Laid to Rest

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

My one and only other shot from my short visit to the isle of Mull last week, well several shots really as it's another one of my huge 15 shot stitched pano's - over 4 foot long at a native 240 PPI.

Yet again a bit of a cliché where the grass is worn away and lots of deep tripod holes made by the never ending queue of photographers waiting in line to get a shot, but what the heck, it was a nice day and I had my camera with me, so I took my turn and here is my version.

Dave

[Tony Jay]

Wonderful result Dave.
Congratulations!

Regards

Tony Jay

[RSL]

A very fine shot, Dave. My only beef is that on my monitor, at least, the tones, especially in the boats, seem a bit low.

[amolitor]

Possibly my quibble is actually your goal, but I find that the tones of the boats and the ground are too close and I find the boats always on the verge of visual chaos. It takes a second to sort out that there are two boats, and where they end, and where the ground is. This might be, as I said, your aim, something about the dead boats merging with the earth? I find it visually uncomfortable, though.

The curved lines of boats, landscapes and sky are quite nice, though. The format works very very well.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Possibly my quibble is actually your goal, but I find that the tones of the boats and the ground are too close and I find the boats always on the verge of visual chaos. It takes a second to sort out that there are two boats, and where they end, and where the ground is. This might be, as I said, your aim, something about the dead boats merging with the earth? I find it visually uncomfortable, though.

The curved lines of boats, landscapes and sky are quite nice, though. The format works very very well.

Hi amolitor - yes I suppose as they rot gently into the sand and earth, they will indeed take on the same colouration. There are three boats BTW, the third larger boat at the back is a relative newcomer.

Do you view these images through a correctly calibrated monitor? I mean fair enough, the colours are close, but on my PC they don't really merge anywhere near as much as you seem to being seeing them, so is it me or is it you?

Here is another version of the shot I took some years back, when there was indeed only two boats and slightly less rotted back then, taken from the opposite point of view and yes it is another huge pano.

Dave

[amolitor]

My monitor is not calibrated, no. It is an iMac, and I am given to understand that they're surprisingly good straight out of the box, but it's not calibrated.

This is definitely a problem with shooting for monitors (even if the monitor is just for marketing purposes and the business is prints) you really have a limited palette to work with, all visual cues have to be blunt and dramatic to guarantee they can be seen at all on the majority of monitors, which kinda sucks.

Looking at it again, I find I am kind of starting to like the ambiguity of the edges and the blending. Having thought 'maybe he meant....' now I can't see it any other way, and I think it works.

[Riaan van Wyk]

I definitely prefer the second ( older) version Dave.

Talking about cliches, I had a horrible time last year when I visited a popular photography spot along our coast. Being my first time to a "if you are a landscape photographer you have to one day go there" place and seeing photos taken by the top photographers in my side of the valley of it, I was quite keen to have a go myself.

And I got stuck. I walked the beach for six days, got very wet and just couldn't get to shoot anything. It felt like I had stagefright, as if the expectation was there to come back every morning and afternoon with a keeper, being in such a wonderfully photogenic place.

I have since come to the conclusion that well compacted tripod holes scare me, so does waiting in line to photograph a scene.

[Kerry L]

Yet again a bit of a cliché where the grass is worn away and lots of deep tripod holes made by the never ending queue of photographers waiting in line to get a shot, but what the heck, it was a nice day and I had my camera with me, so I took my turn and here is my version.

Dave

Looks like it was worth your time to wait.

Well done to get a 15 shot pano and to be able to hold the clouds.

Kerry

[RSL]

I like the earlier shot best too, Dave. Interesting that the boats appear to be moored, as if they're going to cast off and sail again. Beautiful shot.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Well done to get a 15 shot pano and to be able to hold the clouds.

Kerry

I have been doing panos for so long now, that I suppose I have it off to a fine art (working the scene that is). I set everything up slowly and deliberately and work out where I am going to start and where I am hopefully going to stop. Then when everything is ready to go, I fire away until the buffer fills, which seems to allow me to get up to 15 shots in a matter of a few seconds, depending if the buffer can clear away the first shots fast enough before I am taking the last shots.

Dave

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

A very fine shot, Dave. My only beef is that on my monitor, at least, the tones, especially in the boats, seem a bit low.

Mmm, not on mine, but I suppose it is a bit of a low key shot. I have my monitor setup with a Spyder pro 3 permanently connected that scans the ambient room lighting levels every few seconds and then modifies the screen on the fly if needed. But I suppose it could be on the blink, I will recalibrate and reset.

Dave

[Jim Pascoe]

I have my monitor setup with a Spyder pro 3 permanently connected that scans the ambient room lighting levels every few seconds and then modifies the screen on the fly if needed. But I suppose it could be on the blink, I will recalibrate and reset.

Dave

Crikey Dave - is it just me or is that a bit OCD!

Jim

[lfeagan]

I have my monitor setup with a Spyder pro 3 permanently connected that scans the ambient room lighting levels every few seconds and then modifies the screen on the fly if needed.

Ok, I am impressed. What software are you using to do this? (X-Rite user here, so I have never used the software that comes with a Spyder).

[kikashi]

Crikey Dave - is it just me or is that a bit OCD!

Jim

It's not particularly rarefied. My Huey does it as well. I set it and forget it.

Jeremy

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Crikey Dave - is it just me or is that a bit OCD!

Jim

OCD and being totally obsessed with photography, aren't they one and the same thing? I mean we are on the LuLa forum here, run by a certain Mr Reichmann and with major contributions from a certain Mr Schewe, the undisputed high priests of OCD photography in my book and much the better for being so I think. So please forgive me, but I thought you had to be a card carrying member of the OCD photographers union to get in here 

Yes, sarcasm is definitely the lowest form of wit..

lfeagan, the software the spyder 3 runs is the software it came with and as Kikashi mentions it is no biggie really, it is just something you can set it up to do.

Dave

[Jim Pascoe]

But I thought I was obsessed!  Obviously there are different levels of the disease.

Jim

PS - I too prefer the second picture - very nice.

[RSL]

Guess I'd better get out my Spyder 3 and plug it in.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Guess I'd better get out my Spyder 3 and plug it in.

    

[WalterEG]

There is a merge of form and tonality that renders the effort expended only have the task to do.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

There is a merge of form and tonality that renders the effort expended only have the task to do.

Sorry Walter, but I don't understand

Dave