June 19, 2012

a celestial morning with a sky-high ISO


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Nothing gets my "juices" flowing better than the arrival of a new piece of photographic equipment. My new tripod rolled in yesterday. It's time to retire "Old Sticky", which was the knock-off version of what I have now.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

"Old Sticky" had become SO uncooperative with age that I disliked using it. The temptation was just to brace the camera and boost the ISO "sky-high". End result is "noise" which is easy to fix in CameraRAW (Photoshop), but excessive noise-correction produces slightly "muddy" images, which is what you are seeing here. My professional photo buddy in Ohio, Jan Bell pointed this out in an email yesterday. A low ISO will require no noise-correction, keeping the tones bright.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Okay, all you shutterbugs... No, I DIDN'T get one of those overpriced high-tech carbon-fiber lightweight p.o.s.'s that you see advertised. This Til-Tall tripod is the exact same model I had as a teenager, oh so many years ago. It's made of aircraft aluminum, but it is heavy-duty and will easily support the weight of a 4x5 view camera. It clamps down securely with precise control. Maximum height=74". In a windstorm it can be tied to the ground.

Oh, do I love my new tripod?   Yes.
Will I enjoy carrying it?   No.


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1 comment:

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Glad you are happy with your new tripod. I will look forward to the pictures you get from using it and the occasional grumbling about packing it around.

 
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