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Ray, I love your image 4208. It displays so much quietness and peace of mind, I would love to be there, just sitting, chewing a straw and spending my time in idleness…, just only concentrating on nothing that seemed important before.
Chuck : I’ve used the "Save As.." instead of "Save for web", in order for you to see the EXIF data. You once said that you liked it when people let this information available.
Leen : I did learn a few things that you told me 🙂 There were moments when I looked at the scenery, and did nothing then breath for long minutes. Observing, and "feeling" the place. New Brunswick as much to offer for artists. Next year, we’ll spend 10 days instead of just 5. I should be able to get back some more beautifull pictures.
Ray, now I’m homesick 🙁 Not that I was born in PEI or NB but we sure did visit there alot when i was growing up. Great memories of N.S. as well. Little brother and myself swam with the jelly fish…we called them ‘ignoramases’…they were the monsters and we didn’t let them get us ! Wow, I want to cry. Life is great.
Jodi, being of French origin, I felt connected, like if Acadia was a lost continent. I felt a great sadness when I walk along the shores, and remembered what was done to the citizens of New Brunswick when the English decided it was time to get rid of them.
Ray, of course you know of the migration of the Acadians to Louisiana in the southern US some centuries ago….they intermarried with the people already there and became "Cajuns". Fantastic dialect that they speak!
Of course I knew it. But they didn’t do so willingly, they were forced to. That’s the sad part. And, instead of sending them to the province of Québec, where there were already several French speaking citizen, they sent them in the other colonies. They feared that a too great number of French people would end up in a revolution.
The Acadians of Canada now speak both French and English in the same time, but I believe it’s different from Cajun. I had a rough time understanding a lady at a local Tim Horton (coffee / donuts / sandwich shop). She would graciously switch from French to Enligh and vice versa within the same sentence. I was like… "ehhh.. what did you say?" At the end, I received a chicken salad sandwich on a big whole weat bread (the ones I can’t eat easily because of my braces), whereas I had ordered a ham salad on white sliced bread (regular) sandwich. A soup was added, and I did not even ordered it 😉
Tastes good though. Rick had 1 and 1/2 sandwich, on that particular dinner (I couldn’t eat it).
Juergen, thanks 🙂 It’s a pitty I couldn’t shoot what was coming only minutes later. The sky was cizored (sizored.. cisored?) with orange / red stripes over blue / dark grey clouds, showing a bit of yellow. Unfortunately, on the highway, there’s not always room to stop and shoot a picture. Only later that evening, while my friend was driving, did I re-read the user’s manual of my camera and learned I could have actually shot it using the Sport mode of my cam… !
I tried it later and it works flawlessly! The camera will switch to ISO 400 (or 800), and permits objects to be frozen even when shooting from a moving car, running at 125Kph (75Mph). It takes a rapid focussing lense (which I have) and it’s very easy. I learned to anticipate "wholes in trees" to get a perfect view at some distant barns or objects 1.5 Km (1 mi) from the road!
I better be! My boss will be sending me on a training trip either to Toronto (French is almost absent there) or Las Vegas, or San Francisco… ALONE! So, if I am to blend in with the locals to, at least, have a bit of a conversation (to finally get my ham salad sandwich!), I better start to catch up on the rest of English I’m unaware of 😉
You know, we should do an Element get together in New Brunswick! Beaches are just as warm as they are in Florida (summer time). And the cost of living is way cheaper than anywhere else in North America.
I was tempted to do that, but it wouldn’t be true to the original, in the sens that this was what was recorded (more or less, with -1/2 stop). I will redo them within the following weeks (for printing purposes) and will post the best.
What I did this morning was to resize / sharpen (with PS7, in the Lab color mode) and remove a few stains I discovered in my camera’s sensor once I got back home. I’ve only posted a few of the 333 pictures I had to correct. I also did some color correction, but very briefly (boost contrast and brightness, +5 to +8).
What parameter settings were you using? I’ve been experimenting with +1 contrast, +1 saturation and +1 sharpen. (Large, fine Jpegs.) The images I get look a bit more like the beautifully saturated photos I used to take with my Kodak DC290, but not yet there.
All is default, except sharpness which is +2. I just realized (late yesterday evening) that my pictures are not well balanced as I tried to print some and they were not ok. I have a LCD monitor and when I compared the results with my friend’s CRT monitor, it’s totally different. I will need to invest money in an LCD calibration tool, I feel.
Ray, I’m using a Photocal Spyder to calibrate my monitor. These things aren’t cheap, but the savings on expenses of wasted paper and ink have paid for it.
*sniff* I miss NB and PEI. My dad is from Richibucto (geeze I hope I remembered how to spell that) and I used to visit a lot as a kid. I haven’t been there in years, now. The last time was for my grandmother’s funeral. Anyway, I really miss the place. Everyone there was always so FRIENDLY.
BTW, did you drive? Did you pass through the place that has what I think is the best name ever? St. Louis du Ha Ha! (for those who have never been to Quebec, there seriously is a place there with this name. Google it and you’ll find all sorts of things on it)
Jodi, when I was a kid we always made little ponds and canals in the beaches for the chubs. Did you guys do that?
And yeah we thought the jelly fish were monsters, too. 😉 It was a game to smash to smithereens the ones that got beached. (i wasn’t afraid of the beached ones, but man did I high tail it out of the water every time someone said that they saw one swimming around)
My uncle was a fisherman and he used to take us out in his boat all the time. We went whale sighting and would often go to island beaches and eat fresh clams. Oh man, I need to go back there some day! (truth is, I really miss the ocean and all things related to it)
Thanks for the info. It’s expensive, but not that much. Once I’ve spent 2500$ on a camera, I think I should afford a device like that 🙂
Do you have a LCD monitor yourself (guess so since you’ve suggested this link…)? Was it hard to calibrate? How close does the calibration comes with real printing (95%… 100%… 80%.. ?) Actually, I’d say I’m roughly at 70%.
I have a Viewsonic VG500 monitor. Any tips would be appreciated 🙂
Ray, can LCD monitors even be calibrated? I remember some discussions of that before that were not too confident about LCD’s in their current state.
Might be cheaper to invest in a good CRT-based monitor….seems like a step backward in technology, but for color rendition they’re apparently still superior…?
Vicky, don’t talk about that.. 😉 I ordered a ham salad sandwich on white bread and received a turkey salad on big hard whole wheat bread! A chicken noodle soup and a coffee, on top of that! Couldn’t understand the lady, both in French, English or Acadian. It was good, but that wasn’t exactly what I ordered.
…. as long as it wasn’t more seafood, I was a happy camper!
Chuck, I wish I could, but I can’t. I’ve spent too much time in front of CRTs and now my eyes are aching when I work on them for more than my day’s work. Even then, I need to take regular short breaks (5 minutes per hour). LCD is the only way for me.
I’m confident a LCD can be calibrated, although I don’t fully understand calibration, I believe you tell Windows what to display instead of calibrating the monitor itself to display what Windows sees… (a pure guess!)
Vicky, geeze, the canal idea sounded really cool. No, I’m afraid we didn’t do that. We were real little. I think I was no older than 12 the last time we swam like hell away from the ignoramasses. Aint it great to have parents that let ya ‘live and learn ‘ ? I remember body surfing in title waves that crashed on the shore…what a blast to get pounded that way 😉 Thanks mom 🙂
Actually I do have a CRT monitor. It takes a lot of space, but in my opinion it is easier to work with a CRT than a LCD monitor. The Photocal Spyder (BTW, the price has fallen considerably as I payed about 3x the present price) can be used for both LCD and CRT monitors as there is a clever device enabling you to hang it in front of a LCD screen. You attach the spyder to the CRT screen with suction cups or hang it in front of a LCD screen. The best way to do this -I experienced- is to calibrate when it is completely dark as there is always some light leakage.
You can find this device at: < http://www.colorvision.ch/beta/productssolutions/withphotoca l/> The "success rate" with a calibrated monitor in a well profiled system is hard to estimate, but about 90-95% of my images are as predicted, provided you are used to comparing a light emitting image to a print and check it in correct light conditions.
I have it calibrate my monitor each two weeks. This way I suppose I saved considerably on paper and inks.
Ray, don’t worry. Calibration with this piece of equipment is a piece of cake. The only thing you got to do is folow the on screen instructions for a few minutes. Then it will take over and it will calibrate your monitor and you can sit back, have your coffee and watch the little thing work for you. It is always nice to see things being done for you whilst having coffee. 😉
I’ve e-mailed them to locate a Canadian distributor. I wish they have on around here. Thanks again, "the finance minister" here has already aproved of this spending.. 😉
I’m confident a LCD can be calibrated, although I don’t fully understand calibration, I believe you tell Windows what to display instead of calibrating the monitor itself to display what Windows sees… (a pure guess!)
Well in OSX, you can calibrate an LCD panel, but not quite as extensively as CRTs. Just FYI. You can adjust gamma and I think something else (colour tone, I think, but maybe I’m dreaming), but that’s it. You can also set it up to use different colour profiles (although I’ve always left mine to Apple’s default). The one thing I remember for sure that you *can’t* do is adjust the contrast.
I have placed my LCD panel beside my husband’s CRT, and honestly, the only difference I noticed was with white, and I think that this was because I was able to adjust the contrast on his machine but not mine (I ran the profiler on both machines, just for fun, and actually the CRT was hooked up to my machine – the thing was running two displays). His screen produced a purer white than mine. That was the only difference that I could spot. I’m using a powerbook, which has a pretty high quality LCD panel in it.
I, too, must stay away from CRTs due to eye fatigue problems.
I have noticed that my prints match my screen display as close as I can ever expect given my cheap printer. But I’m no pro.
Hi, Vicky. White point is the other setting you can adjust with X’s display calibrator, and depending on the monitor you can fake adjusting the phosphors with one of the hardware/software combo calibration devices.
I also wouldn’t want another CRT after this monitor, no matter how accurate they may be. It really is much easier to look at all day. And with gamma toggle you can change the profile to a different one right from the finder menubar.
Ray and Vicki: What is it about CRT’s that causes more eye fatigue than an LCD? Is it the refresh scanning that goes on with a CRT?
Chuck, at first I thought it was the refresh rate, but after cranking it up to 100Mhz, I still had problem with my eyes (tears, blood vessels showing up, itching, etc.) I really can’t tell how a CRT is affecting my eyes, I just know it does. Strangely, this doesn’t not happen when I watch TV. I first began to realize that when I worked on the laptop, all my symptoms would disapear. So I made the connection 😉
Ray, another thought; when you are on your laptop you are in a better lit area ? The problem with computers is that we tend to have them in a less lit room and like me…the only light I see is the monitor. Hence the saying ; don’t watch TV in the dark ’cause it will ruin your eyes ! ‘…that is a possible myth however I am guilty of sitting in my cave in the dark at night with only the monitor to light the room. My eyes do get sore in the evening and into the night from this habit. Otherwise I am fine during the day with my CRT….as long as it’s not rainy and gloomy out. I just hate indoor lighting……prefer lots of windows…but my computer cave only has 1 . ;(
Ray and Vicki: What is it about CRT’s that causes more eye fatigue than an LCD? Is it the refresh scanning that goes on with a CRT? Chuck
I honestly have no idea. I think it’s the refresh rate, coupled with brightness and contrast. It doesn’t matter how high you put the refresh rate – it’s always slightly noticeable as a slight flicker, and I think this flicker is made noticeable by how much brighter CRT screens are, especially if you have the contrast set properly. Also, I find that I don’t blink very often if I use a CRT. I still don’t blink normally with an LCD panel, but it’s nowhere near as bad. I have one problem with both, though, and that’s that my eyes sort of lock in focus on them. Add a really low rate of blinking, though, and things get really bad. I remember when I used to work as a programmer, if I looked up from my screen, it would sometimes take me a good minute to be able to focus on anything. I have found that the lower contrast and slightly lower brightness of an LCD panel have made a great positive difference for me. I still can’t stare at one for hours, but I can certainly go for much longer than I can with a CRT.
I think part of the thing here is that people who are into graphics do a lot more than just stare at their computer screens. They have to look at their printouts, they have to look at colour swatches, they have to go out and actually shoot some film (what do people say when they use digital cameras now? I’m going to go out and shoot my memory card?), and whatever else pros do. Programmers, OTOH, just stare at the screen all the time. 😉 Sometimes we get pulled away for meetings and such, but we really hate those things and so try to stay hidden in our offices as much as possible. 😉 At least, that’s what I was like. I got out of that business, though, as I eventually discovered that it just wasn’t for me. Unfortunately, I have newfound eye problems as a souvenir.
Vicky
P.S. My eyes have a predisposition to this problem, unfortunately, so things are worse for me than others. Maybe Ray has the same problem. When I was a kid, I used to find that if I spent hours reading a book, it would take me quite a long time to be able to focus on anything far away after that.
Hey that was interesting! Looks like they claim that LCDs are actually *brighter* (did I understand that part correctly)? Well then maybe for me it’s entirely a flicker issue (I noted that they said that LCDs had no flicker at all but that CRTs had some flicker, but only below 85Hz, but I swear I can see flicker at any rate). And perhaps also a contrast thing. There seemed to be a pretty big difference between the two types of screens when it comes to contrast.
Looks like they claim that LCDs are actually *brighter*
Yeah, Vicky, I was surprised that you found your CRT brighter. The brightness is one of the big selling points for LCDs. I find that even a well-calibrated CRT looks kind of dingy since I’ve gotten used to the LCD.
Thanks for the tips Jodi but I’ve really tried everything before I switched to the LCD. My CRT was only 18 months old. It wasn’t really time to switch, believe me 🙂
Well lit, under lit, over lit, nothing did it. My eyes getting worse and worse as days went by. Untill I got the LCD. Now, I could work for undending days without any eye problems. For me, LCD was a savior. You know how much I like graphics… having to stop was killing me.
I think I may have located a Montreal dealer carrying the Spyder + Photocal… I’ll have a look and see if it’s worth the 300$. If so, then I’ll buy it.
ray, I think it really is worth every penny/cent. I was really amazed when I calibrated my monitor the first time. My screen was way too bright and contrasty, although I thought it to be close to what it should be. First I supposed I made a mistake and recalibrated but it showed as "dull" as the first time. Soon I got used to it and suddenly my prints turned out much brighter than ever before……
It’s funny Leen because that’s exactly my problem. On screen, all is wonderfully colored. On printed, everything is like -2 on the saturation scale (from 0 to -5). So I need to boost it much, but can never get the same result exactly.
The standard setting for screens is usually too bright and contrasty. If you are to buy a monitor and come to a store, you will usually always pick the one with the brightest and most saturated (why not saturatetest? Sounds much funnier, probably the funniest) colours. Nobody will pick the one with the dull screen…
Ray, I used my 10D on a recent Swiss vacation and half way through changing lenses apparently picked up a dustball that showed as a slight blob in the sky on my otherwise gorgeous shots of the Matterhorn in the sunrise, easily eliminated by cloning. I believe you may also have a dust ball on the sensor, visible on verticle shots in the sky about 1/3 down and 1/4 across from the left side.
Thanks for noticing it. It’s been fixed already. I delicately clean the sensor with some sand paper and a little laundry bleach. Now, all my whites are wither… 😉
Seriously, I cleaned the sensor (and lost 10 pounds in the process because I was scared to death doing so). It worked fine. The dust is gone, at least the visible one. There are still some spot on the sensor, but they won’t go with a "gentle" blowing. My only option is to send it to Canon, but as far as I can tell, they don’t show up (I photographed a solid color to know if they’d show up again).
I always have some dust on my sensor as well; it is just only visible in the sky. I regularly try to clean it by blowing air on it, but there is always something left.
Probably a good Idea not to clean it; this way I will know where to look…. 😉
My wife used to complain all the time about CRT flickering, but it never seemed to bother me. Now, though, I do find LCDs much easier to look at (and I thought it was just getting old 😉
The real surprise was going into a computer store and looking at LCDs and CRTs side-by-side. When I looked directly at the CRTs, they looked fine; but when I switched to looking at the LCDs–and the CRTs were off-axis from the center of vision–the flickering was very noticeable.
Ray & Vicki, maybe we’re just subliminally detecting the flickering in CRTs. It’s not obvious, but it’s there.
Oh, and beautiful pictures, Ray. How I miss the east coast…
We’re sure not imagining thing, I can see the flickering up to 100Hz or a CRT, and I stop seeing at 70Hz on my LCD. But the flickering alone wasn’t what was causing it. At work, we have monitors I could boost more than 100Hz and still, the problem was there. Untill they changed it for another brand, which is less pain. I don’t know the entire Science about displays and their effects on vision, but I do know there is more to it than the refresh rate.
I think it’s fairly clear that some of us are just more sensitive. Like epileptics. 😉 CRTs rasterize, LCDs don’t, and that is probably what really counts. Some of us are able to notice the flickering from the scanning process of CRTs (including TV sets, which are a problem for me as well), but LCDs just don’t do this. Some people are also sensitive to other types of lights that flicker a lot, like incandescant bulbs running at low frequency, or poor quality fluorescent bulbs. (personally, I can’t stand to be in a room with a malfunctioning fluroescent light)
I just purchased the Spyder calibration tool. I found it locally (Southern California) for US$200 and there was a mail-in rebate coupon in the box for $50. It includes a bundled copy of Adobe Album as well.
Ray, if you haven’t contacted that Canadian supplier yet, you should. I’d ask if the Canadian distribution contains the rebate coupon. My coupon is good through October 31st.
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