Picture of the Day (Dial-up internet users enter at own risk!)

[T_R_Oglodyte]

VOG Front Advancing on Mauna Loa

A view of Mauna Loa from the parking lot at the Jarrett Museum and Observatory at Kilauea summit. The haze on the left side of the photo is sulfurous and sulfuric acid VOG created by emissions from the Kilauea vent.

The air quality was every bit as bad as it appears in the photo. We drove through that VOG cloud on our way to the summit, and visibility was less than 100 feet in places as we made the ascent from Punalu'u. As we drove through the VOG, I wasn't affected, but many others in our party had burning eyes and rasping throats and coughs.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Fumarole in Halemaʻumaʻu crater

Here are some photos of Halemaʻumaʻu crater on Kilauea summit, and the fumarole in Halemaʻumaʻu that is the primary source of sulfur dioxide creating the VOG in the photo I posted above.

 

[SDKath]

Steve:

Do you shoot in RAW? I have found that the exposure is so much easier to adjust in the Photoshop RAW plug in (or Lightroom) than just a photo editing software.

Katherine

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Steve:

Do you shoot in RAW? I have found that the exposure is so much easier to adjust in the Photoshop RAW plug in (or Lightroom) than just a photo editing software.

Katherine

I wish. But that will have to wait until I can afford to upgrade to DSLR. In the meantime, I shoot at maximum file size, and do my work on the photos as .PSP files (ProPhoto format). After I'm finished I save the file in both PSP and JPEG format.

 

[jerseyfinn]

. . . that will have to wait until I can afford to upgrade to DSLR

Trog,

I had sort of the same dilemma several months ago when my trusty Sony P&S goes to camera heaven.

Cold logic said move up to DSLR, but my heart said that I'm kind of used to having the ease of a P&S kit which is more pocket friendly. I looked at the DSLRs and came close to pulling the trigger, but in the end, I stick with the P&S and I pick up a Canon G9. It's a fully manual P&S camera with all of the other shooting modes as well. The icing on the cake is that it also shoots RAW or JPG+RAW. I'd take a gander at the G9. Maybe some of the other manufactures may also have a P&S RAW model out there now as well.

Nice captures of the caldera. It wasn't that active when we were there a few years ago.

Barry

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Trog,

I had sort of the same dilemma several months ago when my trusty Sony P&S goes to camera heaven.

Cold logic said move up to DSLR, but my heart said that I'm kind of used to having the ease of a P&S kit which is more pocket friendly. I looked at the DSLRs and came close to pulling the trigger, but in the end, I stick with the P&S and I pick up a Canon G9. It's a fully manual P&S camera with all of the other shooting modes as well. The icing on the cake is that it also shoots RAW or JPG+RAW. I'd take a gander at the G9. Maybe some of the other manufactures may also have a P&S RAW model out there now as well.

Nice captures of the caldera. It wasn't that active when we were there a few years ago.

Barry

My P&S (Kodak Z612) is also full featured as well; I bought it a bit over one year ago and it was just about as high end as you could go at that time in the P&S market. It also has a 12x optical zoom, which is great for taking pictures of belching fumaroles inside active calderas!!!!! It also has some attachments that allow me to use polarizing and UV filters, which is quite nice. I shoot most of my photos in aperture priority mode so that I can control the depth of field. Not being able to shoot in RAW isn't really a complaint; it's really more a nicety; complaints are problems that actually degrade photos. In that regard my primary complaints with the camera are:

1. there are a couple of missing - but needed - auto focus points. It shows up most often when zoomed in on a distant object.

2. there's some chromatic aberration in the lens.

3. the control to advance forward and back on the display is located on the back of the camera in an location were I can't easily push the left scroll control (for example, to preview the previous picture) while I'm looking the eyepiece (which I use almost all of the time instead of the LCD display). That's a bother for reviewing previous photos but a big problem in manual focus since that is also the control that shortens the focal length. That prevents me from easily moving in the focal lengh in and out to set the focus when I'm taking a picture for which auto-focus won't work.

The camera is good enough that I can get some pretty good pictures with it, and I'm still getting better at using it. There are just certain photos that I know I can't get very well. But isn't part of the creative process learning how to work with and maximize what you can do with the tools available to you??

I've also done some checking of pictures taken with various DSLR setups, and most of the lower end DSL setups I've seen have the same aberrations. So to address that matter I would also be looking spending a minimum of $1000 on the lenses, in addition to the camera body.

At this point I can't justify upgrading - not till I get some other bills paid off.

 

[Brett]

Trog,

I had sort of the same dilemma several months ago when my trusty Sony P&S goes to camera heaven.

Cold logic said move up to DSLR, but my heart said that I'm kind of used to having the ease of a P&S kit which is more pocket friendly. I looked at the DSLRs and came close to pulling the trigger, but in the end, I stick with the P&S and I pick up a Canon G9. It's a fully manual P&S camera with all of the other shooting modes as well. The icing on the cake is that it also shoots RAW or JPG+RAW. I'd take a gander at the G9. Maybe some of the other manufactures may also have a P&S RAW model out there now as well.
Barry

I looked at the G9 but eventually settled on the Canon S5, it shoots RAW (with the CHDK program) but I generally leave the RAW mode unchecked because I haven't found it to be a big advantage over jpeg (and those large >10 MB raw files!)
many Canon P&S models shoot RAW with the CHDK programs
(http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_in_Brief

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

'Ohia Tree Turnnel on the Pihea Trail, Koke'e Park

This is the trail that starts at Kalalau Lookout and skirts the top of the cliff for another mile or so before heading to Alakai Swamp.

 

[SDKath]

I shoot RAW but after the initial corrections in RAW, I make final corrections in Photoshop (most of the time just unsharp mask) and then save as JPG. Once I am happy with the pix, I dump the RAW. Waaay too much space otherwise. I used to shoot RAW+JPG but it was taking up all my hard drive space.

I really need to upload some pix to share. Just so darn lazy... Beautiful tree lined path! WIsh I could be there with you!!!


K

 

[jerseyfinn]

I generally leave the RAW mode unchecked because I haven't found it to be a big advantage over jpeg (and those large >10 MB raw files!)

RAW remains a format used mostly by the more serious folks ( who also use D-SLRs and work with the more advanced features of Photoshop). For the rest of us, JPG suffices for its simplicity. I gravitated to the G9 simply to have the chance to dabble with RAW in a P&S camera & improve my Photoshop skills. Thus far, I rarely use RAW, though lately I've been experimenting with shooting RAW+JPG on a few limited light images to compare captures. RAW requires a little extra work during the processing step and it is a larger file. The good news is that memory cards are dropping in price making this less of an issue ( archiving your images is another issue ). I'm using this feature in the G9 to slowly acquaint myself with RAW and prepare for the day that I do finally take the plunge and go D-SLR. Like Trog, I'm trying to hold on to my money at the moment.

Additionally, RAW is not a cure all for fixing flawed photos. You gotta get the exposure in camera correct ( or close to it ) whether you shoot RAW or JPG as Photoshop has its limitations. In that regard, it's better to pay attention to your histogram in the field ( and expose to the right when in doubt ).

Judging by the images in this thread, I'd say that a lot of folks are getting the exposure correct in camera.

Barry

 

[Karen G]

08.jpg

Our daughter, her husband, and the musicians at their Cabo wedding on Pedregal Beach.

 

[Karen G]

We're all jumping for joy. That's me on the left, my husband, our daughter, our daughter the bride, our son-in-law, his mother, father, and our son.

 

[Karen G]

On a sunset cruise on the Caborey near Land's End in Cabo.

 

[Karen G]

This is how we looked when we weren't jumping.

 

[RDB]

lovely shots

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

You gotta get the exposure in camera correct ( or close to it ) whether you shoot RAW or JPG as Photoshop has its limitations. In that regard, it's better to pay attention to your histogram in the field ( and expose to the right when in doubt ).

One of the HUGE advantages of my Z612 is that it will display a live histogram, i.e., before I take the picture.

Your comments about RAW are apt. No matter what the file format is the picture will not be any better than the quality of the image delivered to and recorded by the sensor.

In that regard, the factor that will drive me to upgrade is lens quality, not file format. And as I mentioned before, entry level DSLR lenses are at most a marginal improvement over what I can capture now. So for me the upgrade isn't the jump to something such as a $1000 Rebel package; it's a minimum $2000 investment to get something that will appreciably better my current setup.

 

[swift]

Beautiful pictures Karen and beautiful family!!!

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Rainbow at Wailua Falls

It's really a "mistbow" because the bow was caused by the sun shining through the mist at the bottom of the falls.

 

[Brett]

In that regard, the factor that will drive me to upgrade is lens quality, not file format. And as I mentioned before, entry level DSLR lenses aren't at most a marginal inprovement over I can capture now. So for me the upgrade isn't the jump to something such as a $1000 Rebel package; it's a minimum $2000 investment to get something that will appreciably better my current setup.

I can agree with that statement
why carry all those extra lenses, and DSLR's don't have video!

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I can agree with that statement
why carry all those extra lenses, and DSLR's don't have video!

Even if you own DSLR, there's still a place for a good point-and-shoot camera just for the portability. There are times when it simply isn't practical to lug all of the DSLR gear around.

 

[jerseyfinn]

. . . One of the HUGE advantages of my Z612 is that it will display a live histogram, i.e., before I take the picture . . .

Yes, a previewable histogram is essential IMO as this is your best guide in the field to whether you're in the ball park or not. Some cameras also have reviewable image display along with a histogram of your capture where those parts of the captured image which are over/underexposed flash in different colors ( my Canon G, Pentax Optio W30 & my deceased Sony DSV-1 all have this feature ). It's a great way to check you work in the field and take another shot if things are too badly skewed.

Digital cameras are making photography a lot easier both for more serious amateurs and for ordinary folks who want to take nice pictures without having to work too hard at it.

Barry

 

[AwayWeGo]

Hotlinked Pictures.

Why do pictures disappear? I have noticed this quite a few times already when I look at older pictures. Does anyone know?

Sometimes I "hotlink" pictures onto TUG-BBS from other people's web sites -- i.e., I link the photo right off the web site where it's already hosted rather than downloading it from the original web site & uploading it onto my own dinky web space at my Internet company's servers.

Hotlinking is considered semi-unethical in that it trespasses on the originators' server traffic ("bandwidth") for purposes that provide no benefit to the originators.

One risk of hotlinking other people's pictures is that the photos will simply disappear when the originators catch on to the hotlinking.

A worse risk is that the originators will get even with whoever is hotlinking their images by replacing a hotlinked image with some wildly & grossly inappropriate image that has craftily been given the same filename & Internet address as the original hotlinked picture.

Say I put a hotlinked trombone picture on TUG-BBS & the originator of the trombone picture finds out & decided to strike back. The originator might not stop at deleting the trombone picture, but instead might give the same file name & Internet address to some substitute triple-X rated obscene picture. Then any time people looked at the TUG-BBS entry that was supposed to show a hotlined trombone picture, instead they'd have an inappropriate dirty picture staring them in the face & it would be all my fault -- might even get me banned for life from TUG-BBS.

Think that will keep me from hotlinking other people's pictures onto TUG-BBS now & then ?

N-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-h !

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[KristinB]

Alan,

But all of these pictures are Tugger's own pictures, and that was the question, why did some of the older pictures in this thread disappear...

So while your explanation is interesting, that's not the answer to what has happened to the pictures in this thread, LOL! The answer is that some people have run out of free space and either deleted pictures, or reorganized their albums. And since we can only edit our posts for a certain number of days, we can't go back and point to the new URLs if we have reorganized our albums...

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I missed the "Green Flash"!

These pictures were taken on Alii Drive between Kona and Keahou. The second picture is a closer zoom of the same setting sun, with clouds on the horizon brilliantly backlit.

The pictures were taken about two minutes apart. In the first photo the sun hadn't yet slipped below the horizon, but in the second the sun had set. In the time between the two pictures, while I was adjusting the camera for the second shot, there was a Green Flash. Because I was busy fumbling with the camera I didn't see it, but three other people standing nearby saw it.

 

[geoand]

Shots from out trip to Canmore last September