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Flight_of_Raven
Location: St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Gender: Male
Born: 1986
Interests: photography, writing, tennis, outdoor recreation
Member: Premier Artist
Joined: October 2008
INFORMATION
Flight_of_Raven is Kevin Hart. On RedBubble.com, he's also Murph2010. Soon he'll have an actual website, a facebook page, AND a blog where you can read all about his various misadventures!

Kevin considers himself a proficient waterfall photographer and also enjoys shooting landscapes, cemeteries, and state park nature programs. He appreciates both the challenge of capturing the raw beauty of nature and the freedom of post-processing software, and you will find a blend of both traditional and mixed media photography in his portfolio.

Kevin has been shooting since 2000 and has completed two photography courses, one in black and white film photography and one in digital photography. More recently, he has led two photo workshops in the woods of Vermont.

Currently, Kevin is shooting with a Nikon D90 and three lenses: a prime 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor, a Tokina ultrawide 11-16mm, and a Tokina 100mm f/2.8 macro. He uses Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS4, and Photomatix Pro 4 to process his shots. (Hopefully soon he'll add Nik Silver Efex to that list.)

Kevin has the ability to print his shots up to about 36" x 24"; if you have any interest in purchasing a print please contact him by private message or at hartkevin8@gmail.com.
FAVORITE QUOTE
Stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover.
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Flight_of_Raven: Happy May! Best month after October!
May 1 at 4:06PM
    avmurray: The same to you, but I don't agree about October.
    May 1 at 4:25PM
    Samantha Grey: May may be when spring comes forth from its long slumber and emerges with beauty but October is the grand awakening of autumn , the air grows a unique chill as the winds whisper their secret sounds.
    May 1 at 5:51PM
    Keri Harrish: I hope May gets better - nothing but wind here. Camping season starts in 16 days!
    May 1 at 7:20PM
    Flight_of_Raven: Haha, Annie, granted, I've never experienced a Norweigan autumn, but what have ye against October?
    May 1 at 8:01PM
    avmurray: It is cold, wet and dark, and the entrance to a long winter that I could easily live without. Novemver is even worse though. I like April and Mai because I have summer to look forward to.
    May 2 at 8:11AM
    Flight_of_Raven: Annie, I invite you to come to Vermont this October. Your world will be turned around :)
    May 2 at 12:24PM
    Skyangel02: Happy Birthday Kevin.
    May 7 at 6:02AM
Flight_of_Raven: Logged in today to find "4 Reviews" and thought "what? how can that be??" Many thanks, Keri, for the generous use of your FARbucks!
April 26 at 4:44PM
Flight_of_Raven: I want another diamond seal, but I want it to be a [bigger than it needs to be] challenge. FAR community! Suggest to me some random themes (black and white waterfall photography not allowed), and I will work to create 5 diamond-quality shots on the theme that I like the best. Aaaand.. go!
February 28 at 7:51AM
    MGTF Blue: I don't really know too much about these "books" but how about a single colour as a theme, you choose the colour but they should all feature that colour.
    February 28 at 10:51AM
    donkeyoatey: I have always been intrigued by your capture on rocks and sides of falls of moss..maybe water plants?
    February 28 at 1:34PM
    Flight_of_Raven: Blue, that's a cool idea and I might try some variation of that; however, it's my understanding that color alone probably isn't a strong enough tie for the committee... However, an idea that just came to me as a result of your suggestion is "orange fluids." Liquids and gasses colored orange, focused on the various patterns that their movement creates.

    DonQ, that definitely sounds outside of my comfort zone; I'm game!

    Thanks guys!

    By the way, still taking suggestions! This actually feels like a pretty great way to gain real-world "client" experience, should I ever find myself with clients, so I figure I'll keep a list and attempt to create a collection based on each and every suggestion that I get. If it's more of an incentive, I'll reciprocate the favor! (Blue or Mike, if you're interested in a diamond-seal assignment from me, just say the word!)
    February 28 at 4:36PM
    Skyangel02: Long exposure night photography of you swinging a light around and creating art from the light you are holding in your hand.
    See my light play as a very basic example. You need to create something better than stick figures though. Can you do it?
    February 28 at 6:11PM
    bushimages: how about lightning storms before,dueing and after?or some bacic light painting sounds good too!
    February 28 at 10:39PM
    Flight_of_Raven: Skyangel, yup, I'm familiar with painting with light. However, since the topic you suggested may be less about my actual photographic skills and more about my (so to speak) artistic skills (which I completely lack), I may edit your suggestion to include directing OTHER people painting with light at night. Either way, it'll be very challenging for me but I'm excited to see what might result. It may be a long, long time before I get one shot that I would consider top quality, much less five. But that's the fun!

    Bush, I've been trying to capture lightning storms for years! Challenge accepted.
    March 1 at 6:07AM
    Lucien van Oosten: How about a book showing a series of photographs, portraits of the same person, with different colored backgrounds that shows how it affects the person skin tones. Or the same setting (negative space) with the person wearing different colors to see how the skin reflects or is affected by the colors worn.
    March 1 at 1:24PM
Flight_of_Raven: Well I made it into Tuckerman's Ravine but my adventure photography portfolio didn't see any boastable improvements. Back to it on a sunny March day!
February 25 at 5:41AM
    Skyangel02: I look forward to seeing your boastable improvements when you eventually post them.
    February 25 at 5:33PM
    Flight_of_Raven: I'm very excited for that day. I'll have to take off, at the latest, at 1 in the morning, be awake and warm enough to hang out in the ravine all day, and be alert enough to keep on the lookout for avalanches.
    February 26 at 7:13AM
Flight_of_Raven: "The main difference [between science and photography] resides in the exploration of emotions and the self." - QT Luong
February 15 at 1:38AM
Flight_of_Raven: I'm posting this publicly so that I have some witnesses who'll hold me accountable:

My resolution for 2013 is to build an adventure photography portfolio.

Fo' realz.
January 3 at 10:05PM
    Lucien van Oosten: sounds interesting and what would that consist of?
    have fun, cheers!!!
    Lucien
    January 4 at 11:11AM
    Flight_of_Raven: Well to start, I'm hoping to do some mountaineer photography, in the spirit of the likes of Galen Rowell or Bradford Washburn. I live near the White Mountains and am really hoping to catch skiiers in Tuckerman's Ravine or ice climbers elsewhere in the area. In warmer seasons, I'm hoping to get into climbing photography and perhaps some whitewater kayaking shots. We'll see. For now, the whole mountaineering thing is my goal! :)
    January 6 at 4:22PM
    Raxarchel: That is great! I'm sure you are going to get so many great pictures :D Good Luck, be safe and have fun! :)
    January 11 at 5:22AM
Flight_of_Raven: Hello friends -- after yet another extended absence, I hope to return here semi-consistently again. Last September, I took the plunge and upgraded from the Nikon D40 (after breaking the lens for it) to the D7000. Energized by my new equipment I rekindled my passion for this site, only to get exhausted trying to write extensive and honest reviews (and also working a full-time midnight shift).

Fast forward to May. May 6, to be precise -- my 26th birthday and moving day, when we officially transferred our residence from Pennsylvania to Vermont. That morning, in Schenectady, NY, my entire camera kit was stolen from me except for the odd filter and my tripod. At that point, I lost all taste for photography (and photography websites) and went all summer (again, maintaining trails in Vermont) taking hardly any pictures, despite being lent a lens compatible with my old D40 body.

Only within the past two months did I start building up my kit again, dropping for a D90 body, and then a Tokina macro lens and, most recently, a Tokina wide angle. Now that I have equipment that I can work with again (the borrowed lens was fixed at a focal length too long for my taste and wouldn't communicate with the camera body), I'm starting to feel more energized about photography.

My season with the trail crew is headed into its final week and I should be able to find some more time for this site. I look forward to reconnecting with the old members and meeting all the new ones!
November 2 at 11:56PM
    Badger: Welcome home Kev.
    November 3 at 12:05AM
    Kelli Lauck: Welcome back Raven!
    November 3 at 12:10AM
    Flight_of_Raven: Thanks Carl! You 'n Tom gettin' along nicely these days?
    November 3 at 12:13AM
    Badger: Yea, I think Tom and I are on the same frequency.
    November 3 at 12:18AM
    Sinbackkk: Welcome back Flight.Always enjoyed your work. Whats the frequency Carl? Can I hear it?
    November 3 at 4:59AM
    donkeyoatey: Flight..welcome back, and I can't wait to see more out of the way places! Sin..take the tinfoil off your head..THEN you will hear him!
    November 3 at 9:34AM
    Flight_of_Raven: Thanks Sinbackkk! And DonQ, I can't wait to actually take pictures of out-of-the-way places... it's been far too long since I've pranced around with my camera!
    November 3 at 10:13AM
    avmurray: It is really nice to have you back, and to hear that you have managed to build up a new kit. Really looking forward to seeing your photos, and of course also your reviews.
    November 3 at 12:22PM
    Flight_of_Raven: My heart's all a-thumpy! Can't wait to see who mutes me first!!
    November 4 at 12:08AM
Flight_of_Raven: Today will mark the second time within the past month that I've witnessed morning gap light and wasn't in the proper place to shoot it... Thank you, graveyard shift.

For those that don't know... gap light is a very rare occurrence for a landscape photographer and basically impossible to predict. It describes the moment - often only seconds long - that the sun is pinched between a tiny gap between the horizon and a cloud. It is literally the best, richest, most dynamic light a photographer can capture naturally, and it can occur both at sunrise and sunset. As most landscape photographers know, the entire hour after sunrise and before sunset consists of dynamic, right light with long shadows, but the color that results from those few seconds of gap light is out of this world and much richer than anything else you would experience later in the golden hours. To capture it, you really have to set up at your location before sunrise (or sunset) and wait, hoping that the clouds and sun will align just right. And you can't give up until the sun has fully gone below the horizon (if sunset). It also has to be the tiniest sliver of gap for it to be as dynamic as possible.

If I ever capture it, I promise to share the results here. Don't hold your breath.

I hope that whoever has read this has learned something helpful!
March 3 at 8:56AM
    ducilla: Eyes wide open!!!!

    March 3 at 5:43PM
Flight_of_Raven: A poll - who's sick of seeing waterfalls from me?
February 17 at 10:13AM
    avmurray: I am not
    February 17 at 4:10PM
    Echo7: I'm certainly not bud, I love them. Your black & White work is excellent. More than happy to see more
    February 17 at 8:36PM
    ducilla: I am ...NOT......
    February 18 at 12:19AM
    Flight_of_Raven: Hm, I probably would be if I were you guys, but cool! Guess I'll keep 'em coming!
    February 19 at 10:37AM
    filly421: More waterfalls please.
    February 23 at 11:10AM
Flight_of_Raven: I am SO SICK of internet uploads washing out the color of my photographs! I don't think it's only FAR -- I've noticed the problem on at least two other websites, including a contest page for Outdoor Photographer -- but it's definitely present here. Check out my newest upload "winter sunrise." You'll see a mostly yellow sky, when in fact the file on my computer shows a much richer orange sky. And this has been happening for years. What gives?
January 9 at 11:30PM
    ducilla: What size are you sending in ?..How many pixels?...
    January 9 at 11:39PM
    Flight_of_Raven: er, ppi actually, if there's a difference...
    January 9 at 11:45PM
    ducilla: That should be fine..I keep my ppi at 150?... Maybe something else going on?.. Check your uploads before you post?..
    January 10 at 12:09AM
    Echo7: Its just the colour profiling Kev, Its nothing to do with resizing. FAR has always turned orange hues much more yellow. Most other colours seem to be fine. But orange certainly suffers.

    On a resizing note though...I always resample my images when resizing. I choose bicubic sharper for resizing...best reduction option.

    Still completly unsure as to why when we pay a subscription charge were limited to 700px wide. Afterall were supposed to be showing our best work.....Simply isnt our best work when resizing & bad colour profiling kills out shots. When i view my photos here & compare to somewhere else...Two very different photos in terms of quality.

    I honestly think subscription charges here should be used to buy more bandwith & thus stopping the resizing.


    January 10 at 8:14AM
    Shakeadog: I agree, some images do not look how they actually are. If I dont like the uploaded result, I just dont post it. I agree Echo, why are we limited to size when we pay subscription??
    January 10 at 4:43PM
    ducilla: good info Echo! Do you over-compensate to take that into account?...
    January 10 at 10:38PM
    Echo7: Thanks Dennis, I always have my image sitting in Photoshop when i upload. After seeing the quality & colour profile applied i change if its different from my vault.

    So i just change colours & sharpness if needed
    January 11 at 7:30AM
    Flight_of_Raven: What do you mean "color profile applied?" I shoot in sRGB, edit in sRGB, and export in sRGB. The exported file in my computer looks the same as it looks in PS/LR. It's not until it's been uploaded that I see a difference... Troy, I suspect it has something to do with theft prevention/deterrent..
    January 11 at 5:04PM
    Echo7: Hey Kev, Every website has a different profile. When i upload to my personal website my photos suffer from a slight lack of contrast & more light is applied. Hence the contrast. So i modify my images for that.

    Other websites...which wont mention..but some of them have autosharpen, darker, better contrast & some sites even lack sharpness.....even when you dont have to resize them.

    With Fanartreview, the orange hues are slighty tinted yellow. Some certain images lack sharpness...But this could well be the resizing of the image through software. As i said before..i always use bicubic sharper...best for reduction. But most resizing programs dont resample your image when resizing....so some can seem too sharp or lack sharpness. Even suffer from compression issues.

    I didnt have an option when building my own site what the quality of my photos would be.

    Not a fault of Fanartreview. Not sure what you do about it.
    January 12 at 8:13AM
Flight_of_Raven: So who else misses LowRider's charming presence?
December 24 at 12:30AM
    ducilla: every day.....
    December 24 at 2:43AM
    Sinbackkk: Count us in....
    December 24 at 8:59AM
    Geokat:
    February 1 at 6:44AM
Flight_of_Raven: I am exorbitantly disappointed in all of my photographs. Every. single. one. I have 56,321 photographs locked away in the Vault. That's a f-ckton of disappointment.
December 4 at 2:31AM
    donkeyoatey: We are our own worst critics (well..most of us) I often feel that way!
    December 4 at 7:06AM
    ducilla: Ahhhh... progress!!! lol...


    My vault is growing by the day... I see that as progress.....
    December 4 at 12:13PM
    NinaDd: Yes, since joining FAR I too am disenchanted with many of my photos I originally thought were amazing! LOL
    December 4 at 1:08PM
    Flight_of_Raven: You know, it's not even FAR really that's doing this to me. I mean yeah, FAR kinda destroys the quality of my shots, but even when I'm looking at them in Lightroom I'm disappointed. I hold myself to very high expectations and when I analyze my shots on the 1:1 ratio, I'm more often than not disgusted at what I see.
    December 4 at 6:51PM
    Echo7: Speak for youselfs....Everything i do is better than that Amstel Adams guy..


    No seriousley though. I hate my images alot of the time. Pity we dont view them as others.

    Kevin..your photos are of a very high quality. Dont ever doubt that.
    As are yours Oatey & Badger. Dennis your coming along ...Lol just joking. You beat all our sorry asses here.

    The Landscape photographer of the year was asked at the awards ceremony. " What do you hope to achieve in the coming year "

    He answered:

    " Twelve photographs that i'm proud of "

    That put things into perspective.

    I then deleted thousands of photos.

    But sometimes keeping you bad shots shows you how far you have come along....& encourage you to keep going.

    I have a hell of alot to learn & but i love what i'm doing. So regardless of how many shots i throw in the vault. Just keep going.

    My vaults getting bigger. But theres still room for Sinbackkk to eat & sleep
    December 4 at 6:56PM
    P W RYAN: Twelve photographs that matter in a year is a good crop for any photographer" - Ansel Adams
    December 5 at 8:19AM
Flight_of_Raven: If I kept track of the number of people that mute me on this site, I might fall into a rather deep depression...
November 28 at 1:30PM
    LowRider: Tis a shame they are missing out on excellent direction---
    November 28 at 3:03PM
    donkeyoatey: That is a real shame..anyone who mutes you is missingout on a great critical, fair and honest review!
    November 28 at 6:10PM
    Flight_of_Raven: Well thanks! Fortunately I don't have to think about it too much.. the people that appreciate my reviews seem to outnumber those that don't, so hey, it's all good!
    November 28 at 6:22PM
    Sinbackkk: Better to be honest and muted than honest and booted! I, for one, appreciate your honest and helpful reviews. Quite a rarity here. "The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it."- R W Emerson/Sincityyy
    November 28 at 8:31PM
    Echo7: Lol...I too have been muted by a few. Some done like honesty. Some just dislike me =D
    November 29 at 12:29PM
    Flight_of_Raven: Nah, they just fear you! And who can blame them, fearing a retired ninja bent on world domination?
    November 29 at 2:02PM
    darjenka: just curious.. mute you , meaning ignore ?
    December 1 at 12:57AM
    Flight_of_Raven: You have the option, if you think someone's being unfair to you, to mute a handful of people on this site... That'll block all possible communication with this person.. you won't be able to see each other's posts, profiles, etc...
    December 1 at 2:17AM
Flight_of_Raven: Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
November 24 at 3:28AM
    P W RYAN: same to you Kevin, enjoy the day!
    Cheers,
    Peggy
    November 24 at 7:37AM
    ducilla: Enjoy life!..Happy Thanksgiving Kevin!....
    November 24 at 2:20PM
    LowRider: Blowin' ya a smooch KidFlight-----!!!!
    November 24 at 8:49PM
Flight_of_Raven: Now that I'm finally back into reviewing, here's a quick reminder of my interpretation of the rating system:
5* = "A"
4* = "B"
3* = "C" (or average)

I know that most of you are used to receiving easy fives, and that a four might hurt. But please remember, if I give you four stars, I think your work is above average. Think of it as adding up from zero stars, not subtracting from five.
November 2 at 11:40AM
    ducilla: This is a good way to look at the star system Flight!.. I like the way you describe the process...dennis
    November 3 at 12:24AM
    MrBlobbyHasSpots: I just had a moan about the star system too!
    November 3 at 7:39PM
    yourbren: Hi I came to congratulate you on your tie in the Contest. However upon doing so I read "your interpretation of the rating system" which I feel I must comment upon. The rating system on this site is I believe set up so that giving a 4 is equal to saying the image is good in your opinion but needs work. Since many people are on this site to learn and grow, giving a 4, makes it incumbent on you, as a reviewer, to specifically state what you feel the problems with the image are, as well as offering solutions to those problem. If you cannot do that, then you have nothing to offer that photographer. You are simply taking their money irresponsibly. Bren
    November 16 at 1:07PM
    Flight_of_Raven: Bren, if a teacher gave me a B on a paper, I'd expect constructive criticism on it, and I bring that same belief to the reviewing system. No worries on the whole taking money irresponsibly thing, and please, feel free check out my comments. If you think I'm being unfair, send me a PM and we can talk about it! :) Oh, and thanks for the congrats! :)
    November 16 at 1:21PM
    yourbren: Thank you for your reply. I am very relieved by your clarification. As I am sure you are aware, many members do not offer solutions or even clarifications of what bothers them. I have received 4's even as the comments tell me how great and outstanding my image is. I ask what is it that you find troublesome in the image so that I may consider and address it. The only reply I have ever received is that they didn't mean to give me a 4, they meant to give me a 5 or a 6, but mostly I never receive an answer at all. I like helping talented photographers grow, when I can. For me, that is very satisfying and really the primary value of this site. Thank you again for taking the time. Bren
    November 16 at 11:40PM
    Flight_of_Raven: I agree! This site's strength lies in its potential to help photographers grow.
    November 17 at 1:32AM
    P W RYAN: Congrats on the tie Kevin! I voted for your shot, it was the best - and one of the few that followed the contest challenge! A really nice image. Cheers, Peggy
    November 20 at 8:39AM
 
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April 6 at 2:08AM
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