The Vulcan

I used the new "Content-Aware" tool, cloning tool and spot healing brush to "erase" the folds and creases.

The threshold tool, curves and gamma adjust to beef up the colours.

ALCE tool (local contrast enhancer) to bring it to life

This is a clean and very sharp copy of this versatile lens. Excellent on all Canon EOS cameras.

I’ve checked the focus alignment on my 5D MK11 and its spot on.

No marks, scratches, haze, fungus or other imperfections.

Fitted Canon Protector UV/1A filter from day one. Complete with front and rear caps, lens shade . Boxed with all instructions and cards.

This lens has only been used sparingly and is being sold as I have too much overlapping on my lenses. I currently have a Sigma 12-24mm, Zeiss N 24-85mm and Canon 14mm, 24mm, 35mm and 50mm primes and clearly the 17-40 range is well covered and surplus to requirements.

Asking $625 ono all inclusive and EMS insured shipping within Thailand. Overseas please contact for shipping costs.

Current new price is $850 and Ebay selling at $700 - $750 used (plus p+p and shipping add ons)

I’ll offer it here for a few weeks before going to Ebay

Thanks for looking and PM if interested.

nice work but it does not look like a photo. MOre like a drawing.

Yes, I should have explained better. It is actually a print of a painting by a certain D.J. Rowlands from 1985 - as opposed to a photograph.

Try these people

IQ Lab

Scanning prints for restoration is a little outdated now, and as you can see colour versus black and white is totally academic.

It seems you have the print at hand and as we're in a digital age - why not photograph the print as I have here?

This is a glossy print that had been in the guys pocket, all nicely crushed, scratched, sodden and folded, for years - and he wanted restoration to present to his mates in the battalion!

It's a very historical image of a British soldier in Ireland in 1979 who was subsequently awarded the Military Cross for his endeavor and was the only copy he had!

So;-

I used a basic digital camera on an overcast day to avoid glare and clipping and basically laid the print flat on my porch floor. I shot in RAW mode and imported into Photoshop CS5 for cleaning. There is a new cloning tool for such corrections and using this action the clean up took about 10 minutes. CS5 as demo can be downloaded free and is very powerful.

This is the "before"

And ten minutes later

I actually added the grain to emulate the original canvass effect. A little bit of a tweak in curves and gamma and finished.

My old Mum is 89 years old. Visits me annually from the UK and we use EVA Elite every time.

She maintains that it's the perfect start to her holiday and a wonderful conclusion.

I guess that says it all.

Definitely worth the money

Camera sold

I think you need to go back to SCB and discuss this further.

Only last year I enquired about transferring a large amount out of Thailand and the first thing they asked for was evidence of input.

My initial transfer in was via the Bangkok Bank some 10 years back.

In my case I had deposited via travelers cheques when arriving here and the receipt for exchange was deemed as sufficient evidence.

I would imagine that upon input of your funds if you were then to obtain a written bank confirmation of it's origin that this would suffice. Maybe marry this with confirmation from the source bank.

Maybe others will correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a thought.

You can critique my work any time you wish.

Ok Here we go as invited

Image 1 - you talk about "rule of thirds" so where did you apply it and incidental to this, the image is bland to say the least. Poor color, dissected content, inappropriate exposure, lacking in detail, contrast, blown highlights and basically a snap - sorry - poor.

2 - unnatural, ungainly, unrealistic and your insistence of thirds applies where? Blocked up shadows, colour caste. That's enough I think

3 - PP is exceptionally poor and you've cut off the lead-in line (if you know what that is)

4- waste of space

5 - Boring, boring and boring. God knows what you saw here. Utterly bland and without "direction"

6- And exactly what story does it tell? Beats me> A guy, seemingly as bored (boring) as the image - the fishing rod is cut off, your rule of thirds insistence is non-existent and all-in all a very uneventful and dreary "capture"

Your stock car - might as well as been parked. No sense of movement, action or intent. It does NOT work irrespective of your view. Dreary, UN-imaginative, and completely amateurish. Don't get confused, as an ex F1 photographer I can tell you - this ain't your bag!

Your garden with the deer is so poor - throw-away camera?

For me and indeed the "industry" as a whole, the shot of Lee looking at the camera is better than the previous shot which frankly is awful and amateurish. However, is so pixelated as to be unusable

The next 2 "shots" I guess were an accident!

In short my friend, as opposed to your claim to be an accomplished "tog'........... stick to fishing! You ain't gonna catch as many here!

I'll answer as per your request as I was intrigued by your resume "he is also an accomplished photographer" Here Seemingly you have a "background"?

There are only a few basic things to know about photography and the rest is practise.

1. Learn to recognize a good picture as soon as you see it. Then be ready to shoot. You can't take a picture if you don't have a camera, and the camera you have with you all the time is the one you'll take your best photos with.

How do you recognize a "good picture" and what makes you think the camera you have is the appropriate camera for the environment. Many times I've been angry with myself for traveling "light" i.e. I wished I'd had a different option. But please - expand, maybe something I've missed!

2. Remember the rule of thirds. Keep your point of interest either a third of the way from the top or bottom, or from either side.

This rule is absolutely old hat and not seen as an attribute in "modern photography"

3. Try to kee your horizons level. That is a common mistake with everyone.

Again - poor advise. Racing cars (E.G) at a "slant" actually have MORE impact than level - use your eyes and decide.

4. Always remember where your light source is coming from.

Which means what? Please explain - I'm intrigued

5. If you are taking a photo of a person then have them entering the picture rather than leaving it... using the rule of thirds.

NOT TRUE - Absolute rubbish. If it's a portrait type image why would the subject be leaving or entering the frame? And why is the rule of thirds appropriate to portraiture - IT IS NOT! Get up to date - this is 60's thinking and we're 50 years on!

6. Take off people's sunglasses, and eyeglasses as well, unless they are necessary for the effect.

Rubbish. Total rubbish. What constitutes "necessary" - accuracy, realistic, appropriate. If a person wears spectacles so be it. Can you imagine Eric Morecaombe WITHOUT spectacles. Very poor advice. Capture the person, their personality.

7. When taking pictures of people standing with the light source coming from behind them, then use a flash to highlight their faces.

Agreed, but how do you meter and configure the flash - I'm intrigued! ETTL, +/_ 1/2 stops, DOF, aperture/TV - tell me the technique for balance or otherwise. I'm really looking forward to this response as I consider this area my forte'! Let's say it's a bright, sunny, contrasty day with a DR of some 12 stops. You're shooting (say) a wedding (brides white dress needs retaining in FULL) or kids leaping about, and say a 24-70 lens. What settings would you advise to control the light and the subject? An "accomplished" 'tog will regard this as basic.

8. Angles and triangles make for more interesting pictures. That means having a roadway or river entering from an upper corner to the lower opposite corner. The exception to that would be if there are a series of level planes of colour or hue that you want to emphasize.

That's merely an opinion and NOT artistically essential.

9. When taking pictures of people, ALWAYS take more than you think you will need. There will always be one picture better than the others. The more people in the picture, the more photos you have to take.

Why - lack of vision? Pictures as you call them (images to everyone else) are constructed NOT snapped - universally accepted that good (great) images are MADE - not snapped. Realistically inappropriate

10. Pictures of people are more interesting if taken at an angle rather than directly at the photographer.

I've never read a more inappropriate piece of advice in my 55 years of photography - OP - do not follow this "reasoning" - respondent - tell me why? Show me an example.

11 When taking pictures of a model, get her to look in different directions with her eyes alone... eihter up, down or to the sides. It creates a story of what she is looking at.

Oh dear - oh dear! OP - ignore this or fail. You're photographing a model - not a bloody story - if the latter is the case introduce a background viz PBSI (do you know this rule IAN?)

12. Move as close to your subject as possible without changing the balance of the picture. There is no need to see the subject's shoes and a portion of the ground. Unless there is a reason to see someone's clothing, cut people off at the waist and just focus on the upper portion of the body or head.

And no mention of FL and possible perspective anomaly's ! And why is the upper portion relevant and the lower portion irrelevant. viz a cripple/disabled/wearing clogs etc. Another pearl of wisdom to ignore.

13. Remove unwanted items in the picture that might distract the attention later. That means garbage in scenic picture or a messy table behind a person.

Do you have Photoshop CS5! Your "opinion 1" was see it and shoot it - now we have to clean up the environment first!

14, Don't place the subject where it might look like a tree or pole behind them is coming out of their head.

Agreed

15 Always shoot at the highest quality the camera is capable of. It is easy to reduce the quality later, but impossible to make it any better. Memory chips are relatively cheap and it helps to have backups as well as a spare battery.

Agreed

There are other suggestions, but those will do for now. Other than that, go somewhere interesting to shoot lots of pictures using all the various settings. Take a notebook with you and write down what you've done each time. Experiment with light direction, and notice how it affects the picture. A great photorapher once said that the best lens you can buy is useless if you don't use a tripod. A tripod is the great leveler when trying to compare results.

Who the hel_l said this? A tripod is the best asset? Are you joking? That's complete rubbish! Ask ANY photojournalist, war, action, sport, impact photographer was is THE LAST THING in his equipment - A TRIPOD! Have you heard about IS?

My neighbour is a professional photographer and he has a library of books that have different coloured covers. He tests various camera lenses by shooting pictures of the books at different settings to see how they compare. The beauty of digital is you don't have to wait for film to be developed. You can learn instantly what the camera can do.

What does your "Pro" friend learn from shooting books covers - I'm keen to learn!

I'm really looking forward to this response!

OP - learn DOF, aperture influence, lens perspective, lighting control, and most importantly - FEEL!

And anyone who tells you that study is worthless - is indeed worthless!

Let's be positive - at least we now know the problem

We need 23 new players (preferable young, fit and not burnt out) and a manager!

If the "Hand of God" was a travesty that decision was a criminal act!

i do wish people would stop referring to him as 'JT'. nothing personal at you smokie, just mean the world at large. it makes him sound cuddly and likeable rather than the massive, massive cun_t he is.

It does leave interpretation open though

Jerk and Tosser come to mind

Otherwise translated as "never mind the quality - feel the width"

Not forgotten

Football match aims to heal wounds of Heysel

Here

I've found these shops to be great rip-offs while the attitude of the staff at FotoFile in particular has gotten worse.

Try shopping online at these sites: Most are in Thai but Google translator is your friend.

I've had no problems with any of the gear I've bought through these sites.

http://www.thaidphoto.com/forums/

http://www.taklong.com/marketplace/index.php

http://www.camera2hand.net/under_construction.htm <--- currently being reconstructed

fotofile are a good outfit but if you walk-in with attitude - then attitude you'll get.

Good store imho

in the second pictures the colours are 100% real, nothing changed. it was a real golden light...

And was the "horizon/sea slopping downhill/uphill" ?

Why don't you evaluate your images before posting?

WHERE'S THE STORY? SHOW ME WHERE?

You're both "attempting" photo-journalism and this stuff just does not cut.

Don't enter areas beyond your comprehension

Jeeze you guys - research eh?

You asked for it my "friend" - so accept them eh?

The forum heading is "photography and the arts"

would you like to elaborate on where any of the above snaps comply?

Years ago - (pre-digital)- most of this stuff coming back from the lab would have been (quite rightly) binned as the disaster it is, (and that's assuming it was shot at all)

But we're in a digital age - it's all free- so lets shoot any old crap.

Ask yourself - if you had to pay for a film and it's development cost, then pay for a scan, spot and clean:-

WOULD YOU STILL POST THIS STUFF ?

If the current spread of images on this forum's postings are indicative of digital photography all I can say is:-

GOD BLESS US ALL!

I've seen better with a throw-away disposable in a child's hands.

Your own words below..............

Discussion is an exchange of knowledge, argument is an exchange of ignorance

Life's a Beach

Stop whining and start posting more photos...

Will do once you stop posting near naked females in this forum

Win - he can't - he's a voyeur - "a person who gains sexual pleasure from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity".

Source - Wikepedia

Or likes to take pics of unawares young females

Source - Obvious!

it's a disease

Have you never been to France?

Nice shot - dramatic improvement on most of the crap posted here.

I'd be interested in this guys. I'm still shooting in automatic on my Canon DSLR. I haven't had the time to go out and play around with the different settings.

I just picked up a nice lens the other day. 50mm Prime with 1.4 F-Stop. Excellent for portraits. Did a little walk around Suratthani with it...

2nd, 3rd and 6th shot are nice and a good example of the bokeh (out of focus) rendition of this particular lens. I use it almost exclusively as my "walk around lens".

Try the 85mm F1.8 - cheap and fantastic

Goodbye Joe

God bless and rest in peace