Welcome to Round #111 of the Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenges.
This challenge is for all dgrin members.

It will run from Monday, September 3rd, 2012 8:00pm PST time (GMT -7) on through Monday, September 17th, 2012 8:00pm PST time (GMT -7).

The theme this round for your interpretation will be: Scapes
This can mean anything from Landscapes, Waterscapes, Macroscapes etc.
As usual - wide open for your interpretation! Hint: its ok to think outside the box!

Some reference links to get you started:
Dgrin - Landscapes forum
Muench University
What makes a photograph good? Part 1 and Part 2
11 - tips
Posted before but worth looking at again

There are no editing restrictions this round!

Your Judge:
1 round 72 Hour Public Vote.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your entry is to be submitted directly into a SmugMug gallery. It's pretty simple, just go to the gallery link below, and follow the upload instructions at the top of the page:

DSS #111 Entry Gallery

Remember, the basics stay the same: 1 entry per person, and the photo must be fresh, taken during this contest period. Do not use a minimal save method (such as "save for web"), and your EXIF will be embedded in your image, no worries!
To avoid disqualification, read, in full, the Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge RULES. Please note that there has been a rules wording change, so be sure you have re- read the rules!

Sweet! I am planning a trip to Mt. Rainier this week.

Originally Posted by WhatSheSaw Sweet! I am planning a trip to Mt. Rainier this week.

Jealous as I grew up there (Tacoma) and love that mountain but haven't been in years. Enjoy and looking forward to your images if you end up posting any. GP

Some of those links don't take me anyplace I recognize. I'm also not sure how to deal with the instructions for getting the distant landscape in focus. Is it really necessary to manipulate the aperture etc on a digital camera?

I would like to take photos in early morning or evening but it is difficult for me to manage that. Basically I can't walk very well and have to take photos from the car. I had a dentist appointment this afternoon and tried some pictures, but here in Maryland there is fuzzy humidity in the air so things a long distance away, while in focus are not really sharp and are kind of less saturated than it would be if I was Arizona.

Originally Posted by grandmaR Some of those links don't take me anyplace I recognize.

I fixed the links that were broken. They were working when I posted them but something must have changed since. They should be working again.

You asked about if it is necessary to manipulate the aperture on a digital camera. What kind of camera is it that you are using?

OK - I thought maybe I was just too stupid to understand what I was looking at.

I'm currently using a Canon EOS. It is fairly new to me - that is I bought it last fall, and I'm still learning it. I have a tripod but I don't know where it is, and I haven't learned how to set aperture yet. I started out with a Kodak Retina Reflex (film) camera in 1958 and it had a little exposure meter on the top of it so I could set the film speed and it would tell me how much light there was and what exposure I should be using. There was no flash and I had to set the exposure and do the focusing by myself, but it took a picture regardless when I tripped the shutter. It didn't decide there was not enough light to focus and refuse to take the picture. And I could extend the exposure time manually with no problem. I used to go to weddings or something like that, where there was a pro photographer with a flash, and I would set it on bulb and open the shutter just before the pro took the photo and close the shutter after his flash. Usually turned out in focus and exposed well. It was a really nice camera but the shutter is no longer reliable and I can't get it fixed. And Kodak has gone out of the film business anyway.

Originally Posted by grandmaR OK - I thought maybe I was just too stupid to understand what I was looking at. I'm currently using a Canon EOS. It is fairly new to me -

Okay - since it sounds like you are using a DSLR since you mention a Canon EOS. The answer would be if you wanted to take advantage of things like controlling your depth of field, long exposures etc., then yes absolutely it is necessary to adjust the aperture on a digital camera.

But --- and this is a big but. If you want the camera to decide for you, almost every digital camera made today has an automatic mode and on your camera it probably is a square on the dial and possibly even green. If you use an automatic mode then the answer would be that the camera decides what aperture to be set at for you.

I found a couple more links you might want to look at since you are still trying to figure out your camera.

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/

hope that helps

Gee's....I looked at the name over and over , then the date...Welcome back Sean!

Originally Posted by angevin1 Gee's....I looked at the name over and over , then the date...Welcome back Sean!

Hey Tom!!!!

GradmaR, just wanted to chime in that I have a Canon EOS, my first fancy digital camera ever, and relied on the automode almost exclusively for the first 2 years I had the camera....for me, doing mostly natural light outdoors work, the auto mode is super something like 90% of the time, with any problems being so small they're easily fixed post-processing. Not everyone would I agree, but I see absolutely no problem living in auto mode until you've figured out the basic way your camera handles.

And hello, Sean!

I hope there will be a fall foliage challenge...

Originally Posted by jmphotocraft I hope there will be a fall foliage challenge...

Not YET. We don't have any fall foliage to take a photo of until the end of October.

But --- and this is a big but. If you want the camera to decide for you, almost every digital camera made today has an automatic mode and on your camera it probably is a square on the dial and possibly even green. If you use an automatic mode then the answer would be that the camera decides what aperture to be set at for you. I found a couple more links you might want to look at since you are still trying to figure out your camera. http://web.canon.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/index.html http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/

Thank you VERY much. I started in on the first one last night and it was terrific - I found that I had kind of figured out a lot of the things it was telling me just by experimenting with the different settings and seeing what they did, but also that I was not completely correct about some of my conclusions. For instance I was equating the landscape mode with the infinity mode that I had on some point and shoot cameras. I will try using that mode for this challenge and see what I get.

sweetharmony • Sep-06-2012 08:15 AM GradmaR, just wanted to chime in that I have a Canon EOS, my first fancy digital camera ever, and relied on the automode almost exclusively for the first 2 years I had the camera....for me, doing mostly natural light outdoors work, the auto mode is super something like 90% of the time, with any problems being so small they're easily fixed post-processing. Not everyone would I agree, but I see absolutely no problem living in auto mode until you've figured out the basic way your camera handles.

Thank you for that. I got this camera because I absolutely refuse to do without a viewfinder and most of the cheaper cameras didn't have one. I really like it except for the fact that it is heavy and I have arthritis in my neck which makes it somewhat of a problem to wear it for long periods. I am also prone to losing things so I can't just carry it as I am positive that I will put it down or drop it.

Originally Posted by grandmaR I really like it except for the fact that it is heavy and I have arthritis in my neck which makes it somewhat of a problem to wear it for long periods. I am also prone to losing things so I can't just carry it as I am positive that I will put it down or drop it.

Have you considered one of the BlackRapid sling straps? It mounts in the threaded hole for the tripod and the strap goes diagonally across the chest. I don't have one yet, but I did see one and tried it on. I have neck problems (probably arthritis as well) and I am thinking of going that route unless I can find something similar that doesn't interfere with using a tripod. Good luck.

I've got a harness thing (it's called a Cotton Carrier) which goes around my waist and puts the weight on my shoulders and upper body. It carries the camera in front of me, but it is a pain to go through airport security with it on because they want me to take it off. The little thing on the bottom that fits in the fitting on the front has a hole in the bottom of it so you could still screw on the tripod I think.



This is a photo my granddaughter took of me wearing it. The directions say to clip the camera to the CottonCarrier instead of using the neck strap, but I still use the camera neck strap, just in case. (suspender and belt syndrome). You can see I also have a chin strap on my hat, and you can see the edge of my passport carrier which I use as a pocketbook when I'm traveling. I cannot tell you how many times I have left pocketbooks or bum bags etc someplace. So anytime I go out, I have everything attached as firmly as possible to me. I have even lost an underwater camera once - someone took it from me to take my photo and I didn't get it clipped back on my BCD correctly and next time I looked it was gone. Probably someplace in the caves in Cozumel. My husband said the next underwater camera I got, I should pierce my nipple and attach it to that. I do have another underwater camera now, and I have a neck strap, a wrist strap and a floaty on it.

Saw this tonight

http://smugsblog.smugmug.com/2012/09...e-photography/

Poll will be up shortly

because of technical difficulties, the poll will be posted tomorrow. We have a hidden image that the owner needs to resubmit to the gallery. This is one of those things that I do not know how it happens, but it does happen occasionally. I think we might have to have people start checking their images after they upload them to the gallery by logging out and seeing if their image is still there!

I did not get a chance to look at the images till tonight so was unable to ask learnin earlier for an image. I also need to check the gallery first before logging in so I can see if there are hidden images.

learnin please resumit your image. You have till noon Pacific time on Tuesday. I will send a pm to learnin too. Unfortunately I cannot do anything further. We must get this poll going.

Thanks to super mod Sherstone, he has fixed the problem using his magical wizardry on some code gone wild sort of thing! So since I had given up for the night to watch Revolution and then I promptly fell asleep, then woke up at 1 am discover it fix, (take breath here), I will post the poll in the morning when I am back on my big computer and not on this dinky stupid phone!

Say good night Gracie.
Good night everybody!