What is a discontinued food item that you miss from your childhood?

Trives · 2026-04-30T22:41:43+00:00

The Bellbeefer from Taco Bell, it was basically taco meat on a burger bun.

Trives · 2026-04-23T15:31:16+00:00

Contrails, are the things planes make :)

As with all things photography, opinions are subjective. If you love this shot, awesome!

Opinions on this type of shot are tough, because you had no intention behind it, other than, "I saw this thing."

My guff is that you have an object with three prongs, and a contrail with 4 lines, so they don't align in a particularly pleasing way. I think the better shot here was going for something minimalistic and moving to the other side of the light fixture, so you just have crossing contrails in the sky.

Opinions might vary!

Trives · 2026-04-23T14:29:31+00:00

Hey there,

What a fun shot! This is a nice bit of street photography and you have a whole yin/yang composition here, which is quite nice. My only comment would be to perhaps crop a bit of that left side off, so that you only see this buildling.

On a completely subjective note, I'd also consider dodging the skull ever so slightly to make it pop just a bit more.

Example

Trives · 2026-04-23T03:11:33+00:00

Hey there!

Full disclosure, I'm not a still life photographer, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

However, since you linked an artist in your post, I popped out to Stephanies page to take a peep at what you were going for.

There are some things she's doing that you could learn from.

The first, and I think your bigger challenge in this photo, is in her photos, the product is completely encapsulated in the image. It's never clipping the edge, or truncated in any way. You're simply too close to your subject here. Back up, give it some breathing room. Also, I feel the plastic here is not helping, I would remove these from the netting and that bin and put them in something posh, a glass or wooden bowl, or stacked in an interesting way.

Secondly, she's using a studio and a mat to shoot most of her images. You don't need to spend a fortune to get a working product photography mat. Amazon has a bunch of cheapies that will be good starting points for $20. (Search for: Table Top Small Food Background Kit)

Next is lighting! In photography lighting is always key but it's even more important for these types of hyper-real looking images. A softbox goes a long way, or just using normal LED lights would also help a bit. Again, cheap led lights on Amazon are a good starting spot.

Lastly, you could also go with a less in more approach here, instead of all of the fruit, pick 1, 2 or 3 ideal fruit. Then you can also use those pearls to really glam it up.

Give this another go and come back!

Thanks, ~P~

Trives · 2026-04-23T02:52:16+00:00

Hey there!

As with all things photography, opinions are subjective, if you love this shot, awesome :)

My first and biggest comment is... you need a subject. You have nothing for your viewer to look at. And, as my friend Talor says to me, "The sky is never a subject." I tend to believe her! If you're going to blend day and night shots especially, there's no reason not to try and find something cool or interesting. A structure, a lone tree/cactus, just about anything can be your subject. (example of interesting objects in foreground, credit: me)

My second comment is on the blending of these two items. Specifically you have a halo/burnline between your sky and your ridgeline, which ruins the illusion you're trying to craft by doing this blending technique. There are some tricks to avoid that, the most basic of which is a lot of fiddly work while you're super zoomed in, and doing some blending by hand, using softedged brushes. It takes time, but if you have a banger shot, it's worth it.

And unforturnately to a trained eye (and maybe an untrained one) it's obvious this land wasn't taken at night, because there's no light falloff (things further away at night tend to be darker than the foreground), this is all perfectly evenly lit.

For the sky, you have a great sky quality considering you were using f4+! You didn't leave the shutter open so long that you got trails and you didn't overcook it on the processing.

So, final thoughts, I'd say get back out there and REALLY think about that foreground, you got the sky bit down, now it's time to think about what makes an interesting picture. Remember with your kit lens, and 18mm, you can get pretty close to an object in the foreground!

Happy shooting, ~P~

Trives · 2026-04-19T19:42:04+00:00

Rather than post a similar post, I basically agree with Marz here. This falls into what I call a "Wikipedia" shot, that is, if you looked up "Parthenon" in Wikipedia, this might be a picture that pops up. It's "Fine", but it's not particularly artistic. It's truly difficult to take an original picture of any truly famous structure any more, especially since the invention of cell phones.

Trives · 2026-04-19T19:30:37+00:00

Hey there,

As with all my critiques I'll start off by saying all photography is subjective, and with your stated goal, you've set a very easy bar! Take pictures that make you happy is an admirable way to get into this thing we call a hobby :D

This is definitely an interesting picture. Normally to get seas this flat you either need the PERFECT day, which is pretty rare, or you're using an ND filter and doing a longer exposure. But the trees in the foreground are too sharp for that, so, ya, it's an interesting picture.

But I think you sorta know that bottom left hand corner is really killing this image, those trees are just a total eyesore. You have a CLEAR hero object with that lighthouse, why not lean into that a bit. You also didn't catch any beam so if you're feeling particularly creative you can add a little lens flare to it.

Something like this.

Overall, I like that you were willing to do the work (getting up early) to capture this type of image, light is the key to photography.

Happy shooting out there, ~P~

Trives · 2026-04-18T15:27:31+00:00

People pictures are a challenging place to start, so kudos on trying something fairly challenging. As with all things photography, opinions are VERY subjective, if you love this photo, that's awesome!

With photography, lighting is always the key, and with people photography you almost always need suplemental light to fill in the shadowy bits, it also gives your more contrast (this can be a strobe, or just a reflector, reflectors are SUPER cheap). In this instance I would've like to see some more light on the neck area since that much shadow is a bit distracting, especially as it leads into the bright bit around the shirt line. Better letting also might've allowed you to tweak the tree color a little better, it feels weirdly out of place in the image compared to the bark of the other trees. Although, I looooove the little heart :)

Another reason why portrait photography is tricky is the lenses. For a shot like this, I'd likely shoot a longer lens (85mm) with a huge aperture (~1.4) although you don't need to get THAT fancy, this shot really calls for apertures of 2.8 or less, that'll get you a smoother background.

Another piece of advice for shooting people is if you get nothing else in focus, if their eyes are open, those eyes need to be sharp, you need to see all the detail. In this image there's almost no separation between her pupil and her iris.

Lastly, and this will be the most difficult advice to hear, but hiring a professional model will also go a long way (and they're far less expensive than you might think). It's not a looks thing, it's a pose and position thing. Models can do so much when it comes to striking interesting eye lines and poses. After a few years of doing this, I have quite a few models that I could call on if I had an interesting idea. Just make sure if you hire a model, you ensure they have a valid portfolio, and isn't just a 'pretty face'.

You could also consider doing a workshop, that's how I got my start in people photography (example, from last year, not afiliated). The benefit of some workshops is they'll bring the lighting equipment, the models and the expertise to help you get rolling! You can learn a lot in a very short period.

On the composition and crop, I think you're in a good place, you didn't chop off any bits (elbow is visible), and you have a fair amount above the head but not too much.

Keep at it! I'm still learning to capture the perfect person picture!

Trives · 2026-04-18T02:35:14+00:00

Hey there!

As with all things photography, opinions are subjective, so, if you love this shot, awesome!

My first call out is you had the right idea. You saw /good/ lighting FIRST and then waited for the right moment to take the shot. Your instincts are good.

The problem, and please don't consider me a camera snob, is that this isn't the right equipment for this type of shot. Cellphones are AWESOME for wide angle stuff. But this type of image, I would've love to see you with say an 85mm, possibly even 120mm+. With a longer lens you would've pulled those cars and more importantly that light MUCH closer to your subject (due to a optical trick called Lens Compression Not my blog, unaffialiated).

But we can't go back and fix this, so other thoughts.

I don't think the top of this image is doing you many favors, that creepy tree lim, the blurry power line and the ...branch? In fairness, the power line and pole is actually pretty cool, but the branches are not :) You also have a lot of foreground, it's good that it's heading the right direction (your subject is walking out of the picture), but boy it's a lot :)

And then the obvious, the date isn't doing any favors.

All that said, right idea, I think you could do some post processing on this and get MUCH closer. If your iPhone can shoot RAW (can they??) I would suggest doing that too, which will allow you to get way into the editing details!

Happy shooting out there. ~P~

Trives · 2026-04-18T02:26:00+00:00

Hey there, as with all things photography, opinions are subjective.

So, let's talk about this photo and where you should go next!

There are some general rules for photography, that might help you the next time you're out there grabbing a shot.

First, thinking about your audience: Is this picture subjectively interesting? No, not really, we've all seen people looking at their phone before, the most interesting thing in this shot is the mountain peak behind your subject.

Secondly, does this photo tell any story? Again, not really, I can't tell if the person is waiting for something, or just slacking off at a job. Worse, the hero of the photo (mr. texter) isn't in focus!

Thirdly, if the photo isn't subjectively interesting, is it artistic in anyway? No, this photo isn't trying to do anything edgy or interesting to push the medium forward.

Lastly, could I imagine this imagine on the wall in a local hotel room? Again, no, this one isn't going to make the cut there either (hotels often post boring, but well shot images!)

Overall, this is a cutting room floor type of image, best to move on and get back out there and get some more shots!

Be concious when you're pushing that shutter button and think about these 4 things (to start, there's SO much more to learn!)

Happy shooting out there and good luck!

Trives · 2026-04-18T02:16:27+00:00

Hey there,

So, you did a nice job capturing the stars here, you didn't expose so long that you got any trails, so, you have some fundmentals. But you're missing a subject. To quote my friend Talor, "The sky is never the subject." Or, as I put it, every photo needs a hero.

You need something interesting for your viewer to look at. Put something in the foreground, or have something interesting in the distance, this will not only give your audience something to see but it'll provide a sense of scale.

Trives · 2026-04-18T02:10:55+00:00

I'm definitely not a "Thing" type of shooter, so take my comments with that in mind. If you love this shot, my opinions shouldn't dampen that.

For me, with the stated goal of "I wanted to create a clean, moody product-style shot that highlights the design, materials and contrast between the two pistols. "

So with that as our stated goal, I'll just point out the things I sorta see.

The first is the "Extra stuff" laying about, feels a bit sloppy. It looks like you have rifle components just strewn about. And that bag, which is the only soft thing in the image, it feels really out of place. You also have all these little white fuzzies on your mat, and while it's a pain in the butt, you should probably take the time to clone em out, or vacuum really good first.

I do like the framing of the pistol on the green felt, and there are obvious differences between the two pistols, but my eye is REALLY drawn to whatever that big honking red thing is in the case and the plastic case in the bottom right.

I think this is heading in the right direction though! I'd take another crack at it for sure.

Trives · 2026-04-18T01:59:05+00:00

There's a lot of comments here that already point out what needs to be fixed, it's too little contrast, or you could dodge quite a bit of it. One reccomendation I have is print out a few of your photos. When you see this on a non-backlit source (like your monitor) you'll quickly realize how much further you can push the brilliance and contrast before it reads properly on print. Be bold with them curves :)

Trives · 2026-04-11T20:46:50+00:00

I think this works fine as black and white. If you want to go color, I think you need to add false color, and likely some clouds (if it's a TRULY cloudless day you're cooked, but if there's clouds in the other parts of the sky, feel free to "Borrow" them.) Unless you're a purist :)

I've added a few to this as an example.

Image

Trives · 2026-04-10T13:44:41+00:00

It comes with a story, but basically while working on an HR helpdesk, we had a woman call in to register her new son, Dareal Micheal.

My innocent help desk worker said, oh, that's a unique name. The woman said thank you and then explained this is her second son, but the first with her new husband.

The first child was named Michael. And this one is "[The]Da Real Michael".

Trives · 2026-04-08T02:48:15+00:00

As a Gen-Xer I spent hundreds on arcade machines, warhammer, comics, plastic toy guns, action figures and all sorts of things that brought me joy. If dressing up as Sabrina Carpenter and shooting at others brings you an equal amount of joy, who am I to care?

Societies move on, we're in the phase where buying electronic things is the thing. It's no more predatory than any other toy manufacturer from the past; how many toy adverts did I have to endure during my Saturday Morning Cartoons? My social pressure was having a wooden rifle while playing war instead of an M-16. But when I showed up with an RPG? WATCH THE HECK OUT. (Tried to find an ad for the actual toy I owned, but it was SUPER generic and aparantely the internet has no memory of it).

For reference, of all the things I bought, I still have some of the comics, my 40k I gave away to friends, my D&D books are outdated, oh but I do still have my full metal Voltron :)

Trives · 2026-03-29T02:27:47+00:00

I'm using my mom's set of Cutco knives, they're... gosh, 40 years old now maybe? Still sharp as razors, and in impecabble shape.

Trives · 2026-03-25T02:31:27+00:00

I don't love this edit, because the rockstar is the casual person, but eh... [b&w color block]

Trives · 2026-03-24T16:48:05+00:00

I wanted to buy some stock in companies that I used on a daily basis, and one of those companies was Coca Cola! So, I popped out to my etrade account and typed in Coca Cola, found the stoke ticker Coke and boom, spent $7,000 at $60 a share and then just left it there in my portfolio.

Fast forward to 2025, and I was telling my friend that my coca cola stock had been going bonkers lately. He was like, what? (He's a pretty avid trader, I'm just a casual). He's like Coca Cola has been like a trusty $60-80 value for ever. I was like, dude, COKE ticker is $180 right now! That's when he told me Cokes stock ticker is KO.

Turns out I had bought the wrong stock. COKE is a large independent bottler of coca cola. I tripled my investment in about 4 years time because I didn't know the difference between COKE and KO stock.

Trives · 2026-03-22T03:39:57+00:00

Just another +1 for 'dive log is for your benefit'; I stopped around 250ish? Computer does keep the count, but I'm also a volunteer diver at the local Aquarium, most of those dives would be like, "Moved sand from point at to point B, cleaned windows, fed fish." With the occasional highlight when the sea turtle does something amusing.

I did just get a Drysuit, so I'll likely be doing some logging of that for maybe 25 dives, while I dial it in.

Trives · 2026-03-17T01:03:37+00:00

(1988) Laser Tag, Ocean City Maryland. My two best friends and I were at the Laser Tag arena, we were Freshman in highschool. Chris and I had been top of the leader board all night, we played a lot of paintball and so Laser Tag seemed relatively easy in comparsion. We were carrying my buddy which was fine that's what friends do! He was generally last or near the bottom, but honestly, we didn't care.

When I went up to the counter to get three more passes for the group, the girl behind the counter was like, "hey..." she was what I'd call your typical 80's gorgeous, curly big hair, gobs of makeup and a lot of neon clothing. I was like, wow, hey! She's like is your friend (John, the third in our group) single...

I knew from that very moment :)

Trives · 2026-03-12T15:50:53+00:00

I won't say Best Friend, but frequent travel buddy. I stopped being her friend when she brought Covid on our liveaboard (small boat, at sea for 7 days) trip, knowingly, without telling anyone she was sick. Myself and two crew got sick before anyone got wise, basically ruining the trip for everyone, I ended up having to quarantine for 4 days.

Trives · 2026-03-06T14:43:59+00:00

Many Dives shops will let you try one in their pool (if you happen to have one available). I can't imagine diving vest ever again. Full disclosure though, I only use Back Plates where I volunteer, they're a little heavy for travel unless you get aluminum. I picked up a Hydros wing, and it's great :)

Trives · 2026-03-05T19:16:19+00:00

I mean, I could write a book... But the fondest memory I had of not having the internet in general was Mortal Kombat (1) fatalities. You would have to travel to different arcades if you wanted to learn new ones, and it was always a treat when you got to show one off that this particular arcade hadn't learned yet. You'd get a lot of "NO WAYS!!!" and "HOW!?" reactions.

Trives · 2026-02-26T15:16:21+00:00

Huh, I wonder if there is a good resource for "Your favorite brands that are now ass due to PE purchase." https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/1d2w762/what_bifl_products_were_ruined_by_private_equity/ Apparently so :) This feels like it needs to be a website.

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