nifty_pete's photostream  

(Note: I'm messy because this is the only fun I get to have. My sets are incomplete and my tagging is random. Sorry, but this is my release. If I ever get rich, I'll hire a secretary, editor, butler and... No, my wife would never let me have a maid. Perhaps a librarian, though. End of prefatory note.)

This marks a transition from my diminishing film-based photography to my photography since discovering digital.

I feel guilty about the loss of privacy when I take street scenes, so I try to be respectful. I will sometimes get fascinated by geometric shapes and how real objects can seem abstract.

As I enjoy the freedom of digital, I feel the urge to go back to the darkroom and chemicals, especially the black and white image emerging from the wet under the watchful yellow glow of the safe-light, all observed with a nose burning from hypo fumes. You can accuse me of being a romantic about rusty skills.

I am using Photoshop Elements 6.

Update November 28. Elements 6 has become my way of managing my photos, including uploads. My original intent was to learn some retouching to be able to recapture my original intent -- the eye is so much more flexible than any medium.

Both my Nikon P50 and Elements 6 are now declared fading, on their way to obsolescence. Yes, if I can afford it, I might get a DSLR. More likely is a modest upgrade to Elements 7.

Update January 2 2009. I have readjusted my monitor using Quick Gamma. I am supposed to have a gamma adjustment program in Elements 6, but I can't find it. The big change is adjusting my monitor to have 6500K instead of 9300K color temperature. This approaches the softness and palate of the Mac in my Intel/Win machine.

Everything looks friendlier. My problem is that all sorts of decisions I made these past months learning Elements 6 are different. Often a photo that I tried to enhance is too far in that direction, becoming grainy mush. This is a humbling experience. Happy New Year.

NEW CAMERA: I just got a Sony alpha 200. All I have so far, though, is test shots. Soon, but I'm not getting rid of the Nikon P50; that's my buddy.

Update May 13, 2009. I just got a Spyder 3 to calibrate my monitor. Wow, everything looks different -- again.