Mustachio

Well my ex is married already (for a year and a half now I think) and honestly all I can do is laugh... if I found out she had kids, I would probably laugh more, just another bullet dodged and another reason to stay far away.

Oh it was difficult, and pretty rocky at first as I think I went into it too early... I guess I am lucky that it has worked out. And the truth is, if it wasnt for my girlfriend now, im sure I would be just as bitter, in fact, i know I am, and I often wonder what I would really say to her if she was to contact me first... which of course, its been nearly two years since I have had any contact with her. But hang in there. If you call yourself pathetic for that, then I would have to call myself pathetic for everything going on since that breakup for me too, and I dont think its that.

Heh, been a long journey... I still like to stop back here and impart any wisdom I may have gained over time. But yes, in the love area, things are definitely on the up and up.

In case anyone is actually reading these... I see that most of these are from people still quite hurt by their relationships, and in an early on stage. I havent posted in this thread in a while, but I thought why not, its been nearly 2 and a half years, might be interesting to see what I would say. ------ You told me during the breakup that I should go find someone else, someone else who could make me happier than you could. At the time I didnt believe it was possible and thought you were saying that just to be selfish to get me to leave you alone so you could go off with your new guy. Its been 2 and a half years... I still think you are selfish, but I did find someone else and she makes me happier than you ever could.

Woops, didnt realize that advertising my personal links was a no no. Sorry about that. If anyone is interested in more info about my photography that may cross the lines of advertising, please PM me! Otherwise, enjoy the photos, and ill be back to post more soon!

Thanks guys! Michele, I am extremely jealous, I could spend weeks in Yosemite, and I think I could go back over and over again, but unfortunately its on the other side of the country. camus, well... there are a number of ways to achieve that finished look. When capturing the image, pointing and shooting is not always the best idea. I use filters fairly often and almost always a tripod. For the first image I used a graduated neutral density filter and the third I used a polarizer as well as a graduated neutral density filter. Also, all photos need to be processed, or as I prefer to the think of it, developed. I also shoot with a DSLR and always shoot in RAW mode, which requires RAW processing before it can be used. For example, on the first image, the filter was used to even the exposure, then two separate exposures were created from the same image, then blended together in photoshop along with other contrast, brightness, exposure and color balance tweaks. The fourth image is actually an HDR image, which in this case consists of 6 or 7 images blended together into a single exposure using software called Photomatix. And then my final step is always sharpening for viewing on the web. And doiiiieeezie thanks for the add on facebook, I really appreciate it! Always trying to spread the word!

Well, I havent posted in a bit, so I thought I would share what I have been up to. I finally got my monitor calibrated so I went back and re-edited some of my older photos. In addition, since I last posted I also took a trip to Yosemite National Park in California so I have some of those to show as well. Anyways, now the photos! I already posted this first image on these boards before. However, after calibrating my monitor I realized that the colors were not quite right and that the ground was WAY WAY too dark. So here is the re-edit. There are still some minor edits that need to be made such as noise reduction and some color balancing, but its close to being finished, so here it is. image removed This second image was taken at night from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. If anyone is unaware this is a view of the Milky Way. I also managed to capture a shooting star in the middle there. image removed This next image is El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. This was captured from Cathedral Beach on the Merced River as the first light of the day fell on the top of the mountain. image removed I may have posted this fourth image before, but this was taken last March in Iceland. After driving through the fog for quite some time, the fog opened and we were greeted to the setting sun creating some amazing colors in the sky. image removed I think there may be a 4 image limit (I could be wrong) but thats a good stopping point for the moment.

athena, so far I am loving the Lee filters. They are a bit expensive overall, as for the 4 that I now own and the filter holder I spent easily over 500 dollars. What I have are the 0.6 Soft Edge Grad, the 0.9 Hard Edge Grad, the 0.6 ND, and the Big Stopper. I have yet to use the Big Stopper, but I was on the waiting list for 6 months on that one and I am quite excited to try it out. I also have a large set of new pictures that I have taken since I posted these... just havent gotten them posted up.

athena, thanks! and in response to your question, I was using grad ND filters for both of them, no HDR processing for these. More specifically, a Lee 0.9 Hard Edge Grad ND.

Personally, I hate the look of built in flashes on cameras. They are harsh and will undoubtedly create ugly shadows that will make the images worse. Perhaps if you can diffuse the flash in some way if thats the only one available to you (a piece of paper in front of the flash can help). An external flash allows you to bounce the flash off a the ceiling, a wall, or other diffusers. Just about the camera, well, you are going to want to use as fast a lens as possible, if you have something that opens up to f2.8 or wider, that would be good, but otherwise you are probably going to stay as wide open as possible. ISO you are going to need to boost the ISO as high as you can without introducing too much noise into the picture. Possibly 1600. Shutter speed is going to depend on everything else, but if you are trying to stop motion, you want as fast as you can, as long as you are still exposing the scene properly. If you dont need to stop the motion, use a tripod, a lower ISO and then go from there (of course anything that moves will be blurry) Good luck!

I went down to Tennessee for a weekend getaway to the Great Smoky Mountains and wanted to share my photos with you. Also, sorry if these are a little too large for the forums, but I didnt want to reduce the size that much. This first one is actually better larger. The photo came out blurry which actually led to it looking like a painting. image removed image removed image removed And last, but certainly not least... in what is my favorite photo from the trip, and one of my all time favorites that I have taken image removed And of course, any and all technical details can be shared if anyone is interested.

You assume correctly. Its all about long shutter speeds. And of course a sturdy tripod. And some trial and error to get your settings right to make sure you dont over or underexpose your shots. This particular shot was exposed for 30 seconds at f/11 and ISO 100. I chose ISO 100 since I knew it would slow the shutter down. I started by opening the lens up all the way, and for this particular lens I think it was around f/4 at the selected focal length. I guesstimated about 10 seconds, and saw it was exposing properly, so I stopped down and increased the shutter speed. Even though this one was 30 seconds, all the lightning in the shot occurred within about a second of each other. The rest of the time just helped illuminate the clouds. And about 3 minutes after this shot was taken, lightning struck so close that I decided it was time to call it a night and ran inside.

Havent been shooting much (if at all) lately, and am dying to get back into it. Anyways, managed to capture this a few weeks ago. Enjoy! image removed

Heh, yea Im still learning how to properly use them, but for what I shoot I gotta say its incredibly rewarding being able to capture what I want in camera. The first shot I was actually going for HDR, but ended up doing a manual blend, which would have been the exact same had I used a filter. But getting things right in camera is very satisfying and has definitely reduced my usage of HDR significantly. I so far have 2 grad ND's and I am currently on what seems like a very long waiting list for a 2 stop straight ND and a 10 stop straight ND. Cant wait to get the 10 stop. But the whole set of four filters and the holder ended up costing me over 500 bucks, not cheap. And also thanks for the compliment!

Thanks! I actually posted them in reverse order from when they were taken cause the last one was favorite. Thanks so much! I think the hike was definitely worth it. Hehe well thanks on multiple levels for that one. Hmm, I have posted a bunch already in this forum, but maybe ill dig up some others that havent been posted here yet... Ill post the specs here momentarily, but thanks! Also, not quite bokeh in the second shot, When I post the settings, itll be clear! #1 Camera: Canon EOS 60D Lens: EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm Shutter Speed: 0.5 seconds for the sky and 2 seconds for the land. Aperture: f/11 ISO: 100 Filter(s): None Processing: RAW Conversion, low amount high radius unsharp mask, curves adjustment, selective dodging and burning. Manually blended 2 exposures for the sky and land. #2 Camera: Canon EOS 60D Lens: EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm Shutter Speed: 60 Seconds Aperture: f/18 ISO: 100 Filter(s): Lee 0.9 HE Grad ND, Lee 0.6 SE Grad ND Processing: RAW Conversion, selective dodging and burning, curves adjustment. #3 Camera: Canon EOS 60D Lens: EF-S 15-85mm at 15mm Shutter Speed: 0.5 Seconds Aperture: f/11 ISO: 100 Filter(s): Lee 0.9 HE Grad ND Processing: RAW Conversion, Selective dodging and burning, Curves adjustment, Photo filter #4 Camera: Canon EOS 60D Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 18mm Shutter Speed: 0.6 Seconds Aperture: f/11 ISO: 100 Filter(s): Lee 0.9 HE Grad ND, Lee 0.6 SE Grad ND Processing: Raw Conversion, high radius low amount sharpening layer selectively applied to the sky, curves adjustment, warming photo filter

So I tried to go to Harpers Ferry last week and ended up getting stormed and rained on. Normally I would have liked to shoot the storm, but I wasnt too keen on getting struck by lightning or having my camera gear destroyed so I left. And a couple days ago I decided to try again. And I got stuck in traffic, took me nearly twice as long to get there as it should have, but oh well. So I started the hike to the overlook I wanted to go to. And lets just say that it was way too difficult of a hike for me in my current shape. After about 45 minutes and maybe making it 3/4 of a mile up this mountain, the sun finally peaked through the clouds, so I journeyed on. I finally made it to the overlook about 30 minutes before sunset. What had been a gray dreary day suddenly burst open with some amazing colors as the sun set.... and thats when I realized I forgot my memory card. Dug through my bag and luckily I had a spare, a small one. So I popped it in and started shooting. Spent about an hour getting some shots and nearly filled up the tiny memory card I had. Feeling quite satisfied, I realized that I now had to hike back up and down this mountain in the dark. And I didnt have a flash light. About an hour later, drenched in sweat, and exhausted I made it back to my car. So that was my little adventure, and here are the photos, hope you enjoy! image removed image removed image removed image removed

Been really trying to get back into photography... Went down to shenandoah national park yesterday, here are my favorite 2 images I took yesterday. image removed image removed

Well, I got a new camera recently, and was just playing around having some fun. Ended up with this: image removed For those wondering, this is a 2 shot composite, 1 image exposed for the clouds, the other for the moon, masked in photoshop with a slight curves correction for contrast and color balance (what little there is).

Heh guess Im the only one currently posting photos. Anyways, here are a few from my recent trip to denmark and iceland. image removed image removed image removed image removed

Thanks you two! Felt like posting another one. Been on a kick of going through my old photos and doing re-edits on some of them or picking up ones I have never edited before. I have found my editing skills have improved vastly and I am able to squeeze more out of my shots now than I ever was before. Anyways, felt like posting another of my re-edits. This was taken about 5 years ago, and this is a similar edit to the way I had done it originally, the only edit done was levels adjustment. image removed

I dont know how I missed this thread for so long! For now, Ill post two of my latest and a re-edit of an older shot I took. These are of course much higher res, but I put smaller ones here so as not to explode the thread. image removed image removed And the older shot: image removed I have plenty more and if anyone is interested I can link my gallery.

Day... I dunno, 90, 100? since my last contact of any kind. But in reality im going to place the marker at closer to 200. Dont worry everyone there is life after your ex. And try not to think too hard about not being able to contact them, it doesnt mean you will NEVER speak to them again. It is just the time you are taking to get used to the idea of running your own life for yourself and getting used to them not being there. Your lives are just opening up to all the possibilities, so enjoy it, take it in and make the best of it.

Day... umm, 17? of round 3. I cant even remember anymore, I have to now think about when I last contacted her. And now that I am 17 is actually the right number. I have someone new in my life and I really could care less about my ex. I am very happy right now. Just over 3 and a half months since the breakup, and everything I have been doing for myself has really paid off. I am not basing my happiness on this new relationship (that doesnt quite exist yet, long story), rather it is enhancing the happiness I have built for myself and enriching my new life. I am feeling very indifferent towards my ex. What she did still hurts, and there are things about the relationship I still miss... but I really just dont care anymore. I am looking forward, and I am very excited about what awaits me, not what lies behind.

Gee I dunno, Day 13 or 14 of round 3 of NC. I am not really doing this anymore to try and keep myself from contacting her. More just a status update. A friend has come back into my life who I have been friends with for a year, but sort of lost touch with 5 months ago or so as there was interest from me in her and I was still trying to save my relationship at that point. But this friend has come back into my life and it seems there is more than just friendly interest on both sides. Needless to say, I am very excited to see where it could go. I still think about the ex, but I just dont really care anymore. No desire to contact her, and even though i miss a lot about the relationship (it was my life for almost 7 years after all) I dont really miss her anymore. One day she will realize what she lost by leaving me, and I just wont care. moving on and up... dont know when I will talk to the ex again, and i really could care less right now. 2010 is going to be a great year.