GB111

Here's the untouched original btw, if you are interested. -gb

Thanks all. The Salton Sea is an awesome place to shoot, but unfortunately is also being cleaned up slowly but surely. I took this one at the north end of the lake. I wish the pallet was a canoe or something, but you shoot what you can. I adjusted the pin cushion and rotated it a tad. I also worked on the noise a bit (not sure if I got most of it) and made an attempt at eliminating those halos. I also made the puddle a little bluer and darker. Better? Rags, I haven't gone out there to shoot wildlife yet even though I have a 150-600. Not a bad idea for next month before it really gets warm.. ps - This one seems a little darker for some odd reason. G

The Salton Sea in southeastern California, with a bit of artistic editing. Comments on how to make it better? gb

Pretty fun. Photographically well shot, nice placement of the rocket in the scene. I wonder what it would look like w/o the floor there - can you replace it? (might be some work)

Crowecg - To be honest the only one that works for me is the top image... it has an interesting cloud formation, although I wish there was a tad more polarization to increase the contrast (you can try adding in post using say Nik). The foreground is a bit bland. It's also dark, but I don't know if that's so much of an issue, it's just that it's missing interesting subject/geometry. The challenge is often to find the right combo of both foreground and background, often times the foreground subject being harder. You can also cut out a subject and paste it in a better background. A quick on the others: #2 has an interesting puddle but the sky is a letdown. Nothing in #3 to grab me. Numbers 4 and 5 are artistic works that may appeal to some folks, but I think there's better color combos out there. I also find the kid in the bottom shot turning away from the camera to be a minus, and he is too small in the pic (is he the subject?). Regarding getting another camera - newer ones all seem to have better and better dynamic range. I personally would consider it if you can afford it, as the diff between my old Nikon D200 and the D700 was profound (I'm now on the D800). GB

From an art festival at Bombay Beach, which is at the Salton Sea, CA (I got there a week after). Is that Me, or We? does the percentage of sky vs beach work for you?

I'm glad I don't live in the insect world Very good closeups. I really like the 2nd image's POV, it has energy. It may be a contest candidate. Nice bokeh on the lens.

Mike, they do, as the tide comes in and wets them. They don't look all that great when soaked, but I think as they dry that there's a pt where they glow. Too bad I live a ways from here, or I could expt with them.

From the beach in Del Mar, California. I sorta like it. It isn't super hard to get shots like this, but you have to be patient and the lighting needs to cooperate. It was a bit muted outside that day.

They aren't too bad there. They are documentary-style for sure, which is OK. I like the top one, tells a story. Not sure about the middle, I think it would be much more effective if you were shooting from the opposite side. This is esp true for the bottom shot, should be from the front. Here's an example of the head on angle from thoughtco.com. I think you already know about it, must be challenging to get that angle.. another catch here is, you only get a few sec to get the shot!

I think they're pretty solid Dallas. I would probably zoom/crop in a little myself but that would turn them more into photojournalism. Nice work. GB

Thanks Dallas. I like how every shot counts, as I get 15 to a roll. I of course like the large slide size too. But the best thing about the Mamiya is the quality of the lenses! They put any of the Nikon lenses I have to shame, including the 24-70mm f2.8.

Yep! I think it's Ektachrome VS (long since discontinued).

Alan, I like your shot but feel that it could be a tad sharper on the face of the tank (or whatever it is) closest to us. There seems to be a slight loss of detail there. I like the vanishing point. The effect works. It is tightly composed and I think it works in that respect also. I have a medium format film camera, may start shooting it more often. It is kind of hard for me to go back from digital - where you can immediately see what you have.

Coronado, California. Fun walking around with a medium format camera (Mamiya 645) and looking like a photo kook. A lot of people today have never heard of a MF film camera, much less seen one.