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Author Topic: Nepal - Khumbu  (Read 25083 times)

Ray

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« Reply #20 on: May 16, 2008, 11:04:08 am »

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I do wish I'd had the initiative to do some treking in that part of the world some thirty or forty years ago.
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Eric,
I didn't realise you are that old   .  When I was there, I was quite surprised to meet the occasional 70-75 year old American lady walking along the same track using 2 walking sticks.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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« Reply #21 on: May 16, 2008, 01:07:36 pm »

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Eric,
I didn't realise you are that old   .  When I was there, I was quite surprised to meet the occasional 70-75 year old American lady walking along the same track using 2 walking sticks.
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Ray,

I'm not quite that old yet, but I do use two walking sticks when hiking on difficult terrain.

When I was young, and the dinosaurs and I roamed the land . . .

-Eric
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Ray

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« Reply #22 on: May 16, 2008, 01:23:01 pm »

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I'm not quite that old yet, but I do use two walking sticks when hiking on difficult terrain.
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Ah! Difficult to take a photo with a walking stick in each hand. Could be a disadvantage. I refuse to use walking sticks. Some folks have trouble with their knees walking downhill. I have trouble carrying my overweight frame uphill. I much prefer walking downhill.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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« Reply #23 on: May 16, 2008, 08:20:06 pm »

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Ah! Difficult to take a photo with a walking stick in each hand. Could be a disadvantage. I refuse to use walking sticks. Some folks have trouble with their knees walking downhill. I have trouble carrying my overweight frame uphill. I much prefer walking downhill.
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Actually, when I'm expecting to do photography, I generally carry just one stick. Or, if I'm using both, I'll drop them to take the picture and then go hunting for them again.

And I'm still looking for a nice, interesting loop circuit that is downhill all the way.    And if I lost about 50 pounds I'd have an easier time. But I still probably wouldn't get to the neat places you and Bernard get to for photography.
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BernardLanguillier

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« Reply #24 on: May 17, 2008, 10:58:48 pm »

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Bernard,

Thanks for sharing the as-usual-magnificent images so that old geezers like me can enjoy your treks vicariously.
Eric
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Thank you for the kind words Eric.

Cheers,
Bernard

Ray

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« Reply #25 on: May 18, 2008, 09:16:13 am »

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Actually, when I'm expecting to do photography, I generally carry just one stick. Or, if I'm using both, I'll drop them to take the picture and then go hunting for them again.

And I'm still looking for a nice, interesting loop circuit that is downhill all the way.    And if I lost about 50 pounds I'd have an easier time. But I still probably wouldn't get to the neat places you and Bernard get to for photography.
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Eric, you can do it! Take inspiration from this chap.   (Somewhere between Kalopani and Sikha). Dull day unfortunately.

[attachment=6637:attachment]

Original picture replaced due to oversight. Wrong WB and oversharpened.  
« Last Edit: May 18, 2008, 10:55:37 am by Ray »
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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« Reply #26 on: May 19, 2008, 11:26:47 pm »

If I were as lean as that guy, I could go trekking.

Actually, how about a head-mounted camera (sort of like a miner's headlamp), with a cable release operated by mouth. Then I wouldn't need to let go of the two sticks with my hands.  
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Ray

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« Reply #27 on: May 20, 2008, 02:08:28 am »

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If I were as lean as that guy, I could go trekking.
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Believe me. If you went trekking, you'd soon become as lean as that guy. The mild altitude sickness combined with the rather unappetising meals, plus the constant exercise day after day is the most effective way of losing weight I can think of. I lost around 10 kgs during the few weeks I was in Nepal. After returning to Australia, I gradually put it back on. I'm looking forward to my next trip so I can take it off again   .
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theophilus

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« Reply #28 on: May 20, 2008, 11:03:53 am »

Thanks for sharing those Bernard, brought back great memories of Nepal.  I trekked the first half of the Annapurna trail in 2000.

----

Also Bernard, what type of pano equipment to you use?  I.e. RRS, nodal ninja, etc.  I am looking for something very stable and I know how the wind can blow in Nepal so I was wondering what you used.  Also for the pano's did you tend to use the 60mm macro?
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BernardLanguillier

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« Reply #29 on: May 20, 2008, 11:16:56 am »

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Also Bernard, what type of pano equipment to you use?  I.e. RRS, nodal ninja, etc.  I am looking for something very stable and I know how the wind can blow in Nepal so I was wondering what you used.  Also for the pano's did you tend to use the 60mm macro?
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Thanks for the kind words. The Anapurna trek is on my short list for future treks.

I have been using a RRS ultimate spherical pano kit for a few years now. It works OK in moderate wind with gear up to about 2 kg.

I used mostly both the 60 mm macro and the 70-300 for stitching.

Cheers,
Bernard

Ray

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« Reply #30 on: May 20, 2008, 12:06:50 pm »

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I have been using a RRS ultimate spherical pano kit for a few years now. It works OK in moderate wind with gear up to about 2 kg.

I used mostly both the 60 mm macro and the 70-300 for stitching.
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Bernard,
When I was last in Nepal, shooting mostly with my Canon 5D and 20D, I was not aware of the future capabilities of stitching programs like CS3's Photomerge and Autopano Pro. There were occasions when the wind was strong and I thought it a waste of time getting out my lightweight tripod. I was also carrying my Canon TS-E 24mm on that trip, but hardly used it.

However, I did take a few handheld shots for stitching purposes on a few occasions (very few unfortunately) when any tripod would have been too unstable. Those shots have stitched marvelously well with either CS3 or Autopano Pro.

I wonder if there is really any need for a tripod and pano head for panoramas in the difficult situations of trekking where weight and convenience are major issues.
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BernardLanguillier

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« Reply #31 on: May 20, 2008, 06:54:00 pm »

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However, I did take a few handheld shots for stitching purposes on a few occasions (very few unfortunately) when any tripod would have been too unstable. Those shots have stitched marvelously well with either CS3 or Autopano Pro.

I wonder if there is really any need for a tripod and pano head for panoramas in the difficult situations of trekking where weight and convenience are major issues.
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Ray,

Well, I feel that although Nepal offers somewhat more day time shooting opportunities than other locales, there is still value in shooting sunrise and sunset images where a tripod is mandatory. So for me that was not an option really.

As far as panoramas goes, I shot a few handheld for a variety of reasons and got overall good results. The fact remains though that subjects with a strong front rear dimension do not stitch well because of parallalax when the lens is not located around its nodal point. For me this makes the pano head mandatory also.

This being said I agree that tripod/no tripod is a difficult call to make in windy situations where hand held and VR/IS can result in better sharpness than shots on a tripo + pano head.

Cheers,
Bernard

WarrenP

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« Reply #32 on: May 20, 2008, 07:26:11 pm »

Stunning photos
I think they would be even more stunning if we could view them with tools such as DevalVR or Zoomifyer.  Then we could really see the detail that you obviously have in the photos.
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BernardLanguillier

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« Reply #33 on: May 20, 2008, 08:52:19 pm »

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Stunning photos
I think they would be even more stunning if we could view them with tools such as DevalVR or Zoomifyer.  Then we could really see the detail that you obviously have in the photos.
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Thanks. Yep, I'll think of that but such a capability isn't built-in into flickr. Besides I am a little bit afraid of making indirectly full res images available on line, would it be piece by pice...

I have been thinking of adding some form of that to my own site but haven't found the time yet.

Regards,
Bernard

Ray

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« Reply #34 on: May 20, 2008, 10:31:27 pm »

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Ray,

Well, I feel that although Nepal offers somewhat more day time shooting opportunities than other locales, there is still value in shooting sunrise and sunset images where a tripod is mandatory. So for me that was not an option really.

As far as panoramas goes, I shot a few handheld for a variety of reasons and got overall good results. The fact remains though that subjects with a strong front rear dimension do not stitch well because of parallalax when the lens is not located around its nodal point. For me this makes the pano head mandatory also.

This being said I agree that tripod/no tripod is a difficult call to make in windy situations where hand held and VR/IS can result in better sharpness than shots on a tripo + pano head.

Cheers,
Bernard
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Bernard,
I admit there will always be the odd occasion where a tripod is essential for best results. If the slowest shutter speed of a series of bracketed shots to increase DR is simply too slow for a sharp result without tripod, then use of a higher ISO may not produce the best tonality. It would also be impossible to take a waterfall shot without a tripod if one wanted the traditional silky smooth blur, or a shot at night without flash or where flash was not appropriate.

However, in view of the increased functionality of software such as CS3E with regard to stacking of images and auto-alignment, and the much improved parallax correction of stitching programs like Autopano Pro, as well as CS3's Photomerge, I wonder if the need for a tripod is exaggerated.

Sunsets and sunrises can be considered as stationary, like still lifes, can't they? The Nikon D3 has a fast frame rate and a base ISO of 200. My experience with stacking images in CS3E for noise removal suggests one can get as much as a 2 stop improvement. Instead of using a tripod for shots at 1/15th or 1/30th sec at ISO 200, how about 6 or 9 hand-held shots at ISO 800 and at 1/60th or 1/125th second?

If shutter speed is not an issue but dynamic range is, then CS3's auto-alignment of images is excellent for merging hand-held bracketed shots to HDR, although I admit there's a danger of the resulting sharpness being limited to the sharpness of the image with the slowest shutter speed.

It's a concern for me because whenever I travel I always seem to take too much stuff just in case I might find the need of something, a particular lens or a tripod.
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bcarmic

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« Reply #35 on: May 20, 2008, 10:54:01 pm »

Bernard:

Wonderful shots and it makes me want to go back to Nepal soon.  I'm using the D3 as well.

Look out for the d3x... that will make us happy.

BC
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WarrenP

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« Reply #36 on: May 21, 2008, 04:55:52 am »

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Thanks. Yep, I'll think of that but such a capability isn't built-in into flickr. Besides I am a little bit afraid of making indirectly full res images available on line, would it be piece by pice...

I have been thinking of adding some form of that to my own site but haven't found the time yet.

Regards,
Bernard
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Bernard
I understand your concern but with images the size of yours you still need to resize and compress.  This gives a degree of protection, since what you put on the web, while higher than "normal" web images is still not really high enough for good prints.
Incorporating the code into your web site is not difficult.  If you can succesfully stitch 70 odd photos it will be an easy learning experiance for you.  One of those spare moments you have between trips.
BTW I also love a number of your other photo sets, particularly New Zealand and the macros.
Keep taking photos, keep posting.
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BernardLanguillier

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« Reply #37 on: May 21, 2008, 08:29:09 am »

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Bernard:

Wonderful shots and it makes me want to go back to Nepal soon.  I'm using the D3 as well.

Look out for the d3x... that will make us happy.

BC
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Thanks Bob,

The D3x is tempting, but I might skip it. I would be very surprised if Nikon had managed to equal the amazing DR and file quality of the D3, and since I stitch a lot, the difference would not be that great in the end.

The next upgrade might be higher end medium format if I can afford it then.

Cheers,
Bernard

larkvi

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« Reply #38 on: May 28, 2008, 12:17:28 am »

Bernard,

Fantastic set, as we have come to consistently expect from you. It did start feeling a bit repetitive with some what barren mountainscapes towards the end, but that is a somewhat minor quibble.
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BernardLanguillier

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« Reply #39 on: June 04, 2008, 12:05:32 am »

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Bernard,

Fantastic set, as we have come to consistently expect from you. It did start feeling a bit repetitive with some what barren mountainscapes towards the end, but that is a somewhat minor quibble.
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Thanks a lot. It is fair comment, but this set isn't really intended do be a portfolio per se.

Cheers,
Bernard
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