my trip :lust I wish i had longer to play with it. I may have to rent one of those myself :wink


Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Steve,


Outstanding captures! It was great meeting you up there.
Thanks Kendall :D

It was a gas meeting you too :thumb I saw some of your shots and you did really well too :clap I enjoyed our chat at breakfast and look forward to seeing you at Zion next year :D


Steve

[wxwax]

,every time i saw Steve he was the meet and greet ambassador a great guy made everyone around feel at home

:nod A great ambassador! And I think everyone was a little scared when Steve wielded the 600mm lens. :lol3

[Steve Cavigliano]

Hey Steve,

I'm seriously thinking of how to do that:D . I passed through Zion in the late eighties for a brief glimpse via a fast stop by the brim. Another world, that's for sure and a wondrous photo op of good ol' mother nature too.

Thanks,

Susan
Susan,
Hope you can join us for next year's shoot :thumb As I believe Waxy mentioned, if you can extend your visit, it would be even better. I would have loved to have stayed another few days at Yosemite. Just to practice and use some of the info Marc gave us on Sat evening. Not to mention that today is Sunny and fairly clear :huh


Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Steve how did you get the time to shoot these great shots ,every time i saw Steve he was the meet and greet ambassador a great guy made everyone around feel at home .plus as you can see take fantastic shots :thumb :clap how did you get that bird if you want to see how it looks in blur I have 20 great shots :D great meeting you
Thanks Jeff :D

In some of my previous posts, I warned you guys that I talk a lot and I talk to everybody :rofl Part of the enjoyment I get from shooting is talking to other shooters. I love people and talking photography really gets me going....lol Now if my shooting was just up to the level of my talking, I'd be all set :lol

Don't talk to me about birds :huh That darn Gus kept asking me why I shoot birds. I tried to explain the beauty and challenge of shooting birds, but he didn't seem to get it. But once Andy delivered his 400mm F5.6, there was no stopping our newest birder.....LOL He got some great Scrub Jay shots as well as some Woodpecker BIF's :pissed I am sooooo mad at him. J/K I got lots more woodpecker shots (including one in flight) as well as some redwinged blackbird BIF's. Shooting birds is tough. Unless you have beginners luck like Gus....lol

Great to meet you and thanks for looking,
Steve

[ian408]

Don't talk to me about birds :huh That darn Gus kept asking me why I shoot birds. I tried to explain the beauty and challenge of shooting birds, but he didn't seem to get it. But once Andy delivered his 400mm F5.6, there was no stopping our newest birder.....
You should have seen these two looking for the hawk that cruised on by at eye
level. You could hear their calls from the trees across the way. If the hook was
set, it was then :D

Ian

[Steve Cavigliano]

You should have seen these two looking for the hawk that cruised on by at eye
level. You could hear their calls from the trees across the way. If the hook was
set, it was then :D

IanIan,
I got him too :D I'll post him, along with some of the other shots I mentioned, in Nature and Wildlife as soon as I get the rest processed.

BTW, it was you that alerted us to the red shouldered hawk. I thought you just wanted to see Gus and I run around like fools, until we saw that pair of hawks....LOL

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Hey Steve,

Fine shots, all of them. I'm glad you dusted off the 717 and did some iR shots. I've always enjoyed your IR work.

Sorry about the weather but I think I have the answer. Since I've moved to Florida I haven't had a drop of rain on any planned shoot. When I was in NYC the weather usually sucked when I did a planned shoot in the city. When I shot on Long Island or Westchester the weather was fine. Now when I shot in the city, who did I shoot with? Andy. Who was at Yosemite, Andy. If I recall correctly you have had some less than great weather when you have shot with Andy. The answer seems very clear to me. :roflThanks Harry :D

We missed ya buddy :cry I think I may have been the oldest one there :rolleyes It was awful.......lol I really was looking forward to shooting some IR up there. So there was no way I was gonna leave the Sony at home :thumb I am finding, after being away from it for so long, my IR post skills are really rusty. Some of the shots are coming out well and others are lacking :dunno Hopefully, our mutual friend in NYC will lend me a bit of his expertise :clap

You know your rain theory might, pardon the pun, hold water....lol We've had almost twice our normal rainfall this year :huh It's rained just about everytime Andy has visited lately :lol

No problem. I'll trade rainy weather for the chance to shoot with Andy anytime. The harder it rains, the better we eat :lol3

Please talk to Linda about you two spending some time in Utah next May :cool


Thanks for commenting,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Steve it was so nice seeing you again, love the ir shots I have always loved those to since I first saw one of Ed's I am sure he is surprised I have not just taken over his sony LOL.. Just to take ir. Beautiful pictures I am hopefully going to slow down tonight and go back and look at pictures and chat with everyone. I have been so tired and Connies been wanting me to show her pictures so I just posted a couple of hers and tonight am going to try to process some of mine..
Thanks Missy :D

It was a pleasure to see you gals and Ed :thumb A beautiful family and one that loves their photography. You folks take it pretty seriously too.....lol Double parking and chasing that bear into the woods. Man, if only someone would have caught that on a camcorder :lol4

Take over the Sony. If Ed isn't going to use it, go for it. With as much landscape as you see/shoot, using IR is a natural :thumb

I bet you girls are tired. I know I am. It's been a long time since I had energy like your daughter has....lol

I'll be looking for your shots :clap

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

:nod A great ambassador! And I think everyone was a little scared when Steve wielded the 600mm lens. :lol3
Thanks Sid :thumb I don't think anyone was as scared as I was :uhoh I didn't have the $7000 to replace that lens.....lol I wasn't going to take any compromising position pics either. It might have fogged up the lens, or "cracked" it :lol

Steve