I have a new website...

[N7YA]

...and so does my wife. Please go check them out. :)


Thanks a bunch!

Heres mine.... http://www.brokenorb.com


Heres my wifes site...http://www.martianberries.com


Oh, i even added my airplane thats not mine. :agree:

[PA5COR]

Lol, liked the stuff your wife put up, quirky but still interesting catching to the eye.
You are not doing bad though, some room for improvement like we all have ;)
Liked the photographs from sunrises and sunsetts though, always a thankfull object to photograph..

[kf0rt]

Cool stuff, Adam.

I think that "soup Houdini" thing has a ring to it. :yes:

[K7SGJ]

Wow, I'm really impressed. I always fiquired your wife had talent, but................ooops, never mind. Some very interesting stuff. Thanks for letting us enjoy it.

[NA4BH]

I like it. Thanks.

[WØTKX]

Martian Berries sounds like a Spider Robininson Novel.

Now I feel I have to defend the toast against unwarranted anger.

[kf0rt]

That toast may not be as innocent as it looks. :twisted:

[WØTKX]

It's not the fault of the toast. It's the New Vegas Evil Toaster.


NSFW for language. :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kx9BfZTQzI


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kx9BfZTQzI

[KG4CGC]

Look fun.

[W3WN]

...and so does my wife. Please go check them out. :)


Thanks a bunch!

Heres mine.... http://www.brokenorb.com


Heres my wifes site...http://www.martianberries.com


Oh, i even added my airplane thats not mine. :agree:Nice. Very nice.

[KB3LAZ]

I dont understand. Interesting.

[N7YA]

Thanks for looking, guys!

My wife is the real artist here, shes been doing it a long time, shes all about the simplicity and quirkiness of little characters. Mine is just random thoughts and OCD carefully put on paper. :lol:

By no means am i thinking im the next artsy superstar, i know better. ;) But it sure is a great meditative excersize, ill say that.

[N7YA]

I dont understand. Interesting.


Then you get it. :clap:

[KB3LAZ]

Then you get it. :clap:

:rofl:

[kf0rt]

Thanks for looking, guys!

My wife is the real artist here, shes been doing it a long time, shes all about the simplicity and quirkiness of little characters. Mine is just random thoughts and OCD carefully put on paper. :lol:

By no means am i thinking im the next artsy superstar, i know better. ;) But it sure is a great meditative excersize, ill say that.

Both sites actually look pretty cool here -- dare I say, professional? What are you using? None of my stuff looks that good, but I'm addicted to HTML and TextPad.

[NA4BH]

but I'm addicted to HTML and TextPad.

Textpad? Is that a Maxi-Textpad or the Textpad Shield for light days? :whistle:

[KG4CGC]

Textpad? Is that a Maxi-Textpad or the Textpad Shield for light days? :whistle:

Steel belted radial pads with chains for inclement weather.

[N7YA]

Both sites actually look pretty cool here -- dare I say, professional? What are you using? None of my stuff looks that good, but I'm addicted to HTML and TextPad.


Hate to make it sound too easy, but we just went to Weebly.com. Free website with drag-n-place components. We got our business cards through Vistaprint, tried their website design, but it wasnt free, or that cool. You can have 6 pages with as many links as you like, some cool templates, as many pics as you like. Check it out. And i have no HTML experience at all...either one of us. This is the first time either one of us tried to make a website for business. Were noobs, for sure! But i think they turned out pretty cool.

[kds]

but I'm addicted to HTML and TextPad.

That's what real men use.

[N7YA]

Im a shortcut taking noob....i dont know a gatdamn thing about HTML, i just draw pictures. :lol:

[KG4CGC]

Im a shortcut taking noob....i dont know a gatdamn thing about HTML, i just draw pictures. :lol:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/Aliens%20Guy/744c7a62.jpg

[NQ6U]

That's what real men use.

No, real men code HTML on a Mac using BBEdit.

[NY3V]

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/Aliens%20Guy/744c7a62.jpg

That must be some evil ganja!

[K7SGJ]

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/Aliens%20Guy/744c7a62.jpg

That's really awesome, but I'm not FU at the moment. I suppose if you were trippin and saw that, your heart would end up in the next county.

[KG4CGC]

I think it's a hooka bar in Vegas. Posting for Adam as he may know the smoker and it also had something to do with random ADD stuff.

[WØTKX]

That's really awesome, but I'm not FU at the moment. I suppose if you were trippin and saw that, your heart would end up in the next county.

I'd get a clean bar rag, hold it up to 'ol smokey nose and say... "Gross! Here man, blow hard."

My next thought was... Self Portrait of the Exhaler?

[KG4CGC]

I'd get a clean bar rag, hold it up to 'ol smokey nose and say... "Gross! Here man, blow hard."

My next thought was... Self Portrait of the Exhaler?

He's blowing out his angry soul, man.

[NA4BH]

...and so does my wife. Please go check them out. :)


Thanks a bunch!

Heres mine.... http://www.brokenorb.com


Heres my wifes site...http://www.martianberries.com


Oh, i even added my airplane thats not mine. :agree:

I showed the wife her future drawing. She said WOW !!!!

Always nice to shop before the back to school rush. THANKS

C I T M

[N7YA]

I think it's a hooka bar in Vegas. Posting for Adam as he may know the smoker and it also had something to do with random ADD stuff.

I dont know that guy...but something tells me i am going to run across him at some point.

[N7YA]

I showed the wife her future drawing. She said WOW !!!!

Always nice to shop before the back to school rush. THANKS

C I T M

Thank YOU, Bob! Im very happy she likes it. :yes: They will start to get bigger and more elaborate now, i think.

[N7YA]

First art show tonight! Both Borken Orb Artistry (me), and Martian Berries (Dev) will be representin' up in the house tonight. Small affair, but we were invited to come try and sell some stuff. Should be good times. :)

[N2CHX]

First art show tonight! Both Borken Orb Artistry (me), and Martian Berries (Dev) will be representin' up in the house tonight. Small affair, but we were invited to come try and sell some stuff. Should be good times. :)

6973

[N7YA]

Oh....i see what i did there. :oops:

[N2CHX]

Oh....i see what i did there. :oops:

LOL I couldn't resist. As if none of us ever make spelling mistakes ;-)

BTW your artwork is really cool.

[n2ize]

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/Aliens%20Guy/744c7a62.jpg

Like... WOW !!! man.

[n2ize]

I think it's a hooka bar in Vegas. Posting for Adam as he may know the smoker and it also had something to do with random ADD stuff.

It couldn't be. I don't see any hooka's hanging out in there.

[N7YA]

LOL I couldn't resist. As if none of us ever make spelling mistakes ;-)

BTW your artwork is really cool.

Thank you, Kel. :)

I make mistakes all the time, but its particularly embarassing when its the name of your company. Oh well, as long as i dont misspell it on something important. :lol:

[K7SGJ]

How'd the art show go? Hope you made enough to retire and move where ever you want.

[N7YA]

Aaah...not exactly. Let me explain...

Our goal was to move simply ONE piece...either one of us would have been fine. It was billed as art, music and food...sounds like an art fair to me, so we signed on. The organizer didnt get back to us for a while, but he finally did and put us on the bill. We packed up everything and drove across town to the venue in a huge shopping complex, we were pretty excited. Not 5 seconds after i pulled into a parking spot, a wicked storm cell went right over the top of us. Deluge of rain and lightning kept us pinned in the car for an extra half hour. We texted bossman and he said 'no worries'. We finally got up there and it was a Texas BBQ joint that has historically done poorly (i played there once on a sub gig with Whitesnakes drummer...nobody showed up, at all!). We walked in, the hostesses saw our cart and huge Rubbermaid boxes and thought we wanted to sit down to eat :lol:. We told them we were artists there for the show and were expected...nobody knew a thing. They walked us out to the wet balcony and told us to set up....alone and faaaaar away from the event. We stayed packed up, little signs telling us to go back home were everywhere but we hung in there.

Then we met the organizer who just got off stage from doing an acoustic set, and he pointed us toward a table right next to the stage to set up...cool, fair enough. I waited for my wife to get back from the bathroom, and these two snobby ass bitches that make jewelry took the spot because bossman walked them to it :dunno:. He tried to introduce us to them, but they were having none of it because they were Vegas bitches and faaaar too important for "picture drawers". We finally got set up and settled in. There was about 20 people there total. As the night went on, only two polite old women actually stopped and looked at our stuff and took a couple of cards. Thats cool. But we started to realize that it was basically an event for the organizer and his acoustic guitar playing buddies to showcase their hipster music...which is fine by me, but the artists were an afterthough, especially ones with artwork! There was only the two bitches, and a guy on the other side selling man-bling (skulls and chains, etc)...the few people there showed up for the happy hour appetizers, beer and acoustic guitars...bossman only wanted artists there for the impression of being culturally well rounded. It was more about...well, beer, BBQ and acoustic music, which there is an over-abundance of in this town.

The guy was cool, but Dev and i both had the "fuck this" face on and started packing up way early. My wife basically hates crowds and noise and there were 20 people too many for her comfort zone. Besides, were not hipsters...we're old weirdos that were very out of place. After a very talented young Phillipino singer/songwriter did his set, the place cleared out and so did we. Hey, it was a learning experience. We heard about 7 different singer/songwriters from the area...a couple of them were outstanding! The last one was terrible, singing a song about wanting to 'kill your dad' or something. But there was a heavyset young woman named Kella Bobella who got up there and just tore that shit up! We bought her CD to show support, she was great.

But we didnt sell anything. Barely a sniff. We're done with that event, needless to say. It was more like "Music, food, lots of beer....oh yeah, and some art guys, i guess". Oh well.

My wifes headache subsided...right outside the door as we were leaving, imagine that. :lol: We decided that we are going to commit to a consignment gallery. We put it off because we didnt know how it would do, but we are going down there tomorrow and purchase a wall, decorate it how we like and hang our stuff with a much higher price than we were asking last night. Besides, a portion of the sales goes to some great charities in town. No crowds, no awkwardness, no songs about killing your dad...just art on the wall...next to the artwork of about 40 other artists. Thats what were talking about!

So yeah, there is the report from the frontline of the art wars in an agressive, needlessly competitive city that is legitimately completely devoid of culture...even the bossman said that on the mic during his set. Its bad here. We're not giving up, its only one showing, but i figure we will work our jobs until we can leave. THEN we will join an artist community and settle in and be happy. We both have done it before, we will do it again, but together this time. :)

[N2CHX]

Well, that sucks about your night. But... Rock on with your goals!

[K7SGJ]

Sorry things went awry last night. The perfect venue would be something like Tempe Arts Festival that's held twice a year. We've being going to them for many many years. Besides all the artisans, there are food vendors, street entertainment (all very excellent acts and musicians), and just about anything else one could imagine. It's the first thing I thought of when you posted some of your, and your wife's' works. I have no idea what it would cost, but I think it must be a fair amount. No pun intended. In fact, it's become so popular, people come from all of the country to be a part of it, and there is a long waiting list to get a space. I would think there should be stuff like that in Vegas, or at least in some of the surrounding areas. And, with the upcoming Holidays, it might make a great time to attend some of them. Whatever you end up doing, I hope you guys find your niche. You both are very talented and I'm sure there are a lot of people who would like to display your art on their walls.

That reminds me, I have seen different kinds of art, with prices, displayed on the walls of restaurants, Dr. offices, and places like that. Not only do these places get to decorate for free, or actually get a piece of the action, but it's it a great way to get some exposure. Of course, so is a nudist beach. Good luck.

[NQ6U]

Sorry about the bad experience, Adam. If it makes you feel any better, as a recovering artist myself, I can relate to it entirely. That said, it was a tale well-told. Perhaps you should consider channeling some of your creative energy into writing?

[KG4CGC]

We have the pseudo art festoovials here too about thrice a year in G'ville. A booth for 3 days will cost you both arms, both legs and your first and second born. It went from a $250 fee 15 years ago to about $4K. This knocks out a lot (if not all) of the lesser known locals and so we invite out of towners to come in and fill the spots. It's really about eating and drinking and Beach music while the town rakes in a nice chunk of change.
Down the street, downtown Easley does something similar with a cheaper carnival like atmosphere. Saw a guy who preserved butterflies into jewelry. The finished product looked like glass coated butterflies.

[K7SGJ]

We have the pseudo art festoovials here too about thrice a year in G'ville. A booth for 3 days will cost you both arms, both legs and your first and second born. It went from a $250 fee 15 years ago to about $4K. This knocks out a lot (if not all) of the lesser known locals and so we invite out of towners to come in and fill the spots. It's really about eating and drinking and Beach music while the town rakes in a nice chunk of change.
Down the street, downtown Easley does something similar with a cheaper carnival like atmosphere. Saw a guy who preserved butterflies into jewelry. The finished product looked like glass coated butterflies.

Well, they can certainly have the first and second born, but I'm hanging on to the $$.

Yeah, I'm sure the one in Tempe costs about the same. Too bad, really, it used to be THE place for budding artists and all that goes with it. There are some one in some of the smaller towns. They have one every few months in Prescott at the Court House on Whiskey Row, and Gurly Blvd. No kiddin.

[KG4CGC]

Whiskey Girl! You can find her at the next, whiskey bar.

[NA4BH]

Just got a drawing from Adam's Gallery, and DAYUMM. The pictures on the website really don't do justice for the detail. Now to get it framed and put on the wall.


Very nice !!!!!!!

[N7YA]

Just got a drawing from Adam's Gallery, and DAYUMM. The pictures on the website really don't do justice for the detail. Now to get it framed and put on the wall.


Very nice !!!!!!!


Thank you, Bob! Im glad you like it.


I knew my OCD would come in handy, but the doctors didnt believe me, now i can tell them to Bite Me! :lol:

[N7YA]

As for the "art show", Thanks for the support. It was more of a valuable learning experience than a miserable one. It was the first important step, especially for my very anti-social wife, to make a concerted effort to pack up our creations and go sit somewhere and expose ourselves (clothed...i know, no fun) to strangers for criticism, judgement and rejection. These are the things all artists, musicians...anyone really...fear the most. Facing these discomforts is the best cure for it, so it serves us well to take away a positive from the whole thing and march forward to the next show! The things we learned from all this will help us streamline the next venture out of the house. So again, thanks all!

[K7SGJ]

Thank you, Bob! Im glad you like it.


I knew my OCD would come in handy, but the doctors didnt believe me, now i can tell them to Bite Me! :lol:


But never say that to your urologist.

[N7YA]

....or dog!

[NQ6U]

It was the first important step [...] to make a concerted effort to pack up our creations and go sit somewhere and expose ourselves (clothed...i know, no fun) to strangers for criticism, judgement and rejection.

Adam, you just reminded me of how much I used to hate portfolio reviews when I was studying design.

[W5GA]

Hey Adam, I noticed a GLARING omission on your site...there aren't any knobs!! See if you can fix that, will ya...

[N7YA]

What??


Dammit! Thanks Doug. ;)

[K7SGJ]

Hey Adam, I noticed a GLARING omission on your site...there aren't any knobs!! See if you can fix that, will ya...


Speaking of boobs, yeah I know, but we are now, I just learned how boobs got their name.



7030


You're welcome. I feel continuing education is very important.

[N7YA]

Never too old to learn. :)

[N7YA]

I think im starting to figure out this photography editing thing a little bit more.

My wife and i are both now in a gallery, called Dinosaurs and Roses (http://www.dinosaursandroses.org) (linky)...check out the 'meet the artists' section, kinda nice. Also, i put up some new stuff on the website (http://www.brokenorb.com). (another linky). Im heading out to Lake Meade tomorrow with my son to get some more shots with the Rebel because i finally know what i want to take pictures of...check out what i just put up, a marked improvement if i may say so. :)

[KB3LAZ]

I think im starting to figure out this photography editing thing a little bit more.

My wife and i are both now in a gallery, called Dinosaurs and Roses (http://www.dinosaursandroses.org) (linky)...check out the 'meet the artists' section, kinda nice. Also, i put up some new stuff on the website (http://www.brokenorb.com). (another linky). Im heading out to Lake Meade tomorrow with my son to get some more shots with the Rebel because i finally know what i want to take pictures of...check out what i just put up, a marked improvement if i may say so. :)

:( I cant take very good pictures. These make mine look even more sad, lol. Nice work.

[AE1PT]

No, real men code HTML on a Mac using BBEdit.

Wrong. Real men code PHP and CSS...

[NQ6U]

Wrong. Real men code PHP and CSS...

On a Mac using BBEdit.

[kf0rt]

I think im starting to figure out this photography editing thing a little bit more.

My wife and i are both now in a gallery, called Dinosaurs and Roses (http://www.dinosaursandroses.org) (linky)...check out the 'meet the artists' section, kinda nice. Also, i put up some new stuff on the website (http://www.brokenorb.com). (another linky). Im heading out to Lake Meade tomorrow with my son to get some more shots with the Rebel because i finally know what i want to take pictures of...check out what i just put up, a marked improvement if i may say so. :)


Looks pretty good here, Adam, and I spend a LOT of time looking at the photographic arts. It's more about the eye than anything else, and youse artistic folks have a true edge over us "camera owners".

Kudos; I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[kf0rt]

Wrong. Real men code PHP and CSS...

"Real men" get someone else to do this crap.

I'm still hoping. :lol:

[N7YA]

I dunno, ive seen your stuff. More than a few of you on here are pretty bad ass, thats the only reason i show my pics, i need to gauge how im coming along.

[NA4BH]

I dunno, ive seen your stuff. More than a few of you on here are pretty bad ass, thats the only reason i show my pics, i need to gauge how im coming along.

All I'm sayin, these guy's need to jump at the opportunity to buy your stuff before the usual heroin/booze/homeless phase start (LOL :rofl: ). You have some really good drawings. I'm glad I got one. The ADAM abides.

[N7YA]

The good part is that i already did the alcoholism, homelessness and heroin. Im clean as a whistle and could pass any drug test or DUI test at any time these days...for me, being boring and low key has fueled my artsy side later in life. Im really focusing on my photography right now. My wife and i are heading back out to Lake Mead tomorrow to get some more shots. Still havent sold anything at the gallery yet, but these things take time.

I appreciate the kind words. :-D

[KB3LAZ]

The good part is that i already did the alcoholism, homelessness and heroin. Im clean as a whistle and could pass any drug test or DUI test at any time these days...for me, being boring and low key has fueled my artsy side later in life. Im really focusing on my photography right now. My wife and i are heading back out to Lake Mead tomorrow to get some more shots. Still havent sold anything at the gallery yet, but these things take time.

I appreciate the kind words. :-D

I was born boring.

[N7YA]

You will live long as a result, i assure you.

[KB3LAZ]

You will live long as a result, i assure you.

Genetically speaking, I have my doubts. However, I have done a lot to try to ensure a life extension. I dont drink often and when I do I drink very lightly. I have lost weight and changed my eating habits drastically. Yes, I still have to stop smoking and will. I have slowed down a lot. I figure at 25 it is not too late for change and a chance to live past my 60s. However, if I dont, that is okay too. I enjoy life and will enjoy what time is allotted to me.

Anyway, I enjoy seeing the pictures you post as well as the pictures that many other islanders post. Personally, I am not very good at photo taking. Maybe I should take a class? Because, even after buying decent equipment, it looks like I have taken my photo collection with a vintage camera phone. :(

[K7SGJ]

You will live long as a result, i assure you.

As long as he doesn't bore himself to death! :hyper:

[KB3LAZ]

As long as he doesn't bore himself to death! :hyper:

Yeah, I suppose that would be rather drab.

[N7YA]

Genetically speaking, I have my doubts. However, I have done a lot to try to ensure a life extension. I dont drink often and when I do I drink very lightly. I have lost weight and changed my eating habits drastically. Yes, I still have to stop smoking and will. I have slowed down a lot. I figure at 25 it is not too late for change and a chance to live past my 60s. However, if I dont, that is okay too. I enjoy life and will enjoy what time is allotted to me.

Anyway, I enjoy seeing the pictures you post as well as the pictures that many other islanders post. Personally, I am not very good at photo taking. Maybe I should take a class? Because, even after buying decent equipment, it looks like I have taken my photo collection with a vintage camera phone. :(

Of course, the best way to live is unencumbered by fears and stress, but quitting smoking is a huge help. Do it while you're young.

As for the pics, a few of those were from cellphones, past and present. But these days, if i want to try and make a living at it, i have to take the heavier camera and lenses. Took a couple of good ones today at the harbor on Lake Mead.

But more importantly, this photo thing is great for my wife and i to get out of the house, go explore together and have fun getting some great shots (if i can), and getting some excersise. Then its always exciting to get home and load the pics into the photo editor and see what i got. I never took a class and honestly, i have no fucking idea what im doing with the camera! I really need to read the owners manual. Im good with the editing program, and lucky with the camera.

[KB3LAZ]

Of course, the best way to live is unencumbered by fears and stress, but quitting smoking is a huge help. Do it while you're young.

As for the pics, a few of those were from cellphones, past and present. But these days, if i want to try and make a living at it, i have to take the heavier camera and lenses. Took a couple of good ones today at the harbor on Lake Mead.

But more importantly, this photo thing is great for my wife and i to get out of the house, go explore together and have fun getting some great shots (if i can), and getting some excersise. Then its always exciting to get home and load the pics into the photo editor and see what i got. I never took a class and honestly, i have no fucking idea what im doing with the camera! I really need to read the owners manual. Im good with the editing program, and lucky with the camera.

Lol, that makes it worse. You have cellphone pictures that look better than my photos. :P

[suddenseer]

You, and YL have some awesome original art going on. Cool stuff indeed.

[N7YA]

Thanks you guys! Seriously, i just saw the art of a German guy who replicates people in pencil...oh my god! Really puts my OCD penwork in the dust. I also just joined a forum site (very similar to the Island) for photographers...but its inhabited by REAL photographers! There is a critique thread and i just posted my site in there. I am about to have it handed to me! :lol:

I dont think they will be mean as i will tell them to hang it in their ass, but i will learn what im doing wrong. More importantly, what i can do better. Either way, im having fun!

[kf0rt]

Thanks you guys! Seriously, i just saw the art of a German guy who replicates people in pencil...oh my god! Really puts my OCD penwork in the dust. I also just joined a forum site (very similar to the Island) for photographers...but its inhabited by REAL photographers! There is a critique thread and i just posted my site in there. I am about to have it handed to me! :lol:

I dont think they will be mean as i will tell them to hang it in their ass, but i will learn what im doing wrong. More importantly, what i can do better. Either way, im having fun!

Curious which photo site you found, Adam.

[N7YA]

This one (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/)...set up much like the Island. Seems like good folks there too.

[kf0rt]

Bookmarked for later. Thanks. ;)

I spend too much time looking at works from other photographers instead of actually trying to "improve the craft." Figure some "osmosis" will help, and it does to some extent. Know all the basics -- been at this as a hobby for about 50 years. F-stops, exposure, depth of field; know all that stuff like the back of my hand. I recently posted a few pictures I took in Rocky Mountain National Park to a forum on dpreview. They were accepted well, but one guy asked, "why did you shoot that wide-open when it would have been sharper at F8?" He's right of course, but at the time, I was working more on my "eye" for the shot than camera settings (a pro would never do this).

IMHO, the "eye" for a good shot comes first, and from what I'm seeing you have that already. Some have the gift, and that's really hard to learn, so you're over halfway there before you even start. Seriously. Great photographers are artists first -- the camera is just a canvas. My own technical abilities rarely make up for the lack of an "eye" for what makes a good shot. And man, I've seen a lot of it. Major project here is to convert my Dad's film to digital (many decades worth) -- been into that for 8-10 years now and the photography itself ain't great, but it's more of a photojournalism project than art.

I kind of eschew the whole equipment thing these days, having seen some pretty good stuff shot by teenagers with cell phones. As we've moved more into digital photography, anyone can take a picture (and most do), but what differentiates the "picture" from a well-executed photo is mostly in the eye of the photographer these days. Incredible difference from when we were shooting film. And yeah, I wish I had your eye. ;)

[N7YA]

I appreciate that. :)

Just like music needs a good ear, visual arts needs a good eye. I like to think i have good vision for that sort of thing so its nice to hear, especially from you as ive seen your work (and you have wonderful vision, by the way). Many of my shots have flaws, but i like realizing them, it means im getting better. My biggest issue is what you are so good at...knowing the gear and how to use it! I am studying, reading, asking questions, etc, to learn how to do this better and get the most out of the hobby. I really like nature and distopia shots, and im really getting into macro. One of my biggest goals is to properly shoot lightning, i just need to know the proper settings...then wait for lightning :whistle:. I also am going to head out on the night of the 30th, its a full moon. I want to get moonglow on flowers and leaves, and night time is tripod time. I am studying on using higher ISO settings and lens selection so i can be ready for it. Theres a whole world to take pictures of, i just want to get into it as far as i can.

[kf0rt]

Lightning and moon shots are the worst. The best are usually shot by accident. Or wait... these are my failure areas. :rofl: Good shots of the moon itself are almost pedestrian these days.

Did a bunch of moon shot playing about a month ago; "Neil's moon" - the full moon after the announcement that Neil Armstrong had passed away:

7423

Focus fuzzy. Ugh. Decent eye on that one, but wasn't up to the focus "tech."

Want to do the lightning thing here, but lightning is semi-rare here and when it happens, I'm usually in bed. Priorities, ya know? I've been doing some dabbling with a computer-based trigger system that will fire the camera when the lightning happens. Haven't used that yet, but have used it for some water drop macro stuff -- way cool, but there are some real experts in this field that smoke my best. Photography is sooo competitive these days, thanks to digital. Don't let that discourage you, though. It's still a lot of fun and I wish I had more time for it.

I've shot a few weddings (family and friends) -- gets you out of buying wedding presents and the food is free. Post-production is a lot of work, though. Once had a guy chastise me at a nieces wedding for "drinking on the job." "Well, yeah, that's why I'm here!" Pics came out fine.

Commercially, this is my best shot:

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Taken in 2003 with a Pentax 645 medium format film camera using Fuji Provia film. One of the local State Parks was having a photo contest and I attempted to "win" it. This was a "juried" deal where they let the visitors to the park vote on the pictures. Scanned my film and entered. Won "best of class" or something; as I recall, it amounted to second prize overall. The prize was an Art Wolff signed (and framed) mountain photo -- hangs in the bedroom today; supposedly worth $700 or some nonsense back then. The winner got a digital camera.

These days, I post shots on dpreview and Flickr and just judge the response with no real desire to make any money. It's a hoot to get a good shot that people like, and that's the hell of art; dealing with the subjectivity of taste. dpreview runs rolling "challenges" that I often enter. No prize outside of learning what others think. These days, I shoot with a Nikon D7000 when I have the time and the Canon S95 seems to get more use. Want to retire and do more of that and less "work." photo.net is a good site, too. Lotsa pros hang out there, and they're not so into the equipment.

If you have any technical questions, I'd be happy to help (and tell you when I'm over my head). Still a neophyte... Your "eye" will beat the equipment every time, though.

[NA4BH]

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WOW

[N7YA]

I gotta say, i absolutely LOVE that moonlit lake shot!

[N7YA]

These were some of the only ones that were small enough to post here.


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[N7YA]

Shit! Those are huge and arrogant...not my intention! Sorry about that.

I am going to my site and copying the pics from there...hang on....lets try this again.

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[kf0rt]

Diggin' it, Adam. I love the powerline shot (must be the main feed out of Hoover Dam, amirite?). The stop sign is great in B&W. The sun (set/rise?) with flowers is way cool, too. Just my faves of the set. Nuthin' huge or arrogant about any of 'em. I usually "resize" to 600-700 pixels on the long edge for anything web-based.

I was trying to figure out why the "leaning tree" shot (last in the first set) isn't speaking to me much and kind of came to the conclusion that it's the overexposed sky (technical term: blown highlights). Brought that one up in Lightroom to confirm the suspicion. :mrgreen: No way to pull any detail out of the sky, but I did tweak it a bit in an attempt to enhance the detail in the rest of the pic (hope you don't mind), and came up with this:

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Mo' betta? Yeah, it's kind of a subtle difference. I'm not sure why there's the odd "fringing" where the tree branches meet the sky -- never seen that before. In fact, I wouldn't mind posing that question to some experts, but not without your permission.

What software are you using? Your comment that "these were the only ones small enough" distresses me a bit -- you should have full control over that, and many other things (truly, this is the beauty of digital photography). There's so much we can easily do today that was difficult or impossible in the old wet darkroom days.

My photo mission du jour: Taking some shots of the house my daughter & family just bought... Still need to convince SIL that he didn't make a bad decision. Here's some "urban art" :rofl:

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[N7YA]

Excellent point! I liked the tree/water shot a lot, but i was only looking at that. I try really hard to keep natural contrast in the photo, but from time to time (unless i intentionally want it that way) one slips through. I am only using the onboard photo editor that came with the computer, it has the basic sliders and such. When i can afford it, i am going to get Photoshop, unless you can suggest a better one for the kind of work i am doing here. I may have to wait to buy it since im looking down the barrel of a 2 month work stoppage for the holidays as they redesign our venue. May have to live really lean.

[N7YA]

Holy crap! I just noticed the fringing too! I dont know what that is...theres something weird going on with the transfer of that shot. It doesnt have any of this stuff on the original. The day was overcast and solid, i went back and reverted the image and the sky was still plain in that direction. But yeah...i have no idea what that is.

[suddenseer]

:bowdown:I am not worthy to change your stop bath, and fixers.:bowdown: You guys capture some awesome scenery. IMHO you are in the same class as AE1PT, Albi, and Denver Dave. I am not a pro, but I know what I like.

[NQ6U]

Holy crap! I just noticed the fringing too! I dont know what that is...theres something weird going on with the transfer of that shot. It doesnt have any of this stuff on the original. The day was overcast and solid, i went back and reverted the image and the sky was still plain in that direction. But yeah...i have no idea what that is.

Looks like a compression artifact to me, probably introduced when you saved it as a JPEG.

[kf0rt]

Understand the "lean." I'm still trying to figure out if I just bought another house. <growl>

Lots of graphic editing software out there, some even free. I used to use Photoshop Elements exclusively -- this is the "baby brother" of the real deal and is pretty cheap - at Costco; seriously! Photoshop itself (CS6 - "Creative Suite 6") is the "pro" stuff and is really intended for serious graphic designers. Outta my league both cost-wise and my ability (extended version runs almost a grand). It's not really intended for photo work and one would need to take some classes, too. Not what you want.

A little over a year ago, I finally started playing with Photoshop Lightroom. This is Photoshop tailored for photography, and it's truly what the photo pros use. Downloaded the free trial from Adobe (runs for 30 days, no inhibited features). When the trial expired, I found a deal to buy it for $180 or so. Adobe has since updated it and dropped the price to $150 list - Newegg has it for $135.

I'm hooked on Lightroom these days, and don't mean to turn this into an Island advertisement, but it's REALLY good. It handles about 99% of my photo editing (cropping, rotating and sizing are a breeze, and that's the simple stuff). And it does it all without modifying the original file. Best part? It also catalogues everything. I have two main databases running under Lightroom now. The first is my own stuff that includes everything from film scans going back to the 1960's to what I shot today (about 50,000 images). The other is family stuff from my Dad and other family historical lineage -- huge project in progress; about 13,000 images at present, dating back to the early days of Kodachrome:

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Eat yer heart out, Paul Simon! Kodachrome, 1930's and found recently in a box of glass slides from my grandpa -- he's been gone nearly 30 years now. Love photo art, but I really dig photo archaeology! And most scans from old film don't come out nearly this good; this is the unedited raw scan -- just resized. Sadly (or maybe not), it keeps me from stringing dipoles in trees. Love this shit.

Is this necessary for artistic endeavors? Maybe not, and I don't want to lead you astray on that. But I do think that the digital photographer today needs some good software/tools to tweak things a bit once it leaves the camera. Good shots don't need much, but I've found that it's rare to find a shot that can't be helped a little. Back to the "eye" thing. Today, a lot of the artistry is in post-processing, even if the changes are slight. Light and Magic.

Oh, and thanks for letting me rant a bit on something I'm passionate about in a week that's really sucked.

[kf0rt]

Looks like a compression artifact to me, probably introduced when you saved it as a JPEG.

Yeah, it does look like a compression artifact, but it shows up well before any output. My first step in the edit was to drop the exposure by about 2/3 of a stop. It's visible there, but not so pronounced. Tweaking the photo further just made it worse. I'm guessing a problem with Lightroom trying to pull detail where there is none (or barely any).

Really odd -- can't say I've ever seen this before.

Yo, Adam... Mind if I use this shot for a little photo forensics?

[kf0rt]

Holy crap! I just noticed the fringing too! I dont know what that is...theres something weird going on with the transfer of that shot. It doesnt have any of this stuff on the original. The day was overcast and solid, i went back and reverted the image and the sky was still plain in that direction. But yeah...i have no idea what that is.


I'd love to play with the original file straight out of the camera. (Wink)

[N7YA]

Yeah, it does look like a compression artifact, but it shows up well before any output. My first step in the edit was to drop the exposure by about 2/3 of a stop. It's visible there, but not so pronounced. Tweaking the photo further just made it worse. I'm guessing a problem with Lightroom trying to pull detail where there is none (or barely any).

Really odd -- can't say I've ever seen this before.

Yo, Adam... Mind if I use this shot for a little photo forensics?


Be my guest. Your 50 years of that particular tech experience would be put to good use...anything i can learn from you would be great.


By the way, heading out tomorrow on another photo excursion, will have new pics, and definately better ones since im figuring it out more and more each time. I think i will head northwest of the city, up toward Mt. Charleston. The other direction, toward Lake Mead, will be all blocked up as Obama is going to be out that way at the resort right before the lake...bugger that shit! I dont need that kind of trouble, ill go the other way. The man sure comes here a lot. :lol:

[kf0rt]

Be my guest. Your 50 years of that particular tech experience would be put to good use...anything i can learn from you would be great.


By the way, heading out tomorrow on another photo excursion, will have new pics, and definately better ones since im figuring it out more and more each time. I think i will head northwest of the city, up toward Mt. Charleston. The other direction, toward Lake Mead, will be all blocked up as Obama is going to be out that way at the resort right before the lake...bugger that shit! I dont need that kind of trouble, ill go the other way. The man sure comes here a lot. :lol:

Did a little more playing this morning, Adam. The fringing is actually in the original photo, just made more visible with the tweaking I did:

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This shows the original and the modified version, side-by-side and blown up to where you can see the individual pixels. It looks like Lightroom is adding data where there is none (yellowish pixels at the top). This isn't quite true, though. When I check the RGB values, the original has a very slight (almost impossible to see) color variation from the background. The adjustments amplified this.

Here's the original again, with highlight clipping shown in red (red means that all three channels - RGB -are at their maximum values; i.e. pure white). The "blocking" around the tree line is very visible:

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Soooo... Carl is probably right about the JPG compression artifacts, but it's from the in-camera compression. Not much you can do about that unless your camera can shoot RAW. For JPG, I'd just make sure the camera is set to "Fine" (highest quality) to minimize this.

Hope you have a great time avoiding Obama today. Looks like we get hit with that for the debates on Wednesday (doncha love living in a "swing" state?).

[N7YA]

I dont like living in this state, period!

Wow! Thats amazing what you can do with the proper editing programs. I had no idea...thats too bad since that could have been a really nice shot. But then again, it was a rain forest on a rainy day, and it was three cellphones ago, so theres that excuse, at least. I need to get to sleep, i will explore this further tomorrow night. Thanks for the info and seeing what you can do with that one.

[KB3LAZ]

Lol, I didnt see anything off about the photo. I guess that is why I will never be more than a tourist when it comes to taking photos. However, I am okay with that.

Nice photos, guys.

[N7YA]

Being a tourist means you can enjoy a place without being obsessed with ISO settings and aperature and missing all the great sights and sounds. :lol:

[KG4CGC]

Ooooh! Nice shots at the top of the page. Missed them earlier.

[KB3LAZ]

Being a tourist means you can enjoy a place without being obsessed with ISO settings and aperature and missing all the great sights and sounds. :lol:

My wife takes a pretty decent photo without playing with any settings. Nothing to write home about but they look good in the album. ^^ That's our goal. However, we still enjoy seeing what you all do on here. :D