+1

Thanks for the comments! I am looking forward to taking more IR shots. Though it's not very often this subject is available!

There's a lot more haze at 36000 feet than lower down, mainly due to the vastly increased levels of UV but also partly because of the thin smog covering most of Asia at high altitude around the tropopause.

To illustrate the difference between using IR versus the normal visible spectrum, here's the same scene as the second picture using the K5, at 53mm. And it took more processing to get the detail out of the RAW file. It is not as sharp as it was taken on an 18-250 zoom rather than a 50mm prime, but I think it illustrates the difference in haze pretty well. I have several more examples but this one shows exactly the same scene using both spectrums.

Yes, it's taken a while! Unfortunately I took a lot that were OOF, still not quite got used to it with manual focus lenses. The 135mm lens seems the most difficult. What would have been the best of the bunch was unfortunately OOF. Don't suppose you fancy setting up the manual focus 35-105 on the K20 if I sent it to you?

The first one was f5, second one f8, 3rd one f5.6, the last one f3.5.

Edit: just realised the first one was taken with the f3.5 135mm, as it shows no f stop on the exif. 2nd and 4t on the 50mm, 3rd on the 24mm.

The second shot is great, ChrisA put it better than I can, nicely done!

I got the chance to try out some aerial shots in IR for the first time today, using the converted *ist DL that I got from Karma Mechanic. I am using manual focus lenses, so still eperimenting; unfortunately the best photo was OOF! I took some on the K5 too, and there is a lot less haze using IR. I am trading this in for KM's K20D soon hopefully, and pairing it with the 35-105 lens I bought from Mike P. That lens is parfocal, so I am hoping it will be ideal for IR: the range of focal lengths should be ideal.

These were taken with the Sigma 24mm Super-Wide II and my Pentax-A smc 50mm f1.4.
It's the first time I have tried processing them, too!

Here's the place to discuss the fortnightly competition. I will bow out as soon as the first entry is in. .

I would like to see pictures that use light and shadow to create a sense of depth in a picture. I have always liked old paintings that use this effect, and it works very well in photographs too. Some film noir movies have used it to great effect too, and it is very common in graphic novels.

Here's a link to Wikipedias take on it, which I think sums it up pretty well.

Normal rules apply, entries must be taken during the duration of the competition, which will finish at 1800 GMT on Wednesday 5th October.

Great shots there, Richard, and I hope you still want to let me trade in the IR *ist DL for it! I have sent you an email....

That third shot is amazing..

Wow, thanks for the 1st place. I have just arrived in Osaka, so only just found out I have won. I am sorry the pic has disappeared, I forgot it was in the comp and I uploaded a slightly cropped version to Flickr, which broke the link! Doh!

Here it is again




It is the first time I have manged to capture lightning like this, after much experimentation I think I am getting to know what settings to use.


Congrats also to DPSLF, Dr Orloff, and Dinneenp! I really enjoyed the varied entries. Thanks Northgrain for a great comp and excellent judging!I will set a new comp forthwith!

The lens correction profiles in ACR and Lightroom do a pretty good job of correcting distortion, certainly with the Sigma 10-20, as long as the camera was level when the picture was taken. I sometimes use the skew tool in Photoshop to correct distortions caused by the camera not being level, after first applying the lens correction.