12/31/11

This was taken during one of the more crazy weekend adventures. I believe we drove 700+ miles in 2 days, and hiked 20 miles or so. This is of Painted Hills, Oregon. I found the Painted Hills tough to shoot, especially with a wide angle. This is gated off, but one theoretically gain access with permission, which I will inquire about.

For this particular image, I double processed it with Niks' Silver Effex 2. I am fairly happy with the results. I like the colors on the original, which I may post at some point.


Posted by dustin gent | File under : , , , , ,
To everyone who reads this blog, heres' to a happy new year and hoping 2012 finds you all well. 2011 has been an interesting year. In the last 8 months, I have captured the best images I have ever! The irony is that I am using even older gear than I was in previous years. Perhaps it makes me think more about what I am shooting. I will admit that when I had autofocus lenses, I never EVER used manual focus.

Summer of 2010, I had a Canon 40D, 17-40L and a 50mm 1.8. I would just keep it on AF and not really think about anything. Sure it was in manual mode, but still. I had always wanted to get a full frame camera, but of course it would cost me quite a bit more to get a FF body. I think my 40D was worth $500, and the two lenses maybe $700 combined. So theoretically I could get a full frame, but then have no lenses. After some research on the FredMiranda Alternative Forums, I was stoked. I never realized that there were so many amazing lenses for so cheap. Obviously you sacrifice autofocus and exif data, but oh well. I learned photography on film, so I have already some experience writing info down, such as film speed, aperture and focal length — all stuff I would still need to.

So I sold my camera and lenses and finally found a 1Ds in summer of 2010 and bought an OM Zuiko 28mm 3.5 with a fotodiox adapter to mount it onto the body. It is a sharp lens, but I look back at the pictures from that, and I still didn't grasp using manual focus. For some reason, I sold all my gear at the end of September 2010 - even my tripod — only to repurchase photo gear in late January 2011. I went as far as to buy another 40D and a Tamron 17-35 2.8-4, but never even used them, as I was going to regret going from full frame to a crop body.

Off it went to eBay and on FredMirandas' excellent buy and sell forums, and I picked up another 1Ds in February 2011. I must say the sensor on this one is MUCH cleaner than on my old one, plus I am much harder on this body than on my first 1Ds. I found an OM Zuiko 24mm 2.8 locally (by chance!) for like $120. I used that and picked up a Samyang (Rokinon) 85mm 1.4 to mess around with. For anyone who doesn't know this by now, Samyang is NO JOKE! The 85mm 1.4 is like $260 at Amazon.com, brand new. This lens is so AMAZINGLY sharp, it is rediculous. It is manual focus, but who cares:). Samyang also makes a 35mm 1.4, 14mm 2.8 and I think they are coming out with a 24mm 1.4.

After several months of using this combo, I came across the Tokina 17mm 3.5 RMC. I hadn't heard much about it, and I ended up outbidding one other person on eBay. I got the lens for $130 shipped to my door. I was told that this lens would not come close to the performance of the Zuiko 24mm, but I wanted to try it out. Even Ken Rockwell gave it a great review - even though I don't follow that guy. I didn't realize that the lens I got was in Nikon mount, so I have a fotodiox Nikon to EOS adapter. Pretty "alt" if you ask me.

Soon after shooting "Weeping Walls", the Zuiko was on eBay. I didn't sell it because I found it to be lacking after using the Tokina, I sold it due to I would seriously not use it that much, as I like wide angles for landscapes. It is a phenomenal lens! Now I am thinking of adding a Zuiko 28mm 3.5 to my kit, as 17mm is too wide for a lot of things. The 28mm 3.5 averages about $45 on eBay or on craigslist. Pretty crazy!

I still cannot believe this combo can capture what it has! So for those of you that are reading this and worried about getting older gear, DON'T! I honestly believe that using this combo has made me grow 10000% as a photographer. Attention to every detail is imperative. It makes you slow down and take your time, even though it is digital.

Before I close this post, one last thing. Before I bought my 1Ds, I would hear the 1Ds described as being "film like", which I didn't understand. I also hear the 5D is also like that, although I haven't used a 5D. The 5D would be dead by now in the conditions I shoot in, seriously. Well, here is what "film like" is. Kinda gritty, but still good. I am hoping to upgrade to a 1Ds2 or even 1Ds3 this year (and lens), but I need to start making money before doing this:).

Until next time,

Happy New Years'


12/29/11

Posted by dustin gent |
So I have a few kinks to work out, but I am getting my blog to where I like it. I really like the addition of the links up at the top - the only problem is that going through all the CSS and html code to remove some of these "breaks" the code since I am not proficient at coding. I didn't write this code, just editing it to my liking (or trying to :)

More changes will be coming, such as menu colors, background color, etc. The twitter link, linkedin links just go to their respective websites, as I do not have a twitter (who would follow me) and haven't started a linkedin profile; but planning to. The other links (buttons) work as they should.

Anyways, here is a shot from Abiqua Falls from last summer. Crazy how green it gets up here in the PNW, and crazy how far my post processing as come in the last few months.


12/28/11

Posted by dustin gent |
So i have spent the better part of the day trying to edit the WordPress theme. I am the type of person who will keep on working on something until I figure it out. My wife hates that sometimes, but I cannot help this. So after realizing that in order to change the wordpress theme, you need to have it hosted somewhere. Well, in my mind, why would I pay to have a blog hosted when I could have a website.

Back to blogger I came. After some searching around, it seems that there are more and better themes for blogger that are free! I ran into some problems trying to get the themes uploaded, but I think I have figured it out. The customer service at Google sucks, but good thing there is the internet.

For now, I am keeping blogger - and it may change looks over the next few days; but atleast the images are showing up correctly.

Here is an image I posted today on my Google+


Posted by dustin gent |
So I send Google several emails, and as expected I have yet to get a response. I am not holding my breath. In the meantime, I started a wordpress. You can follow me there, and I will probably still keep this one updated (though not as much). It really is too bad, as I liked blogger. I may simply try a new layout - one in which doesn't use thumbnails; as that seems to be the problem.

Wordpress is nice, but takes some getting used to. I do believe next week I will be set up for business, as I most likely will get a website up and running...

12/23/11

Posted by dustin gent |
for some reason, the images (thumbnails for my posts) are not showing up from my 2 latest posts. When you click on the post, it the images show up as they should. I have no idea why, but it has to do with google. I tried to create a tmblr blog, and the photos are linked google. The same thing happens. Googles' "customer service" is not on the same level as Apples'. Needless to say, I am going to be looking at a wordpress blog perhaps and move away from this. Having everything hosted together is not a great idea. That is why, when getting a website, you should ALWAYS get your domain and web hosting from 2 separate places.

I will keep this updated in the meantime - until I swap over to another platform; whatever that may be.

12/22/11


Here is another take on Spirit Falls. I need to get a shot of this in the spring and in the snow/ice. The water here is deep, so venturing out with out a pelican case and some rope is not a wise decision, and I have made some dumb chances before...

Took me a bit to get the color on this one "right". The water is really quite a blueish/aqua color, so it messes with the white balance of the camera.

12/19/11

Posted by dustin gent |

don't worry about the title of the post. Just didn't have an interesting enough name. Here is a shot from this past spring. This falls is called "Middle Ruckel Creek Falls". Kinda redundant and unoriginal, I know. The stories I heard about getting here were crazy, but they were tall tales. Getting back out to the trail was a WHOLE other story (11 hours of non-stop brutal hiking).

I will end up back here this spring, but much earlier in the day, and possibly on a rainy day..


12/14/11


This image looks as if I used "selective color", the cheesy and oft overused gimmick for portrait shots mostly. Not the case; just the scene looked like this - being winter (almost) and all.

I will be trying to update this blog every other day, if not everyday - we will see though. Gots to get new images to be able to update everyday!

For now, here is a new one.

12/13/11


This is one I took several weeks back. I don't think I will be able to get out this weekend, but perhaps next weekend to get some new shots. The color and lighting in this one I like, as it was way early in the morning and was cold.

Also, I have a zenfolio website (trial) right now. The url will change to www.dustingentadventures.com once I decide if I will keep the zenfolio. For now, here is the website. I will be updating, adding more photos and options/functionality on it this week.


12/12/11



It really is interesting how sometimes I get the inspiration to go back through to certain photos, and process ones I hadn't touched previously. I believe I have posted several from Mt. Rainier in this very blog, and I know I have at several websites (500px, flickr, etc). However, I hadn't posted these two in particular.

Anyways, I got the new Roots album - which I have been a fan of their work for years and years. The last two albums, they have really stepped up their work! The new album, "Undun", is so amazing. I was listening to this, and the two songs that really stand out to me are "Make My" and "Lighthouse". So while listening to this, I started to go through my Aperture libraries to see if there was something I could find. For some reason, these songs made me grab for the Rainier library.

My post processing skills are not the best - but I feel they are getting better. I figure that if I can put in all the dedication I do for when I am taking the photos, why not put in the time to learn a bit about the various post processing methods and apply them. I was never truly happy with any of the previous Rainier shots I processed. I spent some time with these photos, and I am pretty happy with the results. When I got up this morning, I found out that one of them is being used for the top 15 photos over at PhotoExtract, which is always cool when people like your work. It is my second time being chosen on that website. I have been chosen twice as well over at todaysphoto.

For Christmas, I am hoping I can get a website going and a monitor (or maybe a few lenses - an Olympus OM 28mm 3.5 and a 50mm of some sort perhaps..). I will keep this blog posted with updates!

12/8/11

Posted by dustin gent | File under : , , , , , ,

I have though about shooting the scene for years, but always though "I'll take this later" - that was in 2007. As I was driving back from downtown PDX (shot the XMAS tree at the Square), I came upon this scene. All I could see was the fog at the end of this tunnel. These conditions are VERY common around here.

Heading out tomorrow most likely to get some new stuff. Hoping I can get a proper website up soon. Here is the shot - may try it in B&W with the top cropped/cloned out..


12/5/11

Posted by dustin gent | File under : , , , , ,

Since there are many different options to display my work, I am taking my time in getting a website up. I want to get the most (read - Best :) ) out of what I spend on a site. There are the usual suspects; Zenfolio and SmugMug. There is also BigBlackBag.com, but they charge $360 a year. With that kind of pricing, may as well pay a web designer since you pay once (usually other than the domain and such) to design a site and be done with it.

OCD also plays a role in the delay. I am a PERFECTIONIST on my work, and if I am NOT happy with the product, why would anyone else. I am now starting to realize that I am an above photographer, and my "post processing" skills are not bad. Funny thing is that I do very minimal work; I try to get as much technical stuff right "in camera" as I can. I am old school - learned photography with film, although I am 32 years young:).

Also, I get sometimes caught up in the amount of Flickr comments and 500px comments and ratings. It boils down to a popularity contest. A lot of the FLickr comments are "nice shot" or whatnot, and most people comment because you comment on theirs. So having less feedback reflects nothing on ones' skill level.

During my showing at the PDXRaw Artist showing, I had A TON of feedback and compliments on my prints; which is huge because print is THE FINAL PRODUCT. Photos can look good on web, but in print, those same "good looking" images can loose quality quickly. I was, ironically, uncomfortable with amount of attention my work was getting. This has to do with being the first time I was showing my work. In hindsight, it was so much fun, and I will be taking my work to the San Francisco and Orange County RAWArtist showings this spring. I think I would have more luck selling my stuff, as there really is no waterfalls or peaks in California :).

In any case, here is a new image I just finished. It looks WICKED in print. Anything I post is print worthy. I will also be offering my prints for sale matted, in case someone is wanting a high quality print! I will post prices soon, in case anyone even reads this:).


12/4/11



Sorry I have been off the grid lately. Between lack of sleep and work, been tough to process new stuff - or even get new images to process.

This weekend I headed out to Outlet Falls and then Multnomah Falls to meet up with some other photographers I hadn't met before. It has been pretty frigid in the PNW the last week or so, and the week before that it was really wet for about a week. Crazy weather. I have heard reports of maybe snow this next weekend, but who knows.

Outlet Falls is located in Washington, in the shadow of Mt. Adams. This falls, while in many waterfall guides, is not marked in any shape or form from the road. After a bit of scouting, we found it. The view from the top is not very good. It looks lifeless and the water color is like a brownish. I wasn't expecting much. Views from atop are deceiving, to say the least.

Many of the rocks were frozen, and icicles were everywhere. The "creek" was deceptively deep in many parts, so it made for an interesting trek. Not only did I have to watch for the water level/depth, I had to watch for ice on the rocks when crossing.

I think this falls is way better in the fall, or even in early spring, but that is to be determined in several months when I get back here.

The other shot is from Multnomah Falls. Nothing really revolutionary. I like how the fog concealed the top part of the falls, and then as it dropped, the falls came into view. I will hope to post more stuff tonight or tomorrow.