Panorama Stitching Like Never Before!

Pretty awesome this Panorama Stitching extension.  The images below were made from very old pano shoots. Kilbourne Hole (a Maar volcano crater, 1.5 miles by 2.1 miles and over 400 feet deep, and part of Organ Mountains/Desert Peaks National Monument), below, dates back to my Nikon days, and consists of 5 landscape format images. Hand held if I'm not mistaken. Back in the day, I made the pano with Photoshop Elements. It did a passable job, but was no where near as streamlined as this Luminar Neo image. Simple as loading the 5 images into the app, select them all, drag them into the Panorama Stitch window, press "Start", wait 10 or 20 seconds, and you get a pano ready for cropping, saving, and editing (if needed).

I wouldn't be me if I didn't add miscellaneous bits and bobs to my images. It's only been 3 or 4 days, but I already forgot (without looking at the original images) if this was the original sky, or if I added it because I hate an empty sky.. I think I added it. I definitely added the Red-tailed hawk😆

Kilbourne Hole ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Back in 2015, we made two amazing sightseeing trips into Mexico led from The Pink Store in Palomas, just across the border. One of the stops was the Hacienda de San Diego, below, one of dozens built and owned by "The Rockefeller of Mexico", Don Luis Terraza whose ranch was so big (7 million acres!) that when asked by someone if his ranch was in Chihuahua, replied, "No... Chihuahua is in my ranch".

This is the simplest pano on this post. Simply 3 handheld, horizontal images, taken up close with a very wide angle lens, which accounts for the curved image. The "experts" will tell you not to use wide angle lenses for panoramas for this very reason. However, I like the way it turned out. Side note: the muted pastels come from using one of Luminar Neo's awesome presets, this one called: Travelogue.

Hacienda de San Diego, Chihuahua, Mexico ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Holy Warthogs! Did I do that?? 

In 2018, Photo Bro Dale and I hiked up from Mahoney Park on the west side of the Florida Mountains. I think it was to limber up for an upcoming hike near the Gila Cliff Dwellings that turned out to not be quite as strenuous as we'd feared. Anyway, we hit this notch that looked out on the great flat flood plain that is Lewis Flats.  I found a suitable location and took 3 portrait format images to stitch into a pano. Again, the the process was much smoother than the original Adobe effort. So much so that I had extra time to add in the A-10 Thunderbolt "Warthog", just for fun. (It came from the Photo Bro's trip to a local airshow last year.)

I had to replace the sky of necessity. The sky in the  third (right hand) image was totally blown out by the sun. There was no way to retrieve any detail. A problem? Sometimes, but not this time. New sky, problem solved.

Up The Floridas ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

I should point out now, if I haven't already, that I'm using pre-release beta versions of the Panorama Stitch extension. Those first three images were made with the first beta version I received from Skylum. As I've said, they all were made without a single hiccup, from existing, older, photo sets.

It was time to test the extension with some photographic heavy lifting. It was also time, against my better judgement, to brave our 105°F temps and capture my view from the yard in panoramic fashion. I set up the tripod at the fence, put the camera (Fujifilm X-T2, in raw shooting mode) on the tripod in vertical (portrait) orientation, and working left to right, fired off 20 48Mb RAF raw images. (I did make one critical error, but more on that later).

Back in the office, I loaded the 20 images into Luminar Neo, dragged them to the Pano Stitch window, and pressed: "Start".  Since all my other images were just a few jpegs I figured it would take a little longer for the magic to happen this time. And it did.. around 5 minutes in fact. I cropped the edges, was happy with the result, and hit "Save".  The little wheel started turning, and the word "Processing" appeared.  And the wheel kept turning... and turning.  After about 15 minutes I decided to go in the house and have lunch. I came back about 45 minutes later and the wheel was still going round and round and Luminar Neo told me it was still "Processing". At that point, I bailed out of the program, and prepared my feedback to the developers. In my notes I told them I gave the extension a 4/5 rating because of the failure with the raw file pano save function.

A day later I heard from them, and they wanted to see the raw files so that they could diagnose the issue. I spent an entire day on two different machines and two different internet providers trying to upload an 800Mb zip file to Skylum. Without success. 

As luck would have it, the following day, I received an email with a link to an "improved and updated" Pano Stitching beta!  I loaded it up as fast as my rural internet (TWN Communications) could handle it.. about 180 minutes for a 1.8GB zip file.  As soon as I opened the new beta, I loaded up the same 20 raw files, stitched them up, cropped, and hit "save", and waited. And I didn't have to wait long! My saved panorama showed up in the Panorama Stitch folder in about 5 minutes! So glad I don't have to figure out how to upload those files after all. And my latest feedback to Skylum? 5/5

Floridas North End in 120° ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Now, about that little mistake I made. I shot the 20 pictures in aperture priority. With this many images I should have shot in full manual, so I had a few different  shutter speeds which caused portions of the final image to be darker, specifically about a quarter of the left side. Can you see it?  You can't, can you? Because of the incredible, intuitive nature of the Luminar Neo platform it took only a few tools to fix my lighting. And of course, even though the original image had some nice clouds in the sky, I had to use a replacement over the dark portion of the sky. A small price to pay. That final image above covers about 120° angle view. I like it.  (You can see a screen shot of the post crop, pre-save image at the very bottom of this post)

If you want to get your very own copy of Luminar Neo with all the great extensions, click HERE.

If you already own Luminar Neo, and want to pre-order the Panorama Stitch extension for $39 (It will be $49 on July 20), click HERE.

And guess what? If you're a current subscriber to Luminar Neo, you don't have to click anywhere. It's already included with your subscription! It will be available on the 20th.

Don't delay, get it today!  Oh wait! I'm not done yet. Once the official release happens, I'll have a post here showing what amazing things Panorama Stitch extension can do with video clips! Yes, I said video clips, holy moly!! I've seen samples, and they're just insane!

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks

I Can Finally Get Photoshop Elements 2018 Off My Computer!

 I'll have a full post about this soon, but I wanted to get the news out there as quickly as possible.. 

The latest Extension to the Luminar Neo edit platform is: Panorama Stitching!

I'm excited about this one. The only reason I was hanging on to PS Elements was for this function. I've been playing around with a pre-release beta version and I tell you,  it's smooth, and surprisingly fast, especially with jpegs.  

Anyway, here's the official press release with the deets. Links to pre-purchase below.

If you're a purchasing Luminar Neo for the first time, go HERE

Existing owners or subscribers use THIS LINK

As I said I'll have my samples in a new post real soon.

(Post contains affiliate links)

The Long and Short of It. (and an Independence Day Special!)

Ten Mile Cloud ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Both of these images were taken last night around sunset. They both began life as Fujifilm RAF raw files. But here's the difference. I edited the top image using the Essential tools in Luminar Neo, primarily Develop Raw which includes the usual tools you'd expect: exposure, shadows, highlights, curves, and so on, then added Structure (but only to the foreground, using brush mask), and Color to give some emphasis to the sunset colors, along with a slight bump of golden hour slider in the Landscape tool, and finally a vignette to complete the use of Essential tools. The entire edit took a little over 20 minutes.

But what if you're someone who'd rather be out and about taking pictures, and don't want to sit hunched over your keyboard, staring at the monitor, fiddling with sliders and keystrokes, and layers this and layers that? You're not a "professional" (or maybe you are, whatever). You just like to take pictures and you want them to look their best without wasting a lot of time with the technical stuff. Read on...

The bottom image took about 90 seconds from start to finish. One click on one of the Presets that are included with Luminar Neo... in this case I picked the "Clear and Sharp" preset from the "Essential Presets" pack. One click and it was near perfect. I opened the Develop tool and lifted the foreground shadows slightly, then painted a bit of extra Structure into the mountains. I opened the EnhanceAI tool and moved the slider just enough to activate the Sky slider to pop the clouds. Finally put in my "DG" signature layer and it was done. A completed edit in under 2 minutes. What's not to like? How about this: if you have several similar images taken at the same time, you can just right click on the edited image, select "copy adjustments", then highlight the new images, right click, select "paste adjustments", and Voilà! You might want to make some minor adjustments, but for the most part all your other images are edited, and ready to share to your online platforms, sent to the printer, or whatever floats your boat.

Now, jump below for a news flash...

Floridas ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

 The Luminar Neo Summer Sale may be over, but that doesn't mean there's not another super offer out there.  Maybe some of you are aware that Skylum, the company behind Luminar Neo is located in Kiev, Ukraine. The fact that they can keep putting out this fantastic product and keep it updated in the middle of a war is nothing short of amazing. Obviously, independence is near and dear to them. They're also aware that it's our Independence Day in America, and in that spirit we have an Independence Day Promotion! 👈 (that's the link!). Get the Ultimate Plan Subscription for only $39 for the first year (rebills annually at $119). This price also includes 2 gift Preset Packs (remember what you learned about the Presets up there!☝).  I'm not sure if you can save an extra 10% with my checkout code, but it's certainly worth a try, right? Here it is: PHOTODAN

This promotion ends on Thursday morning (the 6th) at 7AM EDT!

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks.

Time's Running Out.

 

Stranger Things, Deming, ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Hey friends, the big Luminar Neo Summer Sale ends really, really soon. Like tomorrow, (6/30/23) at 7:00AM EDT! Reminder: Best prices on the most fun, creative editor since Black Friday last year. If you, like me, find Adobe too technically challenging (and expensive!), you owe it to yourself to go give Luminar Neo a risk-free try! And don't forget, you can save an additional 10% with my special code, 

AFS-rdFDRy

when you check out. Time to finally have fun with your photography! Click below:

Huh. It doesn't look so scary in the daytime.

Un-strange Things, Deming ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Fine Print:

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks.

It's Your Choice

 

White Sands Golden Hour ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

As a photographer, I tend to classify myself as an "opportunistic generalist". What does that mean? Simply that I'll shoot anything! Landscape, wildlife, street, portrait, pet, event, ruins, whatever. There's a hashtag on social media: "ipulledoverforthis". That's me in a nutshell. That doesn't mean I don't have my favorites, landscape photography being probably at the top of the list.

Baker Blue Hour ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

That said, it's uncommon for me to actually plan out a photo shoot. I've done it a few times, possibly the first being the HDR session in downtown Deming, NM that resulted in one of my most commercially successful images (a framed enlargement hangs in a villa in the south of France!), that being the Baker Hotel sign in blue hour. This was planned out weeks in advance. 

But for the most part, I'll just grab the camera and go. Oh, there's a car show in town? I'm on that. Full moon coming up over the mountains in the back yard. I'll shoot that. Look! Look there at that old car in the yard of that abandoned house. Get the shot! 

You getting the picture? 

So anyway, some time back in January, I decided I wanted to shoot the full "Snow" moon rise, and I wanted to use the PhotoPills app to get the right time and location.. and that location was going to be White Sands National Park! In other words, a meticulously planned photo shoot! It happens sometimes.

Photo Bro Dale and I got a late start on February 5, but it didn't matter much... everything we were going for was happening late in the day. The moonrise for me, and a very short time before, the sunset for Dale. I was planning on getting some sunset images myself.

Typically, there wasn't a cloud in the sky when we arrived. We hung around the visitor center for a while, flirting with the ranger on duty, then headed out to stake out our spots. I tried out a couple dune tops, took some basic White Sands landscapes, but I didn't like the way the light was going to act when the sun started to set. I hiked to the hill Dale was set up on about the time the sun began to dip. 

There was still almost an hour before the moon would show itself above the Sacramentos, so I set up my tripod and aimed the camera towards the a notch in the San Andres Mountains where the sun would descend. I decided on portrait mode because it accentuated the layers of dunes between my location and the mountains. Then, well, then I just shot the hell out of it while the sun did its disappearing act.

Being a little unprepared clothing-wise for nighttime in the desert, we decided we couldn't stay where we were to shoot moonrise. We rushed back toward the parking lot to set up there.

But hey, if you looked at the image that leads off this post, you've probably figured out by now that this isn't about the moonrise. It's about the sunset, and what I chose to do with it.  

Back home again the following day, I opened up Luminar Neo on the ol' desktop and commenced to editing. When I got around to the sunset shots, I chose the image at the top of this page. I only needed basic edits.. a little masking to bring out the pinkish tones of the dune ridges, brought up the whites in the develop tool. A very minor vignette to direct the viewer's eye. And that was pretty much it. Or was it?

Revisiting the image a day later, I decided that while it was a nice landscape, it was pretty pedestrian; certainl y not one I would put on a notecard and sell at Readers' Cove (our used book store), or the Arts Center.  But I had a plan...

One of the things I really like about Luminar Neo is that I can create fantasy images, and do it way easier, and more intuitively than with those other guys.  More than a year ago I'd gotten this PNG butterfly layer as a gift from Luminar, for completing a survey or something. I tried it out. I liked it, but I wanted to fill the page more, so I loaded another copy and added it, then flipped it so it wouldn't be an identical duplicate of the first layer. I then lightened up the top third of the layers using the mask tool, so it appears the sun is shining through the wings. I sat back feeling pretty damn satisfied with myself.  When printed on metallic surface paper this should pop! I'll know this week when my latest print order arrives at the Homestead.

White Sands Golden Hour Fantasy ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

I didn't have to do it this way, but I chose to. It was my choice. You might not do this with your images. I know a lot of my friends have no interest in these flights of fantasy, and that's their choice. Just like it's your choice. What would you do if you had these creative tools at your fingertips?

Right now, is the very best time to find out, because Luminar Neo Summer Sale is on till the end of the month! These are some of the lowest prices since way back at Black Friday in November. There's no risk.Try it, and if you don't love it like I do get your bucks back. And I can sweeten the pot, because I've got a special code you can copy and paste at checkout, and get an additional 10% off! 

Here's the code right here: AFS-rdFDRy

Just click the ad below, or any of the other links in the post to hit the info page. It's time you tried it, guys. Prices probably won't be this low again... new features are coming later this year!

Oh! And what of that full "Snow" moon rise that was the whole purpose of this "Photo Bro's Roadtrip"? I got it. And you can see it on my Instagram, when you  go there to follow me. 😎

Fine Print:

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks.

Ice, I̶c̶e̶ , Land, Baby

 

Iceland Photo By Matt Hardy

Luminar is again hosting a week long photo expedition to Iceland, a place forever on my bucket list- where it will no doubt die.  But just because I can't afford to take this trip doesn't mean maybe one or two of my followers can't. I know people with the financial means to go, but they're not all that interested in upping their photography game; and I know people who'd kill to spend a week in Iceland with 6 master photographers, but they can't afford to take the trip. Somewhere... somewhere out there is the happy medium: Someone with the bucks, and the desire. This post is for you!

This trip is limited to 36 lucky individuals, and will run from August 24-31.  I'm told there are still a few slots available. You can find all the pertinent details by clicking here 

It's not a lot, but if you decide to take the plunge and sign up for this trip of a lifetime, I can save you $200 off the package price, when you use the code, ICEMANDAN, when you check out.  I envy you!

YouTube Is My Fox News

Most Caucasian men my age spend their entire lives planted in their recliners being spoonfed weird conspiracies and right wing white supremacist talking points, till the drool puddles in their laps and their wives kick them out of the house sending them to the golf course to meet with all their red-hatted buddies.

Not me, though. When I get up in the morning, I grab a cup of black coffee, plant myself in the recliner (similar so far, but WAIT!), turn on the TV and start scrolling through YouTube videos... sometimes until lunch time (or beyond), just seeing what there is to see.

Of course, I have my selected favorites... cycling shows, like The GCN Show, GCN Racing News Show, and the GCN Tech Show, plus any racing highlights I haven't already seen on GCN+. Can't leave out politics... probably the best being Beau of the Fifth Column (watch, and you'll see... just don't judge that book by its cover!). I'll also always stop by at least briefly at the live cam for the Soo Locks.  Miscellaneous sports programs, home improvement, science, music (check out The Daily Doug!), cooking, baking, and on and on. The list is endless. Oh! How could I forget Looper?

But some of the best things I find are just from looking at the thumbnail and thinking, "hmmmm that might be interesting." Or, as was the case yesterday: "Oh! this will be awesome" when I saw this trio of crossroads blues soul selling:

And, as you know, once you view one type of video on YouTube, the algorithm won't let you go without showing you many many more of the same type. So, check out this master class!

Since this was so much fun, I may make it a point to plop a few of my favorite discoveries here once or twice a week. Would you like that? Sure you would.

A Tale Of Two Images

The False Slot - ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

"False Slot"? This is nowhere as big as it looks. A kind of optical illusion, if you will. It's actually a massive boulder immediately north of the Pony Hills Petroglyph site in Luna County, New Mexico. Sometime in the distant geologic past it had broken into two parts. In reality, what looks like a one hundred foot long slot is closer to 20 or 30 feet, and about 12 to 15 feet high, and let's just say way too narrow for a slightly plus-sized septuagenarion like myselft to traverse. So,  kind of an entertaining illusion, right?

I wasn't sure the image above was going to come together. I had taken the two images below, with slightly different exposures, trying to get something that was balanced. I wasn't crazy about either, but I decided I would see what I could do with it back home at the computer. 

 

By now, you know that my editor of choice is Luminar Neo, and I was just itching to get this into the HDR Merge extension. There was a problem, though. These two images were just hand held. I did have my tripod with me, but pure laziness on my part kept me from setting it up.  As a result, when I pulled the two images into the HDR Merge extension, I had to opportunity to try out a function of the tool I hadn't needed in previous images:  Auto alignment.  Turns out it works pretty damn well. As you can see from the third image below which is a composite of the two images at 50% opacity, they weren't lined up very closely at all. Compare it to the finished image at the top of the page, and it put them together nearly perfectly. I say "nearly" because while the viewer will not see any fine details that didn't quite mesh, I can. I can always see the faults.  It's my curse. 😐

  

Have a look at the top of the right sidebar, and you will see an ad for the Mothers Day Sale, which has just a few more hours to run... till 7:00 AM EDT, May 16 to be precise. If you look and the ad's no longer there, you missed out again. 50% off. Or 60% off if you also use the code, PHOTODAN at check out. Later, all.

 

Happy Anniversary Neo!

Not that Neo! Luminar Neo! 

Luminar Neo was launched a year ago. Until the end of the month Skylum is celebrating the incredible success of the platform with a BOGO sale. You can see the details HERE. 

The sale runs until February 28th at 7AM EST. Don't miss out this time! And remember to use my discount codes at checkout: "DanGauss" ($10 off), "PHOTODAN" (10% off)  They tell me you can use them both.

Channeling My Inner Maxfield Parrish

Wood Nymph  ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Once again, a blending of the old and new.  The leaf strewn path and very photogenic tree were shot just 48 hours ago, (see below),  while the "nymph" was a product of many days of glamour shots in the mid 1970's.

Photo Bro Dale was ahead of me on the Arroyo Trail at Dripping Springs Natural Area, when he yelled, "Wow, here's a great black and white opportunity! Wait till you get down here and see!" I got down there, and I saw, and I shot: 

Unedited RAF Raw ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Yesterday, when I sat down at the computer to edit this image, I did indeed take a look at a black and white conversion, and it just didn't do anything for me. So I cropped it, first, to a 4x5 format and began doing simple editing tasks: sharpening, highlight and shadow, structure, etc. I still wasn't excited about it.  My eye kept getting drawn to that light area just visible at the end of the trail where it exited the trees. That held a promise of maybe bringing this photo to life. 

And that's when I entered the rabbit hole.

The editing of the final image took exponentially longer than probably 90% of my edits, because I decided on the spur of the moment to go the "fantasy" route. So much trial and error, with all the tools at my disposal in Luminar Neo. I probably tried them all, along with various textures and crops (at some point it occurred to me the tree trunk leaning off to the left was a distraction, and went with a square crop... better for Instagram anyway) and overlays to make it a cohesive whole. About 2 hours later I decided it was a completed work. I hope it was worth it.

Of course, if I'd tried this on another editing program from, you know, the "big guys", it not only would have taken longer... much longer, I would probably also have a broken window in the office where the computer was defenestrated, and the hair I've been growing out since last spring would have been pulled out and laying on the floor by my chair.

So, If you're frustrated with the needless complexity of your current editor, and want something much simpler and intuitive, you've still got a few days (5) to save some money on Luminar Neo Subscription or Lifetime License. The Secret Sale ends next Monday morning at 8AM ET.  And as always, if 20% off isn't enough for you, use "DanGauss" at check out for an additional $10 off, and "PHOTODAN" for yet another 10%. Is that nuts, or what? Click the link above, or the ad in the sidebar, or below.

And if you're wondering if there was an area along this trail that gave me a satisfying black and white image, well, wonder no more...

Trees in Bondage ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks.

It's A Secret!

Two Winter Scenes (Composite) ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

 The above image never happened. Or, I should say, it did happen but the two parts of it happened almost 45 years apart.  A little history...

Back in the early 1970s, when I was a struggling college student at Thomas Jefferson College, I would supplement my income by driving home to Ann Arbor from Allendale (the campus is situated between Grand Rapids and Lake Michigan... think "lake effect snow"), where I would tend bar at the gone-but-not-forgotten Stadium Tavern on Friday and Saturday nights, and occasionally on Sundays.  

The clientele of the tavern, a mixture of "working men", management types, and a healthy sampling of post-game softball players all knew I dabbled in photography. One customer, the young lady you see above (whose name completely escapes me), had eyes on my boss, the younger of the Clarke brothers, but he didn't seem to be getting the message. She inquired if I could be hired to shoot a series of "glamour" or "boudoir" photos which she would then give to the boss in the hopes he would be inspired (aroused?) to hook up, preferably I think, in a permanent relationship.  I have no idea if it ever happened. I graduated college and moved on.  But I still have all the negatives.

So, the "female element" in the photo above is from the few days spent shooting near the Huron River, and in her basement rec room.  This is a scan of the original negative..

The image itself is okay, but the negative is pretty scratched up, and dusty. I tried editing it on its own but wasn't satisfied with the result. I had another idea, thanks to Luminar Neo, and the new background removal tool! You wouldn't believe how easy it was. With one click, the background was completely removed, leaving only bits here and there in the foreground to clean up. Took about 10 minutes altogether. I saved the resulting image as a transparent .png file.

With her right boot buried in snow, I knew I had to find another snow scene to place her in.

The snow covered background was shot about 5 years ago after a particularly heavy snowfall in our New Mexico high desert. I had a dozen or so images to choose from, many of them already shot in black and white. This image seemed the most complimentary. 

Opening the image in Luminar Neo, it was a simple matter of  applying edits to make it appear like a film image, and adjust some of the background to better match the layer I was going to add.  With that, I brought in the girl, situated her appropriately (in retrospect, I think she might be just a smidge large in the frame, but maybe only noticeable by me), and made a few final adjustments to unify the two elements, decided to throw in a frame, and called it a night.

And that's the "secret" of "Two Winter Scenes". But it's not the secret referred to in this post's title. Nope. There's another secret. A Luminar Neo  Secret Sale!.   From now until 8AM ET, January 30, you can get Luminar Neo Pro Subscription or Lifetime license for 20% off! You won't find this sale on the Skylum website. Only here. And that's not the only savings. As ridiculous as it may sound, you can also save another 10% AND $10 at checkout when you use the discount codes "DanGauss" and   "PHOTODAN".   To access the special pricing, click on the "Secret Sale" link above, or click the ad at the top of the sidebar.

What are you waiting for? The clock's ticking!

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks.

Happy (Belated) New Year!

Immature Bald Eagle  ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site 

This young bird may be experiencing its first new year.  Shot this at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on Christmas Day, a trip we've been making nearly every Christmas for the last 6 or 7 years. "The Bosque" is one of America's great wildlife refuges, and should not be missed.

You would think, looking at this image, that I was either very close, or I have one of those massive multi-thousand dollar telephoto lenses. Neither is the case. My lens of choice (currently) for wildlife images such as this is the Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f2.8 R LM OIS WR (a mouthful, right), coupled with the Fujifilm 2x teleconverter. The 35mm equivalent of this setup would be 150-450mm. Decently long, but not enough to get in close to this eagle. Here's the original, uncropped and unedited image (about 50-60 yards away):

©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

So... how did I get a nice close (and sharp) image? Well, if you've been coming around here long enough you won't be surprised when I tell you it was in the "digital darkroom" with  Luminar Neo!, and its group of Extensions. (Especially SupersharpAI and UpscaleAI). If you own, or have a subscription to Luminar Neo and you want to try out any of the extensions for free, just click on any of those last 3 affiliate links. To purchase Luminar Neo, click on the first link. And don't forget: if you decide to purchase anything at the Luminar site, use the code: PHOTODAN  for 10% off of your purchase!

I'll be back soon, with more cool content about photography, photo editing, activewear clothing, your feet, and some exciting new medical news. Hang in there.

One More For The Holidays

 

It's That Time Again...

 We'll return to normal blogging next week, but first: The annual posting of the two greatest Christmas songs of all time.

Merry Christmas to all!

 

Thank You!

The Subaru Repair fundraiser/sweepstakes is officially over. I'll be removing the donation button soon, but if you still want to donate, feel free to use the "Lincoln Bedroom" widget on the sidebar👉👉

Margaret and I want to thank all who entered/donated. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. The final tally is the one on the sidebar "thermometer" ( $550) That's 55 entries among 22 donors. 

I hope to livestream the drawing over Facebook on Tuesday. I'll try and give ample acvance notice. 

Again, thank you all very much!

Less Than 8 Hours To Go!

Have you entered to win some photographic prizes, and to help us defray some of the repair costs to our vehicle? By the way, got the car back two days ago (finally), and it runs like new! 

As you can see by the gauge above, it doesn't appear we'll make the goal by the witching hour tonight. I'd like to propose a modest goal in the interim of 50% ($400). That's just another $40. Hmmm, maybe too modest. But let's try.

For all the entry, and prize details, just scroll down to the previous blog posts. Every thing you need to know is spelled out there.  But I realize, I haven't shown you the 2nd and 3rd place prizes. (Because I didn't have them.. now I do!). The second place winner will get a 10 pack of note cards with the same image as the grand prize, and the third place winner, a 5 pack. Here they are:

Printed on "velvet metallic" paper, these prints look nearly as awesome as the metal print the grand prize winner will receive. Each card can be opened for the sender's message, and of course, includes a mailing envelope. (The prints can also be removed- carefully- from the card and put in a frame if you so desire)

DRAWING DETAILS- 

I was hoping to draw tomorrow (the 19th) but will be in Las Cruces most of the day, so tentatively plan to see the results on Tuesday, and how's this for exciting: I'm going to try and live stream the drawing on Facebook! My "photo bro" Dale is tasked with the job of pulling the names out of the hat, or can, or box, or whatever they end up in.

So, what are you waiting for? Let's hit the new low target and maybe win yourselves some cool photos. Click right here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=J9G5BAWWBW7S4

 

Time Is Running Out!

Win this metal print, and help me get this car running again!

First off, many many thanks for those who have already entered/donated. Your generosity is most appreciated. We've made progress to the goal of $800, but we've still got a ways to go. And don't forget, that if the goal is reached, I will change the metal print to a larger size. The lucky winner will love that. 

All the pertinent details are in the preceding blog post 👇👇👇

Remember, the deadline is MIDNIGHT (MST), DECEMBER 18!  

Please share this post far and wide. I'm pretty sure a contributing factor to the slow start is Facebook's infamous algorithms... enough people arent seeing the posts. I'm counting on you to spread it around. 

Again, donate by clicking on the picture at the top of the sidebar👉👉👉 or use this handy QR code:

A (Very Personal) Fund Raiser!

Yes, you've seen this image here before. You're not mistaken.  But there's a new reason to display it once again. As you may or may not recall, a couple weeks ago the timing belt in the Subaru broke, and though I immediately pulled over to the shoulder of (busy) US 180, several valves were bent in the process, so while a new belt is only $40 and probably a hundred bucks labor to replace, replacing the valves involves more. A whole lot more. 

Let Car Wizard explain why...

So, yeah, my estimate to get the car (which we really like, and which had replaced the Focus as the daily driver) came to $3,067.89 including tax. My mechanic, good guy that he is, didn't mind me sourcing my own parts, so I've managed to get the bill down to around $2,500 of which $1,820 is the labor (again, watch the video).

So, what's with the picture, Dan? I imagine I hear you asking. Well, I'm asking for your help in defraying the crippling costs of this repair (it's been a costly autumn), and while I could do a GoFundMe campaign, it's not like this is a person clinging to death, or a beloved dog with a shattered femur is it.  It seems like GoFundMe's  make people feel guilty if they don't donate, and I don't want that. 

Here's what I decided to do. I'm going to have a small sweepstakes. I know that the image above was one of my most popular on Instagram and Facebook, and I always thought, if it looks good on this screen, I bet it'd be a screamer if I had it printed on metal! And it is...

This is printed directly to an 8x12" sheet of aluminum, and comes ready to hang.

If I was going to sell this setup, I would charge around $150, plus shipping.  This is going to be the grand prize in the "Subaru Repair Fund Sweepstakes"!  I want to keep it real around Christmas time, so entries are only $10.  I'm hoping for a significant number of donors so am encouraging single entries, but there'scertainly no rule (I'm writing the rules) against multiples. A $20 donation = 2 entries, and so on. 

My goal is $800 which means I need 80 entries. Seems very doable. Now, how will I choose a winner? It will be a random draw, by computer.  See this screen grab? It's from a random number generator website I found with Google (of course). On the left are the numbers 1-500 randomized (yeah, I'm optimistic!). When I receive your donation, it will be assigned a number from the list beginning with

the first number. The second donation will receive the second number. $20, $30 donations will be assigned the next two or three numbers, and so on. When entries close, at midnight MST on December 18.  I will ask the number generator to give me three numbers (yes, there will be additional prizes!) between 1-x (where x=total number of entries). The donors with those numbers, in the order the computer displays them, will be the grand prize, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners respectively.

MAKE SENSE?

Where to donate? Right here on this blog, at the top of the sidebar you will find a donate button that will take you to PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account. Or use the handy QR code at the bottom of this post. All major credit and debit cards are accepted by Pay Pal. (If you're morally or spiritually opposed to PayPal or something, DM me and I'll send you a Zelle money request from my Credit Union)

To review: THE DETAILS:

• Fund raiser/sweepstakes will run from right now till midnight MST, Dec 18, 2022
• Suggested Donations $10. (Additional $10 donations never turned down, LOL)
• Make donations using button at the top of ths sidebar, this blog. (a QR code will be available on other social media sites)
• Your entry number(s) assigned in order from the above list.
• Drawing will be held on December 19th, probably around lunchtime😜
• Winner will be announced on the blog, and other social media sites,and by email (if available)
• Grand Prize: 8x12 metal print pictured above, retail value $150*
• 2nd Prize: 10 pack, same image metal surface paper on embossed notecards w/envelopes
• 3rd Prize: 5 pack of same. 

Prizes will not be able to to be shipped to arrive by Christmas.

 

HERE'S A BONUS! IF...   If the $800 goal is reached, I will double the size of the Grand Prize metal print to 16x24! A $300 value! And I will keep the 8x12 and hang it here in the man cave... because I love it.

Questions? If not, Get set. B̶A̶K̶E̶!̶  DONATE!

 

Time Is Running Out...

Price is never going to be this low again*  Get Luminar Neo with all the 2022 extensions, and bonus goodies NOW!

*in my opinion, of course.

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks.
 

Help Our Bookstore! Here's Way Number 2

Here's another way to help us with our $3000 auto repair.... You know Readers Cove sells used books. But what if you're looking for new books for yourselves, or for holiday gifts. Use the book seller that supports small, independent business like ours, and skip Bezos's elephant in the room.

Use Bookshop.org. Margaret explains below:

"Shopping for a new book? Choose Readers' Cove Used Books & Gallery as your local bookstore when ordering. Bookshop.org supports independent businesses!"