Muench Workshop: Isle of Mull, Scotland - May 2008

schmoo

Fred W wrote:

This pic is really Great. Did you get your star using the 24mm TS-E lens or did you use another one?

Thanks Fred! Yah that was the 24mm TS in action. I have never really tried the Muench star with it before and I like it.

I wish the sheep had its mouth open, as it was sure chewing a lot when I was shooting.

pathfinder

Nice star, Stephanie

The 24 T&S does a good job of Muench stars - we should have known that it would, since that is the lens Marc uses for them:D

PHOTOempt

pathfinder wrote:

Nice star, Stephanie

Question - why does the 24 TS do a better job than any other wide angle? Mine is ordered and should arrive end of month, and I clearly have a lot of exploring to do with it. The "star feature" was not the reason for purchase, so I am curious to know why it is "better" for this..I'm assuming that you still need to shut down to f22, but no tilt or shift, and it's just that it's a prime lens, with less optical elements to provide the host of pink alien spaceships that my 16-35mm leaves littering every sunset I attempt!

schmoo

PHOTOempt wrote:

Question - why does the 24 TS do a better job than any other wide angle? Mine is ordered and should arrive end of month, and I clearly have a lot of exploring to do with it. The "star feature" was not the reason for purchase, so I am curious to know why it is "better" for this..I'm assuming that you still need to shut down to f22, but no tilt or shift, and it's just that it's a prime lens, with less optical elements to provide the host of pink alien spaceships that my 16-35mm leaves littering every sunset I attempt!

Pink alien spaceships!

I am not qualified to say whether or not the 24mm TS absolutely takes the cake for Muench stars, but it does make nice pointed-armed ones, I noticed. The lens I use mostly for stars was the 17-40, which makes very differently shaped stars with broad arms. I think it is largely a matter of taste (or what lens you happen to have on your camera at the time.)

pathfinder

PHOTOempt wrote:

Question - why does the 24 TS do a better job than any other wide angle? Mine is ordered and should arrive end of month, and I clearly have a lot of exploring to do with it. The "star feature" was not the reason for purchase, so I am curious to know why it is "better" for this..I'm assuming that you still need to shut down to f22, but no tilt or shift, and it's just that it's a prime lens, with less optical elements to provide the host of pink alien spaceships that my 16-35mm leaves littering every sunset I attempt!

Sarah, I think the relative optical simplicity of primes versus zooms is at work - primes will usually have fewer elements and fewer air-glass interfaces than zooms, hence simpler, cleaner, less complex star images. I believe the number of rays is related to the number of iris petals in the lens iris mechanism but I am not sure.

Zooms will make stars also, even at f16, like in this frame. Zooms will generally suffer with more lens flare also which the 24-105 IS L is notorious for. See the lower edge of the frame.

PHOTOempt

Sarah, I think the relative optical simplicity of primes versus zooms is at work - primes will usually have fewer elements and fewer air-glass interfaces than zooms, hence simpler, cleaner, less complex star images. I believe the number of rays is related to the number of iris petals in the lens iris mechanism but I am not sure.

Zooms will make stars also, even at f16, like in this frame. Zooms will generally suffer with more lens flare also which the 24-105 IS L is notorious for. See the lower edge of the frame.

OMG - green alien spaceships - Are they common in Indiana?!
Yes, I thought that it was the prime optical simplicity at work with the 24TS, and I am looking forward to playing. I have not tried a star at 16mm as I assumed that the iris petal configuration would be too open and the star therefore too muddy edged. Your 24-105 gives a pretty good star, though. As good as my 16-35mm at f22, but it is plagued with flares. One thing I discovered from this workshop is the power of Photoshop, and instead of adding grad ND filters to sunsets and making the flares worse, I can take multiple exposures, blend and layer to my hearts content. I still have the option of the grad Nd's but they are less of a necessity, and i shall be very interested to see if I can improve star quality and flare reduction in one, with the 24TS, as well as all the other landscape options tilting and shifting that lie before me!!

nightingale

Flower at the waterfall
Here is a Schmoo cliffhanger!

schmoo

nightingale wrote:

Here is a Schmoo cliffhanger!

Kathy! :smo

So great to see you poke your head in here. I can feel the midges just looking at this! What a brave little flower. Do you know the name of it?

nightingale

schmoo wrote:

Kathy! :smo

So great to see you poke your head in here. I can feel the midges just looking at this! What a brave little flower. Do you know the name of it?

I do not know but I am looking. I was very close to the edge and could not look in the viewfinder because the ledge I was standing on was VERY small. :tiptoe

Moogle Pepper

nightingale wrote:

I do not know but I am looking. I was very close to the edge and could not look in the viewfinder because the ledge I was standing on was VERY small. :tiptoe

When you said Schmoo cliffhanger, I was expecting to see Schmoo free climbing...

nightingale

Moogle Pepper wrote:

When you said Schmoo cliffhanger, I was expecting to see Schmoo free climbing...

As I have seen her several times! Sorry for the confusion. Schmoo would have been hanging on that ledge, but I could not get that close.

Llywellyn

Processed this tonight, and I was immediately flooded with happy memories. Our guides, John and Kevin (L to R):



John mailed me one of his watercolors, which I'd requested while there. I received it a few weeks ago, and it's just lovely. Makes me want to fly back immediately.

You guys really did a great job finding us the most amazing guides on this workshop.

PHOTOempt

Llywellyn wrote:

Processed this tonight, and I was immediately flooded with happy memories. Our guides, John and Kevin (L to R):



John mailed me one of his watercolors, which I'd requested while there. I received it a few weeks ago, and it's just lovely. Makes me want to fly back immediately.

You guys really did a great job finding us the most amazing guides on this workshop.

Lovely shot, Kerry, of 2 really lovely people. They were great, fantastic knowledge of the area, and wonderful sense of humour, both of them. Can you let us see the water colour? I'm rather jealous!! You're going to Utah, you lucky so-and-so....More jealousy!
Sarah

wxwax

Llywellyn wrote:

Processed this tonight, and I was immediately flooded with happy memories. Our guides, John and Kevin (L to R):



John mailed me one of his watercolors, which I'd requested while there. I received it a few weeks ago, and it's just lovely. Makes me want to fly back immediately.

You guys really did a great job finding us the most amazing guides on this workshop.

Lovely shot and lovely thoughts, Kerry.

thebigsky

Llywellyn wrote:

Processed this tonight, and I was immediately flooded with happy memories. Our guides, John and Kevin (L to R):



John mailed me one of his watercolors, which I'd requested while there. I received it a few weeks ago, and it's just lovely. Makes me want to fly back immediately.

You guys really did a great job finding us the most amazing guides on this workshop.

I really like this shot Kerry, you've captured them really well. They were definitely one of the highlights of the trip, so knowledgeable and friendly.

Clearly another workshop in the UK with these two should be arranged without delay, I'd like to nominate the Lake District.

Charlie

PHOTOempt

thebigsky wrote:

I really like this shot Kerry, you've captured them really well. They were definitely one of the highlights of the trip, so knowledgeable and friendly.

Clearly another workshop in the UK with these two should be arranged without delay, I'd like to nominate the Lake District.

Charlie

seconded -good idea Charlie - another is the Northumbrian coastline and I bet John and Kevin would be equally knowledgeable on both. Where do we sign up?

Llywellyn

PHOTOempt wrote:

Can you let us see the water colour? I'm rather jealous!! You're going to Utah, you lucky so-and-so....More jealousy!
Sarah

Finally remembered to take a shot of this to share... He also included a sketch of a camera.

DavidTO

Llywellyn wrote:

Finally remembered to take a shot of this to share... He also included a sketch of a camera.

So jealous!!!! :bash

Seriously, John was part of some of my best times on that island. I miss him, and his laugh. What a great laugh.

Andy

DavidTO wrote:

So jealous!!!! :bash

Seriously, John was part of some of my best times on that island. I miss him, and his laugh. What a great laugh.

Me too :pissed

Kerry gets all the cool stuff!

schmoo

Llywellyn wrote:

Finally remembered to take a shot of this to share... He also included a sketch of a camera.

AWE! SOME!!

I do miss the two of them. I can still hear their voices when I see your photo of them, chattering in the background and telling us all about the landscapes we're seeing.