*ENTRY* Thread DSS #79 ([SOOC] Open study) CLOSED

sherstone

Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge #79


Welcome to Round #79 of the Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenges. This challenge is open to any Dgrin member.
It will run from Monday, June 13th, 10:00pm PST time (GMT -7) on through Monday, June 27th, 10:00pm PST time (GMT -7).

The topic ready for your interpretation: [SOOC] Open study
Open study means that it is up to you what you shoot this time around. The image must be fresh of course, just as important is it must be shot SOOC.

What SOOC means; [Straight out of Camera] - You must shoot using JPG mode straight out of the camera (SOOC), no RAW, TIFF or any other format other than JPG. The important thing I will be looking for in your EXIF's is that the "Date Taken" and "Date Modified", date and time are identical. In some cases there may not be a date modified.

You can manipulate the JPG settings in camera however you like (before pressing the shutter) but the JPG must never be loaded into any software to do any editing whatsoever.

Camera phones typically have software that processes the photo beyond th scope of SOOC, with this in mind, if your camera has built in or 3rd party software that allows you to edit the image within the camera after the shutter has been pressed and such edits do not obey proper EXIF rules either by not updating the Modified field or by ignoring it all together then you are bending the spirit of the rules. Such editing while impossible to prove will be frowned upon.

No watermarks are allowed. (would require editing)
You may NOT use the SmugMug cropping tool after the image is uploaded. No cropping is allowed in this round.
If you do not want to upload a large resolution image then set your JPG size to a smaller size when shooting.

absolutely no editing is allowed in this round

Your Judge:
1 round 72 Hour Public Vote.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your entry is to be submitted directly into a SmugMug gallery. It's pretty simple, just go to the gallery link below, and follow the upload instructions at the top of the page:

DSS #79 Entry Gallery

Remember, the basics stay the same: 1 entry per person, and the photo must be fresh, taken during this contest period. Do not use a minimal save method (such as "save for web"), and your EXIF will be embedded in your image, no worries!

To avoid disqualification, read, in full, the Dgrin Sharp Shooters Challenge Rules.

sfau

this i like....

DsrtVW

So cool, One of my favorite themes. And all rested up after 2.5 weeks of vacation.

WhatSheSaw

No straightening, no layers, no cropping... Just get out and shoot. Woohoo!

ghinson

Definitely one of the more challenging themes. It almost feels like Sean is saying "no TV until your homework is done!" To be challenged is, of course, why we come. Planning on ordering a new P&S camera. Given all the bells and whistles these have these days, this might speed me up.

silversx80

Quick question, since a feature on cameras has become more proliferated since the last SOOC challenge. "Art Filters" or creative controls have been implemented in quite a few dSLR, interchangeable-lens, and P&S cameras. This is stock software, and selectable like a "scene mode" to where it can be set to be applied to the image before the shutter release. Some cameras are allowing such a feature to be applied after the shot is taken.

More recent iterations allow the manipulation to be applied after the shot is taken. My Olympus E-620 allows the application of an "Art Filter" only before the shot is taken. The Olympus E-PL1 (my wife's) allows it both before, and after the shot is taken.

Is it right to guess the latter will not be allowed, but the former will?

CHANDLERJA

Sweet! I have been waiting for one like this

SimpsonBrothers

Awesome!

sherstone

ghinson wrote: »

Definitely one of the more challenging themes. It almost feels like Sean is saying "no TV until your homework is done!" To be challenged is, of course, why we come. Planning on ordering a new P&S camera. Given all the bells and whistles these have these days, this might speed me up.

Make sure you set your date and time correctly before using your new camera.

sherstone

silversx80 wrote: »

Is it right to guess the latter will not be allowed, but the former will?

Short answer is yes.

The theme explanation of SOOC covers this exact question. The spirit of the challenge is to concentrate on framing within the camera, keeping it straight or level, working on composition before you press the shutter and of course proper exposure etc.

Using art filters will be acceptable only if the modified EXIF date matches the date taken. If the camera does not show a modified EXIF or if it is different then I would not recommend using an art filter at all.

travelways

Great!

I actually just thought about this few days ago... - both SOOC and free theme

powder

Happiness!

Jenn

hmmmmmm I don't know whether to celebrate or bite my nails...

slpollett

Love this topic!! clap

I was on vacation last week and was thinking of how much I wished the (then current) challenge was SOOC--especially since I was in a place with lots of photo ops and no editing software!!

Now I'm home and will need to find something interesting to shoot around here.

Sherry

SeascapeS

This is the hardest one yet. My urges to edit are way too strong!

divamum

Sorry, Sean, but to elaborate on the "art filters" question - what about things like in-camera tilt-shift (which also adds saturation as well as the blur) and other very obviously "processed" effects - those are ok if they're a setting on the camera itself? (I know it doesn't affect exif in the case of the s95, hence why I'm asking the question straight out!).

Sorry to mudddy the waters even further, but as cameras get more sophisticated with what they do before you press the shutter, "sooc" gets harder and harder to define!!

sherstone

divamum wrote: »

Sorry, Sean, but to elaborate on the "art filters" question - what about things like in-camera tilt-shift (which also adds saturation as well as the blur) and other very obviously "processed" effects - those are ok if they're a setting on the camera itself? (I know it doesn't affect exif in the case of the s95, hence why I'm asking the question straight out!).

Sorry to mudddy the waters even further, but as cameras get more sophisticated with what they do before you press the shutter, "sooc" gets harder and harder to define!!

Not really that complicated. If both date taken and date modified EXIF dates are identical then do whatever your camera can throw at us. If your camera does not include a date modified and only a date taken within the EXIF, then it is not recommended since it is impossible to prove it's validity.

5Dme

This will be my first, perfectly time. I will be spending 3 days on the West Coast of Vancouver Island just before this one closes.
www.imagesbytoddross.com

Dirquist

Im new to doing this although Ive been on the site for a while. Ive read the rules on this competition as well as the global rules for the competitions. I easily miss things though so Im hoping Im not asking a completely ridiculous question. I see you have to have the exif data included; is it frowned upon if the picture is taken with automatic settings? I just want to do this for pure fun, Im not great with manual photos yet, although I have been trying. Should I only enter photos taken on manual settings or if I find my best pic is on "full auto" so to speak is that ok to enter also? I didnt see anything in the rules specifically, but maybe its so obvious it doesnt need mention?

DsrtVW

Dirquist wrote: »

Im new to doing this although Ive been on the site for a while. Ive read the rules on this competition as well as the global rules for the competitions. I easily miss things though so Im hoping Im not asking a completely ridiculous question. I see you have to have the exif data included; is it frowned upon if the picture is taken with automatic settings? I just want to do this for pure fun, Im not great with manual photos yet, although I have been trying. Should I only enter photos taken on manual settings or if I find my best pic is on "full auto" so to speak is that ok to enter also? I didnt see anything in the rules specifically, but maybe its so obvious it doesnt need mention?

You can use whatever settings you desire in this and most of the challenges. Everyone has there favorite Mode setting they use with there camera. In this one whatever is taken at the time of shutter release is what you enter no post production editing. When downloading to you computer with Lightroom VeiwNX or other software it sometime changes the Date Taken and Date Modified. In the SOOC challenges it is best just to upload it to the gallery from you card.
Sean please correct anything if I have stuck my foot in thy mouth.

Best thing to do is to make sure your are having fun and learning from the process

MarkR

Ha! I now have a camera with an electronic level! The bane of my existance, the crooked SOOC picture, will be no more! Mwah-hah-ha!

Seriously. $1300 later, and I will never ever buy a camera without an electronic level again.

WhatSheSaw

5Dme wrote: »

This will be my first, perfectly time. I will be spending 3 days on the West Coast of Vancouver Island just before this one closes.
www.imagesbytoddross.com

Wlecome! I hope you enjoy playing with us.

travelways

MarkR wrote: »

Ha! I now have a camera with an electronic level! The bane of my existance, the crooked SOOC picture, will be no more! Mwah-hah-ha!

Seriously. $1300 later, and I will never ever buy a camera without an electronic level again.

Sorry, but may I ask what is a camera with an electronic level?

WhatSheSaw

Dirquist wrote: »

Im new to doing this although Ive been on the site for a while. Ive read the rules on this competition as well as the global rules for the competitions. I easily miss things though so Im hoping Im not asking a completely ridiculous question. I see you have to have the exif data included; is it frowned upon if the picture is taken with automatic settings? I just want to do this for pure fun, Im not great with manual photos yet, although I have been trying. Should I only enter photos taken on manual settings or if I find my best pic is on "full auto" so to speak is that ok to enter also? I didnt see anything in the rules specifically, but maybe its so obvious it doesnt need mention?

Welcome, Dirquist! You seem to have the right attitude - fun. There are no rules on how you get your image. Full auto is fine if that's what it takes.

I committed to using manual for a while to force myself to learn about the relationship among ISO/Fstop/shutter speed. It was a great learning exercise. But sometimes I want to pay more attention to framing and composition or to catching some fast moving object than to changing light or focal points. And then I will use auto.

MarkR

photo-funtasia wrote: »

Sorry, but may I ask what is a camera with an electronic level?

The Pentax K5 has an electronic level. Turn it on, and the back screen turns into an electronic display that shows how the camera is tilted. (Left and right, forward and back). In addition, through the viewfinder, the EV comp. bar also turns into an electronic level. If it shows negative EV, the camera is tilted to the left, positive EV the camera is tilted to the right. You can see a visual here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/K5/K5A5.HTM, but you have to scroll about 3/4 of the way down. Oh sure, faster AF, ISO 51200, 7 frames per second. For me the primary selling point of the K5 -- electronic level!

As someone who has participated in SOOC challenges before, I can remember being stupid frustrated by the fact that all of my pictures were crooked. I am somehow physically incapable of noticing that I'm not holding a camera straight. :lol

travelways

MarkR wrote: »

The Pentax K5 has an electronic level. Turn it on, and the back screen turns into an electronic display that shows how the camera is tilted. (Left and right, forward and back). In addition, through the viewfinder, the EV comp. bar also turns into an electronic level. If it shows negative EV, the camera is tilted to the left, positive EV the camera is tilted to the right. You can see a visual here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/K5/K5A5.HTM, but you have to scroll about 3/4 of the way down. Oh sure, faster AF, ISO 51200, 7 frames per second. For me the primary selling point of the K5 -- electronic level!

As someone who has participated in SOOC challenges before, I can remember being stupid frustrated by the fact that all of my pictures were crooked. I am somehow physically incapable of noticing that I'm not holding a camera straight. :lol

I'm not great in leveling either and generally 90% of my shots are crooked too, but if I use a tripod things change...

However, what blown me up by scanning the features of this camera is this:

HDR Capture
The K-5 also offers High Dynamic Range imaging, which Pentax first introduced on the K-7, but the functionality has been greatly expanded in the newer camera. As in the K-7, the K-5's HDR mode captures three images in quick succession: one properly exposed, one underexposed by 3.0 EV, and one overexposed by 3.0 EV. These are then combined in-camera into a single output image with increased dynamic range, capturing the best highlight detail from the underexposed image, and the maximal shadow detail from the overexposed image....

I give up - I have a Canon 50D which is not 5D, but I thought it was a great camera. Now I see that there is no way for me to even dare thinking to participate in this challenge :deadhorse

But, who knows I may get some more courage - I know I'm not always reasonable

sherstone

photo-funtasia wrote: »

Now I see that there is no way for me to even dare thinking to participate in this challenge

Au contraire - Anyone with a digital camera has an amazing chance in this round.

travelways

sherstone wrote: »

Au contraire - Anyone with a digital camera has an amazing chance in this round.

Thank you Sean. Sorry, I'm getting discouraged easy but I'm recovering fast too - of course photography is not all about leveling and HDR.

I go and get my gun :gun2

sapphire73

So I went out on a shoot tonight with my 7D and a tripod and am rejecting most of my shot because they aren't level. I was using a 10-22 lens to shoot architecture and I was a little off shooting at dusk and later. Hmmmm.... This SOOC will definitely be a challenge! May be I should try a subject where it is less obvious if it is a little askew!

MarkR

photo-funtasia wrote: »

I'm not great in leveling either and generally 90% of my shots are crooked too, but if I use a tripod things change...

However, what blown me up by scanning the features of this camera is this:



I give up - I have a Canon 50D which is not 5D, but I thought it was a great camera. Now I see that there is no way for me to even dare thinking to participate in this challenge :deadhorse

But, who knows I may get some more courage - I know I'm not always reasonable

If it makes you feel better, I don't use in-camera HDR. I don't care much for the effect, (halos).

travelways

MarkR wrote: »

If it makes you feel better, I don't use in-camera HDR.

Oh, I feel much better now :davidto

Just kidding... I didn't mean to make you feel guilty

The fact is that I always LOVED and ADMIRED new high tech, but one can get crazy because this is continuously changing and impossible to stay up to date with it.

And hmmm, to reply to both: I think yes, HIGH-TECH is lovely, but it can be tricky...

I guess we can always try to experiment different ways in being creative with whatever tools we have...