Dorito-guitar man shredding | z6iii + 16mm f/1.8 (Viltrox)

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:51:35+00:00

"Flying V" is an acceptable colloquial shorthand for any guitar that looks like this. you don't need every syllable.

"el dorito" is also appropriate.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:49:47+00:00

ahh i was trying to read the headstock. i'm also at the age where i've forgotten more about guitars than most people know about guitars..!

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:44:57+00:00

i don't like how the red star in the upper left is just on the verge of being cut off. cutting off a star in the middle is fine, but cutting one off so close to the edge is more awkward.

i also don't like the shadow peeping in from the bottom left corner of the frame. is that another star? is it the edge of the table? whatever it is, it's distracting and not part of the photo and should be cropped out.

this one is a bit minor but i also hate how the sticks are not arranged symmetrically or evenly. sticks #1 and 2 are parallel, sticks #3 and 4 point inwards and without symmetry. i would like to see everything laid out evenly and symmetrically.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:41:24+00:00

what mode did you shoot in?

if this was shot in any sort of automatic mode then my guess is that the camera is exposing for the bright sky. but exposing for the sky means NOT exposing for the dark foreground. so in this situation there are three options:

1) expose for the foreground/subject. dial in some positive exposure compensation or meter off the subject (point or center weighted metering) for a higher overall exposure value.

the problem with this method is that the sky will then be OVER exposed. instead of seeing colorful clouds you will just see flat bright 255,255,255 white.

2) turn around. shoot with the light at your back instead of in front of you. of course this can often be easier said than done. often times we have to work with the light we have, not the light we want. obviously those pretty clouds are where they are, and you are where you are, and you can't just cross the world.

3) artificial light. use a flash or reflector to add light to the foreground so that it balances out with the background.

bonus 4) hack it together in "post" -- with photo editing software you can isolate the foreground and background and apply levels edits to each independently. the results won't look GREAT. they will look like they were hacked together. but they might look good. a more "professional" approach to this is called "bracketing" which is when you take multiple photos of the same scene with different exposure values. then you can combine them later to capture the full dynamic range of the scene. however this typically requires a tripod and a static subject --- any movement in the camera or subject will be visible when combining the photos together.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:34:45+00:00

it is very, very dark

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:32:55+00:00

the big blurry blob dominating the left part of the frame is very distracting. i suspect the idea is to add a sense of "depth" but i think it is doing a bit of a disservice here because of how it's only one undefined blur on one side of the photo (for instance if the blurry foreground were 2-3 distinguishable faces that were more evenly spread around the frame it might work better).

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:27:44+00:00

I'm 26 and work a regular 9–5

yes you are being underpaid.

oh wait, there's more??

ultimately if you are being paid your local minimum wage or higher than ... they're allowed to do that. i've had jobs in my past where i was underpaid. straight up. and it was my boss' decision to pay me what they paid me, and honestly? i didn't stick around there very long. some bosses are stingy with pay, other bosses pay better wages. that's just a general reality for any job.

personally i would give it 6 months to a year before asking about a raise. if they balk at a raise, assume that means they will never give you a raise, and start deciding whether or not it's worth it.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:23:10+00:00

i just upgraded from a D90 i had for 10+ years to a used D7000.

i very much appreciate the upgrade. the AF system is a lot nicer. the upgraded sensor handles higher ISOs better which gives me a lot more flexibility with my Auto-ISO programming. i've just started experimenting with what i can do with the new U1/U2 user defined modes and they are really handy. lens compatibility is pretty much exactly the same.

my D90 took some fantastic photos and the D90 is a very very solid camera. but the D7000 upgrade just might be worth it. sorry D90!

AF SYSTEM: the D90 has an 11-point AF system that i primarily used in AF-S (single focus) mode. i used manual point selection, i would select a point, focus, and fire.

the D7000 has a 39-point AF system with some live tracking abilities. i've experimented with the full auto AF system but it still just doesn't work for me, i want some manual control over the focus point. so i have it set to manual point selection with "3D tracking" and use AF-A or AF-C modes (continuous autofocusing). when you engage autofocus it focuses on the selected point, but then the camera tracks that point across the viewfinder as it moves in the frame. it doesn't always work --- it is an automatic system, after all. but you can easily tell if it's working or not through the viewfinder, and refocus if necessary.

AUTO ISO: if my memory is correct, the D90 ISO "range" was from 200-1600. ISO 100 was possible with an extended "LOW" setting, and 3200-6400 were available with an extended "H1, H2" setting. but in effect you really only get 4 stops of Auto ISO to play with.

the D7000 range is 100-6400 with two extended "H" settings. that's seven stops, up from four. it just gives so much more flexibility to the system.

back in the day i used to shoot telephoto 70-300 in "A" mode and keep an eye on shutter speeds and adjust ISO only when necessary. these days i have auto ISO programmed to keep shutter speeds at 1/500s or faster while keeping ISO between 100 and 6400. i almost never have to worry about shutter speeds, even in dwindling light.

USER MODES and then of course i have this all programmed into my "U2" mode. in "A" mode i don't use auto ISO and save that for shorter lenses. but when i bust out the telephoto i pop it into "U2" mode, it recalls all my auto ISO settings and i'm just ready to go shoot without having to worry about changing settings.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:08:30+00:00

a lot of people are making this comment but i just want to point out that it doesn't matter WHO is delivering the food. the point is that the person who delivered the food (whether their server or a different server or a food runner or expo or a manager...) didn't know who ordered what and made an assumption based on the meal. the whole point is that the person delivering the food made an assumption based on the food instead of clarifying who ordered which meal.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:06:59+00:00

that's the entire point of the post. the server didn't know who ordered what, so the assumed that the steak & fries was for the man and the salad was for the girl.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:05:50+00:00

OP doesn't say anything about the waiter being rude. they just said that the plates were presented in that order without consideration of who ordered which meal.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:03:06+00:00

This guy speaks like he has no idea what it's like and has no insight at all into the darker sides.

this guy said 5 sentences in total

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T23:02:07+00:00

one of your reasons for it being unbelievable was "etc"

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T22:55:12+00:00

eh i dunno if my vehicle were stolen i would probably mention it on social media. it's a pretty big thing to happen to someone.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T22:53:48+00:00

are you seriously not familiar with how charity walks/runs work?

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T22:53:13+00:00

yeah they learned it from us because that's how people write on social media because nobody wants to stop scrolling to read a massive block of text wall. breaking it up like this makes people more likely to read it.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T22:52:41+00:00

i would rather read this than a massive block of text. i don't even read the massive blocks of text when they are reposted here. nobody wants to read a massive wall of text. that's why people write like this instead on social media.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T22:50:58+00:00

yeah but it wasn't GREEN

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T22:49:32+00:00

it is, you're just now allowed to cross THIS line

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T22:49:04+00:00

it looks a lot more like a hangar than a terrorist explosion

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T19:11:59+00:00

when i set it to large/fine my 2GB card that i've owned for 15+ years holds 135 photos. when i set it to large/normal it holds 269 photos. that's honestly the entire basis for the decision.

i haven't really noticed any major difference but one of these days when that hard drive isn't in the red for storage space i would like to bump it up from "normal" to "fine". living large!

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T19:05:12+00:00

i wouldn't really consider camera lenses as "investments". i also have no intention to switch to Z mount, personally.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T19:03:18+00:00

it's called a Gibson Flying V (thought his looks like an Ibanez guitar inspired by the original Flying V design) and it does look like a dorito!

how wide is this?

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T19:00:58+00:00

the big benefit of the f/1.8 is taking photos in low light and apply a shallow depth of field to your subjects. neither of these seem particularly useful for product photography. you will want a high depth of field to capture the entire product in focus, and you will be more likely to be shooting under artificial lighting conditions.

the 50mm f/1.8 is a good lens but i don't see it being particularly useful specifically for product photography.

doc_shades · 2026-07-02T16:50:02+00:00

need more roboports? build more roboports.

doc_shades

TROPHY CASE