Tilted Hay Bale, originally uploaded by jjvornov.
This is another hay image from yesterday. Expect more over the next few days. This is technically a better image than yesterday’s and is a really nice print. Hay is interesting in that it picks up both specular highlights because of it’s hard reflective surface but also absorbs in a really warm range, especially in morning or evening light.
I should note that this is another Sigma DP1 image in which a straight RAW to TIFF conversion was done using Sigma PhotoPro. I only manipulate the conversion if I need to change exposure or work hard to recover shadows or highlights. In general, the DP1’s exposure is so good that it’ve very rare that I do that. I have a little more success using spot metering, but the evaluative mode generally gives ma a full range image to work with. I credit the excellent dynamic range of the Foveon sensor for that.
While I was glad to see the news about Panasonic’s latest iteration of the Serious Compact Camera, the LX3, I’m generally unimpressed with the image quality of the JPGs posted to the net so far. They look like typical small sensor images, with noise showing up even at base ISO and cramped dynamic range.The improvements seem aimed at low light shooting- f/2.0 lens, better capture efficiency. The sensor in the DP1 has lousy low light capability; I’ve come to accept that ISO 800 isn’t generally usable and the lens is only f/4. There’s no stabilization. But when ISO 400 permits at least 1/30th at f/4, I can get photos of outstanding quality. I wouldn’t trade it for usable photos at 3 stops less light but loss of quality in the range that the DP1 performs in.
My enjoyment of photography is largely derived from the transformational process of image creation. I see certain aspects of the world with my own visual system, capture images, and through the photographic process they are transformed into something that is both evocative of what I saw but also something entirely new.
When it comes to getting hooked on photography, you see the same story again and again. It is magic first time you slip that print into developer from the enlarger and see the emergence of a photograph. When I load the images into Aperture, I get some of the same feeling in the digital realm. I’ve brought a perception back into the world, transformed by the photographic process.