My Spring Wildflower Ride

[Dr. Strangelove]

Michael,
Stunning, very very nice, many thanks for these.

The one of the silhouettes of the green hills is breathtaking.

Did you get bugs on your lens, pebbles?

John

[taosports]

Michael,

In the last picture, did you do any post processing or is that impossible shade of green natural?

Mike,

I do quite a bit of post processing with nearly every image I take.

I have to, to bring them closer to what I saw - to what inspired me to take the photo in the first place.

Take for example the original raw file of the photo you are referring to :



Pretty awful huh? Not even close to what I saw when I pressed the shutter. The hills are too dark, the highlights on the hilltops too subtle, the sky washed out. And yet, with a little post processing, I'm able to bring out the color of the sky, lighten the hills a bit and boost the contrast so the hilltop contours come out. I did not add anything that was not in the image - I was just able to bring it all out so that it represented what I saw.

As far as the "impossible shade of green", I'm a bit puzzled. My monitors are calibrated monthly so I know the colors are accurate...although maybe it's just a matter of perception. We all look at life through our own set of filters...it's what makes life and relationships so interesting.

[NAIAD]

I live in the Evergreen State, but have traveled some of those California roads in the past. On just the right days, that "impossible" shade of green is totally possible on some of those near-Bay area hills.

Great pictures, I have two professional photographers in the family and have seen lots of good work. Excellent job, thanks for the posts!

Ciao! BJ

[MikeCam]

Michael, Thanks. My phrase was overstated. Forgive. It is a stunning shot with an exquisite shade of green captured. Mike

[DJ Downunder]

I don't know how you do it...But I like it.....Amazing pictures...Thanks.

DJ

[rdsmith3]

These are really great pictures.

I would be nervous about having a Canon 5D on a mount like that, but the shot certainly worked well.

How many different lenses were used for these shots?

[taosports]

Bob,

I agree it is a bit risky attaching an expensive piece of equipment on the end of that arm but sometimes the risks are worth the results. In this case, it certainly worked for me although I'm not completely happy with the image. I like the way the yellow center line leads the viewer's eye up the road...just wish the road was curved rather than straight and wish there was something more scenic in the distance. Anyway, it has me wanting to go out and try it again and also a few other angles.

As far as the equipment, I'm a staff photographer for a large metro newspaper so I have all of the equipment I need at my disposal. They give me 2 Canon Mark 3's, the 5D and lenses starting at 14mm all the way up to a 400mm 2.8 lens.This equipment is given to me and all repairs are paid for by my employer...so you can see why it's easier for me to take risks for an unusual shot.

Anyway, for the photos I posted in this thread, I used a 100-400mm zoom, 24-70mm zoom, 55mm macro lens w/ a 2X closeup filter, and a 14mm.

[dragonmojo]

WOW - incredible pictures! That series look like something from a National Geographic magazine, where lots of hours and photographers were involved. VERY NICE. (I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy.)

There was a local area BMW rider who passed away last December (2007), who was a National Geographic photojournalist (Life and Look magazines too, I believe). We never rode together the few occasions we've met, but I've been to his house in Placerville, CA where he had a den full of magazines on shelves lining every wall... with issues that contained his contributions. Jack Fields was his name.

These photos from Taosports are wonderful.

[dragonmojo]

Bob,

As far as the equipment, I'm a staff photographer

You're Chinese aren't you?

[iowabeakster]

Thanks Michael.

Since my question about that expensive gear hanging off the side has been answered...How about the bird picture??

Nice shot. I am guessing it was hand held? What was the: lens/shutter speed/distance/cropping/ etc. to get that one?

[taosports]

Thanks Michael.

Since my question about that expensive gear hanging off the side has been answered...How about the bird picture??

Nice shot. I am guessing it was hand held? What was the: lens/shutter speed/distance/cropping/ etc. to get that one?

Thanks! Yes, hand held. Too difficult to follow on a tripod and with a fast shutter speed, a tripod is redundant. Shot with my 100-400mm zoom at 400mm. Shutter speed was 1/2000 only because I was shooting in the AV mode. 1/1000 or even 1/500 shutter would have been adequate. The hawk was quite a distance away...only took about 1/10 of the entire frame, but the image held nicely blown up thanks to the camera's excellent image sensor. I always shoot at the highest jpeg setting the camera will allow. That way, if you have an image that needs to be blown up to the extreme such as this one, it will hold together nicely.

[disco_jon75]

Great pics! Tell us about your bike! Also, any recommendations on a good camera for someone getting started in photography? I sort of prefer digital due to a personal hatred of having to get stuff developed and don't want to bother learning to do it myself.

[taosports]

Great pics! Tell us about your bike! Also, any recommendations on a good camera for someone getting started in photography? I sort of prefer digital due to a personal hatred of having to get stuff developed and don't want to bother learning to do it myself.

Thanks Jon. Need more info from you to recommend any type of camera. Check out the following website and answer the questionnaire to help narrow the choices for a good camera that will fit your budget and needs.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp

[maduko]

I blame you.

Your post inspired me to break down and buy a "real" camera. Borrowing the wife's Casio was no longer sufficient.

I ended up buying an Olympus E-410 and love it.

Thanks.

[taosports]

I blame you.
...

Sorry!

Seriously though, glad you found a camera that you like. The 28-85mm zoom is a great first lens. I say "first" because if you really get hooked on photography, you'll be buying more!

Take lot's of photos and enjoy!

And don't forget to share some with us.

[gunga din]

taosports
Glad you let us look at what you see.

thanks
gunga

[GypsyRR]

We all look at life through our own set of filters...it's what makes life and relationships so interesting.

Well, that certainly explains why everyone doesn't see things the way I do in life!! But I fear my filters are scratched, smudged, and beyond redemption.

Micahel - do any of those lenses every come up for sale? I've been wanting a 55mm macro for a while.

[taosports]

Michael - do any of those lenses ever come up for sale? I've been wanting a 55mm macro for a while.

Kristi,

If you were a starving photojournalism student living in the San Francisco area, you'd have all the equipment you could want. All of our used equipment is donated to various local photography schools. We have a staff of 18 photographers so the schools are well equipped!

[disco_jon75]

Great links to the camera site... I'm drooling over the Olympus E-510 with the 14-42MM lens and the 40-150MM lens. Its probably "more camera" than I need, but man.. Its sweet.

[Airman]

Great links to the camera site... I'm drooling over the Olympus E-510 with the 14-42MM lens and the 40-150MM lens. Its probably "more camera" than I need, but man.. Its sweet.

Jon,

I'm a Nikon D-70 owner and could not be happier with it. I think today one of the finest cameras available to serious photographers that won't break your bank is the Nikon D-40. I saw some really good package prices back before Christmas on the D-40. I have 2 lenses and that covers the range from 28-315 mm. (35mm equivalent lengths)