tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50219965890811382932024-03-13T23:41:16.732+01:00PhotonPhotography Blog" I Sometimes Just Arrive When God Is Ready for Someone to Click the Shutter "tttthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785020774725850427noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021996589081138293.post-80457004837025184682014-12-11T22:13:00.000+01:002014-12-13T11:29:14.152+01:00The PhotonPhotography Lightroom Workflow - Keeping those family and business photos together<span style="font-size: large;">Do you use Lightroom? Do you want to keep those family and business photos together in the same catalog & still being able to pull them up separately when you need to? Read on, because this time I am sharing my Lightroom workflow, to give you a full solution organising and selecting the best of your shots...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have read many reviews on Lightroom workflows, from simple to extremely complex - the one thing I have not seen in these articles is how to deal effectively with the issue of keeping your family and business photos together in the same catalog and still have full control over those. While separate catalogs would work for professional photographers who keep each client in one LR catalog, for us, enthusiasts this is just not practical, we go on Holiday with our family, take pictures of our kids in one moment, and a minute later we shoot that fantastic landscape which will later be uploaded to 500px... There is no point to put these to different catalogs, it is cumbersome to have them in separate folders too, so how to keep them organised?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this post I will walk you through my LR workflow. The basics of the workflow comes from Scott Kelby, he needs no introduction when it is about LR. I have made some significant tweaks though to fit the workflow to my own needs. Let's start diving into my method!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. Import pictures</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nothing fancy here, I add some extra metadata, copyright, rename the files and convert them to DNG. My filing system is folder-based and the folders are organised by the location where the photographs were taken. Many photographers use a date-based system, folders labelled by years - to me it is is much harder to remember whether I took a photo in 2010 or 2006, while I can instantly find them based on location. I have them organised by country and using meaningful names within those countries (sometimes cities or areas). Family pictures taken at home still go to a country folder, but I also name subfolders by events, like Christmas 2010. Personal preference, I guess...</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OKkjOvYd9nQDkMTwAkda5MdbVhR3uupoCTDvHYGk4alqQpGkSSj7mCbLkBx6k0F-BNAjxYePTxdDCpJIvpf1n3RjEdTqip2Rgy2vdjR0gURJOr5pMK5Z65ffEwOhXvggcDIyO6tF8es/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-11+at+06.12.43.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OKkjOvYd9nQDkMTwAkda5MdbVhR3uupoCTDvHYGk4alqQpGkSSj7mCbLkBx6k0F-BNAjxYePTxdDCpJIvpf1n3RjEdTqip2Rgy2vdjR0gURJOr5pMK5Z65ffEwOhXvggcDIyO6tF8es/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-11+at+06.12.43.png" height="640" width="520" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I organise my shots in folders, not collections and by location rather than time</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">LR renders the previews, then I am ready to start sorting my pics!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. First round - deal with rejects, do stacking, sort business from family</span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">The very first thing I usually do after import is to auto stack my bracketed images. This can greatly simplify the mess I usually have - I take 3 exposures in all cases when the exposure is tricky, sometimes I do not need them (in this case they will be deleted after I processed the best one), but sometimes I process photos as HDR, or just want to make sure that I can blend photos if needed. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrB49MKfAPusdM2tEhKsEykk5Mv1YqMa2pheA8a43oKuqvfWtjlBS86j3J_hR3cRRcVgN0qXsFQ_i_9FOXckZNB3VYT-_NgmVAHgDYU1gdVpv2yJjnxJOgmsMqTIfBrsF5o7nxQUe9P8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-11+at+06.13.38.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrB49MKfAPusdM2tEhKsEykk5Mv1YqMa2pheA8a43oKuqvfWtjlBS86j3J_hR3cRRcVgN0qXsFQ_i_9FOXckZNB3VYT-_NgmVAHgDYU1gdVpv2yJjnxJOgmsMqTIfBrsF5o7nxQUe9P8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-11+at+06.13.38.png" height="458" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Auto-stacking your bracketed images by capture time</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I generally stack images with less than 3 seconds difference in capture time, and I am very conscious about this step, even when I shoot, I try hard to have more than 3 seconds difference between images <i>I do not want to stack </i>together... Now that you have your stacks, make sure that you right click and "collapse all stacks" and voila! if you are like me you have much fewer images to deal with, and they are neatly organised. Now, I usually set my bracketing order on my Nikon D750 in a way that the middle exposure comes first, so when images are stacked I can have a reasonable exposure to look at for sorting... If you made a mistake not to have the right order and you see underexposed image on top of your stack just select it (you can pick multiple stacks) and press "shift-]" to cycle through the images within a stack, and move the best one to the top, so you can compare stacked exposures with the other photos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The next step is to go through your photos and mark the ones that are completely crap, unfocussed, impossible to rescue (I am sure you do not have a single one like that:-0, just press x to mark them as rejects to delete them later. Handle stacked ones the same way, no need to "unstack them", we deal with those later. As you go through the pictures, if you see ones you like then mark them one of 2 ways: if this is a family picture, your better half, your kid, pet or whatever, press "17". This will give one star and label the photo to yellow. The star means it is a "Pick", yellow means it is a family picture. Now, if you see a worthy image for your business or your hobby, just press "16" to give one star and label it red. Be generous, if something has a potential, do not forget to label it, we will do another sorting later.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PcHyhP0EP-ZXm8iAVf1ZcEQym3CLTwBy_BloYMco8TwPhJC589_fT38El7Dkg0OByfJy8jJRKXuiulG3TWMO0l4fkpBhPBcIuoxE5eI9sMNTE7kFFMyTRN5PHnBvHwVqAJg-0TiaKDI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-09+at+06.50.01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PcHyhP0EP-ZXm8iAVf1ZcEQym3CLTwBy_BloYMco8TwPhJC589_fT38El7Dkg0OByfJy8jJRKXuiulG3TWMO0l4fkpBhPBcIuoxE5eI9sMNTE7kFFMyTRN5PHnBvHwVqAJg-0TiaKDI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-09+at+06.50.01.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My library module after sorting pictures for family and business type</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. Second round, get your "Selects"</span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Next, I usually deal with family pictures and "business" images separately. Use the Library filter "Attribute" and set your rating to 1 star and your label to yellow or red depending on the type of images you want to filter for.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmu13BG6EOAFnqrMEjyNnPdxQtu1uRgL45NcSi9lPeAPst3TprG4ZxvXOkxwXnqN5gjWUEO-4BJdJPCETvC6SMy6EUpS6fIJYL6wpZfMR_4kT_HtfGZnBeJ5bjVMnMlSw1HisXaatHgA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-11+at+06.15.03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmu13BG6EOAFnqrMEjyNnPdxQtu1uRgL45NcSi9lPeAPst3TprG4ZxvXOkxwXnqN5gjWUEO-4BJdJPCETvC6SMy6EUpS6fIJYL6wpZfMR_4kT_HtfGZnBeJ5bjVMnMlSw1HisXaatHgA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-11+at+06.15.03.png" height="286" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Using the Attribute panel of the Lightroom library filter</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now you can go through again the previously selected "Picks" and press "p" when you see a one you really like. These are your "Selects". Obviously try to narrow these down to the best ones, that is the idea:-) There are a couple of tricks LR gives you here. I usually like to see similar shots with slightly different angles, or different compositions together to make a decision - just select those and press "n" to see them side-by-side. On my 27 inch iMac, I can really use this mode to compare them. If you have a smaller screen, you can loop through the set one-by-one to make your selection.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4g8FKA96az6gxkUiniuSPB9uF9qvobHCLMlpeyVwRIpSHATOa_Gg8AaPvkFPwnSdU3nhLBUmJ2XEt-N9nlWsxrttn0kvsDmfTcQgQVrs9ubsesXlxwYua0dQhKPa4hgaLML0nhW7E3tc/s1600/Workflow_LR-20141211-207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4g8FKA96az6gxkUiniuSPB9uF9qvobHCLMlpeyVwRIpSHATOa_Gg8AaPvkFPwnSdU3nhLBUmJ2XEt-N9nlWsxrttn0kvsDmfTcQgQVrs9ubsesXlxwYua0dQhKPa4hgaLML0nhW7E3tc/s1600/Workflow_LR-20141211-207.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Comparing multiple shots to select the best compositions</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. Third round, pick your winners</span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">At this stage you should apply the filtering again, setting 1 star, a given color and the white flag (the latter is the result of the "p") and you see your "Selects". Now you can use the compare two pictures</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">side-by-side by selecting them and pressing "c" (see below). </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqwYqznYC9xAhnjQW2tw7VWP5H7jQJPjq1lj5U1aUne-wlYCTo7T9ppZvJyDakyAgk0AcMQnVtASRK9GfujGbDgAV2sw_JsA77tLHbreD36IC-iwLhKxMbOhb7STb63lH_OoffLmtyXI/s1600/Workflow_LR-20141211-208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqwYqznYC9xAhnjQW2tw7VWP5H7jQJPjq1lj5U1aUne-wlYCTo7T9ppZvJyDakyAgk0AcMQnVtASRK9GfujGbDgAV2sw_JsA77tLHbreD36IC-iwLhKxMbOhb7STb63lH_OoffLmtyXI/s1600/Workflow_LR-20141211-208.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Comparing shots side-by-side to pick Winners</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here one of the photos called a "select" the other one is a "candidate". Make your decision which one is the better, make the candidate go away, by clicking on the x in the bottom right corner, or swap the photos if you are happier with the candidate, and then eliminate the former "select" as described above. This way you will end up having one winner of your set, to which you would add as many additional stars as you like by pressing "2",</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"3", </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"4" or </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">"5"</span></span></span>. Now while 1 star simply meant that I picked this promising image from the crowd, 2,3 or more stars now designate a "winner" and these usually are relative to other "winners" in existing image sets too (quality). At this point, of course you can pick more than one winner (sometimes in great locations you have many), looking through again of your "Selects". </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Deal with your stacks</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">There is one issue here - some of you may have realised that those marks (labels, rejects, picks ...) you have added, were not actually added to the images which are within a stack only to the top (visible) members of a given stack. Here you need a plugin to help you out: download the syncomatic plugin form here:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.beardsworth.co.uk/lightroom/syncomatic/"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.beardsworth.co.uk/lightroom/syncomatic/</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">An excellent plugin which helps syncing your metadata, ratings, flags, even develop setting from top stack member to all the stack images. If you gave a title that will be synchronised too! The plugin can be tried freely, if you decide to keep it it needs some minimal donation. Once you have synchronised them, expand all of your stacks (see above), filter for rejects, press "Cmd-A" to select all and delete them at once. Now you have a clean and organised collection.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHQccByhDk9dLq56VjCotoSzATgC_I24QTanPebNBkmWFZBZoeWcW4F5jriZ-SBpY8O0gUffnmUuXGLqSU5mxL2Emp6sP9zOYROJYNsY0jrOl-YRILqdLyYxeGNAiF25kHxjwMJd-t5c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-11+at+06.29.57.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHQccByhDk9dLq56VjCotoSzATgC_I24QTanPebNBkmWFZBZoeWcW4F5jriZ-SBpY8O0gUffnmUuXGLqSU5mxL2Emp6sP9zOYROJYNsY0jrOl-YRILqdLyYxeGNAiF25kHxjwMJd-t5c/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-11+at+06.29.57.png" height="432" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Syncing selected stacks with the Syncomatic Plugin</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. Build custom filters</span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"> To deal with switching between your Selects, Picks, Winners, Family and Business images, I have several filters saved: </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63k-9AbXMGVUHW6azvc-3jvaXbM7Mh6369fPe8OP8tOWl9YNReNJNr17zKxuX7mLmEXOGtLXyh_Qq5tbj_6wTf9sJi1FC6_5yRogufX8dSfBRrwWSyDiwSV-Q81xgA4Yh0fpCKEnIq7Y/s1600/Workflow_LR-20141211-206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63k-9AbXMGVUHW6azvc-3jvaXbM7Mh6369fPe8OP8tOWl9YNReNJNr17zKxuX7mLmEXOGtLXyh_Qq5tbj_6wTf9sJi1FC6_5yRogufX8dSfBRrwWSyDiwSV-Q81xgA4Yh0fpCKEnIq7Y/s1600/Workflow_LR-20141211-206.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Custom filters to easily select your Picks, Selects and Winners</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once you set a filter using the "Attribute" panel of the Library filter, you should click the "custom filter" panel on the top right corner and click "Save current settings as a new preset". Give it a name, like I did above, and you have your filters saved for simple use in the future. You can easily get to your "Selects", Picks, Rejects, "Family Selects", etc. The really great thing about these filters is that you can select your folders on the left hand side (you can select multiple folders too!) and then set the filter you have just created and you get a list of your best photos in those folders or even in your whole library, if you chosen a top level folder... You can see your family photos in these folders, or the business ones separately, or all of them together - no limits! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why not do this with collections? Why do we need folders and filters? It would be simpler, you could use smart collections, and have your workflow in a more visual way. Unfortunately, within collections, you cannot have stacks... So if you do a lot of bracketed shots or just want to use stacks in your workflow, you should use folders. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you liked my workflow, leave a comment if you find it useful, I want to hear about it:-) See you next time!</span><br />
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<u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Useful Links: </span></span></span></u><br />
<a href="http://www.photonphotography.com/"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photonphotography Official Website </span></span></a><br />
<a href="https://500px.com/PhotonPhotography"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photonphotography 500px Portfolio</span></span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/PhotonPhotographyNet"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photonphotography Facebook page </span></span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/+PhotonphotographyByViktorLakics">Photonphotography on Google Plus</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>tttthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785020774725850427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021996589081138293.post-48657068476622770182014-12-07T08:49:00.000+01:002014-12-13T06:23:06.081+01:00A Day on the Sea in Madeira<span style="font-size: large;">Hi everybody, I am back again with the story of a great day out during our trip to Madeira island in Portugal. This little island is in the middle of the Atlantic, a volcanic island with flowers, incredible green forests, levada channels to hike along, and great food too! But I am digressing... This time I just want to tell you about our trip on the deck of the 1:1 copy of Santa Maria, the lead ship of Christopher Colombus, the discoverer of the New World, America. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxb9c7DSLDNsKrdrBtHI4WX0wKPbBkylKrKoPHBIBECqdMzItWgbtaauIf3J62zjP4TFIWv0hpJHG_HVN3maa4oRcq8INtmbPLy0fVE7vfZlX_9yR7R6o9qKk0ML4pEp02vbOwB22qr8/s1600/untitled-20140617-011_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxb9c7DSLDNsKrdrBtHI4WX0wKPbBkylKrKoPHBIBECqdMzItWgbtaauIf3J62zjP4TFIWv0hpJHG_HVN3maa4oRcq8INtmbPLy0fVE7vfZlX_9yR7R6o9qKk0ML4pEp02vbOwB22qr8/s1600/untitled-20140617-011_HDR.jpg" height="640" width="380" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>
<span style="font-size: large;">To start, the ship is really fabulous - being on it really feels like you stepped back a few centuries. Of course you re not sailing, although I hear when the wind is right, it can do that too. The trip is along the coast of Madeira departing from Funchal, and last about 2 hours and another 2 hours back to the harbor. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The crew is dressed up - students mostly I guess, but with a nice big parrot they really look like pirates, you may think it is cheesy, but kids of the right age do love it. Just try to forget about your self and enjoy...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Among the promises is that you can see wildlife - do not go for this trip thinking of whale watching, it may not happen and you will be disappointed, just enjoy the ride... Having said that, we have seen a single dolphin around the boat, and it is always exciting, but it is not even close to the drama you can see with whales in Iceland for example...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The turning point (literally:-) of the trip is around Cabo Girao, the famous high platform viewpoint of Madeira... The ship was anchored here for a while, and those brave souls who had the guts to swim in May did their bit - there are always few males ready to show off themselves, this time 2 volunteers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The journey back was uneventful, but was sweetened with Madeira wine (good stuff) and some cakes (really good stuff). My 9-year old boy checked out the belly of the ship, where they had a little exhibition on the life of seamen back in the time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I spent the rest of the time trying to take some images on the coast from the boat - hoping for some unique point of view. Nothing really phenomenal, some usable images for a travel blog:-) You judge:-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Upon arrival back we had to farewell to the big parrot - it was worth to take the trip, a good and fun afternoon after all! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recommended, if you happen to be in Madeira! See you next time here on the photonphotography blog ! Cheers: Viktor</span>tttthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785020774725850427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021996589081138293.post-61768651562757607532014-12-03T06:01:00.000+01:002014-12-13T06:23:33.650+01:00Going Full Frame with the D750, Part II.<span style="font-size: large;">Hi everybody, I am back again with the second part of my previous blog entry about the new full frame Nikon D750. This time I have taken it outdoors, eager to capture the first shots at the lake near my house. Unfortunately the weather was not the best, zero interesting light, dull, hence the pictures do not rock, and yet I was still satisfied with the results I have got. The D750 combined with the Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens gave some reasonable images, despite the dull weather.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">First, I have just took a few shots to get used to the full frame lens :</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTM2EzheQIuNqDkMlm_JYb3KUKg2FYdqKFjmxglJyBZsivt-higHp-42sM4rtddppsxHB-kEzwtEc3hfrKByYj1EU_019YXiGherryhwSpoIFv_ykHvacKymdRg3P69Il87nv83OWIQc/s1600/D750_test-20141130-254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTM2EzheQIuNqDkMlm_JYb3KUKg2FYdqKFjmxglJyBZsivt-higHp-42sM4rtddppsxHB-kEzwtEc3hfrKByYj1EU_019YXiGherryhwSpoIFv_ykHvacKymdRg3P69Il87nv83OWIQc/s1600/D750_test-20141130-254.jpg" height="490" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Worked with auto ISO, letting the D750 decide the sensitivity, since I handheld the camera. This test of course was as much dependent on the lens, as on the camera. F8 gave really nice sharpness as expected.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_Tl8JbODb-wq7X41NxWaLWyT_lgQ_tfXXyOF0z8ZYb30ZY9Y5p7rX8BGEhA3vETVLY5jsT9cbj73y18GY4cD7sRAnvqopalrL45607F9A-iHxdbQL0pprI-PXeDtCytaL16-wbryQcY/s1600/D750_test-20141130-297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_Tl8JbODb-wq7X41NxWaLWyT_lgQ_tfXXyOF0z8ZYb30ZY9Y5p7rX8BGEhA3vETVLY5jsT9cbj73y18GY4cD7sRAnvqopalrL45607F9A-iHxdbQL0pprI-PXeDtCytaL16-wbryQcY/s1600/D750_test-20141130-297.jpg" height="514" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The image above is with f2.8, to test the lens wide open, still sharp (you will not see it here, I do not have the high resolution uploaded, you just have to trust me:-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To show the kind of detail the camera is able to capture, take a look at the next 2 images, the second one is a 1:1 crop. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9Tn0hKTwbJXHsbSiH3JYG7tLyZHzcmlpxfCcwcTTtaP_6YIXA29yd0MmuNwTv-K_7sK551iRJmyD7xwec13Il-NL-IL3UM73hDkmEJwz4UIoyN8xaXGa9xXVvWQ1g0AyTCRkcF1vCyQ/s1600/D750_test-20141130-263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9Tn0hKTwbJXHsbSiH3JYG7tLyZHzcmlpxfCcwcTTtaP_6YIXA29yd0MmuNwTv-K_7sK551iRJmyD7xwec13Il-NL-IL3UM73hDkmEJwz4UIoyN8xaXGa9xXVvWQ1g0AyTCRkcF1vCyQ/s1600/D750_test-20141130-263.jpg" height="490" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VCVJsSxX8UEW7Tx8i4e7qFtxgdT77qQb8o-nwfN5MH0V4YKEPQIcF6j68KOfwOeR0MSe25MAYx8m-CmPbzLMrQgOYtCr7abHcjIGcNgtqnlgY9GY0D0ybbdkjYFun2twDrY3P_1QDac/s1600/D750_test-20141130-263-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VCVJsSxX8UEW7Tx8i4e7qFtxgdT77qQb8o-nwfN5MH0V4YKEPQIcF6j68KOfwOeR0MSe25MAYx8m-CmPbzLMrQgOYtCr7abHcjIGcNgtqnlgY9GY0D0ybbdkjYFun2twDrY3P_1QDac/s1600/D750_test-20141130-263-2.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another test, to see how the 24 Megapixel let you crop reasonable images, even if it is only for the Web : </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFuU4W7QdQlN65QZLUR7mElV13ECzaJ94O5pQIzg8FBijGc39PnEVBwTvehMmF4SfAxA_QKhvy4bUBHwiGm7312n1KuUsx6DdCz7-g5OD1x0jQtdlYDDI8Org8YAg6IsMR9-it9APBfc/s1600/D750_test-20141130-253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFuU4W7QdQlN65QZLUR7mElV13ECzaJ94O5pQIzg8FBijGc39PnEVBwTvehMmF4SfAxA_QKhvy4bUBHwiGm7312n1KuUsx6DdCz7-g5OD1x0jQtdlYDDI8Org8YAg6IsMR9-it9APBfc/s1600/D750_test-20141130-253.jpg" height="490" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the crop I have done from it:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9zX4oOuIirgn_UK587qSeyHJNojKRQhYoZ-bF2mJGXnbgpmiSH_ui7TbxkTMDG-ez0IuKfDjtcjrXaNHdU37mQ_YKlHqF6K0WXvTCmQ9CryusmWuXaoJxbsvn9jkV5H09atI5yNfZro/s1600/D750_test-20141130-253-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9zX4oOuIirgn_UK587qSeyHJNojKRQhYoZ-bF2mJGXnbgpmiSH_ui7TbxkTMDG-ez0IuKfDjtcjrXaNHdU37mQ_YKlHqF6K0WXvTCmQ9CryusmWuXaoJxbsvn9jkV5H09atI5yNfZro/s1600/D750_test-20141130-253-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9zX4oOuIirgn_UK587qSeyHJNojKRQhYoZ-bF2mJGXnbgpmiSH_ui7TbxkTMDG-ez0IuKfDjtcjrXaNHdU37mQ_YKlHqF6K0WXvTCmQ9CryusmWuXaoJxbsvn9jkV5H09atI5yNfZro/s1600/D750_test-20141130-253-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> I like the full frame, high megapixel experience! I cannot wait to test it out in some great light.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are some more shots from that walk:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5SHlfAS4Wq4dQr6ZIEVjvTpxY4mVgVU2AFs2_jcdIuqMQ3sQZNdGr8d4wtr82c9Vlx7kRb6KCQc0wxa3OyS7TFOvKoHNIMKvc2ccdgWRcWhefQpEQoDzqQJuD8Ha6ygHOtRTY0Fdh1o/s1600/D750_test-20141130-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5SHlfAS4Wq4dQr6ZIEVjvTpxY4mVgVU2AFs2_jcdIuqMQ3sQZNdGr8d4wtr82c9Vlx7kRb6KCQc0wxa3OyS7TFOvKoHNIMKvc2ccdgWRcWhefQpEQoDzqQJuD8Ha6ygHOtRTY0Fdh1o/s1600/D750_test-20141130-300.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">See you next time, thanks for reading! </span><br />
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<br />tttthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785020774725850427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021996589081138293.post-41707706594510729982014-11-29T23:18:00.000+01:002014-12-13T06:23:52.094+01:00Going Full Frame with a D750<span style="font-size: large;">Today was a very exciting day for me: my new camera arrived, equipped with a brand new lens! Since I got involved with digital photography I had only two cameras, started with a Nikon D5000 and in the last two and a half years I was shooting with a D7000. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I was always wondering about full-frame: would this make a difference with my images? And while I know that the photographer's vision is the most important component, in this art technology and vision have to work together to constantly to push for better and better results. After having my fare share of images with APS-C DSLRs, now it was time to move one notch up to the world of full-frame cameras. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So my new D750 arrived today, with the 24-70mm f2.8 professional lens, a big boy representing one of the Nikon "Holy Trinity" zoom lenses. With this lens the D750 really dwarfed the D7000, epecially with the 16-85mm DX lens mounted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLIXbVKk62XNkThQnpQto2uSQEgbSv9uIB1uan7c6GVOue_pce9zZSz727oiORTr_cPEI9eeS5ll9lAP3rbxHKDyy7p4mhGWntaalQxmRRyM5pqmHYqA67ifzIperVYwxyKRxBs9surI/s1600/P1000403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLIXbVKk62XNkThQnpQto2uSQEgbSv9uIB1uan7c6GVOue_pce9zZSz727oiORTr_cPEI9eeS5ll9lAP3rbxHKDyy7p4mhGWntaalQxmRRyM5pqmHYqA67ifzIperVYwxyKRxBs9surI/s1600/P1000403.jpg" height="452" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After un-boxing and holding the body for the first time, I instantly noticed how light it was. First I thought it was lighter than my D7000 - and certainly if feels lighter compared to its own size. The buttons and the ergonomics of the camera were instantly familiar to me since the D7000 practically has the same layout. The live view switch moved a little lower, and there is a safety lock on the main dial which switches between the various modes the D750 - this one seems to me a little superfluous, I never accidentally moved from aperture mode to shutter priority on my D7000, and I have to pay attention now not to force the dial without pushing down the safety lock. I will get used to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So the next job was to get my favorite settings installed on the new camera. Of course I have learned already about some of the new things compared to the D7000 - without writing pages and pages about the menus, I will simply refer to the fantastic write-up by Nasim Mansurov - you can read it <a href="https://photographylife.com/recommended-nikon-d750-settings">here</a>, that is my setup too... </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then I mounted my new 24-70mm lens and tried it out indoors - I used the auto-ISO setting to have the camera go to higher ISOs if needed to keep a minimum selected shutter speed. I used this option before on the D7000 too, but here the D750 can actually pick the shutter speed to even match the lens' focal length automatically - a great new setting helping to ensure sharp shots! Amazingly, my images came out relatively noise-free up to ISO 6400 ! Previously I would not go higher that 1800 - to my taste this was already too much noise on the D7000. I think I have just met the first advantage of a full-frame camera (and 4 years evolution of the technology) : great low light level performance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow, I will take it outdoors to do some more tests and will hopefully came back with some nice test shots! Have a great evening!</span>tttthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785020774725850427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021996589081138293.post-4269623950663768742014-11-27T06:49:00.000+01:002014-12-13T05:50:22.851+01:00Thanksgiving Day<span style="font-size: large;">So, today is Thanksgiving Day. Why does that matter to me as a European? Most people on the continent (how the British call Europe:-) do not give a hoot about it, but once you have lived in the US for a while you realise that this is a great Holiday, which unites people over there despite differences in religion. And that is a good thing, especially in today's world with so many problems, hatred, suspicion and prejudice. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But I wanted to share my story. I worked in the US for over 4 years as a postdoc (a scientist who has not much money:-), arriving from a socialist country in 1996</span>. <span style="font-size: large;">I was alone, just started a month before, all my possessions fitted into a single suitcase (many of them are my favourite books, obviously no E-book readers then!) worked in the lab all the time, and had no idea about Thanksgiving. My boss asked me one day before Thanksgiving where I was about to celebrate. I replied that most likely</span> <span style="font-size: large;">at home in my empty apartment, alone. She immediately invited me to join her family the next day and celebrate together. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Nobody should be alone at Thanksgiving" -she said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> It was not a big party, really close family of hers only, yet I was welcomed as a stranger, and this is how I spent my first Thanksgiving with people I did not know before and strangely I found something there which I could only compare to a Christmas feeling with my own family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I left the US a long time ago, but I celebrate Thanksgiving every year since then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">See you next time! </span><br />
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<br />tttthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785020774725850427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021996589081138293.post-86144225730309637582014-11-26T23:02:00.000+01:002014-12-13T05:50:36.031+01:00The First Blog Entry<span style="font-size: large;">Everybody needs to start somewhere... I thought long and hard about having a blog, by now everybody has one, so it is not a trendsetting exercise for sure. The question was always whether I will have something important to talk about, and by now it is obvious: the blog will be about photography. Photography grew on me in the last 3 years - so much happened, I have learnt a great deal, maybe it is time to give something back... I am still not sure how I will like it, whether I will be able to keep at it, but one only finds out by trying. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So what will the blog be about? Currently I am thinking of our travels, photo blog, equipment reviews, post-processing, that sort of stuff. Come along this ride, let's do this together:-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">See you next time!</span>tttthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785020774725850427noreply@blogger.com0