Brooks' Photos

[Gnomey]

Yep, editing the pictures can really make them stand out. Good stuff all the same Aaron.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Thank you guys. Once I purchase a photo program I can do a little more. I try really hard to get the camera to see the image as I do but the human eye has about a zillion more capabilities than any camera made so I guess I'm fighting a loosing battle. Again, thank you.

 

[ontos]

Oh, Aaron, Aaron, I Love those barns, We are going to have to go there. Where were these taken? This day and age, any day that your upright and walking, is a god day. 8)

 

[GrauGeist]

Thank you guys. Once I purchase a photo program I can do a little more. I try really hard to get the camera to see the image as I do but the human eye has about a zillion more capabilities than any camera made so I guess I'm fighting a loosing battle. Again, thank you.

I was told by a good friend and amazing photographer that the human eye sees in 7 f-stops, where the (average) camera sees only two.

But an imaging program will let you adjust for that, like the second photo of yours, I cut out the foreground and adjusted the brightness and contrast (pulled detail out of the shadows) while leaving the sky clouds (and distant hills) untouched.

The first photo I did the same, but did a little cropping, and moved the buzzard (gotta have the buzzard!)

An imager is also good for getting rid of those dust specks...like I had on my photos taken over the weekend at the airfield...

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Oh, Aaron, Aaron, I Love those barns, We are going to have to go there. Where were these taken? This day and age, any day that your upright and walking, is a god day. 8)

Ontos, they'er all around Abingdon and the surounding counties. If you download Google Earth you can see most of it from satellite imaging. Some of my better barn shots are spread out through the thread. Course that's just my opinion. I'm glad you like them and I do hope you all get to come out sometime.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Thank you GG. My depth of field setting helps sometimes but in the bright sunlight I tend to have a lot of trouble. I still have a lot to learn and sometimes forget that and get frustrated. I really do appreciate yours and Eric's advice and I do head it. It has been a life saver, thank you.

 

[Shinpachi]

You are doing good job, Aaron.
Don't worry

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Thank you Shinpachi.

 

[evangilder]

Editing programs will help with color adjustment, brightness and contrast, etc. Heck, you can even adjust the exposure. I consider Photoshop to be my 'digital darkroom' and could not imagine life without it. That being said, my thinking is that if I have to spend more than 2-3 minutes on a photo edit, it probably isn't that good of a shot. That is not counting dust spot editing though.

Dust spots are a part of life doing aviation photography. Shooting on dusty airfields, inside airplanes traveling at 150 MPH with the canopy open, and getting dusted by taxiing aircraft are all part of the job. I wish there was an easier way to keep the dust out, but I haven't figured any of it out yet.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Which Photoshop would you suggest for someone as ignorant as I? Oh, and I'm finding out all I want to know about dust and digital cameras.

 

[ontos]

When I got my first digital point and shoot it came with Photoshop Elements 3 or something like that, it was a good beginning for me and it's fairly cheap compared to Photoshop CS3. Some people like Paintshop, I've never used it so don't know much about it. Just for something to check into.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

When I got my first digital point and shoot it came with Photoshop Elements 3 or something like that, it was a good beginning for me and it's fairly cheap compared to Photoshop CS3. Some people like Paintshop, I've never used it so don't know much about it. Just for something to check into.

Thanks for the info ontos. Had to send my camera off to get it fixed. Somehow I managed to scratch the sensor. Don't ask me how but I did it. Know I'll be without it for at least a week, crap. Oh well, life goes on.

 

[GrauGeist]

Which Photoshop would you suggest for someone as ignorant as I? Oh, and I'm finding out all I want to know about dust and digital cameras.

I use an older version of Photoshop, PS7.0 and have no complaints. Once in a great while, I'll use Paintshop Pro (v7.2) for photographs, but try and keep the image editing done on Photoshop, because it keeps the photo's XIF data (embedded info) intact.

The only complaint I have about my Pentax, is that it saves the image as a .PED file, which is a RAW format that can be only opened with Pentax's imaging program. So it's a pain in the arse to extract the .JPG and then edit in PS if I have to...

Perhaps see if you can find an older version of Photoshop and practice with it, then move up to CS3 eventually.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

I've got Photoshop CS that a friend gave me but I don't believe it's legal so I've been kinda skeptical about using it.

 

[Gnomey]

It will be fine Aaron, there shouldn't be any problems with it. You can also get newer versions if you wish (I use CS3 Extended - newest is CS4). They don't add much but there are some little improvements though.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Thanks Gnomey.

 

[ontos]

I hope your warranty covers the work. I agree Photoshop CS should do everything you want. There are all kinds of free filters you can download. Can't Waite for you to get your camera back.

 

[trackend]

Just to bung in my twopence worth Aaron I have tried a few including photoshop and but have settled on Paintshop pro photo X2 mainly because I'm not very computer litrate and IMO the quick fix button (after a few minor bits of tinkering) works better than most but sorry to say its very much personal taste what you use.
As for your shots you are getting better all the time and IMO thats because of familiarity with your camera and technic all the books and advice in the world will not beat getting out and taking shots if someone has a camera in the draw at home then only taking it out during vacation time they cant expect to learn or improve. The thirds rule (the composition should be divided into three equal amounts) which is banded about in most Photographic books and clubs included over here The RPS (Royal Photographic Society), IMO is only very general as some subject matters such as your very nice car pictures which are semi record shots need the subject matter to dominate however you have very successfully included sufficiant background specialy on the street scenes in front of the stores to place the image in context.
Keep taking Aaron you are doing great if you want to go joining a photographic club IMO is not a bad Idea but be prepared for some harsh critisim if you put a panel up for club competition I generally found it very useful but tough,though when you win or get a commendation its very gratifiing
Above all I hope you are enjoying your work, I'm enjoying looking at it and after all enjoyment is the most important thing of all
Thanks for letting us see your shots its a real pleasure and gives me a teriffic buzz watching you consistantly improving
Keep on shooting Aaron, great stuff
all the best Lee

 

[evangilder]

There are some quick fix buttons in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements as well. They do work pretty well for most photos. I use Photoshop CS2 and am happy enough with it not to upgrade quite yet. I know others who use Paintshop as well and are happy with it, so it's probably just a matter of personal preference, like Ford Vs. Chevy, etc.

GG, Have you looked into a Photoshop plug-in for the Pentax RAW? I remember having to do that with the NEF (Nikon RAW) on an earlier version of Photoshop. I downloaded an add-on from Adobe and was able to read them without having to use the Nikon Capture program.

Like taking photos, editing is also an on-going learning experience. I know I edit photos differently than 3 years ago. It will evolve as your photography evolves. What ends up happening is that you have better and better shots, and in the edit process tweak every last ounce of brilliance out of them.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Just to bung in my twopence worth Aaron I have tried a few including photoshop and but have settled on Paintshop pro photo X2 mainly because I'm not very computer litrate and IMO the quick fix button (after a few minor bits of tinkering) works better than most but sorry to say its very much personal taste what you use.
As for your shots you are getting better all the time and IMO thats because of familiarity with your camera and technic all the books and advice in the world will not beat getting out and taking shots if someone has a camera in the draw at home then only taking it out during vacation time they cant expect to learn or improve. The thirds rule (the composition should be divided into three equal amounts) which is banded about in most Photographic books and clubs included over here The RPS (Royal Photographic Society), IMO is only very general as some subject matters such as your very nice car pictures which are semi record shots need the subject matter to dominate however you have very successfully included sufficiant background specialy on the street scenes in front of the stores to place the image in context.
Keep taking Aaron you are doing great if you want to go joining a photographic club IMO is not a bad Idea but be prepared for some harsh critisim if you put a panel up for club competition I generally found it very useful but tough,though when you win or get a commendation its very gratifiing
Above all I hope you are enjoying your work, I'm enjoying looking at it and after all enjoyment is the most important thing of all
Thanks for letting us see your shots its a real pleasure and gives me a teriffic buzz watching you consistantly improving
Keep on shooting Aaron, great stuff
all the best Lee

Thank you Lee. I do have a lot of fun with it and am missing the crap out of my camera this weak. I try very hard to get the photos to turn out as they looked to the naked eye at the time of the shot. Sometimes it cannot be done though. I am extremely flattered that you guys like what you see but at the same time I know I still have a lot to learn. Again, thank you.