On that point we shall need to agree to disagree

I know it's not a good photo but it was a bit of fun to complete.

Taken with a K3 and 50-135. It was merged in PSE 12 from 24 images and then cropped.


You should be able to link through to the full size image.

Critique is welcome (but I already know its poor) any other comments also welcome.

TBH I think I 'tweaked' the wrong version as I thoroughly dusted the perspex on the original (in Photoshop that is ).

Nigel I did sort the blacks and whites on the original but done this one in a hurry and obviously chose the wrong version. I agree with your view on PP up to a point. I am hoping to go 'pro' in the next year and don't want to spend a lot of time staring at the screen after every shoot. Therefore it's essential, in that instance, to get it as right as possible 'in camera' thereby reducing editing time.

PP has its place, just like dodging and burning did in the dark room

I'm still learning with regard to LR and PP in general. Sometimes you can go too far and other times not far enough. Sometimes you can miss out a whole 'slider' without realising. I'll have another tweak and see what the midtones do to the image. Thanks

and here it is, suitably 'tweaked' and, by jove, I think you're right

Ken, I'm not normally one to offer a critique on an image but I can't help noticing a glaring error with your image......







....it has the word Nikon in it!!

You mentioned that before, in another post, and it is stored in my 'getaroundtoit' file. Unfortunately we live 2+ hours away from our nearest Ikea and I didn't want to give my wife an excuse to go there if I can help it
Now you've reminded me I might just check out their delivery service, thanks

Jim. I must admit that I can't see them on my monitor on the forum version or the original. I aim to get the image as 'right in camera' as possible to avoid over processing. Here is a link to the original full size version Flickr link.

Nigel, I'm glad you like it. I learn by scouring the internet for 'how to' tutorials and watching many youtube and dvd training videos as such the BTS setups are important to me. I must admit that I love the reflected effect. This was taken on a small (300mm x 300mm) sheet of black acrylic bought from ebay for a few pounds. I intend to look for a larger piece for bigger objects.

Thanks Gareth.

It's not your eyes, the bottle is slightly 'deformed' which makes it look like it's leaning. I tried changing the angle in LR but whatever I did it still looked slightly lopsided

Thanks for the comment on the lighting. You're absolutely right; it is a great feeling when you finally nail it

I did consider editing the 'join' but somehow I sort of liked the fact that it 'grounded' the bottle rather than left it floating. I may go back and have another play and do a side by side comparison.

On a side note, I love your 'water images'. It's something I shall be trying over the next few weeks now that I have my own space to 'play' in

You're welcome.

Although I shall probably get a Flu card eventually I can see a limited use for it for my needs. I predominantly want a card that will transfer images rather than just view them.

I appreciate the fact that the flu acts in a different way i.e. tethering and I can see the need for it, I just wish that it transferred as well. I have read ways to make it possible but they all seem very long winded.

At the moment though I'm quite chuffed with my eye-fi

Many months ago I bought an Eye-fi card for my K5ii(s) and was utterly underwhelmed
It was slow to connect and often it didn't connect at all. It was slow to transfer once (and if) it did connect. I found that I could really only use it in 'direct mode' i.e. not connected to my home wifi but this meant that I had to disconnect the receiving device (ipad etc.) from the network as well which was less than convenient.
As such it was relegated to the 'man drawer' where it has laid forgotten till now.

Having acquired my K3 I though I would dust it off and give it a try. After all the K3 is 'optimised' for eye-fi cards isn't it?

Anyhow having inserted it in slot 2 and set the camera to save RAW to card 1 and jpg to card 2 I can now report a much better story

The eye-fi card boots up straight away and images start transferring after, about 15-20 seconds (for the first one). I have the jpg quality set at 6Mp *** (giving a good 3072 x 2048 sized image) and these transfer in about 5-10 seconds each). With the 8Gb capacity this will hold 1608 images (the 16Gb card 1 holds 298 RAW images by comparison)

I have tried it in 'direct mode' and connected to my home network and it works equally well either way. With the k5ii(s) I had to set the power saving to 'off' to give time for the images to transfer (it would only transfer if the camera was actually 'awake'). With the K3 this isn't necessary and images will transfer even if the camera is n standby mode (it still has to be switched on but it can be 'asleep').

This now provides a decent 'backup' image for my main card as well as transferring a copy when in range. All in all it's now working as it really should have in the first place.

So from a darkened drawer it has now become a permanent fixture in the K3 second slot.

I just though this might be of interest to any other K3 owners.