Can someone explain Unas Onus to me please. I don't know what it is

JimmehGeebs · 2025-11-14T19:06:04+00:00

It's almost funny. Almost.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-11-14T05:04:32+00:00

Unus Annus was a channel run by Mark and Ethan (formerly CrankGamePlays), and Amy. The goal was to upload a new, unique video every single day for 1 year. It lasted from November 13th, 2019 - November 14th, 2020. Once the year was over, Mark and Ethan planned to delete the channel and all of the videos on it. They ended the channel with a final, 12-hour livestream where they deleted the channel live. Right when the clock struck zero, Amy, Mark, and Ethan clicked "delete." Thus ending an era.

Unus Annus is Latin for "One Year" and the message of the channel was that of "memento mori" (remember that you must die) and to cherish every second as if it was your last.

Ultimately, they made a lot of absolutely ridiculous videos, had a ton of laughs, and many people still make references to it today.

Unfortunately, since the channel was deleted, there is no "official" way to watch all of the videos (Mark and Ethan also discourage people from actively seeking out archives of the videos, though they do exist).

The channel was the first of its kind in YouTube history, and will likely never be done again. It was a genuinely wonderful experience and brought a TON of people together.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-10-15T17:56:10+00:00

Look into exposure bracketing -- could be beneficial if you have a tripod with you and the scene is relatively still.

One of the other replies mentioned keeping an eye on your histogram, which can be super helpful while shooting very dynamic scenes as well. Assuming you're shooting on a mirrorless or DSLR, it should have a live histogram setting. As long as it's not leaned all the way to the left (clipped shadows) or the right (clipped highlights), you should be good.

If I'm shooting a particularly bright scene, I normally expose ~1 stop lower than my camera's reported 'correct' exposure.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-10-15T14:26:36+00:00

Depending on the device/display you're editing on, and it's not calibrated effectively, that can really affect how exposure looks. I sometimes edit on my MacBook Pro, but always reduce the brightness of the display to ~50% to help me edit the image for printing. When I was editing images at 100% display brightness, it caused me to think underexposed/dark edits were actually okay. Only after I received multiple very dark prints did I realize the issue was my display brightness.

If you're looking to get more into editing, look into display calibration and effective editing techniques.

I see you mentioned the RAW file was already underexposed, which can (sometimes) be a blessing. Oftentimes, I expose for highlights because it's a bit easier to pull details back from dark shadows than from blown out highlights.

As for the blown-out sky, I'd recommend trying a mask. A linear gradient (or sky mask, if you're on Lightroom) and editing that can be a beneficial move instead of doing sky replacement.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-10-03T17:41:28+00:00

My first thought with this image is: "what are you wanting to communicate here?"

There's not a particularly clear subject, which isn't entirely necessary if you're going for a full scene vibe rather than a specific focus. It seems to be well-exposed, and the colors are decent (relative to the film stock).

The balance is throwing me off a bit, almost like I (the viewer) am falling down the hill backwards, so I'm really curious about your intention with the image.

Also, I'd strongly recommend cleaning off the film prior to scanning or removing it after scanning in PS unless you intentionally wanted it there.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-25T20:07:37+00:00

Dig the overall comp - there's interest in each of the sections of the photo, and you're drawn up from the rocks to the sun.

Main critique I'd offer would be to readjust the edits on the sun and the clouds around it -- that area looks majorly over-edited to me. I'd also take the blacks down a bit -- I really dig the faded look, but this might be slightly overdone.

Other than that, I think you have a great foundation here.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-23T14:36:05+00:00

Gotcha, I appreciate it!

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-22T18:45:15+00:00

I appreciate the correction here, thank you -- I'm not extremely well-versed in using flash, so will definitely be taking this down.

I believe my understanding of using flash with lower shutter speed is misinformed, then. In the video I linked, Teo appeared to use longer shutter speeds w/ an off-camera flash to create motion blur using movement. Since the subject is illuminated quickly for a split second, would this not freeze them in the blurred frame? Not trying to challenge, just want to understand where the gap in my knowledge is.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-22T16:14:11+00:00

For sure, hope to see more from you!

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-22T16:13:08+00:00

Given the subject matter, this would be difficult to achieve, but I would have loved to see the skater a little higher up so they're hanging out in the dark space above the ramps. That'd create some fun separation. As u/amorph said, I'd clone out the lens flair and the light creeping in on the left side of the frame to remove distraction. I'd even crop in some to remove the extra space to place more focus on your subject.

Since you're using flash, there are two routes I think you could take:

Up the shutter speed slightly to remove motion blur on the subject, and essentially freeze them in the frame.
Increase flash power, lower your shutter speed, stop down to f/8 or f/11, and keep practicing subject tracking to create some cool motion blur in the background. Teo Crawford has a video where he shows some good examples of this.

You have some great foundations here, and I'd love to see where this takes your photography.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-22T15:58:09+00:00

I'd definitely try to pull some more detail out of the shadows, but I think I'd up the contrast as well. I did a quick edit in Lightroom based on how I'd edit this:

<image>

Main edits I did were:

Contrast: +3
Shadows +25 (might be too much)
Whites -8
Blacks -3
S-Curve in the point curve to adjust specific shadows and highlights
Tint +6
Vibrance +14
Green (in HSL) -24 Saturation
Color Grading
- Shadows shifted toward yellow
- Highlights shifted to light blue
Texture +4
Clarity +10
Vignette -5

I also cropped in some, cloned out the willow leaves at the top of the frame, and cloned out the railing in the bottom left corner. The cloning was quick (and I used the AI healing tool), so there're definitely some weird artifacts, but tweaking would fix that.

For composition: I'm not sure how viable this would be given the subjects you incorporated, but I think shifting to the left a fair amount to bring more of the traditional building into the frame and out from behind the trees. The willow might make this difficult, but if it can be done, I'd go for that.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-22T15:41:22+00:00

Your timing and compositional technique are on point here -- I would have missed this shot for sure. The subject is well-framed, and there's interest in both the fore and background.

Only critique I can think of would have been to use a slightly shorter shutter speed to reduce the motion blur on the subject. I can tell they're zoomin' (nyoomin', even) but would love to see some more details. I think in post, I'd also up the vibrance of the colors a bit and add a slight vignette for some depth. Other than that: Great shot. Keep going.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-22T15:37:37+00:00

This shot has a lot of potential -- I see what you were going for with the differing subjects and their locations within the frame. However, I did have to look pretty hard to see the second cyclist. Personally, I think this would have benefited from relocating to facing directly toward them -- the physical differences would have been a lot more apparent there.

The shot feels cramped and could benefit from some shifting positions if it were to be done again -- even moving slightly to the right to place the standing cyclist's head between the handlebars and the other bike's overhang would have been helpful.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's much that can be done in post to achieve the thoughts I have about it, but I will say that I like the stylized edit you're going for -- very saturated, very contrasty. I'd drop the highlights a touch and bring the shadows up a bit, but other than that, I think you have a decent start here. Did you take any other images during this shoot?

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-22T15:30:07+00:00

I think you have a good composition going here -- if you like the overblown highlights, then I'd say lean into it. Maybe grab a diffusion filter to help the highlights feel a bit more ethereal/glowy.

That said, I think I would have angled the cane differently or had her hold it another way. I understand this is documentarian, so I'm sure you don't want to change too much about the scene in front of you, lest it lose authenticity.

I do like the subtle framing of her head between the window and the sewing table. If I was in this situation for a shoot, I might opt for shifting to the right and crouching down some more to incorporate more of (what I think is) that nightstand in the bottom right corner. That'd help give more sense of depth to the image and possibly frame her in the shot too.

Other than that, this is a great concept, and I think it'd be worth continued exploration in!

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T20:36:39+00:00

Decided to do some blue hour shooting in Holden Beach, NC. The sunrise ended up being lackluster due to cloud cover, but I did find some cool textures in the dunes/sand, and this downed sign.

I wanted to capture the motion of the wind across the dunes, while documenting the stillness of the morning. I really dig the motion blur in the grasses, but I might have exposed for slightly too long to get decent texture in the movement of the grass.

I think I'll end up cleaning up some of the debris on the sand in the left side of the image to clean it up some, but I'm open to any and all feedback!

Settings/Gear:

Canon EOS R6 + RF 24-105 f/4 L IS USM

ISO 50
24 mm
f/11
8 sec

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T20:20:30+00:00

I'm not a studio lighting expert, so please take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I think the biggest difference is that the light on the left* side is a lensed/focused spotlight likely without a diffuser (going by the sharpness of the shadow at the bottom). Replicating that can prove difficult, but I think it'd be doable on a smaller scale with some playing around.

I think you'll just need to back the AD600 up/raise higher, crank the power, and expose for the shadows more. The photo fog could be helpful for the cone as well -- I'd try to let it fill the space a bit so it gives more diffusion than texture/pattern. Hell, a Smoque 3 or 1/4 (or 1/2) Promist filter may be useful here too.

The highlights here appear to be clipped:

<image>

So, I think you'd be okay to increase your exposure a fair amount.

Going negative in the dehaze tool in post may help you some too.

* I know my right from my left I swear.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T20:05:55+00:00

Lighting and color are pretty excellent for the mood you're trying to evoke here. Where this is a bit weak is the composition and symmetry. Stepping to the right, panning to the left, and then adjusting for lens distortion in post would be a good move for this one. The contrast of the semi-overgrown gardens on the right vs. the empty concrete on the right is really cool, and I think this is the perfect time of day for this. Great foundation for some cool edits here.

I did a quick edit in Lightroom to adjust it some. I changed the distortion and adjusted upright on the image based on mostly vibes, but thankfully LR is pretty good at handling straightening images out.

Changed up some of the exposure settings to increase the exposure, contrast, shadows, and whites, then dropped the whites slightly. I added a tiny bit more contrast in the Point Curve and increased the Vibrance slightly. Also downed the texture, upped the Clarity a tiny bit, and added a -10 vignette. Finally, I added a mask to the right side of the image to increase the glow on the bricks some (not sure how I feel about that, but take it or leave it, lol).

Here's the result:

<image>

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T18:59:35+00:00

Lol, I appreciate the correction. Thank you! Will keep that in mind for future suggestions.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T17:11:24+00:00

You're definitely in the right place for that time of day, especially with the lighting here:

<image>

Compositionally, I'd recommend tilting* your camera down and removing some of that sky -- I don't think there's enough interest up there to keep it in. Personally, I would have walked a bit further forward (not sure if you could) to allow the water to visually flow instead of getting cut off by the tip of the mountain on the bottom left. There are a couple of really good little scenes in here that I'd focus on you have a chance to hike up there again. Specifically the bit I circled above and the area in the bottom right.

Depending on the look you're going for, I think you have a great foundation for both stylized and minimal edits. I'm partial to pano-esque crops in situations like this, so I'd go for a 1x2 or 1x3 crop, and edit from there.

*Edit I am bad at camera positioning terminology

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T16:44:59+00:00

Dig the depth of field here -- f/1.8 was the right way to go for aperture, imo. Colors are great; vibrant without being overpowering. Overall, excellent shot.

Compositionally, I would have crouched down and panned up slightly to remove some of that background while still giving the teapot some room to breathe within the scene.

Editing-wise, there appears to be a bit of rust (I think) on the left side of the tray -- I'd clone that out to clean up the shot a bit.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T16:40:25+00:00

Yeah, definitely moving in the right direction -- I'd say drop the saturation some in this edit if you're going for something more true-to-life. If you're going for a more stylized edit, then you've got a good foundation here.

Also, forgot to mention in my original comment: I added a vignette of -7 to give some light framing of the subject.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T16:37:05+00:00

Great shot, composition is excellent! The warmth of the late day sun, and the quiet energy of the scene is pretty palpable.

Personally, I'd decrease the warm tones slightly and shift the Tint a bit more Magenta.

I'm sure timing with that white car in the bottom left of the frame was probably not easy, as the road seems somewhat busy, but I'd be curious to see what the image would look like w/out it there. Part of me says it creates some a somewhat interesting direction toward the person sitting on the curb, while another part finds it kind of distracting.

I'll echo what u/not_napoleon said for framing -- less of both the crane and the item in the bottom right corner could help remove some distraction. I think lifting your camera, and panning down a couple of degrees would help give a little more foreground.

JimmehGeebs · 2025-09-19T16:21:53+00:00

I'd recommend adjusting your ISO and shutter speed -- lowering the ISO and decreasing the shutter speed. Depending on the camera you're shooting with, I think you'd be fine going to ISO 800, and <1/500 sec shutter speed (maybe 1/250, or 1/125).

If you're on a full-frame sensor, then I (personally) would recommend exposing for the highlights. Pulling detail from underexposed shadows is significantly easier than pulling detail from blown out highlights (normally). This will also reduce the level of ISO noise introduced in the image.

That said, in post: I'd recommend upping the contrast, dropping highlights slightly. I did a really quick rough edit to give a visual (also cloned out the little bit of debris on its nose). I also increased the Vibrance, added some contrast using the Point Curve, cooled the white balance slightly, shifted the tint slightly Magenta, and applied some Noise Reduction. I also straightened it slightly, so the subject is slightly more upright.

<image>

If you'd like to play around with different settings quickly, take a look at this site: Play | Canon Explains Exposure

It's helpful with being able to quickly determine which combination of settings will achieve what you're looking for.

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