Hi. I came to your userpage after casually surfing the Hong Kong article. I know there must be some sort of wiki- gift I could award to you, but I'm not a seasoned editor. All I want to do is say I absolutely love your photos!! Fabulous!! And thanks for sharing on WP. Dionix (talk) 19:19, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
Hi Diliff,
Just letting you know that your docklands pano is being used in the foyer of the Engineering building of monash uni (blding 72) on a 6x21" LCD display thing. It cycles between your image, Image:Melbourne-1.jpg and some information. --Fir0002 09:57, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
I'll give it a go but it will probably be with my camera phone because no I don't take my cam to uni just in case!:) --Fir0002 00:34, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
OK, quality is not great (phone camera) but gives you an idea: Image:Diliff pano bldg 72 monash clayton.jpg. It was actually a 5x32" display (they LCDs are Syncmaster 320Ps) - but as you can see it seems to have gone a bit out of sync. Anyway if I see it better at a later date I'll try get a photo of if using up all five (certainly did at one point). --Fir0002 12:00, 7 May 2008 (UTC)
Yeah true about the attribution, but I wouldn't really have expected them to - I mean it's only a small section in their foyer slideshow. But as you say it would only be the tip of the iceberg. --Fir0002 07:30, 8 May 2008 (UTC)
Hehe I had to head over to dictionary.com to find the definition of laissez-faire:) You're right I my reply was a bit unthinking - and I apologize, I guess I was taking a too much of a "face reality" perspective in it. Because for sure that kind of stuff is unbelievably irritating for a photographer (and yes I'm still very much an advocate of NC licensing on wiki). And actually thinking about it again it does strike me as pretty dodgy given the hard line Monash takes with plagiarism in assignments etc!! Anyway check out this photo - easily the most incredible shot I've ever seen! You can read about it here --Fir0002 13:15, 10 May 2008 (UTC)
Hi. I was wondering if you would be able to work your magic on Image:Degrassiautos.jpg. I know it's not the best, but it's the only free picture of Degrassi: The Next Generation that can be used as the main image on Wikipedia:Featured topics/Seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation. It looks blurry to me, but it's also too dark. I don't know if anything can be done about the blurryness, but I've seen your work at WP:FPC and know you can brighten things up. Hope you can help, thanks, -- ṃ•α•Ł•ṭ•ʰ•Ə•Щ•@ 01:00, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
Hi Diliff, wanted to drop you a note so you don't think I'm just an FPC troll out to harass you. Although the technical quality of your images is excellent, I'm concerned that you're loosing a lot of realism due to overprocessing. You photos would be perfect for a travel magazine or PR website, but images for Wikipedia should be documentary, i.e. as realistic as possible. In fact one of the Featured Picture Criteria is that images should avoid "inappropriate digital manipulation". While most of your photos are not obviously overprocessed, some of them, such as your recent FPC nominations, are. While I'm obviously in the minority at supporting a more documentary photo style, I would like to suggest that you try to tone down the processing when editing images for use in Wikipedia. While creating "perfect" images is the norm in the photography world today, Wikipedia images need to be accurate and realistic, and able to withstand the test of time. Feel free to drop me a note on my talk page if you'd like to discuss this more. Keep in mind, I'm not a competent photographer myself, just a critic;) Kaldari (talk) 17:10, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
I understand your desire to bring out details in the shadows, but you should not be willing to alter your images to the degree that they are unrealistic and obviously processed. Compare Image:Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy 2 - May 2007.jpg with Image:Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy - May 2007.jpg for example. In the newer version, the building looks like it is lit with impossibly powerful floodlights. It's virtually glowing, despite the fact that the sky is very dark, even darker than in the original. To me, this looks like a ridiculously fake photograph. And yes, it definitely LOOKS like an HDR photo even if it's not, as that's exactly how HDRed photos look - dark skies, glowing buildings. Since you've probably spent an hour or two looking at the image already and modifying it, you probably aren't able to see it with fresh eyes, but if you did, I'm sure you would see that it looks unrealistic and looks like a poorly-processed HDR image (or well-processed depending on what you're after). Can you honestly say that anyone could think that it is a completely unmodified image? If you can't honestly say that, it is overprocessed, IMO. Kaldari (talk) 19:13, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
Hi David. I have uploaded another picture which is more focus on the cylinder. What you think of this new picture? Do u think this could meets the FP criteria? --Kaaveh (talk) 20:50, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
Dear David,
We are a small Danish business school who are offering a program in Oxford.
For that purpose we would like to make sure we are using your Oxford Skyline photo in accordance with your copyright rights. You have put them in the public Domain - only asked to credited.
We find your photos absolutely fantastic.
Currently, we are crediting you on the materials we have produced, but I really would like to be on the safe side - we do not want to violate any copyrights.
I have tried to find your email address, but did not succeed.
Will you be so kind and write me back on: thiesgaard@avt-people.com
Kind regards
Per —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.242.191.37 (talk) 12:20, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
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Sorry for dsitructing but just wanted to congrate you mate. You do a fantastic job with your skills! Just seen them accidentally... I hope you can visit Turkey again to take some awesome pics, so we can use for Wikipedia =)
Hi there. I recently did a crop of your excellent photo of the Albert Memorial. Your photo is Image:Hyde Park Albert Memorial Jan 2006.jpg. The crop is at Image:Frieze (Albert Memorial).jpg. I've also done crops to cut the memorial into three sections from bottom to top, but wanted to check with you first as I see you stitched your photo together from four other pics. I'm also unsure if I got the licensing and attribution correct for the cropped picture. Could you check? I've also been working on the Albert Memorial article if you would be interested in helping out there or taking more pics? One thing I want to do is get some pics of the undercroft (see here - may be difficult as it is not open to the public), and pics of the whole frieze. Some of the sculptures on the frieze are listed here. But mainly I wanted to get the licensing and attributions for the crops sorted out. Thanks. Carcharoth (talk) 11:19, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
Hi there. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. Yes, the licensing looks fine. I've actually gone ahead and uploaded another version (taken from the original) over the top of your crop though. It is quite a bit higher resolution, albeit not that much more detailed. Next time I'm in the area I can take a better photo of the freise itself if you'd like. Diliff | (Talk)(Contribs) 19:56, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
No problems. When I get round to uploading the other three crops I did, I'll let you know and let you decide whether to replace them as you did with this one. As well as the frieze, what would be useful is details of the upper parts of the canopy. See Albert Memorial#Canopy. It might be overkill, but there are possibilities for sequences of four pictures each for: (a) the triangular mosaics (preferably including the inscriptions below them); (b) the eight bronze statues on the corner pillars and niches; (c) a sequence of the eight gold statues of the virtues (not the angels at the top, but the figures about halfway up the tower). And maybe some close-up shots of the general ornate decoration (anything on the upper half of the memorial). Even if these don't make it into the article, they would make a nice gallery on Commons. I tried to get close-up shots but it was an overcast day (today would have been perfect, though!) and my camera isn't really good enough to get detail in the close-up shots, even with a zoom. Anyway, anything you can do would be great. Possibly close-ups of all 169 sculptures on the frieze would be too much...:-) (they charge you to go beyond the railings, anyway). Carcharoth (talk) 20:08, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
I decided to head over to Albert Memorial yesterday as I had some time to kill.:-) I took a panoramic image of all four friese sides that should be vastly better than the existing one. Perhaps if we were to really nail it, I could also add a silhouette image below each one detailing who is depicted in it. The images themselves are detailed enough to read the names of each person though. What do you think? Diliff | (Talk)(Contribs) 13:37, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Oh, and as you said, you tried to take a photo of them on an overcast day.. Well yesterday was lovely and sunny but there was one drawback that I didn't consider til I got there. When the sun is shining, only half of the set of four frieses is sunlit and the other two are in shadow. As such, the four frieses are not evenly lit. Not much that you can do about it unfortunately. You either have four of them in shadow or you have two of them in shadow, depending on weather you encounter. Diliff | (Talk)(Contribs) 13:41, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Well, not if you hang around for about half a day... (or pick a time of year when the sun in in the right place):-) Thanks awfully for doing this. Can't wait to see the photos! Carcharoth (talk) 13:46, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
I should have them up within the next half hour or so.. but as for hanging around or having the right time of year... It will never shine directly on about one quarter of the monument. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It swings south during the day. So the northern face will never get any direct sunlight no matter what time of day or year.;-) Unless we moved it to the southern hemisphere... Diliff | (Talk)(Contribs) 14:09, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Now I know why the southern side was the "more prestigious" side! It was partly because that side faced the Royal Albert Hall, but the Sun might have been part of the considerations. Will need to research that. As far as shadow-free photography goes, I guess the only option is to cover the frieze in a large tent and use flash photography or very bright studio lights...:-) Carcharoth (talk) 14:14, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Presumably it was the more prestigious side simply because it faced the outside of the park where more people would see it, too. OK, I've uploaded the four frieses now. I've linked them all to each other so you can find it through this one. Hope they came out to your satisfaction. As I said, I know they're a bit unevenly lit, but the detail should still be quite visible as they are quite high resolution. Diliff | (Talk)(Contribs) 14:39, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
No worries. I also just noticed that Michelangelo is actually in the centre of both the east and west facing frieses! I've never paid them enough attention obviously.. Is this the only duplicate? Diliff | (Talk)(Contribs) 14:43, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
And I've also just uploaded the new full Albert Memorial stitched image, as viewed from the south. Much higher resolution than the old one, but as I said previously, I'm not sure if compositionally and aesthetically it is better than the old one. What do you think? Diliff | (Talk)(Contribs) 14:50, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
That is a massive picture! Pity the rear right corner is in shadow. Will be good to get a crop for the front mosaic, and I think ultimately, a set of four pictures of the memorial from all four sides might work well, at least for a Commons gallery, if not the Wikipedia article. Carcharoth (talk) 15:01, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Michelangelo is also in one of the mosaics (he was "skied to the mosiacs" as they called it then, along with David and Solomon, who don't appear in the frieze). Phidias is up in the mosiacs as well, along with Ictinus, Raphael and Homer. Funnily enough, Apelles is only in the mosaics, despite not being a legendary biblical figure like David and Solomon (the reason they were left out of the 'secular' frieze). In the frieze, I think the duplicates were Rhoecus (sculptor and architect), Giotto (painter and architect) and Michelangelo (painter and sculptor), and maybe some others I missed. Must look and see what the differences are, and how the two sculptors varied in how they depicted the same person. Thanks again, and I'll let you know how the article goes. Carcharoth (talk) 15:01, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
Said I'd let you know how the article went. It's spawned a new article! Frieze of Parnassus. Carcharoth (talk) 18:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
Hi there, David. Just recently, I did a cropped version of your photo of the Midtown Manhattan skyline. I've done crops to get a wider thumbnail image of it. However, I'm unsure if I got the licensing and attribution correct for the cropped picture, so maybe that's why it has been deleted. I've been working on the New York City article ever since. I recognize your photos very much, and I would highly appreciate if you would be interested in taking more photos related with New York City. Thanks. User:Ian Fortuno | (Talk) 16:06, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
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