Your R System Images - November 2023

[AOC]

Hi Art,

A stunning set of images, each one brimming with detail, colour and fascination for the viewer - but the eagle owl is just absolutely mind-blowing.

We also would like to give you a big hand for the last image...

P&K

LOL

 

[dgphoto8]

A couple of gets taken this November recently. The last one is a rare rail glove in the wilds of Huntley Meadows park View attachment 22373
Sharp-shinned Hawk in the wetlands of Neabsco Creek in Woodbridge VA

View attachment 22374
Sharp-shinned Hawk in the wetlands of Neabsco Creek in Woodbridge VA


View attachment 22376

Huntley Meadows Cattail seeds in the wind

View attachment 22377
Eurasian eagle owl at Earthquest

View attachment 22378
Kingfisher perch at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria VA

View attachment 22379
Red-tailed Hawk at Earthquest presentation

View attachment 22380
Elusive Rail Glove in search of its soul mate at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria VA

Great bird photos, I love kingfishers. And fortunately, the wind didn’t blow over all the glove fingers except one…

 

[AOC]

Great bird photos, I love kingfishers. And fortunately, the wind didn’t blow over all the glove fingers except one…

 

[ACEkin]

Give randomness a chance. From today's short walk.

 

[PKM-UK]

Give randomness a chance. From today's short walk.

View attachment 22397View attachment 22398View attachment 22399

Hi Cemal,

Three eye-catching images featuring an absorbing array of vibrant colours and rich textures - a combination of camera and post processing techniques?



P&K

 

[ACEkin]

Hi Cemal,

Three eye-catching images featuring an absorbing array of vibrant colours and rich textures - a combination of camera and post processing techniques?



P&K

Thank you, Phil & Karen. These are mostly done in camera, a combination of ICM and multiple exposures on one frame.

 

[AOC]

Give randomness a chance. From today's short walk.

View attachment 22397View attachment 22398View attachment 22399

Nice gets. Love the colors and sense of movement you created in camera. I took some similar shots this fall using water reflections but did not use ICM

 

[ACEkin]

Nice gets. Love the colors and sense of movement you created in camera. I took some similar shots this fall using water reflections but did not use ICM

Thank you, AOC. As Pasteur said, luck favors the prepared mind! These are four exposures combined in the camera by the camera. As it generally yields low contrast and pale images, I had to tweak the tonal structure a little.

 

[David Berry]

Full speed to zero in two seconds …​

Far Eastern Curlew (endangered), Moreton Bay, Queensland, AU​

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Far Eastern Curlew : Numenius madagascariensis
Endangered Species
Moreton Bay, Queensland
27°S; 153°E Zoom map as necessary.
camera—subject: 56 metres​

---

• Can anyone comment on DxO's camera-to-subject calculations?

… David

 

[PKM-UK]

Full speed to zero in two seconds …​

Far Eastern Curlew (endangered), Moreton Bay, Queensland, AU​

View attachment 22409

View attachment 22410

View attachment 22411

View attachment 22412

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Far Eastern Curlew : Numenius madagascariensis
Endangered Species
Moreton Bay, Queensland
27°S; 153°E Zoom map as necessary.
camera—subject: 56 metres​

---

• Can anyone comment on DxO's camera-to-subject calculations?

… David

Hi David,

A beautifully executed approach and landing - and an equally appealing set of captures.

A wonderful creature, with those backgrounds helping to enhance the already particularly pleasing colours of the plumage. Great eye catch-light too!


Could you clarify what you mean by 'DxO's camera-to-subject calculations'? (I'm not sure what it is you're asking - which may well mean I'm not the right person to answer).

Phil

 

[AOC]

razor sharp series

 

[ACEkin]

Another frame with the help of randomness and luck. Multiple exposures in one frame, post-processed

for tonal and color structure.

 

[Only RF]

Lake Winnipeg is the 12th largest in the world. Freeze up started and then the water level dropped.

 

[PKM-UK]

Another frame with the help of randomness and luck. Multiple exposures in one frame, post-processedView attachment 22466 for tonal and color structure.

Hi Cemal,

Another riot of colour and eye-contorting textures.

Thank you for sharing...

P&K

 

[PKM-UK]

Lake Winnipeg is the 12th largest in the world. Freeze up started and then the water level dropped.

View attachment 22497View attachment 22499View attachment 22500

Hi Only RF,

Suddenly we're not feeling so bad about the (relatively) low temperatures here this morning!

A spectacular sight - the B&W treatment works particularly well...

P&K

 

[Only RF]

Hi Only RF,

Suddenly we're not feeling so bad about the (relatively) low temperatures here this morning!

A spectacular sight - the B&W treatment works particularly well...

P&K

Thanks. I have Topaz B&W effects but I stopped using them. I have considered others but even with Topaz I could never decide what to pick. I found some videos on how use LrC and while keeping Ansel Adams in mind as best as I can I just go nuts with B&W mix panel and Linear/Radial masking. Sometimes I have up 50 masks but did not for these.

 

[Only RF]

In the spring I'll take some shots from the wind pushing the ice towards the shore and breaking up resulting in sometimes 20 ft high pile ups. It is also a very shallow lake with moving sandbars. Our friends a sailboat with a fixed keel and were always worried about hitting a sandbar in big swells. They have rescued stuck people more than once. They sold that boat

As for cold these were on a river. -32 Celsius and that not include the North wind that day. It gets crispy up here.

 

[PKM-UK]

Thanks. I have Topaz B&W effects but I stopped using them. I have considered others but even with Topaz I could never decide what to pick. I found some videos on how use LrC and while keeping Ansel Adams in mind as best as I can I just go nuts with B&W mix panel and Linear/Radial masking. Sometimes I have up 50 masks but did not for these.

Hi Only RF,

Everyone has their own workflow and I always find it very interesting to read how people have gone about things.

LrC has some excellent B&W capabilities which I'll sometimes use, but more often I'll veer off into DxO Nik Collection and/ or FilmPack - whichever route I head off down the permutations (as you note) are almost infinite and I tend to end up in a 'yes-no' comparison game on which option I prefer.

This process usually cements the foundations of one of my favourite sayings - an image is never finished, you just stop fiddling around with it...

Phil

 

[Only RF]

Hi Only RF,

Everyone has their own workflow and I always find it very interesting to read how people have gone about things.

LrC has some excellent B&W capabilities which I'll sometimes use, but more often I'll veer off into DxO Nick Collection and/ or FilmPack - whichever route I head off down the permutations (as you note) are almost infinite and I tend to end up in a 'yes-no' comparison game on which option I prefer.

This process usually cements the foundations of one of my favourite sayings - an image is never finished, you just stop fiddling around with it...

Phil

I knew you used something and tried to find it. NIK and FlimPak. I've seen some nice stuff from those.

 

[PKM-UK]

In the spring I'll take some shots from the wind pushing the ice towards the shore and breaking up resulting in sometimes 20 ft high pile ups. It is also a very shallow lake with moving sandbars. Our friends a sailboat with a fixed keel and were always worried about hitting a sandbar in big swells. They have rescued stuck people more than once. They sold that boat

As for cold these were on a river. -32 Celsius and that not include the North wind that day. It gets crispy up here.

Crikey. In England there's a tendency for the entire road network to descend into chaos once we have to scrape the car window in the morning...

(The Welsh and Scots are made of sturdier stuff!).



Phil

 

[PKM-UK]

Our final images for this month are from a recent visit to Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, Wales.

(Shot raw and processed using: DxO PhotoLab Elite/ ViewPoint and Adobe Lightroom Classic/ Photoshop with TK-9 Panels).

You can find out more about Caernarfon Castle Here and Here.

Phil and Karen


1. Caernarfon Castle sits on the banks of the River Seiont. The first fortification on the site was a motte-and-bailey castle built in the late 11th century.

2. In 1283 King Edward I of England and his military architect Master James of St George began to replace the original structure with a stone castle, town walls and a quay all at the same time. This gigantic building project took 47 years and cost a staggering £25,000.

3. In 1294 the town and castle were sacked and captured by Madog ap Llywelyn, the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales, but they were recaptured the following year.

4. When the Tudor dynasty ascended to the English throne in 1485, tensions between the Welsh and English began to diminish and Caernarfon Castle was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair.

5. From the 1870’s the British government funded repairs to the Castle and it was used for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1911 (Edward VIII) and again in 1969 (Charles - now King Charles III).

6. In 1986, Caernarfon Castle (along with King Edward I’s other castles at Conwy, Beaumaris and Harlech) was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. It is managed by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service.

(Sources: Cadw, Wikipedia).

 

[PKM-UK]

I knew you used something and tried to find it. NIK and FlimPak. I've seen some nice stuff from those.

Hi Only RF,

I'm spoilt for choice really - the first thing I have to decide is which route to head off in.

(This is before I get to experiment with the myriad of options and adjustments... ).

Note these are not R System images, but they are screen captures of an R System image, so I hope they still qualify as acceptable!

Phil


1. DxO Nik Collection (which has various apps capable of B&W/ film/ camera treatments, but the bespoke B&W app is Silver Efex. The Nik Collection can be run as a standalone app or via DxO PhotoLab, Adobe LrC/ Photoshop).

2. DxO FilmPack (this can also be run standalone or via DxO PhotoLab, Adobe LrC/ Photoshop).

3. DxO PhotoLab Elite (which has it's own native B&W capabilities as well as having access to the functions and tools from DxO FilmPack).

4. Adobe Lightroom Classic.

5. Adobe Photoshop.

6. Topaz Labs Studio 2 (now discontinued, but still working for the moment and offering various B&W options).

 

[Only RF]

Thanks so much for the examples.

 

[Hali]

Our final images for this month are from a recent visit to Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, Wales.

(Shot raw and processed using: DxO PhotoLab Elite/ ViewPoint and Adobe Lightroom Classic/ Photoshop with TK-9 Panels).

You can find out more about Caernarfon Castle Here and Here.

Phil and Karen


1. Caernarfon Castle sits on the banks of the River Seiont. The first fortification on the site was a motte-and-bailey castle built in the late 11th century.

View attachment 22522

2. In 1283 King Edward I of England and his military architect Master James of St George began to replace the original structure with a stone castle, town walls and a quay all at the same time. This gigantic building project took 47 years and cost a staggering £25,000.

View attachment 22523

3. In 1294 the town and castle were sacked and captured by Madog ap Llywelyn, the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales, but they were recaptured the following year.

View attachment 22524

4. When the Tudor dynasty ascended to the English throne in 1485, tensions between the Welsh and English began to diminish and Caernarfon Castle was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair.

View attachment 22525

5. From the 1870’s the British government funded repairs to the Castle and it was used for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1911 (Edward VIII) and again in 1969 (Charles - now King Charles III).

View attachment 22526

6. In 1986, Caernarfon Castle (along with King Edward I’s other castles at Conwy, Beaumaris and Harlech) was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. It is managed by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service.

View attachment 22527

(Sources: Cadw, Wikipedia).

Amazing images! What a great place to have preserved and be able to visit.

 

[Hali]

We have a SIG (Special Interest Group) in our camera club for ICM and we braved the cold on Saturday morning for a walk around Providence. Some ICM and a few multiple exposures done in camera.

 

[David Berry]

Bedraggled end to a miserably wet day …​

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Grey Butcherbird : Cracticus torquatus
Pine Mountain, Queensland
​

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[PKM-UK]

Amazing images! What a great place to have preserved and be able to visit.

Hi Hali,

Cheers - appreciated!

It's a huge and imposing place, with a labyrinthine warren of corridors, towers and ramparts to explore and the fascinating town, wall and quay area beyond. The two times we've visited it's been strictly time-limited (as we had a return steam train to catch!), so a real run and gun photographic dash.

P&K

 

[PKM-UK]

We have a SIG (Special Interest Group) in our camera club for ICM and we braved the cold on Saturday morning for a walk around Providence. Some ICM and a few multiple exposures done in camera.


View attachment 22557View attachment 22558View attachment 22559View attachment 22560

Hi Hali,

What a fascinating and imaginative set of images - the first zingy abstract (just) being our favourite.

(The shot with the birds shot was well seen and caught and the final shot has a real painterly quality).

Thank you for sharing...

P&K

 

[PKM-UK]

Bedraggled end to a miserably wet day …​

View attachment 22575

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Grey Butcherbird : Cracticus torquatus
Pine Mountain, Queensland
​

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Hi David,

Your description could fit the conclusion of any number of our summer holiday hikes and cycle rides - we certainly feel the subject's pain!

Well seen and caught - plenty of stoic determination on show - hopefully better days lie ahead (for us all)...

P&K

 

[Tim Mayo]

I snapped this little dipper looking for its breakfast down at our local river this morning.