Just bought a D3000 (DSLR, lens, processing, adjust)

[PeytonC]

Yeah I had to come in & brag. I had my fun with some pretty good bridge cameras, but it was time to get a real (beginner) camera. Got a package deal at Best Buy, with the standard 18-55 and an additional 55-200. So far I love it. Nice, crisp pictures, easy to use, and I like having an SLR for the customizing & lense options. Time to play! Here's a shot from Saturday night, the day I bought it. I have posted about 6 thousand of this same scene in here , but night skyline photography is my favorite and I wanted to try it at a spot I know. Used a tripod, set the shutter speed to 10 seconds for this shot. No post-processing. Time to learn!

[mathjak107]

excellent shot, i like all the detailing you captured as well as didnt blow out the lights.

good job!

[WFW&P]

Gotta love the Charlotte skyline.

[mathjak107]

i enjoy the post processing part sometimes just as much as the photography part.... i get to do things my way instead of the cameras.

[PeytonC]

Yeah post-processing is fun; I especially found it useful with my old cameras to clear up noise, etc. I am now in the process of learning HDR, I have searched thru the threads in here & found some great links to tutorials. I will play with it some soon. I miss having the bracketing, though, even my P&S had bracketing. I have seen how to convert using one RAW (which I probably will not do much of), and how to use the exposure comp and manual exposure "bracketing", which I will probably use when doing HDR. Thanks for the compliments guys.

[mathjak107]

i fool around with hdr , although i toned it way down from my early stuff...some of the early stuff even burned my own eyeballs....

these are some older hdr's



http://mm-photography.smugmug.com/Other/NEW-YORK-CITY/DSC3614Enhancer/646823592_4GBmU-X2.jpg (broken link)

[PeytonC]

Nice ones. I tend to like the more subtle-toned HDRs as opposed to the Looney Tunes. Those examples are not over-done.

[mathjak107]

i agree, in fact now i do more exposure fusions which are completely normal looking but with an extended range of light to dark.

some of these are as many as 7 exposures .

you cant even tell except the dynamic range is wider.

you could never capture some of these scenes in one exposure and get the range of seeing in the shadows but not blowing out the bright stuff..

these are hdr but fused and not tone mapped with the light inversions which give hdr that un-real look everyone associates hdr with.

but as you see hdr can be totaly natural.




http://mm-photography.smugmug.com/Other/ROSLYN-LONG-ISLAND/MCJ8396397398399400tonemapped/805279512_dYmVi-X2.jpg (broken link)







http://mm-photography.smugmug.com/Other/LANDSCAPE-EXPOSURE-FUSION/DSC374123fused/674862638_Xtrzu-X2.jpg (broken link)

[BagongBuhay]

Congratulations, Peyton on the purchase of the new toy. I have my mind set on a new DSLR myself, but I have other money-sucking projects ahead of it. Look forward to more shots of the Queen City!

[PhotogGal]

Congrats, Peyton, on your new DSLR. Great night shot of the city. Can't wait to see more from your new toy.