fivestep.com log

Hey all.

So I am reviving my Livejournal upon recounting what a valuable resource it can be - especially the communities. They are great sources of inspiration and assistance! Feel free to add me.

So I was fired from a job I hated about three months ago. At the same time, my grandmother died, and I received a rather large gift as a result. I feel that the omens (If you've read The Alchemist, you'll know what I mean!) have pointed me down a new destiny, and that is to actively pursue my passions.

I've been shooting parties in Los Angeles for a year now, but have yet to aggressively pursue pay. I really love doing it because I love beautiful things and I love taking photos of people. More importantly, I try to express a certain viewpoint, and that is one of a girl who is very very shy, but is empowered behind her camera lens - it allows me to be outside of the party while still being a part of it. I'm a wall flower with a camera.

So I've decided to up the ante, and ordered myself some AlienBee lights, along with the rest of the equipment needed for a mobile photobooth. The plan is to pitch my services to clubs, wherein I would photograph for the night, host their images, and include their logo on the photos. When people post the photos to their Facebooks, etc, it is free advertising for the club. I've seen this business model in action, but hope to take a more genuine, more streamlined approach for a much more modest price. I've already established some healthy networking connections as a result of my previous work, but I know I will have to hustle.

Have any of you any advice for the photographer setting out on her own this way?

Anyway, for Thanksgiving, I brought my kit along to my parents' house, and shot my family (Heeheee). I am still figuring out how to get the hairlight to do what I want - obviously, it's not bright enough in some of these. I was using the silver side of an umbrella and reflecting the light from behind at an angle with the light at about 1/8th power. I don't know if the reflector is the way to go, but I did another test shoot without it and the light was too bright at 1/8th and spilling too much onto the backdrop. I'll have to keep experimenting. I do love how the key light came out...I was shooting full power through a shoot-through umbrella for diffusion in the "butterfly lighting" set up.

I went in a did a little editing with Photoshop, mainly just upping the contrast a bit, adding some dither and a slight vignette. Most of them are cropped to a square shape to mimic the medium format, which is how I want to go with my final set up.

Anyone have advice regarding faking a square format while shooting? Can I put tape on the viewfinder or something? In film school when we wanted to fake a letterbox, we put tape on the camera LCD so we could plan our shots accordingly and then added the bars in post. Can you do something similar with a still camera?

Additionally, you will notice some banding of the black backdrop that occurred after Photoshop - how can I prevent this? What causes it? I wasn't shooting RAW - is that why? I suspect that once set up, most of my output will be to web, where it really won't matter, but my parents would like to print some of these. Is there anyway to get the camera to shoot in a greater resolution than 72dpi (I'm shooting with a Canon Rebel XT)? (I've looked this up, and I don't think I really understand dpi and printing as well as I should.)

If you have any questions regarding my set up, I'd be happy to answer them in the comments.

And now, without further ado....

( Four below )

Thanks for looking and for any answers/advice you can provide!

Случайно потеряный пробел в "...для любимых желюдей" прекрасно рифмуется с английским "human bean" ("человеческая фасолина" в переводе Юли Беломлинской).

This will be no great surprise to readers of my books (and the references to THE SHADOW DRAGONS as a "middle" book), but more are forthcoming. I'm finishing the art for Book Five right now, and my publisher has extended an excellent offer, which my manager has accepted, to publish Books 6 and 7 in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica. Future Octobers are looking GREAT!

Ах, как много движений я могу теперь совершать, только натужно кряхтя,- как движений телесных, так и движений духовных.

Кряхтя, мы встаем ото сна. Кряхтя, обновляем покровы. Кряхтя, устремляемся мыслью. Кряхтя, мы услышим шаги стихии огня, но будем уже готовы управлять волнами пламени. Кряхтя. "Упанишады", кажется. А может быть, и не совсем "упанишады". Или не "упанишады" вовсе.

АБС "Хромая судьба"

А нижеследующее из детской книжки "Uncle Elephant" by Arnold Lobel (серия "I can read")

"I am feeling the creaks," said Uncle Elephant.
"What are the creaks?' I asked.
"Sometimes they happen to old elephants like me," he said.
"My back creaks,
my knees creak,
my feet creak,
even my trunk creaks."

Мамино День рождение.
Сегодня ей исполнилось бы 62...

На фотографии - 28 ноября 1970. Мама и моя двоюродная старшая сестра. А мне всего полтора месяца и я явно принимаю участие в поздравлениях в спящем режиме.

Инструмент: двухцветный меч джедая из хеппимила ;)

Йо, камрады. Сегодня я снова представляю вашему вниманию пачку собственноручно сделанных концептов. Собственно подкатом 14 концептов различного плана. Начиная от корветов и мехов, заканчивая крейсерами и станциями. Enjoy!



( Concepts )

So, between new computers and over pruning hard drives, I have lost one of my favorite Icon Sets from ages ago.
I THINK I got it from the Pixelpalooza submissions in the early 00's. (And if you know what I am talking about then I am asking you nicely, HAVE YOU SEEN THESE ICONS??) :)

I only have one icon from the set still attached to a folder -


I loved this set and I feel reallly stupid for losing them.
The set was basically someone's interpretations of flowers if created by graphic artists. Several looked like pinwheel type creations. One was multicolored and is specifically the one I am looking for.

If you happen to have this collection please please please contact me. Thanks.

x-posted to a couple of places.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=33824431

Pentax *istDS, SMC-P 55mm f2

I’ve owned quite a number of Nikon bodies over the years. Here’s my take on them, in order of their introduction.

MF bodies

Nikkormat FTn – Classic Pre-AI consumer body. Medium-sized brick, mediocre viewfinder, uses old 1.35V Mercury cells. Metering was a little wonky due to voltage issues (I was using 1.55V Alkaline batteries) and it was beat to crap and had clearly been used as a hammer at some point. Damned near indestructible. Got it as a rear cap on a Nikkor-S 35mm f2.8. I rather like the shutter speed ring around the lens which Olympus ripped off for the OM series. ISO setting was horrible, a little metal tab that had to be pushed with a pen. Still probably would have kept it if it had been an AI body (Hmm, maybe a FT3?…). Liked the external metering display.

F2 – I’ve got the F2a (with DP-11 prism) in black, very late production. Big beast of a camera, wonderful finder, love the layout overall. The long shutter speeds (1-10 seconds) are a little weird as they use the self-timer. With a soft-release on it it’s one of my favourite cameras to use and the 35mm camera I’ve owned the longest at around 3 years. DP-11 has a nice external metering display as well, a touch that was forgotten on most later manual focus bodies.

EM – Cheap little plastic Aperture-priority-only camera. Very smooth wind, surprisingly fun to work with. It was my first SLR back in 1993 and I recently owned a second example (which was stolen along with a Series E 100/2.8 I really miss). This is a personal favourite of mine as it’s small, light and unobtrusive. It’s fun with a winder too.

F3 – Nikon’s last manual-focus pro SLR. Great build, very smooth wind, superb finder. I had the HP finder rather than the non-HP (which I would have preferred). The only weaknesses are the poor Exposure-compensation setting (excessively fiddly) and the horrid little LCD that masquerades as a metering readout with its never-working backlight and not-terribly useful +/- metering readout. Massive but solid motor drive. A great camera overall, I’ve shot more film with it than any other 35mm camera but it got sold after I got the F2a.

FM2n – Hands-down my favourite Nikon. The highest-spec manual, mechanical 35mm SLR ever made with its 1/4000 max shutter and 1/250 flash sync. Reasonably compact, very well built, great finder, nice (and not too large) winder and LED-based metering. If I could only have one 35mm camera this would likely be my choice.

FA – Nikon’s most advanced traditional manual SLR. Full multi-mode AE, matrix metering, reasonably compact, great finder (Same as FE2/FM2n), can use its own dedicated winder (which also powers the camera, like the F3’s) or the MD-11/MD-12 of the FE/FM bodies, and offers a bolt-on ergonomic grip. Only downsides are the somewhat weak stop-down mechanism and the same awful LCD display as the F3. As much as I like it overall, the LCD made it somewhat annoying to work with. Owned 2 copies, one died of stop-down mech jam the second got sold.

FE2 – Third of the FM2n/FA/FE2 triplets. Pretty straightforward Aperture-Priority AE take on the FM2n. Most of the strengths of the FM2n except it uses match-needle metering. Has the same poor Exposure-compensation setup as the F3. Competent camera but I’ve never quite felt the love with it that I did with the FA or FM2n.

F601m – Supposedly a manual-focus version of the F601 AF camera but in fact a separate but similar design with some advantages (including limited G lens support, which the F601 lacks). Has the same basic UI as the F601 and F801. 2fps winder built-in. Great camera overall but the battery-compartment latch is prone to failure from cracking and it takes expensive Lithium batteries. Viewfinder is good but not exceptional with a fixed split-prism screen (which I’m not hugely fond of, I prefer plain matte or grid screens). One oddity is that it requires CPU lenses to do P and S modes. Has external metering readout (standard AF-style status LCD) which is a nice feature to have and one that most 70’s/80’s SLR’s lack.

AF Bodies

F801(s) – I’ve owned 3 of these over the years, two of the F801s’s and one F801. Nikon’s first really competent AF body, dirt cheap these days. 3+ fps winder, AA batteries, nice UI, 1/8000 shutter, 1/250 sync, good finder (similar to FM2n’s). Probably the best deal in used film bodies out there as these can be had for ~$25. AF is usable but not great aside from the remarkable low-light performance. s version has slightly faster AF and spot metering. Limited G lens support, no AF-S or VR support. Uses electronic release (same 2-pin spec as the MD-11/MD-12 winders)

F90X – Much improved upgrade of the F801, better built, better finder, better AF including a cross type sensor, higher framerate. Now supports AF-S lenses but not VR. Has a vertical grip, 1/3 stop adjustments for the shutter speed, limited weather sealing and a control layout that’s changed arbitrarily from the F801. Biggest weakness aside from increased size is the very slick grip, it’s a lot harder to keep a grip on than any other Nikon. Overall I prefer the smaller F801 though. Takes the 10-pin style remotes. Limited G support. Takes AA’s.

F70 – The F601 update as the F90(X) was the F801 update. Greatly improved AF including a cross-type sensor, surprisingly fast framerate (3.7fps), good viewfinder, last consumer AF body with AI support. Experimental UI which works surprisingly well, but is a little slow. Poor exposure compensation controls. Actually usable canned mode (Hyperfocal). Very nice ergonomics. Got it cheap, will see how much I like it. Uses the same 2-pin electronic remotes as the F801. Limited G support. Takes Lithium batteries (1 CR223 or 2 CR123’s). No DoF preview.

F100 – The baby F5. Superb finder, fast AF including 3 cross-type sensors and great build, has dual control wheels. Supports AF-S and VR. A little large, great ergonomics. Vertical grip available, but is poorly built and lacks the second control wheel. Great body overall if the size isn’t an issue. Full G support. Uses 10-pin remotes. Takes AA’s. After the F801, my favourite AF body from Nikon.

F80 – The baby F100 and replacement for the F70. Slow (2.5fps), multi-point AF, but only one cross-type sensor, decent viewfinder with on-demand gridlines. Small, light, full AF-S and VR support. Dual control wheels. No canned modes. Good ergonomics. Available AA battery grip offsets requirement for 2xCR123 Lithiums. NO AI SUPPORT, which is inexcusable at its original pricepoint. It’s a great lightweight AF camera.

F65 – Cut-down F80. Single-wheel UI, no manual ISO setting, hard to change AF points, poor (pentamirror) viewfinder. Full G, AF-S and VR support. No support for remote release. AA battery grip or 2xCR123’s. Crappy, no good reason to get one today but was nicely built for its pricepoint and era. Sole Nikon film camera I bought new.

Hi, I'm going to Paris for about 4 days in December, and it's not very long -- so I was wondering what sights I should absolutely visit? I am a student on a budget, but nonetheless, I'm determined to see all those big sights (Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge, Louvre, Notre Dame, etc). I'd find suggestions on stuff that's really quintessentially French, artsy or really good-but-cheap foody places incredibly, incredibly helpful :-) I would love to know of crazy little cafes I should visit or any amazing churches where people are buried (I love that kind of stuff), or places where writers used to live (again, super-nerdy, but love!!). If anybody has any suggestions, please do tell me!! I will be eternally grateful. I have never been to Paris before, and it's only for four days, so I'd really like to make the most of it if I can!

Thanks so much!

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=33824143

I'm thinking about putting in a request for a EF 28mm f/2.8 Lens for Christmas. Does anyone have this lens? How do you like it? Have you found much distortion along the edges? Do you find this particular fixed length limiting? Can you share an image (or two) you have shot with with this lens (doesnt have to be an edited image)?

Lots of rejections even on L level. But Sergey from our club succeeded with his hand printed B&W

Sat 28/11/2009 12:46 28112009438

Это охренеть. Они слили в сеть список пассажиров!!! Это вообще как?
http://www.gazeta.ru/social/2009/11/28/3291963.shtml?incut1

Здесь мораль та, что общий список никому не опубликуют, даже погибших, бо сначала разыскивают родственников и сообщают им, чтобы они узнали лично, а не из газет или сети.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=33823504