PHOTOGRAPH INFO

This photograph was taken tonight at a wonderful Mexican restaurant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, about 20 minutes from Durham Township.

Post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens at 43mm, ISO 3200, shutter speed 1/60s and aperture f/2.8.

The Canon 5D allows you to shoot in "RAW+JPEG" format - which means you get a copy of both the RAW file and a camera-processed JPEG file. Although I always work with RAW files, I've been using the dual mode to create a set of "proof" JPEG copies for quick sharing, skin tone comparisons, etc. It's a nice tool to have. If you're inclined, you can set the camera so the JPEG version is a monochrome image, and that's what I did with this shot tonight. I've strayed from my usual technique of processing a RAW file, and went with the monochrome JPEG here. I added a basic curves adjustment to improve contrast and did some slight color balancing as well.

Thank you for visiting Durham Township!

--Kathleen

makes me want to say, "cha-cha-cha!" Love the soft tones.

great caputre K. love this tone u used here. it gives this photography more deep. like it a lot :)

Humorous and fun shot. Love the kid's eyes.

A lovely portrait - the little boy's expression is so sweet!

Cool shot. Love the expressions on the faces (happy, surprised). Lovely tones and textures.

Very fun shot. Was the food good?

I don't really shoot much in RAW, I usually shoot SHQ. My camera also has RAW+SHQ, but it eats up so much space that I find it very difficult to deal with, even in just the RAW format.

Sometimes the RAW conversion crashes my comp, but perhaps that's because I have PS6, and my comp is getting old. I have printed 16x20 even at the lower HQ JPEG (I used that before I got the larger 1g Flash Cards) with fine results. I understand the difference in theory, but have not really seen the difference in practice. (Of course I still have limited experience.) Is there really that big of a difference? Or is it more personal preference? I always burn the originals to CD-R before I do any work on them, in order to preserve them.

Sorry so long, but I am really curious.

Lovely shot, moment well captured!

Love it - a really fun black and white. The shock on the boy's face is priceless!

That is a fun shot!! His expression is priceless!

nice catch! :)

Chicken Chimichangas! Mmmmmmmm!

Love this.

And the noise is so low at ISO3200. Wow!

Please take me to your lovely Durham Township and also teach me to take photographs like this -and all your other lovely ones. Found your photoblog by accident and it is definitely in my favourites now! Brilliant!!

Thanks, everyone!

Laurie: Yes, the food is great! Highly recommended.

I'm not sure what SHQ is - I'm not familiar with the format. If it's anything like a TIFF file, it's HUGE and unnecessary. RAW files are much smaller than TIFF files, but of course, they're still on the large side.

Anyway, I shoot in RAW format because it produces 16-bit images. JPEGs are 8-bit images. There is a tremendous advantage to post-processing a 16-bit image vs. an 8-bit image, but I'm afraid I don't have the time or space to go into the details here. Suffice to say it's a night-and-day kind of thing.

I'm in the process of writing a 'FAQ' for my site which addresses this very issue in great detail; I'll be finishing it up in June. If you want more info in the meantime please email me.

Thanks for the question!

Wow I spent like 3.5 years in bethlehem PA.
I went to lehigh university. I took some wonderful shots of the bethlehem steel mill. unfortunately my slides are all lost now.

Lovely picture.