Autumn is here

[samhs]

I think it officially starts in about 10 days, but for my money once September is over and done with, we're well and truly in Autumn.

The farmers are all out getting the last crops in, making bales of hay and digging in for winter already. How depressing. Everything is golden, ripe and ready to eat. The good news is the golden hour has moved later in the morning, and earlier in the evening - this was taken at 9:15am this morning. Up here in the sticks, we go from a near no-darkness in summer to a near permanent darkness in winter - great if you want to get nice side-lit images, but don't want to get up too early in the morning.





Gone a bit vignette mad - it's all good fun


Sam

[Tony]

Nice colours and good composition Sam - bit heavy on the vignette tho!

[slaughteredlamb]

I like the vignetting myself but your sensor needs a clean 

I like the dof of the 1st one and the colours of the 2nd, did you use a CP?

[samhs]

I like the vignetting myself but your sensor needs a clean 

Yeah - might need to get me a kit and read an online tut - know of a good one?

I like the dof of the 1st one and the colours of the 2nd, did you use a CP?

Forgive me - tired today - CP?

Sam

PS Secured that lens last night - should be here Thursday

[slaughteredlamb]

I like the vignetting myself but your sensor needs a clean 

Yeah - might need to get me a kit and read an online tut - know of a good one?

Well I've tried most methods and have basically settled on two. The absolute best, IMO, is to use Eclipse Liquid with PecPads. This is quite expensive but it really does get your sensor clean. Basically you take a PecPad out of its protective wrapping, put a couple of drops of Eclipse fluid on the tip and then wipe IN ONE direction across your sensor DO NOT RUB!! If need be repeat again using the other side of the PecPad. Now the makers of PecPads will tell you that you should only use the PecPad once and by once they mean you only wipe it across the sensor once and then throw it away. If you do this it'll cost you a fortune. It can take several wipes to get your sensor completely clean and I happily just use the same PecPad each time in that cleaning session. Just don't use the same PecPad for more than one cleaning session.

As I say, this method is excellent but it's not exactly portable so I also carry with me an Artic Butterfly. This is basically a nylon brush attached to a small motor, when you turn the motor on the brush spins causing static electricity to build up which then attracts any dust on your sensor. Basically you 'charge' the brush for 5 seconds, turn it off and then wipe the brush across your sensor, again DONT RUB but you can perform a few wipes before charging the brush again. This is a good product and will remove a lot of loose dust, hair etc but it can't get rid of stuck on bits.

I like the dof of the 1st one and the colours of the 2nd, did you use a CP?

Forgive me - tired today - CP?

CP = Circular Polariser

PS Secured that lens last night - should be here Thursday

You lucky sod!  It really is a superb lens and one I am sooooooo tempted to order myself. Annoyingly I actually have the money to buy it now but I fear my wife would kill me if I did as I really should pay the credit card off. A pro wedding photographer I know is always singing this lenses praises and he says that it's better than a lot of the Canon L lenses and having seen some of his work I'd have to agree!

[samhs]

Cheers SL - I'll get me some of that.

re: CP - wow, I was being thick. No - it was just emphasised post-production. In fact, the top one I desaturated the whole thing by about 40% before bringing back up the individual levels but without the blue - as you can see

Thanks again

Sam