Pics from Sunny California

[Steve R]

why a new thread...cause most people won't bother to check an old thread for new stuff....

Pictures speak louder then words....so let's just get into it.

This is one of the hills on White Mountain...it's steep, off-cambered and full of loose stuff.

[Steve R]

why a new thread...cause most people won't bother to check an old thread for new stuff....

Pictures speak louder then words....so let's just get into it.

This is one of the hills on White Mountain...it's steep, off-cambered and full of loose stuff.

[Steve R]

looking out from Alec's rig

[Steve R]

more stuff

[Steve R]

more terrain

[Steve R]

taken a break

[Steve R]

coming up a hill

[Steve R]

coming around

[Steve R]

through the rock-garden

[Steve R]

more garden

[Steve R]

up into the nasty

[Steve R]

this is what happens when the spotter is not paying attention.....the funny thing is, the front right tire is actually off the ground about 14".....the picture almost lies to the point of not even seeing it off the ground!!!

[KenP]

Looks like fun.
Pictures usually make the terrain look easier, but theat first hill looks scary!

Black Lingenfelter Lux

[Steve R]

Okay...more about the above pic. What really happened is that the seemingly innocent rock looked pretty mellow to Alec. I wasn't even spotting him at this juncture....I was running up ahead to deal with the real stuff just ahead of us.....

As he passed over this rock he almost made it, but an edge got caught on the part just past the skid-plate. The vehicle moving forward literally rolled the rock upward and suddenly, like a jack, it just lifted the whole rig into the air.

[Steve R]

coming into it

[Steve R]

further along

[Steve R]

even further along

[Steve R]

and still further

[Steve R]

more 2

[Steve R]

more 3

[Steve R]

last pic...after clearing the nasty stuff.

[DRTYFN]

Pictures are great!!(like always)http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

You guys are soooo going to love the Rubicon next year. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Steve R]

I am EXTREMELY disappointed with my pics. I'm using a Canon S50 digital 5 mega-pixel camera and have had good results in the past. I fully understand the principles surrounding photography....but there must be some setting or problem with this camera: the contrast is just screwy!!! Look at how so many of the shots have the proper aperature for the subject, yet the background is totally over-exposed/too bright?

Either the subject is too dark and the background is right, or the background is fine and the subject too dark. I know you can only accomodate one f-stop/exposure...but still, something is very very wrong here. I've not had this problem before. Time to take the camera in perhaps???

[Steve R]

oh yeah, and since I'm in the bitching mood...

I came along without the rig so that I could spend time with Alec, help spot him and particularly to get some great pics.

Despite not having to lug my own rig around, I STILL found myself too involved spotting during the hard parts to get the best pics!!! I tried so hard to get as many great pics as possible and still came up short of portraiting the real tough parts of the trail. I didn't even get that ridiculously nasty section between those trees with the boulder-soup just underneath it.

Next time I won't drive AND I'll have DRTYFN come down to spot and I'll cruise around on a quad and strictly take pics.

I'm pissed...I wanted more & better!!! http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_mad.gif

Please...no therapy, just know that it could have been much better and I'm disappointed with the results.

[Detonate]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Steve R:
I am EXTREMELY disappointed with my pics. I'm using a Canon S50 digital 5 mega-pixel camera and have had good results in the past. I fully understand the principles surrounding photography....but there must be some setting or problem with this camera: the contrast is just screwy!!! Look at how so many of the shots have the proper aperature for the subject, yet the background is totally over-exposed/too bright?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I can't remember exactly what causes this, but I've seen it many times before.

I'm guessing you had the camera in either Apature Priority mode or Manual mode.

When the subject area is dark and shaded with trees, but the back ground sky is still bright and sunny, you have to use a fast shutter and an extremely wide apeture. This way the subject gets properly exposed, because it's closer to the lens, but the shudder closes fast enough to prevent the background from over exposing.

It gets increasingly more difficult the farther you are away from the subject. I normally just force my flash on to fill in the shade and that works well, but you need to be close to the subject again for that to work.

Best solution would be to get a wide angle lens. That way you can stay close, use your flash.


With that said, I think the pictures pretty much kick ass. I really didn't even notice that the sky was washed until I read your last post and went back through them again.

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2003 Red H2 equipped with Tough Country Heavy Duty Armor Series Front End with Winch, Rear Bumper, Brush Guard, and Roof Rack.

[Steve R]

Alec...same thing with your pics???

I used to be a wizz on my old Canon 35mm....but this new digital thing is tough to figure out; you literally have to know the thing inside & out and all the elaborate programming to get it to generate a good pic.

Jim....thanks for the tips. I think you are referring to generating a greater depth of field, but that more relates to focus.

I think the problem resides more in the processing of these pics...the photo-receptors (or whatever receives the light) just isn't the same as film. The darks are dark and the brights are bright. Alec has the exact same results...the sky is nice, the trees are lit...yet there's a nasty darkness in the shadows of the vehicle.

I don't know, I don't get it...all I know is that I need better pics. NOW!

[Frank Hewitt]

SWEET pics!!! I wish I was there.
thank you for taking the time to post them.
Bravo.
Keep up the off-road cruisin'!!

gasman

[Detonate]

Steve, I wish I could explain it better, but the best tip I can give you, is that if you can shoot in Shutter Priority mode, DO THAT!

I take a lot of Underwater pictures, and that is an extreme example of what you are expierencing above ground.

It's possible to get a complete black under exposed foreground with a white over exposed water.

The other thing you should try is changing the ISO on your camera to "faster" speed. Try and find a balance between exposure and grain.

You have a really nice camera, one of the bad things about having such a really nice camera is that they only take really nice pictures if you are a pro. :P

If you ask this same question on www.digitaldiver.net (http://www.digitaldiver.net) You'll probably get a much better answer. I don't know a whole hell of lot about cameras, but I do know that when I have the same problem you are having it's because of not enough subject light, too much ambient light, and the only way I know to correct that is with a Flash and a faster shutter speed.

Good luck.

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2003 Red H2 equipped with Tough Country Heavy Duty Armor Series Front End with Winch, Rear Bumper, Brush Guard, and Roof Rack.

[Steve R]

Jim...

I've given some thought to what you say...and after carefully consideration and much self-evaluation...the course of my actions are clear.

I'm going to take the plunge, challenge myself and endeavor to do something so bold, so daring...so defying......that I may actually go into complete shock & freak-out:

I'm gonna read that "instruction" guide http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif


My good-old 35mm SLR was pretty simple...but this digital camera has more functions, features, settings and gizmo's then I could ever want to use/have. I think I found the mode and stuff you are talking about, it has different settings for different situations...obviously I'll just have to mess around with it to discover the right formula.

Thanks for the tip...

[Detonate]

Yeah, that helps too! :P

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2003 Red H2 equipped with Tough Country Heavy Duty Armor Series Front End with Winch, Rear Bumper, Brush Guard, and Roof Rack.

[Detonate]

Hey, what format are your pictures taken in? Are they JPEG or RAW?

Also, most newer camera's embed exposure information into the files, so if you want to send me one of the unedited pics, I can take a look at it.

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2003 Red H2 equipped with Tough Country Heavy Duty Armor Series Front End with Winch, Rear Bumper, Brush Guard, and Roof Rack.

[Detonate]

Isn't Steve a Mac Monkey? Do they even have a right click! http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

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2003 Red H2 equipped with Tough Country Heavy Duty Armor Series Front End with Winch, Rear Bumper, Brush Guard, and Roof Rack.

[Cranky Steve]

Awsome Pics! Gota love that part of Cali!

Founding Member of RCRC 4wd Club Scaramento, CA www.rcrc4x4.com (http://www.rcrc4x4.com)
Pirate4x4.com Vendor & Toyota Truck and 4Runner Talk Forum Moderator

[crash]

Great pics...

MAN, I reallly gotta get back down there on the big stuff...

certified H2 tech. troll http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[Steve R]

Crash...

My apologies, Alec & I were way too busy cheating damage/death/destruction to take pics on the really really nasty stuff. You'd be very proude to see what we got the fat-ass H2 through!!!

Jim, PC all the way. How come I edit some video and everyone tells me stuff about MAC's rule?

[Steve R]

Buckeye....

Ask Craig to take ya to Azusa.....it's only about 20 minutes from your home and has lots of water-crossings for you to play on/in!

[Perspec]

I ran across this thread and thought I would respond to the exposure problem with your pictures. I don't think you have a camera problem (especially with the S50 - it's a good camera). I think a lot of it has to do with the angle some of the shots were taken in combination with the position of the sun. It's not an all out backlighting problem, but it's pretty close. When you point you camera at a scene, the metoring sensors are looking at the overall tonality of the scene (areas of light to areas of dark) and the camera is trying to come up with an exposure that is close to normal (what's refered to as 18% gray). If there are areas in a scene that have both extremes, it is going to expose for one or the other. In this case, it exposed for the areas that were in the shade leaving the sky overexposed. You can correct this by changing the angle you shoot, but you can't always controll where your subject is. In that case, I would suggest a gradient filter you can attach to your lens. The filter is a dark gray to clear. You simply position the dark gray portion of filter where the bright areas are (the sky) and the clear portion where the normal to dark areas are. Your camera will then see this as an evenly lit scene. Sorry this is so long - hope it helps!

www.scenictennessee.com (http://www.scenictennessee.com)

[Perspec]

Here's a link with an example of a gradient filter. I'm not sure if Tiffen makes one for the S50, but I'm pretty confident one is available.

http://www.tiffen.com/color_grad_filters_pics.htm

www.scenictennessee.com (http://www.scenictennessee.com)

[3D Guy]

Steve,
Sounds like you need some one that knows a bit about photography, digital cameras and photoshop, I wonder if there is any body that fits that bill. http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

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That’s just my opinion, I could be wrong......... NOT!!

3D Guy A.K.A. Brian Mundy

03, H2 Yellow, Lux, Sunroof, Air Suspension, 3rd Row. Brush Gaurd and 30gb iPod

[3D Guy]

http://www.digitalight.ws/h2photos/redo1.jpg

http://www.digitalight.ws/h2photos/redo2.jpg

.................................................. ........
That’s just my opinion, I could be wrong......... NOT!!

3D Guy A.K.A. Brian Mundy

03, H2 Yellow, Lux, Sunroof, Air Suspension, 3rd Row. Brush Gaurd and 30gb iPod

[3D Guy]

Perspec, is right...... the only problem with gradient filters is your photo all ways looks like it was shot through a gradient filter.

In some cases I would use fill flash. Fill flash is something that I all ways having to remind my daughter when she's shooting.

in the days of film a good photographer would know how many stops his ffilm could cary. Some color neg. films can cary 5 stops. color transparency film (slides) could only handle about a stop and a 1/2 . Digital is more like shooting with transparency film.

.................................................. ........
That’s just my opinion, I could be wrong......... NOT!!

3D Guy A.K.A. Brian Mundy

03, H2 Yellow, Lux, Sunroof, Air Suspension, 3rd Row. Brush Gaurd and 30gb iPod

[This message was edited by 3D Guy on 12-16-03 at 02:57 PM.]

[This message was edited by 3D Guy on 12-16-03 at 03:05 PM.]