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I'm almost ashamed of posting mi crappy pictures, with all these beautiful photos you have in here, but I'm interested in knowing a bit more about photography so my images don't suck as much.

Also, I trust you might find some of them picturesque and colourful, at least.


This is a traditional dance of the indigenous peoples in Pátzcuaro, Mexico; "La danza de los viejitos" (Dance of the little old men - What is it and how to dance it) in the Don Vasco square:




This is locally-famous blind accordion player, in the alley that leads to La Casa de los Once Patios (House of the Eleven Patios):




This is another view of the same alley. Contrary to belief, the run-down "typical" style is the result of government efforts to keep the "Old Mexico flavour" in places such as Patzcuaro, through the Magic Towns Programme, to make them more enticing to international tourism.

Akkleptos wrote: Contrary to belief, the run-down "typical" style is the result of government efforts to keep the "Old Mexico flavour" in places such as Patzcuaro, through the Magic Towns Programme, to make them more enticing to international tourism.

That honestly seems like a good idea, since I would be really disappointed if I ever visited Mexico and didn't see places that looked like Robert Rodriguez could film vast shootouts there

The second picture looks quite blurry though, did you use digital zoom or crop it a lot?

charlemagne wrote:That honestly seems like a good idea, since I would be really disappointed if I ever visited Mexico and didn't see places that looked like Robert Rodriguez could film vast shootouts there

Yeah, you'd have to go a bit out of your way to find locations like those in, say Once Upon a Time in Mexico, if you don't want the scenery to look like this:

... or like this:

charlemagne wrote:The second picture looks quite blurry though, did you use digital zoom or crop it a lot?

Blame it on both Photobucket's "Reduce to 1024x768" option AND my crappy old A300 Polaroid. Still, I'm working on that.

Thanks for the input

(The little clickable thumbnails don't count as pictures, I hope...?)

Flower buds

I finally got the lighting I wanted in the greenhouse, so for once, I got great colours.



Cherry blossoms


Unfortunately the weather has been poopy this year so I haven't been able to get the lighting I want, and I don't think I will either before the blossoms fall off.

Here's where I work:

Phongn: Love the shot. A contrast boost might be nice for stronger blues (And less of a grey look), but that's just me.

J - first shot is really nice (though you do see that it's out of focus, right?)
Second shot - it's a pity about the big branch in the top third of the frame..

Nothing special today, just the first roll of the Konica FT-1. Looks like it overexposes a fair bit; I think this is one I might try to flog on eBay.

FINALLY! The male flowers on my pumpkins are opening to advertise to the local honeybees that they're open for business -Sadly, I've not seen many bees (I saw two a few days ago, but not anywhere near my pumpkins.). I may have to resort to manual pollenation when the females start blossoming.


Same flower, farther away. The white specks you see on the leaves are just petals from the tiny flowers of the plant that the pumpkin is climbing. looks like some kind of weird....sort of bamboo or something. It's a terrible shot, as I lost my balance just as I hit the button and was in the process of falling on my ass when the picture was taken



Another Male - this one will be opened tomorrow morning. Pumpkin flowers open for precisely one day, one morning, then in the afternoon, they close up, and two or three days later they fall off. Sad but necessary, I suppose. These male flowers are showing up quite a bit - but a new batch is coming in, and this time they will be accompanied by females as well. I estimate another two weeks before we see females/male combinations



For scale.



They're coming to get you, Barbara! I am training this vine to climb our wall. Eventually, it will encircle our doorway and continue down the sidewalk toward the yard - believe it or not, the tendrils are locking into tiny spaces between the stucco. smart little buggers, I've only had to help them find a handhold once or twice.


More tendrils, different angle. Was trying for an "Action" shot - like the plant was reaching out to grab you or something. Sadly I know nothing about photography and don't know the difference between F stop and...something...else. and I have no photo editing software. (Note the cigarettes in the dirt from my nasty neighbors upstairs - had I editing software, they'd be gone.)


At any rate, I'll be continuing to chronicle the progress of these plants, as they're really the first things I've ever really tried to grow with any success. It's amazing to think that just 2 months ago these beasties were seeds no bigger than my thumbnail, and now they're just taking over. I'm really excited to see what sort of pumpkins I can get - and Ricky is just beside himself with glee. He always wants to "Check on the pumpkins!!"

Chardok, I think those can easily stand in their own thread, them being a pretty big project of yours... and the rule is three pictures per day, tops

Haven't been here a while.

Anyway here is what is left of Weston Super Mare's Grand Pier:



And a big ferris wheel the local tourist board hired as a stopgap substitute:



Here is the main entrance onto the Grand Pier itself:

3 Shots, two from Eilat, one of a bodybuilding friend of mine with my flash:


Never smile at a Crocodile . (Not even a miniature one).


HDR Experiment. With a compact. Handheld. Yeah...


Good grey background

Blue under the water. (Compact shot, excuse the noise)


The Drumming, the Endless drumming is coming!
Doctor.


HDR shot, made from a compact's brackets. (Seashore in Eilat)

I took the Zorki on a really cheap date to an abandoned school near where I live. I still remember when it was in use, so it was a bit weird seeing it in pieces.

Also please ignore that this is me shamelessly ripping off DEATH's idea of doing something around "desolation".

BW and film grain make the effect work much better .
You did a possibly better job than me with the idea, at least with the first two shots.

The grain is just the result of poor lighting, it's not a stylistic choice

Bounty wrote:The grain is just the result of poor lighting, it's not a stylistic choice

I know, (that puny small film cameras lack the awesome abilities of digital ISO and DR together wise ).

Mmm grain (just bought some Tri-X in advance of my Canonet coming in)

EDIT: Holy shit, that's cheap Tri-X (under a private label, but only one B&W film is made in the USA ... )

My first attempt at a still life picture.

You're a girl dammit, sanitary cooking is supposed to come naturally to you!

phongn wrote:Mmm grain (just bought some Tri-X in advance of my Canonet coming in)

EDIT: Holy shit, that's cheap Tri-X (under a private label, but only one B&W film is made in the USA ... )

I use Kodak ...bw400<some letter>. BW400N? The one you can get developed like regular colour film. It serves me well, though I still have trouble with colour filters and getting the lighting right, even with charts telling me what effect I'll get.

This'll be the last B&W for a while since I'm out of film and it's a bit too pricey. But I suppose I can always desaturate in GIMP.

Bounty wrote:I use Kodak ...bw400<some letter>. BW400N? The one you can get developed like regular colour film. It serves me well, though I still have trouble with colour filters and getting the lighting right, even with charts telling me what effect I'll get.

BW400CN. Ilford's XP2 is a similar film.

digital ISO and DR

"DR"?

I like your underwater shot (was that taken with one of those water-proofed blue Canons I keep seeing?), but I'm struggling to see what you were trying to do with the other two. Especially the last one of the ocean.

Damn film geeks and your technical details .

Bounty wrote:

digital ISO and DR

"DR"?

Dynamic range.

I like your underwater shot (was that taken with one of those water-proofed blue Canons I keep seeing?),

Nope, Panasonic TZ1 ("Old faithful"), taken in the underwater observatory. I was dry as a whistle.

but I'm struggling to see what you were trying to do with the other two. Especially the last one of the ocean.

I just liked the rock and the different shades of the water, as well as the transparency of it. Just a basic landscape/sea shot.
As for the drum shot, it's a drum and fire. Drum and fire! What more do you want, dancing hula girls?


Right, last 3 compact pics from Eilat, I don't have the energy to make a separate thread for the rest of the underwater fish and beaches and they're most in the vein of "pretty water/beach/undersea horrors/glowing medusae/fish/coral/sharks" anyway:


Sky. (Shot composition, compact shot, hence the nasty noise).


The town in the distance is Jordan.

Nice mountains a few hours before sunset. (I like the colours and line of the rocks in this shot, so sue me).

I like the left shot, though it could be better (crop or stand on a park becnh).
Second shot has..nice bokeh?
Third shot I really like, see flicktr comment.

Phongn, want to meet up in Chicago? I'll be there around the 23d-25th