BritinUSA Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 (edited) “Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”... Obi Wan Kenobi I think he may have been talking about Las Vegas. I just arrived a few hours ago, the temperatures and traffic were rising about 100 miles outside of the city and the last 30 minutes were wall-to-wall traffic jam. After several stop/starts and about a dozen large billboards for adult entertainment, I found the turn-off for the hotel (insert your own joke here), and crawled the rest of the way past the speed signs that optimistically declare a limit of 55, I think that may be feet per hour. The Orleans is part hotel, part casino, part run-down warehouse; The noise from the slot machines is only slightly less annoying than the sound of someone running their fingernails down a chalkboard. There are a few scantily clad waitress types, they appear to be very experienced at their job as many of them look to have been doing it for at least 25 years. Internet access (like just about anything else) costs extra, if you're not gambling then you have to spend money on something, right? The rooms are great, the AC is better than the one I have at home, but then the one I have at home doesn't cost me $60 a night. I have no idea where in the hotel the registration will be, around noon time I will search for a line of people with guns on their shirts and hope that it is USPSA and not a gang gathering. Not much else to report at the moment, stay tuned as I intend to get the most from my $12.99 internet fee and post some details of the match, I may also post some pictures on the WomenofUSPSA web-site. Edited September 11, 2009 by BritinUSA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Great, something to look forward to! I'm actually staying at the new La Quinta out near the range (it's like 2-3mi away)....$80 per night for a king suite with free internet access and they have rooms down around $60 per night...just a thought, it's not too late to change hotels. La Quinta Inn & Suites Las Vegas RedRock/Summerlin 9570 West Sahara Las Vegas, NV 89117 Phone: 1-702-243-0356 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Santiago Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 “Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”... Obi Wan KenobiThe Orleans is part hotel, part casino, part run-down warehouse; The noise from the slot machines is only slightly less annoying than the sound of someone running their fingernails down a chalkboard. There are a few scantily clad waitress types, they appear to be very experienced at their job as many of them look to have been doing it for at least 25 years. Sounds great!!! Can't wait!! All of that and we get to shoot too?!?!?? Man, life doesn't get any better!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasOPM Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Hey now... you are talking bad about my town. Suffice to say that the good parts of Vegas aren't on the Strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchy Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Hey now... you are talking bad about my town. Suffice to say that the good parts of Vegas aren't on the Strip. Nor are they in North Las Vegas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 One interesting thing about flying to Vegas on a Friday is all the "professional" talent present....yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted September 11, 2009 Author Share Posted September 11, 2009 I walked around the casino last night, I miss Colorado's smoking ban. I got up to my room and my clothes stank of stale cigarette smoke... Ugh! I found a place in the casino that has free wi-fi, the Seattle Coffee place or something. The fitness room looks good though, just about to try that out. I'm sure there are many good people in Las Vegas, I meant no disrespect to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted September 12, 2009 Author Share Posted September 12, 2009 The range was open for inspection today. It was hot and dusty, it seems that dust is an issue in the county so this is why they are restricting travel between the berms. The shooters are given a place to park and that is where you stay. Someone mentioned a shuttle between some berms so this will help a lot if true. Stages 10-11 look lost in the vastness of the berm, as they are tucked in the left/right corners. I checked out the stages with the camera, there are some that simply do not lend themselves to good pictures. But I found some that will work especially stage 14 (I think). The women's match starts at 8am tomorrow. I will taking photos on Stage 10 for squads 9-11. It's not the best stage for photos but it will allow me to get at least a workable shot for the majority of the top women. Then I have to zip over to Stage 5 to gets some shots of Yael Daggan (if possible) before starting my own match after lunch. One issue I noticed was that sometimes half of the shooter's face is lost in the shade of their baseball caps... I think I may be able to fix that in post-production, if anyone has some tips they would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Burwell Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 One issue I noticed was that sometimes half of the shooter's face is lost in the shade of their baseball caps... I think I may be able to fix that in post-production, if anyone has some tips they would be much appreciated. ask them to take off their hats keep in mind the sun will be at the shooters backs for most of the first 9 stages, so you may want to plan taking pictures around the movement of the sun rather than sticking with on squad. Not a pro by any means but just my 0.02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 You can fix that to a point. Shoot manual exposure and take a spot meter reading of the face under the hat. See how far off that is of your exposure for the rest of the scene. Select exposure values that split the difference a little --- in other words decide if you live with hot berms or hot whites in the uimage in exchange for getting a little more detail in the faces.... In photoshop, work on the faces a little, and be prepared to select some of your spots and to burn those down a little. Also look for places on the stage where the shooter might be looking up --- though that trick works better when shooting baseball pitchers from a high angle in the stands.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 One issue I noticed was that sometimes half of the shooter's face is lost in the shade of their baseball caps... I think I may be able to fix that in post-production, if anyone has some tips they would be much appreciated. Thanks for the posts-much appreciated. Are you using digital? If so, then you can change the "white balance"-make it darker. It is hard to read crystal screens in that sun, but the pictures need to be dark.... with less contrast.... If film, like Nik said... smaller aperture, normal speed, if you have a Nikon or Canon-you can go to their sites and get a setting for bright sun, faces, in shade or something like that from a pro. Any pictures at all are good-its going to 103 and it's very kind of you to contribute this way. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 One issue I noticed was that sometimes half of the shooter's face is lost in the shade of their baseball caps... I think I may be able to fix that in post-production, if anyone has some tips they would be much appreciated. If your camera will shoot 3 or 5 burst while altering exposures, I can make your photos rock when you get back. Best is -3, -2, -1, 0 and +1. I can still do it with -1, 0 and +1. You are capturing 3 or 5 images at different exposures. If you can't do it at Nats, look me up when you get back to CO and I'll loan you a camera to try it out. You will be floored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharyn Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I checked out the stages with the camera, there are some that simply do not lend themselves to good pictures. But I found some that will work especially stage 14 (I think). Yeah, they don't lend themselves to good video either. Not a complaint about the match or the range or anything like that... just that it's difficult to see much of the shooter besides their backs and the color contrast (or lack thereof) and the position of the sun makes it really difficult. ... neither does the cell reception... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I found a place in the casino that has free wi-fi, the Seattle Coffee place or something. For the life of me, I couldn't get my little netbook thing to sign on with the wi-fi in the coffee shop, it kept connecting, then giving me a message that said "limited or no connectibility" or some such crap. I finally gave up and paid the $12.95. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? The 6 Asian kids sitting around me were all signed on and clicking away...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwana Six-Gun Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 I found a place in the casino that has free wi-fi, the Seattle Coffee place or something. For the life of me, I couldn't get my little netbook thing to sign on with the wi-fi in the coffee shop, it kept connecting, then giving me a message that said "limited or no connectibility" or some such crap. I finally gave up and paid the $12.95. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? The 6 Asian kids sitting around me were all signed on and clicking away...... Maybe you are just "connectibility challenged". Good Luck Mike. Show Jerry a thing or three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted September 13, 2009 Author Share Posted September 13, 2009 A lot of people were having problems with the wi-fi at the coffee place. I went back there later and could not connect. Paid the $12.95 today :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 I'm on the Wi-fi at the coffee shop right now, but this morning the server / switch was down, and they werent in a hurry to fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreblePlink Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 As far as shooting stills in bright sun where shadows black out areas, it may seem counterintuitive, but it's one of the best places to use flash. If you are close enough, the flash will fill the shadows and produce outstanding results. On the other hand, many cameras now have weenie flashes, so you may need to be closer than normal for the flash to compete with the sun. For video or film, large reflectors are used for fill. For the very best results, (usually not practical) a fine netting diffuser is rigged above the subjects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 If your camera will shoot 3 or 5 burst while altering exposures, I can make your photos rock when you get back. Best is -3, -2, -1, 0 and +1. I can still do it with -1, 0 and +1. You are capturing 3 or 5 images at different exposures. If you can't do it at Nats, look me up when you get back to CO and I'll loan you a camera to try it out. You will be floored. Multiple exposure HDR won't work for action shots Multiple develops from the same RAW file could be used, albeit with less dynamic range than a multi exposure HDR. Paul, if you know how to process RAW files, you can generally get away with a small amount of over exposure (about 2/3 to 1 stop, in my case), and then both bring the blown highlights back, and bring the shadows up in post. You can do those things with JPEGs, but not to the degree you can on a sturdy RAW file. If you have fairly consistent light, Nik's suggestion is a good one (manual mode). I think Paul's using a lot of remotes, too, though - so in mixed lighting (partly cloudy), he'd be screwed in manual mode... potentially... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 I'm on the Wi-fi at the coffee shop right now, but this morning the server / switch was down, and they werent in a hurry to fix it. Dang Chris, you sound like you are just up the road in Dayton! Hope you are enjoying the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 If your camera will shoot 3 or 5 burst while altering exposures, I can make your photos rock when you get back. Best is -3, -2, -1, 0 and +1. I can still do it with -1, 0 and +1. You are capturing 3 or 5 images at different exposures. If you can't do it at Nats, look me up when you get back to CO and I'll loan you a camera to try it out. You will be floored.Multiple exposure HDR won't work for action shots Multiple develops from the same RAW file could be used, albeit with less dynamic range than a multi exposure HDR. Actually it will. Each image has to be modified using photogrammetric techniques and then you rotate around one specific pixel that is the same in each photo to allign the images before you do the HDR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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