Qhimm.com official photocrappy thread - DIAL-UP WARNING: LOTS OF PICTURES

[Sad Jari]

*Also Sprach Zarathustra playing in the background*

_{(for those of you with limited knowledge; it is also known as the theme of Space Odyssey 2001)}

Advent of digital photography has given mankind an unprecedented opportunity to express itself. To exceed the limitations of a simple primate just looking for a next banana. Today we gather here to celebrate that opportunity...

Alright, enough with the joke.

This thread is based on these assumptions; digital cameras these days are pretty affordable _{(well, at least the cheapest ones are)} and very common. Thus most of the people in this forum probably have an access to camera of some kind, even though they might not own one. And most of the people in this forum probably know how to use one, since at its easiest it's pretty much point and click operation. I would go even so far as to say that most people here have used one. Also, there are people from very different places on Earth, I thought that it might be a cool to see what kind of a place you live in _{(no, that doesn't mean that the photos must be from where you live and have some documentary value, you are free to post whatever you want)}.

So, let's see the pictures then.

This is not a competition of any kind, don't be shy even if you might feel like your own pictures are nothing special. As far as I know, there are no professional photographers here, and what does it matter if you think that someone's photos are "better" than yours? It's not a competition.

Rules here:

• You may post photos taken by you. Alright, if you really want, you may post photos taken by family member or friend - just remember to ask for permission and tell us if it's not yours.
• You may post your actual photos to this thread - but please, no more than 10 per message and keep the file size down, since the forum resizes them anyway.
• Or you may post links to your photos. Still, I think that 10 per message would be good limit. Just to make you bit critical.
• Or you may post a small photo here and use it as a link to larger one, somewhere else. I'll probably be doing this.
• Anyway, the forum is resizing everything over 480x480 to that size, so don't bother posting anything larger directly. It will just look ugly. I would say that 200KB as a max filesize for a single picture is good, it should be enough for very high quality jpeg compression of 480x480 picture even of the most difficult nature and still block out .bmps and other "great ideas" like that.
• You can post several messages, so the 10 is not some kind of a maximum limit. Just don't double/triple/or whatever-post.
• IMPORTANT: IF THE PHOTOGRAPHER WANTS CRITIQUE, HE/SHE WILL SAY SO. IF HE DOES NOT, YOU ARE LIMITED TO TELLING HIM/HER HOW GREAT THE PHOTOS ARE. IF I SEE ANYONE TELLING HOW MUCH SOMEONE'S PHOTOS SUCK, I WILL BE CONTACTING AN ADMIN QUICKER THAN YOU CAN SAY POTATO.
• There's no need for "artistic value", or something like that in the photo. If you like it, you can post it.
• Retouching in Photoshop/GIMP/whatever is okay. Even drastic measures. If you want recognition as a purist, you might want to mention that your photos had no/minimal tweaking.
• I guess that's pretty much it. I'll update the rules, if needed.

As final words; I know that there's at least one person here with a photography as a hobby. And more than one person with pretty darn good pictures from a places most of us will never go to. Now is your chance. Please? The power of the doggie compels you to post them.

I can start, but I would rather keep this post and my photos separate, so I'll be double-posting. *gasp*

EDIT: added rule about retouching.

EDIT2: warning for modem users.

[Sad Jari]

Since nobody wants to be the first person to make a fool out of themselves, I shall sacrifice myself!

*sniff*



Anyway, the following photos have pretty much nothing in common with each other, they are from different places at different times. I once picked them in case I would have to quickly show some photos of Finland. I'm no photographer, I just have a camera and I know that it goes *click* if I press the button.

Witness the suck that is I:

<sub>(clickety small picture to see larger one)


Google Maps location
2006-1-8 11:30

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/90 sec
Lens Aperture: F/5
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: landscape mode




Google Maps location
2006-1-8 12:25

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/100 sec
Lens Aperture: F/5
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: landscape mode




Google Maps location
2005-7-3 21:52

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/125 sec
Lens Aperture: F/8
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: landscape mode




Google Maps location
2005-5-30 13:06

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/680 sec
Lens Aperture: F/6.3
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 125
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal




Google Maps location
2005-7-3 21:52

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/85 sec
Lens Aperture: F/6.3
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: landscape mode




Google Maps location
2005-7-2 11:38

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/600 sec
Lens Aperture: F/5
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 125
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal




Google Maps location
2005-7-2 16:34

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/680 sec
Lens Aperture: F/5.6
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: average
Exposure program: normal
Exposure compensation: +0.7




Google Maps location
2005-7-3 22:58

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/100 sec
Lens Aperture: F/6.3
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: landscape mode





Google Maps location
2005-10-9 14:42

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/500 sec
Lens Aperture: F/5.6
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal





Google Maps location
2005-10-1 13:10

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/420 sec
Lens Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal</sub>




Your turn.

[ChaosControl]

WOW, those really are amazing!
Where did you take em if I may ask?

My camera is at my girlfriend but im going there tommorrow so I can bring it!

[Jedimark]

Hmm, I'm affraid most of my photos are of my friends wasted in nightclubs... however I do have a few "nice" photos from various places:


View from Pegasus Bridge... the place of the first Allied victory (and death) on D-Day.


Pretty flowers on a building somewhere in Caen.


London Bridge.


Prize* for the person who can tell me what this is.


Big Ben, and Parliment (taken on Mobile phone camera).


Morecambe, near where I went to Uni.


A duck looking like it's about to sit on a baby duck.


... on the way up Skafell Pike.


... at the top of Skafell Pike!


Near where I (used to) live.

* Disclaimer: There is no prize.

[Sad Jari]

WOW, those really are amazing!

Why, thank you. They are just pretty regular snapshots, nothing special.

Where did you take em if I may ask?

Ummm... Finland? Well, few of them are taken at my parent's place, and some at the lake nearby. Couple bit farther away. Anyway, I added Google Maps links to them, in addition to EXIF-data (which went bye bye with the 'save for web' in Photoshop). Not that the Google Maps links would be particularly helpful.


Jedimark: Nice. And very cute duckies. I really like the landscapes in the last ones, too.

* Disclaimer: There is no prize.

Well, I'm not going to tell you then.

It seems that my military hardware ID skillz are so bad these days that I don't know what it is. AFV, obviously, and guessing from the context I would say a British one. So, it would be... what was it called... Warrior?

Honestly I don't know - it might be Bradley just as well and I wouldn't know without checking from somewhere.


EDIT: And now for something completely different: panoramas!

You'll need Quicktime for these and it might take a while to get it loaded, like... minute? Something like that, anyway. Just wait for it to load and... uh... pan around.

Autumn panorama
Winter panorama 1
Winter panorama 2
Summer panorama (this one doesn't wrap around, sorry)

Yes, I know that they are not exactly perfect. I have just a cheap tripod, not a real panorama mount. Plus the settings weren't exactly picked for the greatest artistic value, ever.


EDIT2: Just realized that I might have left the focal length out of the EXIF-tags; not only they all are shot at the wide angle, but it doesn't do you much good if you don't know the size of the sensor. It's not the film equivalent, that is... which is quite obvious since the photos don't look like the inside of a fish bowl.

[Emerald Weapon]

Those are some really nice looking pictures and panoramas there Jari!

Man, I really have to visit Finland someday...and the other scandinavian countries...

[Sad Jari]

Those are some really nice looking pictures and panoramas there Jari!

Awwww, thank you.

Man, I really have to visit Finland someday...and the other scandinavian countries...

Yeah, we have lots of lakes. And forest. And moose, yes lots and lots of moose!

Norway has the fjords and stuff, and Sweden... well Sweden just sucks. Kidding.

You wouldn't have any pictures of your own, would you?

_{(I'm not pressuring, just trying to encourage people to post, if they have something)}


Neste Rally Finland 2005


<sub>2005-8-5 13:56

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/1700 sec
Lens Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal




2005-8-5 14:02

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/1700 sec
Lens Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal




2005-8-5 15:05

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/1100 sec
Lens Aperture: F/3.2
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 160
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal




2005-8-6 21:26

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/70 sec
Lens Aperture: F/3.2
Focal Length: 11mm
ISO Speed: 400
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal




2005-8-6 22:00

FUJIFILM
Finepix F610

Shutter speed: 1/25 sec
Lens Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 8mm
ISO Speed: 400
Metering mode: pattern
Exposure program: normal</sub>



Post more pictures!

[Jedimark]

Prize* to Jari... it is indeed a Warrior.

(Disclaimer: There is still no prize)

[Emerald Weapon]

You wouldn't have any pictures of your own, would you?

_{(I'm not pressuring, just trying to encourage people to post, if they have something)}

Unfortunately I do not own a real digital-camera. My phone's got one though, 1.3 megapixel I believe. Even though the pictures aren't that good, they are viewable. I'll go out and shoot a couple of pictures tomorrow, okay? I'll also try to get my hands on a real camera.

Here's one to warm you up:


(My bike in the snow in March, we usually have sun then, but we had snow this year. Sun only recently came to visit.)

[Sad Jari]

I'll go out and shoot a couple of pictures tomorrow, okay? I'll also try to get my hands on a real camera.

Awww, that would be very nice.

Here's one to warm you up:


(My bike in the snow in March, we usually have sun then, but we had snow this year. Sun only recently came to visit.)

Snowbike! Akin to snowmen!


EDIT: Hello to you both, Mofokubik and Rubicant! Did you enjoy the pictures?

[Emerald Weapon]

I'll go out and shoot a couple of pictures tomorrow, okay? I'll also try to get my hands on a real camera.

Awww, that would be very nice.

One would start to think I'm actually trying to please you Jari...

[Sad Jari]

Ah, but the question is; are you trying to please me because you love me, or because you want something?

[Emerald Weapon]

Ah, but the question is; are you trying to please me because you love me, or because you want something?

Well both ofcourse.
You know, I wrote this little poem. It explains my love for you, it took me really long and I worked real hard on it, so please be kind:

Jari, i luv yu
i want to bee lik yu
yu ar my heroe
ive never meet yu
but i now i luv yu
will yu perhaps sent me a naiz PM
that wuld mak me realy hapy

Well, how's that? I bet you've never gotten a poem like that from anyone. Do you now grasp the endless horizon's of my love for you?

[Sad Jari]

Do you now grasp the endless horizon's of my love for you?

Yes! Yes, I do! 

And I certainly have never gotten a poem like that from anyone, that's true.

Too bad that I don't any teddy bear-photos stored up, so I could make a card for you.

[Emerald Weapon]

And I certainly have never gotten a poem like that from anyone, that's true.

I knew it! It's a really special poem. It has a special place in my heart and well you know sometimes I just read it and it makes me cry...

Too bad that I don't any teddy bear-photos stored up, so I could make a card for you.

You would? 

I would be so....so...so happy! I would finally know true love, true understanding! My life would have found meaning knowing you made that for me...

EDIT: Removed empty quote space at bottom of message

[Sad Jari]

We should stop though, before a moderator decides that this is spam.

[Emerald Weapon]

Agreed. We don't want a lock.

So back to pictures!

[Emerald Weapon]

(Sorry for the doublepost)

Allright, here it goes. I took most of these pictures this afternoon using my rather crappy phonecamera, so don't sue me over the quality of the pictures.
All of these pictures were taken in the city where I study. It's in the centre of The Netherlands. Since all of the pictures are in-city, you won't see much of the flat land with cows my country is famous for.

I'll be visiting my parents somewhere this week. They live in a small village in the countryside, so I'll try to snap some shots there as well. For now, this is what I've got:

First up: The view I have from my room, I'm in the center of the city.


Next: One of those stereotypically Dutch things: bycicles. We do almost everything on bike. Especially in the major cities a bike get's you anywhere, whereas using a car is hell on earth.


One of the more beautiful things in my city: the canals. Especially now in Summer when everything's green they are very very nice.
(Notice the duck!)


Now for something typically Dutch...


This is a pretty big restaurant/disco in the heart of town. It's got neat statues as pillars. They resemble Greek "kariatides". (They're fake)


It's the ultimate combination! Canals+bikes make: Canalbikes! (Only tourists use these)


This is a shot of the tower of the former cathedral in my city. The middle-part is gone now, so the tower and actual church are separated.


Yeah, well. Need I explain? It's pratically what we're famous for. Can't say I'm proud of it.


And last: one more nice canal-shot. A threeway thing:

The middle:


The left:


The right:


Hope you liked 'em. I'll post more after I visit my parents.

[Loki]

Hopefully these links work.

I took this one on the way to Los Angeles, just over North Canada.

[Sad Jari]

Emerald Weapon:

Oooooh, very very nice!

Especially for me, since I've never lived in a big city, much less in one that would have such a pretty buildings. I think that most of the old buildings in Finnish cities (which are not too old to begin with) have been demolished at one time or another, so there are only handful of places that would have that kind of look.

Plus, we don't have any canals anywhere, I'm pretty sure of that.

Yeah, well. Need I explain? It's pratically what we're famous for. Can't say I'm proud of it.

You are famous for coffee?

Ok, I have to admit, I'm not really that naive.

And last: one more nice canal-shot. A threeway thing:

That would be so nice as a wide panorama (not necessarily as quicktime, but just really wide picture). I could stitch it for you if you have never done them, but I have this hunch that this would be too much for phonecam. :/ The pictures should be shot from a tripod (panorama mount, really) and the camera should have complete manual control, so that you can lock exposure times and aperture... that way you don't end up with some shots brighter and some darker.

Hope you liked 'em. I'll post more after I visit my parents.

I sure did. Please do.

Hmmm... you said that you have cows? How about a photo documentary of cow tipping?



Loki:

Excellent dedication to hobby! Here a photographer has grown a set of wings and learned to fly to get a better shot.

Anyway, it's really nice.

And by "links", I hope you meant one link. Because I see only one picture. It would be a shame if there were more such nice photos and we couldn't see them.


EDIT: Adding few pictures.

Our cities usually look something like this:








With an occasional protected building:





Oh look, I found a picture of the school I used to go to, when I was just a wii lad. 

[Loki]

Yeah, they're not hosted, they're from a site I got them put up on a I was hoping they'd let me put it on here.
I have more of LA, so that's what I meant by "links", there's only one picture there.

[ChaosControl]

Yeah, well. Need I explain? It's pratically what we're famous for. Can't say I'm proud of it.

Lol, I have been to that one once, about 4 months ago with a party of my friend.

[Sukaeto]

These all (except the waterfall) were taken in Tioga/Lycoming counties in Pennsylvania.  Tiadaghton area forest.  Also known as "The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania"



This was taken at Colton Point State Park, main lookout.



This is from on top of Cedar Mountain, overlooking the campground we used to stay at (until my parents bought a camp.)



Again, on top of Cedar Mountain, this time looking up the canyon.



This is from a vista called "Ice Break".  Probably one of - if not the - most fabulous lookouts in the entire canyon.  You can see in every direction.




Again from Ice Break, looking straight ahead.




Again from Ice Break, this time looking off to the right.




This is a picture of the Lincoln Falls, which are right outside of Lands End, PA.  These aren't located in the canyon (although there are alot of waterfalls that are), I think they're in Lycoming county.

[Sad Jari]

I have more of LA, so that's what I meant by "links", there's only one picture there.

You should post more, if you can.

These all (except the waterfall) were taken in Tioga/Lycoming counties in Pennsylvania.  Tiadaghton area forest.  Also known as "The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania"

Oooh, I like it! I think that I prefer this one over the other Grand Canyon - this one has trees. Lots of them, too.

Your original nick was inspired by this forest, yes?

This is from on top of Cedar Mountain, overlooking the campground we used to stay at (until my parents bought a camp.)

So, this is where little Sukaeto used to run around, when he was just a wii lad?

Very nice photos, thank you for posting them.


EDIT: Apparently too drunk while typing. Having order with problems word.

[zero88]

These all (except the waterfall) were taken in Tioga/Lycoming counties in Pennsylvania.  Tiadaghton area forest.  Also known as "The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania"

Pennsylvania, huh? I live in Pennsylvania.

The landscape around here looks mightily similar to the landscape portrayed in your pictures.