All the idiots on the planet decided to gather in one spot...

daikiki

You consider the correct spelling of the word "before" to be obscure?

daikiki

Well yeah, but if that's the question, OP is just asking why the f-stop value changes when the focal length changes on a zoom lens. Since f-stop is a function of both the focal length and the physical size of the opening that lets light through it pretty much goes without saying that when you set a zoom lens to its widest aperture and focal length and then zoom in, the f-stop will increase. A zoom lens with a fixed max aperture would just be cheating you out of aperture at low focal lengths.

daikiki

Wait, what? The best lenses in the world have variable aperture. I'm not even sure I could find a lens on the market today without variable aperture. It would be completely absurd to create a piece of high quality glass that you can't step down. In fact, the only thing you could possibly snap on an slr that I can conceive of that allows for only a single f-stop would be a pinhole.

edit: I spel bad

daikiki

Well, Zack obviously infected all of the stupid people.

daikiki

I've been enjoying nature photography of late. I'm pleased with the way these little sandpipers turned out.

daikiki

They've been around for well over a decade.

daikiki

There's a "stop" button. But yeah - maybe it would be better if the slideshow didn't autostart.

Edit: And now it doesn't.

daikiki

"Acquire fixed rate debt on assets that increase in value with inflation. A perfect example is to own a home and real estate investments."

And we're done here.

daikiki

You will receive a refurb; It won't be the same machine, nor will it be a used, "repaired" machine. The refurbs don't actually contain many refurbished parts. There's a good chance you'll receive an Opus revision; a 65nm cpu, 90nm gpu in a Xenon (no hdmi) housing. It'll be a fairly reliable unit with better cooling than your original box.

daikiki

I think it's great. It's more staged than the original. The differences are minor, but it seems more well thought through - the reflection is clearer and more striking, and the composition just works better with the waterline higher. That little bit of extra detail in the dark background hints at more depth and gives the image a bit of mystery. The strangely shaped artwork really grabs the eye. It's very difficult to pull off symmetry well, but I feel like you've done a great job with this.

If I had to criticize anything, it would be that the lights along the waterline are blown out and that the trees are visible enough to interfere, but not visible enough to stand out as an element unto themselves. These are pretty much factors beyond your control though, unless you want to delve into the wonderful world of multiple exposures and tonemapping

daikiki

A couple things based on your original - it came out 16x12 with no exif data. Did you shoot at 16x12? I would never suggest shooting at anything below the highest resolution available. You can shrink it later if you want. The noise wasn't too bad, actually. Wouldn't sweat it. I don't know if you shot this in raw, but it's especially useful to do so when shooting in extreme lighting conditions, since the raw image will have a bit of "headroom" compared to a jpeg. I'm tempted to agree with the poster who recommended you desaturate. The shapes are what's important here and the color doesn't really add anything (although I kinda like the stark white lights contrasted with the soft yellow ones under the building). You could also consider cropping from the top and left/right. There's not much information there.

daikiki

Lovely composition. Great play between light and dark. Like the voyeuristic peek into the lit windows, even if there's nothing there. The implication that there may be suffices. The reflection of the office building in the water implies that the exposure was fairly short. The blacks are almost, but not quite there. I'd like it better if I could make out the horizontal structure (raised freeway?) behind the office building just a bit better. The uneven flare of the lights on the quay are a bit jarring, but I'm unsure there's much you could have done about that. Overall a very original shot with a unique appeal. I'd like to see it in full res with exif data though.

daikiki

<cough>dealextreme</cough>

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31881

daikiki

You're not very specific, but here are some random tips based on personal experience:

Use a tripod.
If you're shooting landscapes, stick with a low iso and up the exposure time.
Focus manually - autofocus is unreliable in low light situations.
Stay a few stops away from your largest aperture - lenses tend to get soft towards the extremes of their aperture ranges.
It's better to overexpose a bit and tone it down in post than to underexpose.
You may find that auto white balance doesn't work well in night shots, so you may have to manually adjust your WB.
If you need to augment the available light, 'painting' a subject with a flashlight works well, but don't overdo it. I'm fond of those tiny single led keychain lights, personally.

daikiki

Duck! That's a ducking duckton of . . . erm . . . ducks.

daikiki

It was pretty darn cold up on that mountain looking down at the valley, but down in the valley it was merely chilly. Hell of a lot better than visiting in the summer though.

daikiki

Excelsior, Stan!

daikiki

What you're looking for is Pitboss: http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/pitboss.htm

daikiki

I agree. To be honest though, I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Getting more DOF was never an option. The aquarium was dark, I didn't have a tripod, and using a flash was out of the question, so I had to shoot with the lens wide open at 1.8. That left me with very little depth of field. Photography is all about compromises, it seems :)

daikiki

Thanks for your praise. This is the Steinhart aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences. The entire place is just a dream for photographers. Between the aquarium and the rain forest and the Africa exhibit and the building itself you can bring along every lens you own and give them all a good solid workout.

daikiki

I don't disagree, but this is actually a candid shot. I was playing with a new lens and wanted to get a few clean shots of the tropical aquarium, but these two just wouldn't go away. After a few minutes I decided to include them in the shot, and in retrospect I'm glad I did.

daikiki

TROPHY CASE

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