Hello everybody

[jds9000]

Great to see DP evolving again .... and going from strength to strength.
Great job all round

Look forward to many a 'discussion' ....

Jay

[jds9000]

Re: Hello everybody

Aaaaahhhhh

Just seen .... I officially a 'forum newbie'

Jay

[Ian]

Re: Hello everybody

Aaaaahhhhh

Just seen .... I officially a 'forum newbie'

Jay

Welcome Jay - you need to post more and earn some points to find out how to evolve beyond a Newbie

Ian

[Guest]

Re: Hello everybody

Hi Ian. What is all this about 'earning points' and evolving from a newbie. Where is the info on this if there is any? I no that I do not post very often but I regularly browse the forum and have done so almost form the inception of DPNow. Also can you explain the designation of 'Forum Moderator' , what is their purpose and who appoints them.? Just interested that's all.

[Ian]

Re: Hello everybody

Hi Ian. What is all this about 'earning points' and evolving from a newbie. Where is the info on this if there is any? I no that I do not post very often but I regularly browse the forum and have done so almost form the inception of DPNow. Also can you explain the designation of 'Forum Moderator' , what is their purpose and who appoints them.? Just interested that's all.

OK - it's just something that comes with vBulletin. You can earn points by making posts and others can send you points by adding to your 'reputation' - that's the scales icon you can see.

The points allocation and ratings are currently set (see attached picture) but I could play with these to make them more fun.

A moderator has the power to remove or move messages. They are really there to prevent trolls from spoiling things for everyone else. They can also help in the event you are stuck concerning the operation of the board.

Ian

[chicagonature]

Re: Hello everybody

Hi..............

[Ian]

Re: Hello everybody

Hi Chicagonature - I guess you must be from the Windy City? Been there several times but not since the mid-90s. Used to have friends in Naperville - I remember taking the double decker train into the city

From our chat on another thread you clearly value resolving power. Curiosity makes me ask what kind of photography you are interested in.

Ian

[Pops]

Re: Hello everybody

Hello Chicagonature and welcome

[John Perriment]

Re: Hello everybody

Hi Chicagonature. From you username I assume you are into wildlife/landscape photography - I'd love to see some pictures from your part of the world.

[chicagonature]

Re: Hello everybody

Hi Chicagonature - I guess you must be from the Windy City? Been there several times but not since the mid-90s. Used to have friends in Naperville - I remember taking the double decker train into the city

From our chat on another thread you clearly value resolving power. Curiosity makes me ask what kind of photography you are interested in.

Ian

Hi Chicagonature. From you username I assume you are into wildlife/landscape photography - I'd love to see some pictures from your part of the world.

Thanks for asking.

My photographic specialty is celebrating the biodiversity of the rare high quality habitats of the immediate Chicago area like the prairies and savannas (one of the rarest habitats on earth). I know, you might think that "Chicago nature" is an oxymoron, but it's really not. For years, there was even a magazine called Chicago Wilderness, until the economy crashed. My website is www.ChicagoNature.com and you can also see this article that came out recently Outdoor Photographer Magazine Article - November, 2011.

I mainly shoot landscapes that give people an experience, a feeling, of the place, which is lacking in images of this area because, to be honest, it's so challenging. Instead of fleeing to The West to shoot inherently photogenic landscapes, I remained in flat Midwest and decided to make it my mission to create images that are just as dramatic. Since they say that "necessity is the mother of invention," over the years I've developed several techniques of composition and light to, for instance, "restore the 3rd dimension." In doing so, I push the lens in VERY CLOSE to the foreground subject (from the image plane: down to 17 inches with medium format film and 9 inches with the occasional Nikon D300), which is why Ian has been dealing with my questions over the last couple of days about diffraction caused by stopping down all the way to f/32 on my medium format Pentax 645NII film camera using a 33-55mm lens at 33mm. That would be the equivalent to about a 21mm lens at f/20.6 on a 35mm full-frame camera--in my case the new D800 or D800E (which I have on pre-order). So, my style of landscape photography goes to the extreme in terms of depth of field.

Ian, I actually live very close to Naperville in the western edge of Downers Grove.

So, there ya have it and thanks again for asking.

Mike

[Ian]

Re: Hello everybody

Thanks for the insight, Mike!

Our friends who used to live in Naperville moved to Kansas some years ago. I don't know if you have seen the movie The Lake House with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, but the scene where Bullock forgets her book at the railway station - the station near where our friends lived in Naperville could have been the very same.

Anyway - I will have a good look at your photos and report back!

Ian

[John Perriment]

Re: Hello everybody

Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing the links to your website and that Outdoor Photographer article. It's unusual to see pictures from the prairies and your photographs are stunning. From your galleries I particularly liked "Awakening" and "Dreams in the Snow," although they are all brilliant and it's almost impossible to pick favourites.

Having seen your style of photography I can see why such a small aperture is necessary and why you have concerns about diffraction. It might be worth contacting Nikon's technical department to seek clarification about diffraction being more of an issue with the D800E. I guess what you really need is for them to loan you a camera for testing when it is available.

[chicagonature]

Re: Hello everybody

Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing the links to your website and that Outdoor Photographer article. It's unusual to see pictures from the prairies and your photographs are stunning. From your galleries I particularly liked "Awakening" and "Dreams in the Snow," although they are all brilliant and it's almost impossible to pick favourites.

Having seen your style of photography I can see why such a small aperture is necessary and why you have concerns about diffraction. It might be worth contacting Nikon's technical department to seek clarification about diffraction being more of an issue with the D800E. I guess what you really need is for them to loan you a camera for testing when it is available.

John,

Thanks for your appreciation.

"Dreams in the Snow" is unique in that it shows the magical effect of windblown marram grass.

I have a D800E on pre-order, but I may switch to the D800 and according to B&H Photo, I will NOT lose my place in line and have to start over. I will double-check, but it may be based on the Order Number.

But, I've been learning that I may benefit greatly by simply doing what I already do now with my digital image: intelligently use Photoshop to make the image pop.

I don't even think that a tilt-shift lens will entirely help me either. That's because, from what I can tell, the depth-of-field is very narrow (effectively comes to a point) when very close to the camera, hence I don't know if I can readily get the shots of the grasses in the foreground. Plus, Nikon doesn't have any TS lenses wider than 24mm, which for my purposes of photographing the prairie and savanna, is almost as impractical as a telephoto. I seldomly shoot these landscapes with lens longer than 21mm.

Thanks!
Mike