Photography Chat

12:01 AM

@Francesco well jin told us it was possible a week or two ago, but I hadn't gotten around to it. ANd then Itai said the funky ratio was a reason he wasn't entering - so it concerned me that we may be losing others - so it was a priority

Francesco

@jrista hi

jrista

Whats up @Francesco?

Francesco

@rfusca yes yes but from @jin reply I thought that @vian suggestion had been implemented, or did I misread?

@jrista I'm almost ready to go to sleep, just fixing the windows registry to repair an installation :) did you manage to sleep a bit?

rfusca

it looks like they may have implemented vian's suggestion to fix the text alignment yes

jrista

@Francesco A couple hours. A bunch of fire trucks blared by in the morning and ruined most of it :P

Francesco

12:03 AM

@jrista it's a conspiracy against your sleep! :-/

jrista

always

birds, neighbors, city departments, it never stops

I;ve been looking at land, 5-7 acre lots

I want to see if I can build a house out of the city where the only sound is the horn of a distant train

Francesco

I must say that bird wake me every morning

it could be very romantic if it weren't very annoying

every day at 4:30 those pigeons, and then it's parrots....

jrista

yeah

from the last week of March to the first week of August every year

a monster flock of american robins roosts in my city

3:15, like clockwork

all of the ones that are roosting in a tree near a street light start chirping

and robins are LOUD

much louder than any other bird we have

the ones that wake up at 3:15 in the streetlights chirp all day until nearly 9pm

the ones that are not near street lights maintain their normal cycle, they chirp for about 15-30 minutes around 6am

Francesco

pigeons too with their too-too can be very annoying, I know this very well. At least my wife has a very deep sleep so I can wake up, turn up the computer, read a book... without fear of waking her up.

jrista

I found three independent studies about the american robin problemn

seems its linked to a lot of cases of severe insomnia in major cities :P

@Francesco I wish I could do that. My problem is that I usually don't really get to the point of being able to fall asleep in the first place until between 4-5 am

but with the robins, I NEVER sleep

its half a friggin year of total exhaustion

and the rest of the year, all the rest of my sleeping problems keep me from getting more than a couple hours of sleep in a normal night

Francesco

12:10 AM

@jrista that must be hard to say the least

jrista

let me put it this way

I have spent nearly an entire 9-day vacation doing nothing but try and get some sleep

I spend only 30 minutes a day getting some exercise, but other than that...thats pretty much a vacation for me

Francesco

@jrista it's probably easier said than done but maybe you could try to "not try".

simply don't force yourself to sleep according to a 24 hour cycle which your body for some reason is not accustomed to

jrista

I don't really try

Francesco

maybe you are set for a longer circadian cycle? due to some chemical imbalance. But by "trying" you live a stressing condition which worsens the imbalance.

jrista

fundamentally, I think I have insomnia combined with delayed sleep phase syndrome

its difficult for me to sleep period, due to brain chemical imbalances

Francesco

12:17 AM

I repeat, this is easier said than done but surely "adding stress to it" cannot do well.

jrista

but my "normal" sleep phase is from, well, probably 7am to 11am/12pm

I take a bunch of supplements that do help, which is why I my brain usually starts to shut down around 4-5am

aside from the occasional firetruck or police car siren, I can usually get a few hours between 5 and 9am

its never deep sleep....I don't think I've had stage 4 deep sleep for years

but its some sleep nonetheless

and from mid august until late november is usually my best time of the year

temperature wise its better, and there is still a mostly normal period of day and night

during a normal work week I have to be up by 9am to get to work by 10am

(and thankfully they let me come in at 10 rather than 9)

so its pretty impossible for me to get more than 2-3 hours of sleep a night, if I sleep, regardless

when I say I spend my vacations trying to get sleep, I mean I go to bed by 1 or 2am

and try to let my body sleep from 7-11am, sometimes as late as 12

I usually doze after 10, and I usually dont' get deep sleep between 7-10, but its better than what I get during a work week

Francesco

well 5-9 is 4 hours which is a very small amount but not impossible. My grandmother slept for the last thirty years of her life no more than that each night, and often less...

jrista

older people generally need less

a middle aged male needs far more than 4 hours of sleep a night to have healthy mental faculties

if you wonder why I come off as a wacko, thats why

Francesco

yes but 1. I knew her only for 30 years and 2. she was 50 at most, which is not so old..

jrista

I'm only 31

Francesco

12:22 AM

with 1. I meant that maybe she begun sleeping even earlier :-)

jrista

and I've had sleeping problems since I was a teen

Francesco

sleeping that way I mean

jrista

its not healthy

Francesco

that's too bad...

jrista

and its severely affected my life

rfusca

12:23 AM

my average nights sleep is 3-7'ish

jrista

and my work weeks are stressful

I am always awake before 9am

and from march to august, I pretty much don't get any sleep at all

because of those damnable birds

so I only really get half a year of decent quality "time" to sleep

and from a day/night cycle and sound perspective, there are only a couple months in fall, and february, when things seem ideal for me to be able to sleep

its a really ugly, complicated, nasty mess

for a while I had no hope of ever figuring it out

but I've spent a lot of time researching along with my mother (who has similar problems)

we;ve found a lot out about brain chemistry needs and what, chemically, induces and maintains sleep cycle and all that

I just spent $140 on some of my supplements, which includes L-Tryptophan, L-Methionine, Melatonin, Seraphos, Cortisol Manager, Inositol, TMG, Magnesium and Zinc, and a few other things like Fish/Flax oil

Francesco

I hope that you'll be able to improve. The fact that your mother shares similar problems seems to point to some genetic issue. you should search in all the branches of your family if there are other cases...

jrista

I have to take that stuff in the right groups at the right times each day to get adequate amounts of the necessary root compounds and metabolase into my brain at the right times to even have a chance of sleeping

rfusca

3am-7am that is

jrista

@Francesco We have...it seems to just be the two of us

Francesco

12:28 AM

@rfusca yes from 15 to 19 would seem rather strange :)

jrista

My mother has mostly corrected her sleep.

rfusca

:P

jrista

She gets 6-7 hours now, when she used to get 0-3

Francesco

@jrista well that's good, for her and because it gives a hope for you

jrista

yeah

I think I actually started having sleeping problems from the age of 8

and I've been curious if my brain has actually "forgotten" how to sleep

and it may even be my own fault

Francesco

12:29 AM

now I hope it doesn't sound too harsh but I really have to go... I will not tell where but let's say that in this timezone it's 2:29 am

jrista

I was always a night owl as a kid...I would stay up WAY late at night programming or playing games or reading some kind of science thing

Francesco

@jrista well fault seems too much

jrista

maybe

Francesco

I did the same and a lot of people did the same

jrista

we don't know much about the brain

yeah...and a LOT of people have sleeping problems these days

but that could also be something entirely different

Francesco

12:30 AM

so as a maximum it could have triggered some latent problem

jrista

electric fields...radio waves, lot of stuff that we have far more of these days than we used to

anyway...really complex problem

Francesco

well, I am going. see you :) Hope you can get some sleep.

jrista

night

and thanks :)

Francesco

@rfusca After the movie I thought a bit about the blog post. I think that I can sketch something. I am just worried about the harsh beating that my photo will deserve

buona notte

rfusca

lol, we'll we can work on the wording to reduce that ;)

buona notte

DragonLord

3:08 AM

@jrista, can you look at the flag on this question?

1

Q: What is the best Canon telephoto zoom lens (around $1500-$2000) for general use?

Looking for a good telephoto zoom lens from Canon, I consider : Canon EF 100-400mm f/4,5-5,6L IS USMCanon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USMCanon EF 70-200mm f/2,8L IS II USMWhat do you recommend?

rfusca

@DragonLord i can see the flag?

DragonLord

@rfusca This is a moderator attention flag. 10K users cannot see this flag; only moderators can. The flag is "not a real question".

rfusca

@DragonLord it looks like I can see the 'not a real question' flag

DragonLord

I thought 10K users did not even have read-only access to the moderator flag queue... that's what a moderator said at Super User. Can you point me to the relevant Meta Stack Overflow post, if one exists?

rfusca

@DragonLord i'm not aware of a relevant post regarding it

jrista

3:18 AM

@DragonLord I did. I asked the OP for more clarification, and added a flag to get the opinions of the other mods. If the question can be enhanced, the answers so far are pretty good.

If I don't get any further attention on it in the next day, I'll close it.

DragonLord

@jrista, thanks.

@rfusca, I'll ask a mod at the Tavern on the Meta.

rfusca

@DragonLord okie dokey

@EvanKrall how'd the pie taste?

Evan Krall

pretty tasty, though the crust was overcooked

rfusca

caramel work well in it?

thats a shame about the crust

Evan Krall

Either I didn't have enough, or it all migrated to one side of the pie

because I haven't tasted much caramel yet

yeah

rfusca

3:21 AM

lol

Evan Krall

I blame paula deen

rfusca

oh, ya, booo. Can't stand her

Evan Krall

450ºF for 45 minutes is too hot, too long.

foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/…

rfusca

umm ya

i'd probably be more like 375 @ 45

Evan Krall

yeah

rfusca

3:24 AM

i tend to precook the apples a bit first, makes it so you don't have to bake them as long and risk the crust

Evan Krall

I've seen one recipe that suggested 425 or 450 for 15 minutes, then cool down to 350, which would make sense

rfusca

ya, thats to help set the crust before the apples give up all their juices

cabbey

5:13 AM

/me thought he was in seasoned advice for a second

is it just me, or does it seem impossible to edit tag wiki on meta?

meta.photo.stackexchange.com/edit-tag-wiki/108 takes me to the info page instead of the edit page

rfusca

@cabbey lol

hmm i guess so?

cabbey

@rfusca the funny part is we were just talking this morning about the overlaps between the various stacks

rfusca

@cabbey yup!

cabbey

that edit link doesn't go to edit for you either?

rfusca

no

cabbey

5:19 AM

will go report that on mso then

rfusca

oooOOOOOoo! i'm really excited, i think it just figured out a way to do freaking awesome pizza

cabbey

oh lame... this is FAD.

3

Q: Proposing tag wiki creation does not work on meta sites

Try creating a tag wiki on any meta site except for this one, e.g. http://meta.superuser.com/tags/etiquette/info, using an account having less than 4000 rep. The "Propose Tag Wiki" button does nothing.

support suggested-edits tag-wiki

@rfusca ok, dish... what's going to make it awesome

rfusca

fun

cabbey

(already seen your thin and crispy crusts)

s/FAD/BAD/ imho

rfusca

@cabbey well, i've been experimenting with doing it on cast iron, but you really want intense heat on top as well, but if you can keep it moist too, the crust will rise...so it turns out that the lid on amazon.com/Lodge-5-Quart-Double-Casserole-Skillet/dp/B000LEXR0K also fits on amazon.com/Lodge-L9OG3-Pre-Seasoned-2-Inch-Griddle/dp/…

cabbey

5:23 AM

ooooohhh.

rfusca

so i can get both smoking hot on the stove, and have a hot oven, slide the pizza on the griddle, put the lid on and put it in a hot oven. 3-4 minutes later tops, should be beautiful

cabbey

yeah, sounds perfect

and it wont dry out like a lot of the store "wood fired" pizzas

rfusca

indeed

have to order that dutch oven this weekend

cabbey

dang it, now you're making my mouth water

rfusca

i was looking for one anyway, its just a bonus that it also works for that

cabbey

5:25 AM

haha

rfusca

lol

rfusca

3:00 PM

sooo glad its friday

and the weather should be nice enough to go shoot somewhere this weekend

rfusca

3:11 PM

@jrista btw, I did get a response

rfusca

3:34 PM

hey @DiAlex

DiAlex

4:27 PM

@rfusca hey man! I just remembered I had another question for you. Does the D3100 have the "Mirror Lock-Up" feature? Not for cleaning purposes but for taking long exposure landscapes without the vibration of the mirror rise.

rfusca

@DiAlex no, no mirror lock up for that

only for cleaning

you can't lock the mirror up for shooting

dpollitt

6:13 PM

@rfusca - I don't think it is "too-localized" to ask about fall foilage - I think it is too broad!

rfusca

lol

dpollitt

He is asking about the entire country.

Well, both coasts at least

rfusca

exactly, the whole country for the most popular time to shoot landscapes covers a HUGE amount of space/people

dpollitt

ype

yep*

i'd rather see a question that asks about traveling to yellowstone - how should i prepare for the best foliage ?

not the entire country, for 5 weeks, wide open to any and all suggestions

My suggestion - sit in a tree stand from mid sept - mid nov, you will get the shot for sure :)

Sean

7:49 PM

@rfusca I had an idea for the blog. What if we could send one or more of our camera gear experts to some of the annual photography conventions? Get them press passes and access, and they would cover some of the new equipment being launched.

rfusca

8:21 PM

@Sean oh ya, there's definitely stuff available to send somebody to a conference/convention - we just need a qualified candidate to stand up and offer

rfusca

8:48 PM

Hey @Elendil!

@mrucci it may be useful - they just don't allow 'discussions' on the main Q&A site

jrista

@rfusca Positive/Negative?

rfusca

hmmm

he feels upset - that the whole situation was not only unfounded, but deleting the whole thing left him up a creek without a paddle

jrista

?

I'm...not sure what were talking about

rfusca

Jay

jrista

interview?

rfusca

9:03 PM

right, asked him and he was saying that till he feels like the issue i was just saying was resolved, he doesn't feel comfortable participating

jrista

and he chose to delete his own submission to PotW...I didn't have anything to do with that

rfusca

no, not the submission, the chat log

jrista

oh

well, it was just a stupid rant, after 9 days of no sleep

and the issue will never be resolved until he is willing to face me

I have no problem apologizing, already did profusely. I still will not take responsibility for his leaving the site...to do so over ME, of all people, is really dumb. I'm a nobody as far as photography is concerned, and I think he is being a bit childish in that respect.

But nothing can be resolved so long as he hides away.

I'm rather baffled that he takes my opinion so heavily.

rfusca

Well, he's well aware that lack of sleep played a part.

jrista

heh, and I had formulated an opinion on the piece long before I ever knew it was his

rfusca

9:07 PM

Its got more to do with using the mod powers to delete the chat log

jrista

??

er...I believe we all have the power to delete our own messages

thats not a mod power thing

rfusca

the rant was one thing, and bad enough. But he feels unable to defend himself without what was there

jrista

I only deleted mine...never deleted anyone elses

rfusca

nope

I can only delete mine for a few minutes

after that its locked in

jrista

it was only a few minutes

I think the whole thing was over about 5 minutes

well, anyway

next move is jays

wasn't trying to abuse mod powers

rfusca

9:09 PM

well looking at the logs, it was at least 40 minutes

but thats not the point

jrista

of rant??

no way

rfusca

started somewhere around 11:09 and Jay piped in at 11:47 and you hadn't deleted until then, otherwise he wouldn't have said anything

Jul 6 at 23:09, by rfusca

i don't think thats quite the case, with point and shoots becoming the norm

thats the start

jrista

Well, I didn't want to leave any insult laying around. If he sees it as an abuse of power, nothing I can do about that.

rfusca

I think sometimes you don't realize that being a mod has a certain weight with it. Its not just your opinion as a mod - its a position of authority and the weight that goes with it.

And considering you're a high rep, active user AND a mod - the community gives credence to your actions in general.

jrista

Sure, but Jay should know me better than that.

Well, not much of an active user.

rfusca

9:17 PM

Exactly - but it wasn't a private conversation

jrista

And thats also part of the reason why I nuked my part of the conversation. I have problems that sometimes seep out into chat, and I didn't want to leave that around for everyone who happened to check the chat log to see a mod doing.

rfusca

Sure, but I think it needed to be resolved with Jay first.

jrista

Well, he didn't allow for it.

He disappeared.

I was and am wholeheartedly sorry for insulting him, certainly wasn't what I wanted to do.

I tried to open up that conversation, but he was already gone.

So, if Jay wants some resolution, its currently HIM who is preventing it.

I was ready to resolve it the moment I realized what I'd said.

And for someone who claims he doesn't hold a grudge...

Its been a pretty long time.

rfusca

shrug ya, in life sometimes you can't unsay something. That was the single most valuable piece of advice my parents taught me about marriage.

jrista

I don't expect to unsay it. I just expect that, if he is interested in resolution, he'll play his half of the role IN resolving it.

rfusca

9:22 PM

well, I've encouraged him to stop in and talk about it.

jrista

k

rfusca

9:34 PM

hey @Pearsonartphoto

DiAlex

@rfusca thx for the answer about the mirror lock-up ;)

rfusca

@DiAlex np

btw, if you've got the money - i'd go a step up from the D3100, I wouldn't purchase it again given the choice

DiAlex

another thing @here

wow

really?

up to a d5100?

why do you say so?

rfusca

ya, Nikon'wise I'd do at least a D5100

the sensor is SOOOO MUCH better

DiAlex

:|

rfusca

9:38 PM

and its got alot of the little features like mirror lockup, backeting

DiAlex

wireless shutter?

xD

wait a minute, 3100 doesn't have bracketing?

rfusca

lol no

nope, no auto bracketing on the 3100

DiAlex

you mean that feature of shooting 3 (or more) photos of -1EV, 0EV, +1EV ?

rfusca

yup

DiAlex

omg

rfusca

9:40 PM

its a very software crippled camera

DiAlex

geeee

rfusca

it takes fine pictures, it really does - but there's more work to get those pictures than some other cameras

DiAlex

I was starting to get used to the though of owning the d3100

rfusca

and the autofocus in video is JUNK - don't plan on using it. Its noisey and wicked slow

DiAlex

yes one can always do manual brackt*

yeah I read about the noise

rfusca

9:41 PM

oh absolutely

almost the D3100 isn't supported by any tethering software if that's ever an interest

(dont' know if the 5100 is, but the 7000 definitely is)

DiAlex

my plan was to buy the cheaper d3100 now, grow with it (it's my first reflex) and then one day buy a D7000 or similar

so the 3100 would be only temporary :P

rfusca

and thats really a fine option, that's what i'm doing

DiAlex

temporary for more or less time xD

rfusca

just be aware that those limitations exist

DiAlex

sorry, tethering?

rfusca

9:43 PM

tethering = hook camera up to computer and control the camera from there

DiAlex

yup, I've been founding a lot of limitations lately :|

aaaah I heard about it

np to me ;)

i'll have to consider it

rfusca

k

i've not really had any problems trying out all the different areas of photography, sometimes its just more work

DiAlex

ok

any other cons?

rfusca

hmmm

not that I can think of

DiAlex

k nice

i hope these were the last xD

rfusca

9:46 PM

no micro af adjustment - but thats fairly common at an entry level camera

lol

DiAlex

that's more of a "macro" feature no?

rfusca

no, thats if your autofocus system is off, then the user can tweak it without sending in for repair

DiAlex

oh, I wasn't aware about that

rfusca

most entry level cameras don't have it

DiAlex

not a problem also :)

as I said it's just to start with

another thing

rfusca

9:49 PM

indeed

DiAlex

about the dynamic range

is it good?

that is

can it record details of both shadows and highlights easily?

rfusca

nothing does shadows and highlights easily

there's limitations on every camera

DiAlex

because my actual sony h2, goes from pure black to pure white in a rush xD

there are no subtle tones

rfusca

its fine. I've not had an issue. Its certainly no K-5, but it fine.

DiAlex

photos tend to be very "contrasty"

Pearsonartphoto

9:51 PM

Although I hear rumor that the Hasselblad do a decent job, if you can pay more for a camera than a brand new car...

rfusca

lol

DiAlex

hahaha

rfusca

ok, i rescind my nothing statement

DiAlex

i'm trying to forget a 5100 and you talk about hasselblads xD

rfusca

lol

DiAlex

9:52 PM

and one more thing about the 3100

it only has a rear dial right?

Pearsonartphoto

Well, someone had to...

rfusca

ya

DiAlex

is it "ergonomic"? :P

i'm kind of used to a dial under the shutter button

rfusca

thats a highly personal decision - I don't have an issue with it

DiAlex

like the d7000 has

ok nice!

now changing subject, "Picture of the Week no longer requires a funky aspect ratio"

ok great but

your photo is still going to be cropped to that aspect ratio

so what's changing?

rfusca

9:56 PM

no, there will be no cropping to a different aspect ratio

the ratio you put up, will go in the header

Pearsonartphoto

luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/h3d50ii.shtml

DiAlex

but for instance if I upload a 4:3 photo

it'll get all deformed

or with black bands

right?

@pearsonarphoto stop making me jealous! hahahah xD

rfusca

@DiAlex nope

it'll go up as a 4:3 photo

Pearsonartphoto

Or, even better.

photos-of-the-year.com/articles/d2x-h3d

DiAlex

how it that possible?

Pearsonartphoto

9:59 PM

Well, I certainly don't have the kind of money for that, so...

"With the H3D you nearly have to be taking a picture of the sun to blow highlights."

rfusca

@DiAlex i'm not sure how its not possible

DiAlex

rotfl xD

you can always recover the highlights at camera raw xD

@rfusca if you have to fit a 4:3 into a 375:210, they aren't common divisors (bad math xD) you can't convert one into the other

so you'll have to crop part of the 4:3 image or add color bands

it's like printing a 4:3 into a 3:2 paper

rfusca

or just center it in the area and leave the edges to be the background

DiAlex

exactly, the "color bands"

if someone uploads a 1:1 it'll get weird no? :P

rfusca

not really

DiAlex

10:04 PM

at least for the guys used to the 350x210 aspect

Sean

The centering is automatic, part of the webpage rendering. It's nothing the user has to do, right?

rfusca

@Sean right

there's no funkiness involved

DiAlex

:P

ok, i'm clarified

rfusca

like here's @Vian 's example of what a normal one would look like

DiAlex

it'll be a lot easier to upload in fact

rfusca

10:05 PM

its way easier/better all around

DiAlex

thx for the example

right ;)

rfusca

np

DiAlex

another thing can we upload directly the large photo?

rfusca

no

Sean

I kind of like this new question that was just asked. It could be good for catching search engines.

1

Q: Do they make a single-leg stabilizer, similar to a tripod but with only one leg?

I'm looking for something that I can attach to my Nikon D5000 that will allow me to hold the camera steady, similar to a tripod, but MUCH lighter and easier to setup. I'm thinking it could also dub as a walking cane when hiking. Do they make such a thing? If so, what is it called?