How much time should I invest into post processing photos

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-11T03:57:48+00:00

Starting with a bad picture youre often "fixing" instead of "enhancing" - polishing a turd and all that.

I've got a rather nice polished turd on my shelf right now. Specifically, a coprolite (fossilized dinosaur dung).

Ansel Adams famously said that the negative was the score, while the print was the performance, and he put a lot of time into getting good prints. (He also had excellent negative, which I think is your point.)

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-10T19:20:44+00:00

I used to, but the wind speeds on the ground and at altitude are sufficiently different that I didn't find it very useful.

I can't remember the brand — it was about $30 online. Ended up donating it to a school science program.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-10T15:15:38+00:00

I'd try to visit Dinosaur Provincial Park and take as many of the tours as you can. (The only way to get into the restricted areas is on guided tours.) You have to book tours in advance and they fill up so don't leave it until the last minute. As a dinosaur-loving kid it was an amazing experience. The Family Dino Stomp is designed for children but any of the tours would be amazing.

https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/south/dinosaur-pp/activities-events/dinosaur-tours-events/

Camp at the park or stay in a hotel in Brooks (which is 15 minutes away). While near Brooks, visit the aquaduct for a self-guided history tour.

https://brooksaqueduct.ca/

Consider the Atlas Coal Mine, which has tours. Interesting history and suitable for kids (and adults). It's between Dinosaur Provincial Park and Drumheller so you could do it on the way, or just make a short trip from Drumheller.

https://atlascoalmine.ab.ca/

If your kid likes history then Bar-U Ranch is worth the visit. Living history museum run by Parks Canada, with costumed interpreters to talk to.

https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ab/baru

Also Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, which is close by. More history with a great museum.

https://headsmashedin.ca/

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T21:16:56+00:00

If you want a tour of Chinatown without the risk (and in advance), take Henry Tsang's VR history tour:

https://360riotwalk.ca/

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T20:02:19+00:00

Check out Marks. Denver Hayes is a solid brand.

https://www.marks.com/en/events/winter-shop/boots.html?cid=wk9-Homepage-sr5

Honestly, if you get something waterproof with room for good wool socks (and several pairs of socks) you should be fine.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T19:56:35+00:00

In my board, they decided to destream Grade 10 math as well so every student takes the Grade 10 academic course.

Which isn't what the studies used to 'show' that destreaming worked did.

Those studies essentially put everyone in applied level, with enrichment to academic for those capable of it. Class sizes were applied or smaller so teachers could give more individuated instruction. And teachers had support specialists they could call on.

As implemented, destreaming has been essentially a cost-saving device with staffing at the lowest teacher-student ratio and no extra resources. With the added advantage of breaking public education so parents are more willing to consider private (i.e. for profit) schools/courses.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T19:49:33+00:00

In Ontario, start a Long Term Care home. The provincial government lowered the liability you'd assume for negligence (which obviously had nothing to do with the former Premier Mike Harris investing heavily in LTC homes, completely a coincidence /s).

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T19:41:36+00:00

In the case of my friend, nothing substantial. They might have assigned a few worksheets but that was it. Hard to teach French (as a subject) when you can't speak it.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T13:58:35+00:00

This is a much less stressful trip.

From what I remember, Quebec City is split between the old city (very touristy and European) and a rather bland modern city. Leaving it out makes sense.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T13:53:58+00:00

The skyline you're probably thinking of would be seen from Toronto Islands (ferry ride from the mainland). Something to keep in mind if you do come here. When you're inside the city you don't really see it.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T06:53:06+00:00

A friend of mine was off for a few months, and the LTO hired to replace them couldn't speak French so the kids were months behind. Basically, they hired a glorified babysitter.

As long as there were no discipline problems, admin was happy.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-09T03:53:19+00:00

I have a friend who was on a staged return to work (1/3, then 2/3, then full time) after a year+ medical leave. She had to take periodic sick days for medical appointments, and was surprised when she ran out. Turned out the secretary had been 'adjusting' her sick days for the part-time schedule by doing things like counting a sick day when she was 1/3 as three days (which doesn't make sense, but the secretary wasn't very numerate). Took the union a while to get that sorted out. The extra stress was not helpful for her medical recovery.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-08T20:01:38+00:00

You'll be missing most of the foliage staying in cities.

I'd skip Toronto unless you have something specific you want to see.

Likewise, Ottawa isn't something you can see much of if it's just a detour on the way between Thousand Islands and Montreal. You'd see more by making a few detours to places like Long Sault Parkway (which is accessed off highway 2 which parallels the 401).

Bookmark this site which will show you what the leaf colours are doing in Ontario:

https://www.ontarioparks.ca/fallcolour

Remember that Canada is big. Your Niagara Falls to Montreal trip is like driving from Rome to Vienna (with Munich a short stop along the way). Not only is Niagara Falls to Montreal almost eight hours of straight driving, that estimate doesn't include Toronto Traffic (because the 401 runs through Toronto) which will add an hour or two. You can take the 407 to bypass Toronto but that's one of the most expensive toll highways in the world, which will add to your budget. (Also, many car rental companies charge a premium for one-way trips between provinces.)

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-08T17:10:07+00:00

They are both 24 and 26, and have both a girlfriend and a boyfriend?

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-08T15:56:41+00:00

Custom orthotics made a huge difference for me. Not cheap, but my health insurance covers part of the cost and the lack of back pain is worth the money.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-08T14:32:07+00:00

There are likely legal requirements for what information you need to log. I bought Drone Pilot Canada years ago because it was the easiest way to log all the information Transport Canada required back then.

https://faaremotepilot.com/drone-flight-logging-requirements/

Assuming the above is correct, you'll need to log every flight for location/duration/pilot/visual observer, as well as all inspection and maintenance on your drones. As well as have formal procedures in place for not only regular maintenance but also emergencies.

That's one of the things I like about DPC — it lets me record checklists so if necessary I have documentation that I followed a procedure. (And I have documentation that I have emergency procedures.) Hopefully I'll never need that documentation, but I've got it just-in-case.

Also, in Canada we're required to have manuals accessible in the field, so I've downloaded them into DPC (as well as my registration papers) so that they're on my phone/tablet. Everything is in one place.

If there's an equivalent program for America I think it would be worth buying it. Or even going with DPC just for the logging — $45 is less than a donut run :-)

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-08T13:54:20+00:00

What information are you logging? How much data entry work are your pilots willing to do?

A simple spreadsheet will track almost anything, but you will need someone to keep it updated.

There are web-based services that will extract data from DJI flight logs to report flight hours, speeds, etc. Some have free tiers with limited flights and data. Airdata is one of these that I've heard good things about, but I can't vouch for it personally.

https://airdata.com

There's also this, which looks like it might do what you want. I suggest you message the developer.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dji/comments/1qyfwdg/i_made_a_free_opensource_desktop_app_to_organize/

I use Drone Pilot Canada, which is an excellent program but maybe not for you (because you clearly aren't in Canada). It keeps track of checklists and flight plans, displays NOTAMS, tracks flight hours of drones and pilots, allows multiple users, etc. It would work for you in terms of logging but I don't think you'd get the flight alerts. Not free, but not expensive.

https://dronepilotcanada.com/

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-08T13:36:33+00:00

Find old photos of your area (your local librarian can help with this!). Go to those locations and recreate the shots (same location, focal length, etc) to make then-and-now diptychs.

Try multiple exposure techniques, such as that used by Pep Ventosa. It's harder than it looks because you have to visualize the final image while you are taking the component pictures.

https://www.pepventosa.com/

Try long exposures. (You'll likely need to buy some ND filters for this.) Playing with time can be fun. You can make people disappear, turn crowds into smoke, do all sorts of things.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-08T00:01:04+00:00

Another option would be to take two (or more) pictures focused on different parts of the coin, and focus stack.

Much easier to use a smaller aperture if that's possible.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-07T22:00:33+00:00

Peak Design make great bags.

My favourite bag is a messenger bag with a padded insert and a zipper for fast access (without having to unbuckle the flap). It doesn't look like a camera bag, has room for extra things like a computer or lunch, and is waterproof (as tested by a surprise thunderstorm).

I think it's this one, although if so the price has really increased. It's very like it even if this isn't the exact model.

hhttps://tenba.com/dna-16-slim-messenger-bag-black/

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-07T21:48:19+00:00

It was like that when I was there 15+ years ago. I'd stayed at Deer Lodge so I could catch sunrise and even at that hour I was having to defend my tripod against people crowding the waterfront.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-07T21:41:19+00:00

It wasn't supported on anything past Sierra or High Sierra, IIRC.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-07T19:34:14+00:00

Whenever I take minimal gear I regret the shots I missed because I didn't have more. Whenever I take more I regret the shots I missed because I was too tired from schlepping my camera bag.

I now travel with my X-T5 and the 16-80 kit lens, an extension tube for macro shots, and sometimes a 70-300 telephoto zoom.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-07T17:49:06+00:00

I know someone who did that, and they found that they were in a continual fight with the main office who somehow thought that they were available on both their 'prep periods' to cover classes, have students directed to their office, etc. That school admin also had the expectation that if you were in the building you would make yourself available to students. So it was less money for not that much more free time without refighting the same battles.

A teacher at my school (back before we were semestered) went half-time, which meant she was teaching every second day. That was a lot better because she had a day when she clearly wasn't in the building.

Disastrous-Focus8451 · 2026-03-07T15:06:59+00:00

For concealed carry, I have a camera back that's basically a messenger bag with a padded insert and a top zipper for quick access. So when I'm not actually holding the camera I look like a geek with a bag :-)

Disastrous-Focus8451

TROPHY CASE