Anthony 1,104 Posted 6 April Portrait of a demonstrator at the Black Country Outdoor Museum. Despite appearances in this posed shot, he was a friendly and helpful person. The main activity in this forge was making chains. In the olden days this forge would have been primarily used by a female chain maker, and situated in her back yard. The men did heavier work, but chain making was certainly very hard work. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clactonian 209 Posted 7 April Nice environmental portraits. Maybe lift the shadows and increase the contrast a touch? Still trying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,104 Posted 7 April 47 minutes ago, Clactonian said: Nice environmental portraits. Maybe lift the shadows and increase the contrast a touch? Thank you, Mike. The shadows are already boosted quite a lot. It was very dark in the forge, pretty much as you see in the photo. I did not have a flash, but perhaps that would have changed the atmosphere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clactonian 209 Posted 8 April 20 hours ago, Anthony said: Thank you, Mike. The shadows are already boosted quite a lot. It was very dark in the forge, pretty much as you see in the photo. I did not have a flash, but perhaps that would have changed the atmosphere. Then you have maximised the opportunity. I agree that a flash would have ruined the atmosphere unless you had a complex setup and all the time in the world to get the power levels right. Still trying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,104 Posted 9 April On 08/04/2020 at 09:45, Clactonian said: Then you have maximised the opportunity. I agree that a flash would have ruined the atmosphere unless you had a complex setup and all the time in the world to get the power levels right. Thanks, I was on a family visit, so no chance of any sort of setup! I used the same technique as I use in a church, which is to make use of the (almost) ISO-less nature of the Fuji sensor (made by Sony). This means I can shoot at a low ISO and then bring up the shadows in pp, and have the same quality of boost to the shadows as if I had shot at a high ISO. The benefit of this is that it enables the highlights to be preserved. I did not want to blow out the window, and I definitely wanted to capture the flames and the red hot metal. I believe Nikon sensors are also made by Sony, so the same technique may be useful with Nikons. The main downside is that the image is almost unusable for preview purposes without some initial exposure adjustment. Here is the embedded jpeg included in the raw file with no adjustment applied. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dallas 3,068 Posted 9 April 31 minutes ago, Anthony said: I believe Nikon sensors are also made by Sony, so the same technique may be useful with Nikons. Is this not because Fujifilm is using an X-trans array? Sorry, I don't really keep up with these sorts of things. My Gear List | Angle Of View Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clactonian 209 Posted 9 April It is interesting that I have found the same technique works best for me. The more recent crop of sensors seem to give a huge amount of latitude when it comes to post processing. I can also sympathise with your situation with regard to family and friends accompanying you. Most of my travels are in the company of non-photographers, which in itself proves quite a challenge when trying get the right shot. We do suffer for our art!! Still trying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,104 Posted 9 April 50 minutes ago, Dallas said: Is this not because Fujifilm is using an X-trans array? Sorry, I don't really keep up with these sorts of things. I don't think that this is exclusive to Fuji. It is to do with the underlying electronics of the sensor, not whether the array is Bayer or X-Trans. I am getting to the limits of my technical knowledge! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
