Taken with a Nikon CP900 digital camera. 35-mm equivalent settings 38-115 @ 115 mm, macro mode. 1:3.6, 1/176 sec. Hand held.

Autumn colors are generally subdued in the Winnipeg area. I had thought of converting this one to greyscale but, in the end, felt that the available hues added to the image.

-- Garry Schaefer (schaefer@pangea.ca), October 18, 1998

Answers

Sorry for the miscue.

-- Garry Schaefer (schaefer@pangea.ca), October 18, 1998.

I think this one needs more interesting light to show off the texture of the seed pods. Otherwise, a nice staight-forward image.

Frank

-- Frank Kolwicz (bb389@lafn.org), October 18, 1998.

Thanks for the comment. This one was taken in diffuse light. I'll try again under low-angle direct lighting.

-- Garry Schaefer (schaefer@pangea.ca), October 20, 1998.

At the risk of sounding overcritical, I'm going to say that I don't like this shot as much as your previous postings. I find the composition uninteresting, more appropriate for a textbook shot. I do agree that the contributions of fine colour gradation are an asset over this shot as a B&W.

-- Daryl Hiebert (dhiebe@po-box.mcgill.ca), October 20, 1998.

Gary, I compared this with your other image "Mushrooms in the Horizontal". They both seem rather flat and dull in lighting almost to an equal extent. Is this due to "exposure" latitude, if I can call it that, of the digitial camera or was it due to indirect lighting that happened to be the same?

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), October 20, 1998.

Garry, most probably you are going to hate me for saying this. Your last two postings do not stand up to others. The strongest elements of your images IMO were color and composition (in that order!) the latest pictures are missing color and composition. They also seem to be rushed. Seat back, relax, and then keep up the good work. Regards Bahman

-- Bahman Farzad (cpgbooks@mindspring.com), October 20, 1998.

In the previous post I meant "Sit Back". My fingers run faster than my mind!

-- Bahman Farzad (cpgbooks@mindspring.com), October 20, 1998.

Firstly, thank you all for your input. I have no trouble hearing it like it is, with the hopes of improvment on my end. With regard to lighting, both of the past two were taken in overcast conditions (diffuse light). The lack of vibrant colours was a true reflection of the subjects. I have to take sole responsibility for the shortcomings of the compositions (which I acknowledge).

One of the shortcomings of the digital camera is the fact that it stores images at 8 bits per channel (a 24-bit image for the red, green and blue channels). That gives it less dynamic range than film and can easily result in burning out the highlights or blackening the shadows in direct light. That may often create more difficulty than using more subdued light. I'll continue to experiment and hope to do better next time.

Regards,

Garry

-- Garry Schaefer (schaefer@pangea.ca), October 20, 1998.

In order to free up space on my web site I have taken this image down. Thanks again for the useful comments.

-- Garry Schaefer (schaefer@pangea.ca), November 19, 1998.