1st Meeting of CAWOS " Capitla Area Wide Open Shooters Jan 12 2008

[Mcary]

Come join me and a few friends on at 10 am on Saturday January 12th a the National Building Museum for a few hours of fun shooting with a small twist,

The twist being that everyone brings only one lens, preferably a prime, and uses it wide open all day. Zoom are of course cool but in the spirit of day should be left at one focal length :)

Afterwards we’ll grab some lunch and shoot the breeze and Quote Ken Rockwell :)


Mike
Capital Area Wide Open Shooters (CAWOS)

[seanbaker]

Count me in; possibly my wife as well - I'm not allowed to volunteer her for things anymore :lol::rolleyes:.

Primarily outdoor shooting? Or indoor as well?

Looking forward to it,

Sean

[Lord_Malone]

Woo Hoo!

[gjl711]

This sounds like fun but alas, I am hundreds of miles away. But I would like to play, "Lets quite Ken Rockwell" So here is my Rockwell-ism.

And I quote:
"I not saying my photos are any good" ;)

And my personal favorite:
"Oh yes - Camera phones also can be just as good as any other camera."

And I have been struggling to make my 5D look as good as my Motorola. If I had only paid attention to Ken I could have saved millions. ;)

[Mcary]

Count me in; possibly my wife as well - I'm not allowed to volunteer her for things anymore :lol::rolleyes:.

Primarily outdoor shooting? Or indoor as well?

Looking forward to it,

Sean

Sean,

A little of both :) The museum opens at 10 so we'll probable explore the interior then exterior of it and then the surrounding area depending on time and weather.

Mike

[inernets]

Sounds like fun, you can count me in!

[images2u]

Sounds like a great challenge to create. Count me in for this awesome opportunity.

[Mcary]

All,

There's a bunch of green metal tables and chairs on the main floor of the museum, lets plan on gathering at one of them.

Mike

[Mcary]

Looks like the weathers going to be great :)

[inernets]

strange weather we've been having. Just got back from New York, it went from a very comfortable 20 degrees, to a very cold 35 degree, and then a beautiful 60s! Love it! Makes me not miss living in Orlando. Looking forward to this trip

[Lord_Malone]

I went to the National Building Museum (albeit arriving a bit late at 10:40), but I didn't see anyone. :( Well, there were a few people with Canon DSLRs walking around and they weren't in a group or anything, but I didn't see Mike.

I stayed for about an hour or so with my son and took a stroll around the Verizon center and then went back home. I did stick to the rule and shot everything wide-open using the 24L. I'll try to post some pics tonight.

[Mcary]

I went to the National Building Museum (albeit arriving a bit late at 10:40), but I didn't see anyone. :( Well, there were a few people with Canon DSLRs walking around and they weren't in a group or anything, but I didn't see Mike.

I stayed for about an hour or so with my son and took a stroll around the Verizon center and then went back home. I did stick to the rule and shot everything wide-open using the 24L. I'll try to post some pics tonight.

Ed,

Sorry I missed you :( Sean, his wife and I were those people walking around with Canon DSLRs LOL

Lessoned learned get cell phone number next time :)

Mike

Can't wait to see some of your shots.

[Lord_Malone]

Yeah, I thought I had your number plugged into my cell phone, but it wasn't there. I have several "Mike" numbers saved, but I guess I never saved yours. Maybe we just missed each other. What time did you guys leave? I had my son with me and was wearing a copper colored sport coat. I know we've only seen eachother twice in person, but I'd think you'd recognize me if you saw me again, bro. :lol:

[seanbaker]

A few of my pictures from today's meet. I submit that they will shortly be outdone by Mike, LM, and (if she posts them) Sarah, but nonetheless here they are.

Things I learned shooting today:
Arbitrary 'rules' for how to shoot really do force you to think more about every aspect of your photography and emphasize the importance of knowing your equipment.
My technique desperately needs improvement (evidence below) to handle the 50/1.4's narrow depth of field.
Just because an image looks sharp while chimping doesn't mean it is sharp.
I need to shoot more and more often.
Less is more. Don't spend time doing in CS3 what could have been done in camera. See above.
Mike is an exceptional photographer and a gentleman, willing to answer all sorts of newb questions. Ken Rockwell, eat your heart out.LM - Very sorry we missed you as well. The only guy I saw in a copper jacket all day is pictured below, and while we've not met I'm quite sure that's not you ;).

Mike - Thanks again for taking the initiative to put this together.

Technical C+C welcome for pics below. As I said, my technique needs a lot of work.

Alibi: Portrait of my wife was at f/2.0 :oops:. I hadn't fixed my form, but wanted to make sure the shot worked out.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2054/2188836196_f1435133d2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahandsean/2188836196/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2204/2188836070_de5d7a9c4e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahandsean/2188836070/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2323/2188835920_0a81e8371d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahandsean/2188835920/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2371/2188047799_f951905304.jpg?v=0 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahandsean/2188047799/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2167/2188047701_b62d6da14a.jpg?v=0 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahandsean/2188047701/)

[Lord_Malone]

Yeah, I definitely didn't see you guys. I would've remembered seeing a young lady walking around with an old Army PT jacket and a messenger bag identical to the one I was carrying. ;) Those look great, Sean. I didn't snap nearly as many photos as I would've liked. My son was running around all over the place and I spent most of the time just trying to keep up with him.

[Lord_Malone]

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9545/img2045edit2bn8.jpg

[Lord_Malone]

Oh yeah, and this was shot @ f/1.4 ^

[Lord_Malone]

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/6875/img2109editzp9.jpg

[MDJAK]

Malone, come clean. You didn't show. You never show. You don't even exist in real life.

If you were there and saw some people walking around with Canon DSLRs, why the heck wouldn't you go up to them and see if it was the people you thought you were meeting? Are you shy? Why were you late, you slacker?

Cut the excuses and actually make a meet one of these days.
me :lol:

[Lord_Malone]

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5590/img2065editax0.jpg

[MDJAK]

Yep, that's definitive proof. of nothing. :lol:
me

[Lord_Malone]

Malone, come clean. You didn't show. You never show. You don't even exist in real life.

If you were there and saw some people walking around with Canon DSLRs, why the heck wouldn't you go up to them and see if it was the people you thought you were meeting? Are you shy? Why were you late, you slacker?

Cut the excuses and actually make a meet one of these days.
me :lol:

:oops: You got me, Mark. Damn. The gig is up. I've been made.

The truth is I saw a few people with DSLRs, but none of them were in a group. Rather they seemed to be just regular non-POTN people just hanging out with their families. Besides, I was looking for Mike (Mcary) who I know and would've recognized. So there! http://forum.e46fanatics.com/images/smilies/badrazz.gif

Oh, and if there are still any lingering doubts, check the exif on these shots to find out the exact date and time they were shot. ;)

[MDJAK]

Army Intelligence changed your exif data. :lol:
me

[Lord_Malone]

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/6166/img2050editrh2.jpg

[Lord_Malone]

Army Intelligence changed your exif data. :lol:
me

Drat. Foiled again.

[Lord_Malone]

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7383/img2084editon1.jpg

[seanbaker]

LM:

Incredible images, though I think we've come to expect that from you. Love the WA and love the processing. LR presets most of the way?

Seeing your shots reminded me of something which I remembered to post to flickr, but failed to put up here.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/2188047953_0c561f4913.jpg?v=0 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahandsean/2188047953/)

... but I admit, modification of the EXIF notwithstanding ( ;) ) yours came out far better. So much to learn...

[Lord_Malone]

Thanks for the compliments, Sean. You've got some very nice examples as well. Shooting wide is what I really like to do best because it offers so much creative freedom in terms of perspective. Surprisingly, I didn't do much post-editing in LR. I just did a few minor tweaks to the original shots, exported to CS3, and performed all the BW conversions and other edits there.

Waiting on you, Mike. ;)

[Mcary]

Thanks for the compliments, Sean. You've got some very nice examples as well. Shooting wide is what I really like to do best because it offers so much creative freedom in terms of perspective. Surprisingly, I didn't do much post-editing in LR. I just did a few minor tweaks to the original shots, exported to CS3, and performed all the BW conversions and other edits there.

Waiting on you, Mike. ;)

Ed,

WOW you got some excellent shots :) Love the post processing!!


Mike

[Mcary]

Sean,

Very nice work !!

It was great meeting and talking to you and Sarah :)

Mike

[Mcary]

Few from Saturday

1.
http://www.mcaryphoto.net/WideOpenShots/content/bin/images/large/Mcaryphoto50D104_Jan08_004.jpg
2
http://www.mcaryphoto.net/WideOpenShots/content/bin/images/large/Mcaryphoto50D104_Jan08_021.jpg
3
http://www.mcaryphoto.net/WideOpenShots/content/bin/images/large/Mcaryphoto50D104_Jan08_045.jpg


Mike

[Lord_Malone]

Good show, Mike. Looks like everyone had to get a shot of that handrail. :lol:

I used the FM BW Workflow plug-in for the conversions, which I absolutely love. The only difference is the type of BW filters I used during PP. Still can't believe I just missed you guys. Maybe you guys were in another part of the building coming down stairs as I was going up. I'm assuming you used the 50? Sorry, I'm at work and can't check the exif.

[Mcary]

Good show, Mike. Looks like everyone had to get a shot of that handrail. :lol:

I used the FM BW Workflow plug-in for the conversions, which I absolutely love. The only difference is the type of BW filters I used during PP. Still can't believe I just missed you guys. Maybe you guys were in another part of the building coming down stairs as I was going up. I'm assuming you used the 50? Sorry, I'm at work and can't check the exif.


Fred does make some very usefully plug-ins the B&W Work flow being one of the best :)


YUP 50mm 1.4 all post processing done in LR

Mike

[grissomchick23]

Well, I didn't get any pics of the stair rail:), but I think I got a couple of OK shots. I also took some photos of the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial right before we went into the Building Museum. I'm attaching those as well. I'm definitely a newb striving to be better. Any feedback (composition, PP, etc) would be appreciated.

[grissomchick23]

a couple more

[grissomchick23]

i promise i only have one more after this:)

[grissomchick23]

last one. i don't want to get too crazy with my first post!
I have a two more on flickr if you want to see them. but these are the best (especially given the assignment). let 'er rip if you guys have any comments.

Mike - thanks for a great shooting session and all of the information. we had a really good time.

Ed - hopefully we'll catch you next time!

[Mcary]

Dam, Sarah you got some excellent shots! If I had to choose I'd say the first one and the last are my favorites :)

Mike

[Lord_Malone]

Nice work, Sarah. I love the B&W conversions in the first set. I especially liked the processing of the first image in post #35. Very well executed IMO. You've all got some real talent. ;)

I love the very last shot as well. Have you tried converting it to B&W?

[Lord_Malone]

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=236328&stc=1&d=1200519050

Everyone seems to like shooting these as well. :lol:

[grissomchick23]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I actually used an action we bought to PP the shield pic called "blue steel." I can't wait to use it on a photo of somebody who can replicate the "zoolander" pose!
Anyway, I tried b & w on the last pic, but I didn't think it looked quite right. So I tried PP like Ed uses. I know I haven't got it quite right, but I'm working on it. I really like this processing the best. I know it comes down to personal preferences, but what do you guys think?

[Lord_Malone]

After seeing all three I think I prefer the look of the first, followed by the sepia and finally the B&W. ;)