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in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Cranked down the saturation in the Flickr photos since posting this.

in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Mirrorless suggests a late model camera. Set it to shoot 5-shot exposure brackets as a default. In post, simply discard shots like that above and select 3 (even 2) best of remainder to blend as HDR (an easy process). As a bonus, you will most often find one of the bracket shots that needs no further processing, you will miss very few field shots and you will more rapidly learn what works and why. Rinse and repeat until you become comfortable enough to confidently dial-in optimal settings that don't need this 'scattergun' approach.
in reply to Greg

Hey, that's pretty cool! It looks like my camera does support bracketing, so I'll check that out.
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

That is a very well-regarded camera, Neil. Hope my approach leads to you enjoying your time with it, more. As a further refinement, use it in program (P) mode so you only need to dial an exposure setting (which will then shift the whole 'bracket' lighter or darker). The less 'futzing' time, the more 'capture' time etc. There is a UK guy on Flickr called Neil Howard who shoots with the same camera if you want to see what it can do.

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I hadn't originally intended to check out Mount Rainier National Park on this ride, but when the Goat Rocks fire blocked my original route plan, I siezed the opportunity to do so. (see the blog post for details) and we were able to rush back to the ferry terminal and get home not too late. (Blog Post, Album (110 photos), 19 photos attached) #photography #photog #photos #photo #motorcycle #mywork
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Thanks for keeping a random buffer around and pasting it when I didn't intend to, Vim.




Still making progress on exposure. I have a new flow that seems to be working better than the way I was doing it before. (Old photo is the one that's too bright, new photo is darker.) #photography #photog #photo #photos @dieter_wilhelm
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Good to know. Progress is usually slow but rewarding....


@clover and I went on a day trip to go see the recently opened Beverly Bridge on the Palouse to Cascades Trail. She wasn't too impressed with it, but both its classic design and what it symbolized for #cycling in Washington inspired me. (Album (62 photos), 12 photos attached) #photography #photog #photos #photo #mywork

While I've gotten a decent handle on white balance, I'm still working on getting a good overall exposure. Photos in my past albums were far too bright, so I'm working on finding a good level.



Thinking I might finally take the plunge and buy a higher quality monitor for # editing, since the ones I have are pretty cheap. Will look into calibrating whatever I get, too. # # @dieter_wilhelm
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Would be a good idea. Have an Eizo monitor (budget friendly) and is a very good brand. But check the market before purchasing...


Went on a trip to Aberdeen with @clover last month. The ride to the city was enjoyable, but when we got to our motel, the rear tire was flat due to a shiny new nail in it. For the duration of our stay, we hoofed it, which really hammered home the poor state of the city. It was pretty cool to see the tiny park dedicated to Kurt Cobain, though.

Thankfully, it was all resolved by midday the followinng day (see the blog post for details) and we were able to rush back to the ferry terminal and get home not too late. (Blog Post, Album (102 photos), 20 photos attached) #photography #photog #photos #photo #motorcycle

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I thought I'd checked out most of the interesting roads in the northern Cascades, but then realized that I hadn't gone to the end of the Mount Baker Highway! The road featured both breathtaking sights and hair-raising hairpins, making it popular with both motorcyclists and bicyclists alike. (Blog Post, Album (129 photos), 17 photos attached) #photography #photog #photos #photo #motorcycle

I realize the color temperature on many of these is way too high, but I was still figuring that out when I was editing these a few weeks back. Please bear with me.

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A goal I've had for a long time was checking out the back (gravel) part of the Mountain Loop Highway. So many times I've gone up that way only for the gate to that section to be closed due to deep snow. After asking around, I found out that the highway was open, so I had to check it out! Despite having a street bike, I had tons of fun on the potholed and washboard gravel! (Blog Post, Album (102 photos), 11 photos attached) #motorcycle #photography #photog #photos #photo #mywork

Please be kind with these photos. This was my first album where I did raw photo editing of all of the photos, and I still had a lot to learn when it came to many things including tint and color temperature.



While the goal of this ride was Grand Coulee Dam, the trip really ended up being much more about the journey through some of the most striking scenery in Eastern Washington. (Blog Post, Album (265 photos), 15 photos attached) #motorcycle #photography #photog #photos #photo

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in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Had to go back one last time for a third edit to lift some dark areas. #photography #photog #photo #motorcycle

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Thanks to a tip from @paperdigits@mastodon.social , my workflow for white balance is a lot more precise! #photography #photog #photo #photos

Edited


Camera JPEG



Been playing around with RAW photo editing in #Darktable for the past week. I have a lot of it down, but I could really use a tool for checking the tint of grey surfaces. (1, 2, 3, 4) #photography #photog #photo #photos

The photos here are from my usual route through Woodland Park by #bicycle , which I discovered by old-fashioned wayfinding. #cycling #seabikes

in reply to Neil E. Hodges

About "grey" But who makes a second shot with a colorcheck plate? I am not - so to speak.
Thats useful when use the pipette tool for white balance.
in reply to dieter_wilhelm

Having something familiar in the shot that you know should look a certain way certainly does help!

in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Looks really good! Well some training is key... Shot mostly digital from 2007 to 2012... and in those times i had trained myself to develop digital. Means: takes time.



@dieter_wilhelm Any tips for when the sky is overexposed in the original RAW? There isn't any color info that can be extracted from it in this case. The way the light bleeds out onto the hill in the distance is a bit hard to manage, too.

Camera JPEG

(Only for reference.)

Rough Draft


#photography #photog #photo #photos

in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Well that needs a holder, and some. Have the whole set not really everytime with me. Only when planned to used..



Chinook Pass finally opened shortly before my previous ride to Hurricane Ridge, so I had to check it out. Once ascending out of the forests, I got serious "national park" vibes like when I visited Yellowstone many years ago. The only other pass highway that compared in my memory was the North Cascades Highway! (Blog Post, Album (202 photos), 14 photos attached) #motorcycle #photography #photog #photos #photo

Not only that, I also checked out the Yakima River Canyon, which was another route on my bucket list. There really isn't anything as refreshing as a cool river oasis surrounded by desert hills!

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in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Last one seems for a good end of that development. Leave that in those state, and go for another shot...

A color lookup table is another way to get "things right".... so a good idea.


For weeks during the nasty PNW Spring this year, I talked about visiting Hurricane Ridge, and I finally got the chance to do it in June! It really felt like we were ascending to the heavens and landing on an alien world as @clover and I rode up the road that wound its way along the cliffs of the Olympic Mountains. (Blog Post, Album (84 photos), 10 photos attached) #motorcycle #photography #photog #photos #photo


I had such an amazing time riding across the North Cascades Highway and back! The scale of the mountains out there puts other passes in the Cascades to shame and makes one feel so very tiny. In the end, it was a 363 mile ride in one day, with many scenic stops along the way. (Blog Post, Album (201 photos), 20 photos attached) #motorcycle #bikelife #photography #photog #photos #photo

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in reply to Neil E. Hodges

They are splendid images. Thank you for showing them!


The day after my Roslyn trip, I really wanted to get another ride in to make the most of my four day weekend, so I headed over Stevens Pass to #Leavenworth, which was filled with lots of both new and familiar sights. Just like when my partner and I visited Leavenworth by train together a few years back, the scenery of the Tumwater Canyon really captured my imagination! (Blog Post, Album (51 photos), 11 photos attached) #motorcycle #photography #photog #photos #photo #Washington #WashingtonState

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One of the reasons why I got into #motorcycle riding was to have an easier time getting to places like Eastern Washington. #Roslyn, #Washington was on my list of places to see, and it didn't disappoint! (Blog Post, Album (202 photos), 16 photos attached) #photography #photog #photos #photo

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I'd rather overexpose the sky if it means that my composition of interest isn't too dark to see anything. # # # #
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Monitor is calibrated? Load a grayscale picture "full black to full white" and check if it displayed "all visible" on your monitor with your picture program.
(Had that with an colleague who had "too bright pics". Next week he had a new monitor...)
in reply to dieter_wilhelm

I was comparing the JPEG from my camera to the image resulting from processing the RAW on the same monitor, so it's all relative.
in reply to dieter_wilhelm

I found some good videos, but I still didn't find the right tool for increasing the contrast and saturation of the trees to my liking, when the bright cloudy sky caused the photo to be underexposed by the camera.
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

When i have a similar shot. Filter down (masked sky in LR CC) the sky. Means sky and tree have 3fstop between. Then raise the global exposure and raise some deeps. Usual sky is like before but trees and deeps are lighter then. Well saturation is also to consider....


What a weekend! With two rides over two of the passes, I saw Roslyn, Cle Elum Lake, and Leavenworth with lovely weather (aside from some rain in the mountains on Saturday). Feels like #motorcycle season is finally heating up!

Many, many more photos to come soon. #photography #photog #photos #photo

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in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Some enjoyable roads out there, too, and the ones in these photos were the tame ones! (1, 2) #motorcycle #photography #photog #photos #photo

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Our return home featured not only a very long ferry ride, but also @clover 's first time driving in snow! Things went pretty smoothly the whole way home, nonetheless, as we stopped by the towns of #Anacortes and #LaConner. We also made a quick stop at the Seattle Premium Outlets in Marysville so @clover could look at shoes. (Album)

Finally got around to tagging and uploading all of the photos from the trip to the San Juan islands that @clover and I went on back in February. #photography #photog #photos #photo #Washington #WashingtonState #PugetSound #SanJuanIslands

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Our last full day in the islands was on Lopez, which was by far the quietest one. Not only did we see few cars on the road, we only found a few restaurants even open! The beautiful island scenery certainly made up for the lack of food options. Our dinner and stay were at the Lopez Islander, which was very cozy. (Album)

Finally got around to tagging and uploading all of the photos from the trip to the San Juan islands that @clover and I went on back in February. #photography #photog #photos #photo #Washington #WashingtonState #PugetSound #SanJuanIslands #LopezIsland



Our next day was spent on Orcas Island, which gave us even more beautiful sights around Mount Constitution and Moran State Park. Even our accommodations were nice at Pebble Cove Farm, which even had farm animals roaming about! (Album)

When we showed up, I went into the main house, only to find that it was actually a private residence, and that it was being house sat by someone who was as confused as we were. I'll never forget that awkwardness…

Finally got around to tagging and uploading all of the photos from the trip to the San Juan islands that @clover and I went on back in February. #photography #photog #photos #photo #Washington #WashingtonState #PugetSound #SanJuanIslands



After a rough time getting out there (it was @clover 's first long drive, after all), and a _very_long ferry ride, we had a very chill time on San Juan Island. I'd been there a couple times before over my life, but it had been yeears. We spent a lot of time around Friday Harbor, but also checked out South Beach, as well as the scenery along the way. (Album)

Finally got around to tagging and uploading all of the photos from the trip to the San Juan islands that @clover and I went on back in February. #photography #photog #photos #photo #Washington #WashingtonState #PugetSound #SanJuanIslands

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