The search
for the best RAW conversion program for the years 2006 to 2008 was a primary
target and I tried to get the best amount of details without introducing too
much noise into the photos. That period,
I came to a point that I had to make a decision regarding which path to take
and devote my efforts to it. I could either
chose the path to learning how to frame effectively or the path to how to best
extract the details out of a photo (keep in mind that I had an entry-level DSLR camera
with poor lens at my disposal and a 6-megapixel sensor). I could
not follow both paths at the same time, since I could not be taught effectively from two
masters the tricks (like the dogs also can't). So,
I decided to focus my efforts on extracting the best amount of details, giving
value to my poor equipment by making it work more effectively.
I have to
say that I am most pleased with my decision since it took a lot of time and
lessons to extract a fair amount of detail out of my photos and I could not
have done it without concentration and testing many ways in the same
direction. I had to test once and twice
the settings I tried, find papers on sharpening parameters and ways other
people used to reduce noise and increase clarity and details.
A ship sunk at Gialova sea (now removed). This photo was one of the first to try RAW file format.
Occasionally I tried some framing and thematic photos, but my real challenge was in details!
I didn’t
want my photos to look good viewed at just 800 pixels or 1024 and I was really happy
when I finally saw sharpness and details pop out when I zoomed at 100%. I was never satisfied with mediocre
sharpened details or noise that could not be eliminated even though I knew my
equipment was far from my accepted quality standards. I never liked blurred, out of focus or shaken
images and I worked too hard by comparing 100% zoomed pictures to one another in
order to find the best combination of ISO, shutter speed, Aperture and time of
day my photos looked their best.
Extreme macro without crop of a dragonfly. Kenko extension tubes (36mm+24mm+12mm) + Sigma AML on a Sigma 70-300 Macro APO Super II @ f22 and 190mm with on-board flash!
One shallow depth photo using my Standard Canon 18-55mm lens @ 50mm, f5.6, 1/160 and ISO 200
I had no
ready answers even though I searched and Googled and was advised by many
photographers that thought they had their own answers to my sharpening problem. Their answers were working for them, but not
for me. And I had my own issues with
accurate color conversion from the early versions of Lightroom and Capture One
Pro regarding White Balance etc. I divided
my issues to smaller parts like “Best Shooting settings”, “Best Post Processing
regarding Color Accuracy”, “Best Post Processing regarding Sharpening and
Details”, “Best Noise Reduction on ISOs 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600” etc and
worked each part separately until I was satisfied with the results.
This dragonfly was shot with Sigma 70-300@300mm, f20, ISO 400 and 1/160 in direct sunlight (no noise correction)
Handheld using Sigma 70-300@300mm, f10, ISO 400 at 1/640 with no noise correction
I am still
trying to improve everything I can at the moment and with each camera I change,
the presets need to be revised and improved.
After I managed to understand how the detail and post processing procedures make or break a photo, I focused on best framing of my subjects and other techniques about shooting
in a dark environments, long exposure during daylight, noise reduction etc. I am still learning and I consider myself a
student that will not be satisfied by what he already knows. I try to implement to my work what I have learned over the years, but
sometimes it is difficult to escape my daily commitments to work, family and
myself.
Sigma 70-300@300mm, f10, ISO 400, 1/320 with some noise correction due to darkening the photo
Lucky shot! Sigma 70-300@300mm, f7,1, ISO 400, 1/2000 and extremely cropped
I consider
myself committed to photography as an idea, but I would not mind selling my
photos in order to finance new and better equipment. In fact this is crucial in personal
improvement when I reach the potential of my equipment. And this happens occasionally faster than I
would like to admit to myself.
One of my most extreme closeups. Canon EOS 400D (10 mpixel), Sigma 70-300@300mm, f16, ISO 100, 25 seconds with Sigma AML+Extension Tubes (36mm+24mm+12mm)
This is a larger version of the photo before. The spray effect was done by directly spraying water on the glass Aghia Sofia. Sigma 70-300@108mm f7,1, ISO 200, 1/60
When I
decided to use my existing equipment for macro photography I reached the limits
of my software and hardware (pure glass).
Since I could only buy the least expensive accessories I could only expect a
mediocre performance and, to be honest, I was happy with the details when I
resized the photos to 1024 pixels resolution on the long edge with only 6
megapixels to use. I could not have expected
more than physics provided when I used a Sigma 70-300mm tele-macro lens @ 300
mm, with 3 extension tubes (36mm+24mm+12mm) and a Sigma Achromatic Macro Lens
giving maximum magnification possible and when I cropped the photo even more I
had a vast amount of magnification few photographers could imagine with such low
hardware cost.
Sigma 70-300@108mm, f8, ISO 100, 1/200 on tripod. Shot on a white plate which I turned blue with Canon's DPP RGB settings
Sigma 70-300@108mm, f8, ISO 100, 1/200 on tripod. Shot on a white plate which I turned yellow with Canon's DPP RGB settings
Sigma 70-300@108mm, f8, ISO 100, 1/200 on tripod. Shot on a white plate which I turned bloody red with Canon's DPP RGB settings
Sigma 70-300@108mm, f8, ISO 100, 1/200 on tripod. Shot on a white plate which I turned blue with Canon's DPP RGB settings
Drops,
flowers, insects with ISO 100-800, Aperture f8 to f22 with Kenko Extension
Tubes, Achromatic Macro Lens, on board or external flash and proper timing all
contribute to straining equipment performance towards the bad performance end. But at least I had a descent start and satisfied my curiosity (that didn't killed my cat!) and have spent less than needed to achieve satisfactory results and learn what my poor equipment was capable of.
Happy snowman was created at 2008. Nothing much than Canon 400D and Canon 18-55@55mm, f5.6, ISO 100, 1/60 with on board flash.
The search
for the best RAW conversion program for the years 2006 to 2008 was a primary
target and I tried to get the best amount of details without introducing too
much noise into the photos. That period,
I came to a point that I had to make a decision regarding which path to take
and devote my efforts to it. I could either
chose the path to learning how to frame effectively or the path to how to best
extract the details out of a photo (keep in mind that I had an entry-level DSLR camera
with poor lens at my disposal and a 6-megapixel sensor). I could
not follow both paths at the same time, since I could not be taught effectively from two
masters the tricks (like the dogs also can't). So,
I decided to focus my efforts on extracting the best amount of details, giving
value to my poor equipment by making it work more effectively.
