Activity for Olin Lathrop‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: Should Photography & Video go through the Community Proposals system? Yes, this is a good idea. If you do that, seed the proposal with the new top level posts generated here from the Q&A category. Skip the other categories for now. Contests is cute, but there is nothing much worth saving that couldn't get re-created if people actually want it. It's debatable whet... (more)	—	9 months ago
Answer	—	A: Why fold your hands, and center them, in portraits? Why? Probably because the photographer told the subjects to do that. Personally, I don't think it looks that great. The bottom picture seems better to me than the others in that regard, but I can't really say why. In any case, you'd have to ask the photographer why he thinks this pose looks bett... (more)	—	over 1 year ago
Question	—	Unwarranted answer deletion I wrote an answer a year ago to a question about how much power some consumer device uses. My answer was basically to measure it, gave a starting explanation of how to do that, and suggested to ask on the Electrical Engineering site with the results so that they would be properly interpreted. This ... (more)	—	almost 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can a screenshot's file size ≥ original picture's file size? Because of compression and different sizes. The original JPG image you are referring to is 1080 x 790 pixels in size, for a total of 777k pixels. Since the image is true color, there would be 3 bytes per pixel in uncompressed form. That would require 2.3 MB. However, the image file is only 131 ... (more)	—	about 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: How go about photo'ing different flash lights' spots for comparison? Different flashes will have different brightnesses, so you don't want to fix the complete exposure across all the pictures. You should fix the ISO to a good value for your camera. Set it to 400 if you're not sure what the best is. That should be pretty good with most cameras, and the important p... (more)	—	over 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the difference between dot and pixel? Dots and pixels can be the same or different, depending on context. In a computer file, an image is usually made up of a rectangular array of color (or gray) values. We call those pixels, for "picture elements". "Dots" is usually used when trying to realize an image on physical media. Dots can ... (more)	—	over 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: Apply unsharp mask before or after downsizing to final size? You could do it either way, but it is usually better to apply effects that depend on the size or resolution of the picture on the final-sized picture. This is assuming, of course, that proper anti-aliasing is always done along with any resolution reduction. The visual effect of blurring is depend... (more)	—	almost 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: Should near future smartphones replace professional cameras? No. Dirt happens. Phones don't magically get dirty less than lenses of high end cameras. In fact, the opposite is true. Even a semi-serious camera lens has a cap or hood. This is a simple mechanical barrier that minimizes dirt accumulation when the lens is not in use. Your question is also ... (more)	—	almost 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: How long does the time lapse interval need to be to capture shadows during the middle of the day? First, let's clear up a misconception. Shadows move faster at the beginning and end of the day This is not true. The angle to the sun changes at a constant rate during the day. That rate is easy to calculate, since it's 360°/day = 15°/hour. Shadows can appear to move faster or slow... (more)	—	about 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: Program to strip EXIF data from images Instead of "stripping" EXIF data, think of it as making a copy that doesn't include it. My various image manipulation programs do that by default when writing JPG output files. This may have changed, but it used to be that JPG files didn't have provisions for meta-data, and I haven't updated the ... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: 2020 - November - Animals Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus) Image Glacier National Park, Montana, August 1974. I came across these goats on the Garden Wall Trail about halfway from Logan Pass to Swiftcurrent Pass. They let me get close enough to take this picture with a 105 mm lens. I highly recommend the Gard... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: 2020 - November - Animals Red Squirrel Image Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, Grand Tetons National Park, 21 June 1985. I was surprised how close this animal let me get. It was quite content to continue eating the pine cone, even when it filled the frame with a 300 mm lens. I was puzzled by the color, as it's one I don't e... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: 2020 - October - Clouds Thunderstorm over Mt Elden Image 18 Aug 2014 northeast of Flagstaff Arizona. I was on the east side of the ridge, so didn't get much warning about this thunderstorm coming from the west. A few minutes later, I got caught in quite a thunderstorm with hail. The hail was big enough to sting a... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are shutter speed, ISO, and Aperture? Shutter speed, ISO, and f-stop are the three variables you can control in the camera to adjust exposure. Changes in one can be offset by changes in another to keep the same exposure. However, changes in each of these three parameters have different influences on the look of the overall picture, eve... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to capture a competition rifle shooter with a bullet in flight? Do the math. Let's say the bullet in question is travelling at about the speed of sound, around 330 m/s. That means it moves 1 meter in 3 ms, or about a foot in 1 ms. Now look at the speed of "prosumer" flashes. 1 ms for the flash duration would not be out of the ordinary, especially for a br... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: 2020 - August - The Moon Obligatory shot of just the moon Image Yup, it's the moon. I included this to document the exposure. Getting the moon right is tricky, since it's a small but bright object in the middle of a dark background. Anything with auto-exposure is going to mess this up, unless you have a very long le... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: 2020 - August - The Moon Moon over saguaro Image 16 Aug 2011, in the White Tank Mountains just west of Phoenix Arizona, 300 mm lens, 6:47 local time. The moon was nearly full, and low in the west around dawn. I wanted the moon to look as large as possible relative to the cactus, so a long focal length was needed. ... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I take crisp pictures of flames at night (with a cell phone)? The problems The basic problem is that the flames are small bright things in what is otherwise a dark scene. The automatic exposure system then messes up because it strives to make the average come out right. Some exposure systems do look at highlights and adjust somewhat, but in most ordinary... (more)	—	over 3 years ago
Answer	—	A: 2020 - July - B&W Horizons Comet Neowise Groton Massachusetts, 20 July 2020, 22:19. 135 mm, full frame (24 x 36 mm) sensor, 4 seconds. (more)	—	almost 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: Link to other Community contests? While there is a point in linking from SE to here, the reverse makes no sense. We want people finding this place from elsewhere. We don't want to help people go elsewhere if they happened to stumble onto this place first. Also, as a general principle, this site needs to stand on its own. If it ... (more)	—	almost 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: Critique Request - Landscape - Composition Here is another totally different derivative of the original: The waterfall and the swirling leaves are really two separate features that happen to be in the same original photograph. Trying to show both in one picture makes the picture confusing by lacking a point, and neither will look good... (more)	—	almost 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: 2020 - July - B&W Horizons Storm over Mesa Verde Image alt text This was taken 16 Aug 2018 from the side of the highway a little west of Mancos Colorado. The storm clouds looked so dramatic that I stopped to take a picture. (more)	—	almost 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I reduce blurriness when taking a photo in the dark, using only UV light? Possible problems, with their solutions, are: Inability to focus properly in the dark. Put the camera on a tripod. Focus and compose with the lights on. Depending on the camera, you may have to switch it to manual focus mode. If your camera is too dumbed down to allow that, then it is inappr... (more)	—	almost 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: Which posts or types of posts to migrate in? Which posts or types of posts to migrate in? None of them. For this site to be successful, it needs to have activity here. Copying posts from SE only creates the illusion of activity, then becomes worse than useless when people realize after reading the whole question, that it was was asked an... (more)	—	almost 4 years ago
Answer	—	A: Critique Request - Landscape - Composition My first response is that a really like this picture. However, there are some details I'd probably change, or at least experiment with. Here is a scaled down original for comparison with subsequent versions: Image alt text The picture looks a little dingy, at least on my monitor. The fir... (more)	—	almost 4 years ago