Re: Photography Thread
 

Nice to see someone pick up a full frame camera...expensive, but to me, certainly worth it.
To me, with modern camera techno being pushed every further, you could have gotten
acceptable image reliability in low light, but I have a lot of old manual focus lenses,
and I want them to BE WHAT THEY ARE on a camera body. I love having a DX body or 9
in the closet where I can instantly simulate 1.5x reach improvement, but when I snap on
my 24mm lens, I want it to be WIDE. The 'real thing' wide. Gotta love full frame. Don't forget
to drop in on the new inmates forum and introduce yourself to the members of the Asylum.

Re: Photography Thread
 

char-grilled oysters - yum
recent sunset

Re: Photography Thread
 

Couple more film pix.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7428/...43f3f7d6_c.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3694/...1c8cda4e_c.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Gerard what did you buy?

Re: Photography Thread
 

Couple of simple cigar pictures from my phone.

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...psa6b11240.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...ps84e8bda7.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...ps29fb624d.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...pse4bc1f05.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...ps22afe8c3.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...ps07b98209.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...ps11a7ae24.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...ps51ddd913.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...psaa810b14.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...pscf8204bb.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...psf90759c7.jpg

http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/...psfc617f7d.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Welcome back to CA, Marc. Glad you can call this place your home. :) xoxo

Re: Photography Thread
 

Phone or not Marc, those are drool worthy photos right there. :tu

Re: Photography Thread
 

I have learned something intriguing from this thread, now that I have perused almost a third of it. Anyone can snap still life photos (like my nooby camera phone pictures haha). What seems to separates "photography art" from most camera work, is the vision (that I don't seem to have) to capture something in its perfect moment, and be able to stir the audience - produce a "wow" factor. I mean no disrespect to the lot of us, but I think you guys also recognize the fascinating photos here when you see it.

Personally, I am really impressed by the...not macros, I don't know how to describe it - close up yet in intriguing angles of mundane things in life. The lighting does something incredible to it, the perspective puts the object, place, or being in a manner I never held in perception, and so makes the subject matter - especially when it's a mundane object - just spectacular and puts me in awe. I've stared at several of these pictures for hours.

I guess I just realized what photography is all about, lol. I'll do my best to get some other things in than straightforward shots.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Since I couldn't explain the type of shots I was finding exceptional, I linked them. I would appreciate any tips and equipment needed (if at all) to produce these results - especially the latter.

This one blew my mind in terms of finding something so minute in life, and being able to recognize it:
I can't take pictures of things the way I see life. I take hundreds of pictures on my phone of things I see and find beautiful, but pictures that come out are not as I experience them. These photos are incredible, because they looks as if the camera saw life the way the photographer experienced it. As said previously, I'd really appreciate any advice/equipment to produce this.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I know exactly what you mean Marc. I can't speak for all of us, but for me personally, I don't feel like I have the eye to take awesome pictures. I think I get lucky every so often. The dedicated photog's that produce great shots like you described likely carry a camera with them at all times. I can't count the number of times a moment has struck me that I wished I had my camera with me. I love taking pictures and I find myself more often thinking.....how could I or would I photo this, no matter what it is.
As far as equipment goes, I've seen some pretty amazing shots with cell phone cameras, but it requires a lot things to be just right. And there are so many limitations with them. Any DSLR produced now can give you what you need to capture good, quality pictures...IMO. To produce the awe-inspiring shots, I think you need a decent DSLR, a little bit of knowledge, for me a lot of luck :D and the 'eye' for what makes a great shot. I don't have the eye, I still think I just get really lucky every so often. :tu
I do really enjoy the hobby and while I think I can improve on my photos, I know that I'm not artistic at all so I'll settle for the fun I have while doing it.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I am like most of you now, torn between the subject matter and the essence of what Marc was getting at.
Cell phone photos can be as good as the VERY good imagers many of these new phones have in them.
But speaking strictly about cell phone pics, photography is certainly not just taking pictures, and what you
have pushing on you is the desire to shoot cool pics, regardless of the tool used. So if you are trolling around for
some advice, my best advice is always to improve the light when you intend to shoot something that you can
control. A cell cam might be easy to use, but never let that trick you into thinking that taking a good pic with it
is easy. To that original point, if you can improve the light, the camera phone will respond by giving you
much more even exposure as well as showing a much truer color with more controllable shadow areas. TO say
nothing about the possible improvement in overall focus and sharpness.

So what we now have learned is that YES, I DO have a camera I can sell you cheap, and NO, you need not give
up your cell-cam. Just make sure that if you are taking the time to shoot a pic that you want to rise above the
snapshot level, ALWAYS think first about the light. If you can get enough bounced light to enter your cigar studio,
your photos will go up in overall appeal exponentially. And by all this I mean DO NOT let your camera produce the
lighting for your photos. No flash should ever come out of your cameraphone when you are setting up still life shots.

Second I would say to shoot the heck out of it. If you go to the trouble of taking multiple cabs of PLPC
apart to shoot, make the most of your time, shoot angles, different formations of stacking, move the light
around. The un-definable quality you spoke of that makes any old photo into a photo that you LIKE is the
seemingly effortless interplay between light and framing that captures a NOVEL image for the brain. I can
look through THOUSANDS of thumbnails of photos and stop dead on one that my BRAIN perceives as having
an interesting composition of angles, colors or light. And I literally stop in my tracks and give it a longer,
bigger look. Sad thing about composition is, that while people try all the time to TEACH it, it is not as easy
as it sounds. Everyone likes different things and looks at the world in their own way. It is very hard to force
a great photo into existence simply by applying all the rules of composition to the scene or situation.
The best way to GET to where you have the ability to impress yourself and others is to take it seriously
and practice it often. Take the TIME to set up some good lighting. Don't stop with one setup and move
to the next box of cigars.

NO REALLY....explore the space.

EDIT: If this mysterious quality you spoke of is ACTUALLY NOT just a better overall photo, and you are
talking about how one item is in crisp focus and the rest of the photo fades away to dreamyness, THAT
is something different and less do-able with a cell phone. IF THAT is your white whale, that is as simple
as getting a camera that lets you control the point of focus as well as the lens aperture. Which is why
I offered to sell you a camera. Well, that's not true, I offer to sell EVERYBODY a camera. But we can
get you cheaply into the DSLR world in one quick shot if that is what you are after. If not, there is a
world of possibilities in that cell-camera if you adjust the variables you can control. (light, composition)

Re: Photography Thread
 

Not sure anyone that jumps to a specialty forum for their first post on a cigar board is someone who is going
to COME BACK and answer any questions you might have Jeff, lol. I am sure that person is long gone.

Re: Photography Thread
 

What DSLR are recommended? I just read Brads post and he gets exactly my meaning.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I realized I was talking too much and not showing enough. Here is a shot I made over the summer last
when i was visiting south LA to shoot. This girl had a birthday party coming on Sunday and they set up
her bouncey castle on Saturday afternoon, where she burned a lot of freeze pops while bouncey-ing.
The reason I post this is that this is such a cool lens, and now I realize that these were captured off of
Photo bucket...I must have not wanted to fire up my other computer. I wanted to find the EXIF data to see
if it was a 85mm f/2 or a 105 f/2.5 Nikkor. Hell I can't even tell you what body it was on, but I imagine a D700.

Reason I post it is easily one of my best lenses, a couple of AI manual focus lenses, (whichever lens it ends up being).
I love both of them. The 105 was under a hundred and the 85 was $190 I think. 85s are pricey. But getting them
in manual focus really allowed me to get something good without spending like an idiot.

Re: Photography Thread
 

That right there. Thanks, so what kind of DSLR, lighting situations, anything I should start reading, familiarize myself with?

Re: Photography Thread
 

Here is a good book to start with - Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera by Bryan Peterson.

Invaluable resource for beginners, and all photographers.

Another great resource is the website - photography-on-the.net/forum
Mainly a Canon site, but has tons of info on every aspect of photography.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Any recommendations for a quality compact? Trip to Europe in May and don't want to lug anything too big with camera bags, etc. etc....Would like something with some "control" however...Was somewhat of a photo-geek in high school and early 20's (mannnnyyy years ago!) have a Nikon SLR with various lenses somewhere in the house...would like to get back into photography in a small way other than my Iphone...Suggestions?

Re: Photography Thread
 

my :2,

I have a Nikon CoolPix. I used Nikon SLRs for years, but I have been using this more than anything else anymore. Compact with lots of features. YMMV.

Have a great time over there!

Re: Photography Thread
 

Thanks Steve!

Re: Photography Thread
 

If I was just starting out in DSLRs I would do one thing over and NOT do another thing, both of which I did
over the past 18 months. I had never owned a DSLR before Jan 2013. My thoughts were that super-
zoom bridge cameras were the best thing for me. But they are NOT. Their sensors are TINY. But DSLRs
are expensive. SO I did two things. I bought USED, which I highly recommend doing. The second thing I did
was the WRONG THING. I bought one of the cheapest, oldest Nikon DSLRs I could get, along with a couple
of used lenses. I bought a Nikon D70 and a Nikon D100. Both VERY CAPABLE CAMERAS, despite their age.
But once I started shooting, I realized I like to shoot in the dark, when the city is asleep and there are
fewer parked cars around. These old cameras can kick ass in the daylight, but struggle at night.
(without flash which I rarely use). So if I had to do it again, I would get the camera that best mixed
low price and night vision, so to speak. For me, that puts everything I am selling this month out of
consideration. I need to regularly shoot at 6400 ISO and get something out of it that I can sell. NOT EASY.

But for most people, they can EASILY get by and learn on yesterday's tech.
If I was in the market for
a DSLR today, with no needs to see in the dark, I would probably skip the D100, D70 and D40 and
select from D50 on up through about D7000. It would HAVE to have a built in focus drive motor, so all
cheap Nikons are out, D3000, 3100, 5000, 5200, 5300, D40....

I would feel VERY comfortable with a D50, very comfortable with a D80, extremely comfy with a D90,
and would love to have a D300. If you need Canon advice, I am not the one to ask.

As to lighting, there are cheap studio lights available for $30-$40, or you can just turn on all the lights,
haha. But I am in the TV business, so I always have some lights on hand. What I meant by improve
the light is to use anything BUT the camera's light or flash. If you have to take the lampshade off of
a lamp and put it on a shelf so that it lights directly and also bounces some light off the ceiling or a wall,
all the better. You want soft, reflected light to showcase your cigar subjects best. If you have to use
a camera's flash unit, I find a few sheets of bathroom tissue taped over the flash softens it up enough.

If you want a Nikon, let me know, I have several capable old models wrapped in bubble wrap and
stacked in a closet. I can supply a camera, starter lens, memory card, computer cables,
battery and charger, all for a nice low price. Or you can think about a Canon from someone here, or use
one of the three or four GOOD used camera sites online to select whatever you like.

I LIKE all the recent offerings in mirror-less compact cameras, but I would never personally go that route.
There is something completely perfect about a DSLR, the feeling of shooting, the look of the shots, the range of
lenses available. And even if mirror-less takes over the world, I can still get a much better price on extremely
capable used DSLR gear for a fraction of the cost of a good mirrorless camera.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I agree that when an ocean is involved, compact is better. But I do not have any REAL help in choosing,
other than to say that in REAL compacts, I like Canon. In superzooms, I RUN from Canon. In mirrorless/
ILCs, I like Sony or Fuji. I bought a used Nikon P6000 at Ado one day for $39. GREAT BUY for a slightly
beat up model. Works fine. But SONY is really the king of this segment, IMO. You can get a great compact
from any one of the majors. But they are all chasing Sony.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Thanks Brad....was looking at Sony RX 100 and RX100II....$$$$ though, but might be what I'm looking for

Re: Photography Thread
 

Fantastic. Let me read the book Shade recommended and take a look at some prices, and I'll come back here.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Re: Photography Thread
 

Red winged blackbird:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...psf84dea54.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Female mallard taking a bath and exercising her wings:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...psc0d6a211.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Mute swan teaching the Canada geese who is boss:


http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps6c92b83a.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

GET OUTTA HERE!!!!

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps72160b3f.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Nice wild life pics, Ron.

Re: Photography Thread
 

A young lady sings beautifully in New Orleans

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3668/...5fc99a0a_c.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

Nice shot Brad.

Continuing the NoLa theme..

Wedding party on Bourbon Street

Re: Photography Thread
 

Think that's me ruining your first shot ;s

Re: Photography Thread
 

I like that closeup, shade....

Re: Photography Thread
 

Thanks! I could use a longer telephoto lens, though. I missed quite a few because the 210 mm just wasn't quite long enough to pull in anything but a small image.

Re: Photography Thread
 

hey RON! I have a decent 300mm f/4.5 manual focus Nikkor you can hook up to your D90 with no trouble.
You'll have to focus it, and frankly, you'll have to guess metering and adjust with the LCD, but talk about REACH!
And it is pretty Sharp. I take poopail and you can have it for $120. It has a tripod collar on it and really
works out with the wildlife. Here is a shot at about 90 feet.

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...pscde457a9.jpg

Re: Photography Thread
 

That's really nice.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Sounds tempting, Brad! I'd have to brush up on my manual setting skills for exposure, unless I could still find an old fashioned hand held light meter somewhere. I always set the ISO at a determined number when I shoot rather than auto ISO, so that shouldn't be a problem. I notice that my older 210 mm does tend to always get set for a much too wide F-stop when I use it, so I just use aperture priority and boost the ISO a bit to get decent shutter speeds with low or no noise. Of course, I was looking at a Tamron that can go to 500mm, but for about 500 bucks (I think, I don't recall) that's still a big chunk of change. I'll let you know; I'm headed to GA next week for some much deserved vacation time. Jekyll Island, Savannah, and maybe Charleston if I feel like the 6 plus hour round trip.

Re: Photography Thread
 

I just finished the transition from a PC over to a MacBook Pro. Although I hate everything Apple, I must admit, I'm very much loving this laptop. I recently did a calibration of my Windows laptop, which made a world of difference on the color of my pictures on the screen and probably accounts for the dramatic changes I'd seen when uploaded to a website.....ie...facebook or flickr or my own site. When I calibrated the Mac, there was virtually no difference between the uncalibrated version. I hate to admit it, but I was dead wrong about the Apple products. While I'll never own one of their cell phones, I do respect and admire the laptops they produce. The dead on color of the retina display is truly amazing. Now...for more London photos, sorry but you guys will need to suffer through some more of these. :D

Re: Photography Thread
 

I officially hate Flickr, what am I doing wrong that is preventing me from directly linking to my photos?

Re: Photography Thread
 

I like turtles.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3771/...37931de8_b.jpgDSC_6143_1 by sairtapdlanor, on Flickr

Re: Photography Thread
 

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3834/...04b752c7_b.jpgDSC_6148_1 by sairtapdlanor, on Flickr

Re: Photography Thread
 

OK, here's what you do:

1. Click on the individual pic that you want to post

2. You come to this:
http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL836.../409213456.jpg

Click on the box with the arrow icon

You come to this screen:

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL836.../409213457.jpg


Click on the little thumbtack icon and you get to this:


http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL836.../409213458.jpg


Just cut and paste the link text to the BB.

Re: Photography Thread
 

PM sent.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Thanks guys! I hate when they change stuff. :lr

Re: Photography Thread
 

They changed something over the past month or less, that has me also unable to do it. You are not crazy.
it used to work. When they began the changes, I deleted a long-standing account in protest. But I remembered
about 6 months ago that they don't give a 5hi+, so my protest was useless and I wanted to be on Flickr again.
Then they changed things so completely now that I am back to thinking I am wasting my time at that site.
I doubt 10% of their users like the new look and functionality, but they plow on.

So it's the thumbtack now and not the link. Colonel Mustard, in the Drawing Room with the Thumbtack.

Re: Photography Thread
 

Ron, I just look at manual exposure the way you likely would. I sit down in the chair I use by the window where I shoot
the birds and stuff, I look at the general conditions, set my ISO about where I think it will want to be, then set my aperture
to give me a little room for errors in focusing, then pick a shutter speed and fire off a shot. My mental idea of what it SHOULD
be set up like is usually a half a stop off up or down. I either bump the ISO or see if I have any shutter speed left to bleed off.
It is a LOT more intuitive than you'd imagine. Especially since we are not shooting film. The focus ain't so bad either. The LCD
gets me right where I need to be on the setup.

Have a good time at the beach!

Re: Photography Thread
 

Windor Castle - they don't allow any interior pictures.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2814/...4679fbbc_c.jpg
Windsor Castle by Jeff Carroll01, on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2888/...bf29fd7e_c.jpg
Windsor Castle by Jeff Carroll01, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3682/...98a16840_b.jpg
Windsor Castle by Jeff Carroll01, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7451/...f466c329_b.jpg
Windsor Castle by Jeff Carroll01, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7305/...19f48337_c.jpg
Windsor Castle by Jeff Carroll01, on Flickr

Re: Photography Thread
 

And they really have the coolest phone booths.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7451/...3fac397d_c.jpg
Cool phone booth by Jeff Carroll01, on Flickr


My daughter Taryn and her boyfriend before prom this past Saturday
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/...9db041b0_c.jpg
Prom 2014-2419.jpg by Jeff Carroll01, on Flickr