(NGC) - Hate it when I blow a possibly great photo

[Gliderjohn]

Caught these two Great White Egrets taking off back to back but blurred it.



GliderJohn

[oldbike54]

 Still an amazing photo 

 Dusty

[fotoguzzi]

just call it Art and your all good!

bonus points if you can ID this sculpture,

[Muzz]

Looks as though you were using a fairly long zoom John. Sometimes hard to get a good clear action shot, especially if the anti-shake system on the camera is not the best.

[Groover]

Still a great photo. Captures the moment perfectly.

[yogidozer]

You were lucky to get a picture that came out as good as that!
I missed an owl attacking a Great Blue Heron...and winning!
A Mountain Lion in Ct. and an otter trying to get in my kayak, when I had 2 of my dogs with me.
I was kinda busy trying to back paddle, and swiping him off my kayak.
I did catch these two Superdogs, defying gravity 

[Guzzistajohn]

I LOVE taking bird pics. Here's a couple of mine




image hosting sites

[oldbike54]

  Great stuff guys 

 Dusty

[Gliderjohn]

From Guzzistajohn:

I LOVE taking bird pics.

It can be quite habit forming. Here are a couple of more.






online uploader

GliderJohn

[rdbandkab]

I like this out of focus shot.

[Gliderjohn]

I like it!
GliderJohn

[Yukonica]

You know you opened a whole lotta potential for this thread to runaway. There're numerous photo geeks among us. I'm one.
I can't say what my failure ratio is, but it is high ... very high. I don't have access to most of my images at the moment due to Apple equipment failure and an unwillingness to jump back into that pool. Kind of like this puppy; once was enough.

[yogidozer]

You know you opened a whole lotta potential for this thread to runaway. There're numerous photo geeks among us. I'm one.
I can't say what my failure ratio is, but it is high ... very high. I don't have access to most of my images at the moment due to Apple equipment failure and an unwillingness to jump back into that pool. Kind of like this puppy; once was enough.

Cool, a pocket-puppy 

[Yukonica]

Cool, a pocket-puppy 

  for the three months. After that you'd better have pockets like a marsupial; adults weigh 80 - 130 pounds.
But they manage to keep the cuteness.

[yogidozer]

for the three months. After that you'd better have pockets like a marsupial; adults weigh 80 - 130 pounds.
But they manage to keep the cuteness.

believe me, they'll always be your pup 

[lti_57]

just call it Art and your all good!

bonus points if you can ID this sculpture,

I am thinking Seattle

[fotoguzzi]

I am thinking Seattle

SCORE! you are right it was called the Jimmi Hendrix Experience when I was there.. now called the Experience Music museum?
most awesome sculpture I've ever seen, maybe my favorite piece of Art anywhere.. It can play music! many of the instruments have servo's, gizmos and picks etc, If i remember right it can play ANY MUSIC not just some loop.
'

[fotoguzzi]

back to out of focus pics



crossing the USA by tractor with two dogs.. Hot Springs SD.

[Gliderjohn]

This is my favorite "screwed it up shot".



GliderJohn

[rodekyll]

There's arguably more wrong ways than right ways to take a picture, and sometimes darkroom tricks to either 'fix' the mistake or make it into a feature.  I was in Dawson City. YT one time for a rally.  I was real impressed by the woman who rode her Vespa up from someplace near Montana.  I went for a pic of the bike, but the light was wrong where she'd parked it, and other bikes were cluttering up the shot.

Here's what I got.  The Vespa was surrounded pretty tightly by other bikes, so there was no avoiding them.  The sun was at a fair angle, but the glare off the wall was intense.  Nothing but a tight, cluttered shot was possible.





Here's how I fixed it.  Now instead of a cluttered-up, poorly lit record of a Vespa, it's a single frame of a dream sequence in which the Vespa fantasizes that it's an ADV bike.

[Guzzistajohn]

There's arguably more wrong ways than right ways to take a picture, and sometimes darkroom tricks to either 'fix' the mistake or make it into a feature.  I was in Dawson City. YT one time for a rally.  I was real impressed by the woman who rode her Vespa up from someplace near Montana.  I went for a pic of the bike, but the light was wrong where she'd parked it, and other bikes were cluttering up the shot.

Here's what I got.  The Vespa was surrounded pretty tightly by other bikes, so there was no avoiding them.  The sun was at a fair angle, but the glare off the wall was intense.  Nothing but a tight, cluttered shot was possible.





Here's how I fixed it.  Now instead of a cluttered-up, poorly lit record of a Vespa, it's a single frame of a dream sequence in which the Vespa fantasizes that it's an ADV bike.

I wish I had 1/2 of your photography skills David

[Gliderjohn]

From Guzzistajohn:

I wish I had 1/2 of your photography skills David

I would be glad to settle for a 1/4. 
GliderJohn

[twowings]

Love the shot, gliderjohn...two words: motor drive!! 

[Gliderjohn]

From twowings:

Love the shot, gliderjohn...two words: motor drive!!

Oh man! You want me to spend money? 
GliderJohn
PS: Ya, that would help.

[Gliderjohn]

Where, when and how do you jump in? All the pictures I have posted have been produced by equipment I have a total of about $800 in (new price in 2015). I just enjoy doing it and live in a great environment for attracting wildlife.
At this time the things I think I need to invest more bucks in are better quality lens, motor drive, quality tripod and a remote shutter switch. Other suggestions welcome. Only looking at staying amateur for fun.
GliderJohn

[twowings]

this may no longer be valid but try shopping the big online camera shops in NYC...deals are there to be had...

[rodekyll]

What's this "motor drive" of which you speak?  What is it driving?

The place to put money is in the glass.  Decide what lens mount has the choices you want and buy an entry-level (or as far up the ladder as you can afford) DSLR.  Add excellent glass.  Then as long as you keep the same mount, you can upgrade the body as prices come down and you discover the features you need.  Personally I'd get "FX" (true 35mm-format) lenses v "DX (APS-sized) format lenses.  That way if you move from the smaller APS (DX) "entry level" bodies to the FX (true 35mm) offerings you don't have to change glass.  Also, FX lenses are generally considered more "professional" optical grade and have wider F-stops (are faster in low light or action situations) than cheapies.

I'm shooting a DX-sized Nikon DSLR with FX lenses.  I can fit any Nikon F mount lens (a good thing since I've got a rollaround full of them) directly to it, and with an adapter I made, I can mount it behind my view cameras and shoot 100-y-o lenses digitally.  I've got a 40-inch (1000mm) F8 barrel lens that's a lot of fun.  I hate the APS format because of the crop factor and other drawbacks of the smaller frame size.  But I can get into a quality-featured APS body for half or less of its full-framed kin.

I have a "sacrificial" cheap zoom lens for travel shots when I can't guarantee the safety of my gear.  My others are true Nikon/nikkor or pro-quality Tokina and Sigma.  My travel kit has three lenses going from 11mm to 400mm with some overlap.  This allows me to go from crowded museaum close-ups to distant wildlife shots and all the detail and panorama in between.  Two of the lenses are carryovers from my 35mm film days, so the net investment in glass wasn't much.  YMMV.

For my accessory money, a sturdy tripod (no a consumer Velbon isn't "sturdy") and a remote trigger are the biggest values and most required.  I bought up a bunch of SLIK U-212/212 deluxe tripods when a camera store closed.  I've beat a couple of them to death over the years, but I had to work at it.  They're small enugh to pack, big enough to stay up in a wind while hosting a heavy lens, and strong enough to hang sandbags onto when the wind gets really bad.  If you can find one, buy it. 

Remember that cameras are among the highest counterfeited/gray market imported/scammed things on the internet.  If you buy from the net, be sure of the seller and the product!  Those new york and new jersey "bargain" sellers and websites are among the worst, and they often make themselves unavailable after the sale.  Places like Adorama sometimes have sketchy "deals" too.  They're sort of the JC Whitney of camera stuff.  B&H is probably the bellwether of mail-order.  They have high prices, but you know for sure that you're buying legitimate, new stock.

My complete travel kit:

Nikon D7000 body
2x rechargeable batteries
2x charger
AA battery holder with vertical button
wireless remote trigger
2x memory cards
Panasonic Toughbook for dealing with the memory chips and photos while en-route.
Slik U-212 Deluxe (a little taller and better camera platform than the standard U-212)
tripod mount adapter for camera bottom
11-18 2.8 wide zoom (northern lights and landscapes/crowds/close-up)
18- 140 3.5 Nikon (my general purpose lens)
200 - 400 5.6 Tamron (very seldom used)
28-200 4.5  (junk, sacrificial lens that covers the mid-tele gap in the others)
extra body cap, lens back caps
various cleaners, rain protection and cloths
Fuji Finepix for a backup camera, when I can fit it into the kit.

When I can outfit for a particular shoot from my grand stash I substitute lenses and tripods as needed.

[ITSec]

I'm gonna go a bit weird - while I've done lots of traditional stuff, I have (over the years) become increasingly involved in a different kind of photography. I'm going to be involved in an event (including a competition) on Roatan in June. Here's a few shots from my last trip to Bonaire.

[Yukonica]

Where, when and how do you jump in? All the pictures I have posted have been produced by equipment I have a total of about $800 in (new price in 2015). I just enjoy doing it and live in a great environment for attracting wildlife.
At this time the things I think I need to invest more bucks in are better quality lens, motor drive, quality tripod and a remote shutter switch. Other suggestions welcome. Only looking at staying amateur for fun.
GliderJohn

This is like an oil thread for imagers... Similar to Rodekyll I have an extensive collection of kit (Canon by choice). Glass is expensive so choose wisely. My favourite lens is a 70-200mm. It is the bottom-end F4 without stabilization and  still cost about $700. I'll be springing for the F2.8 stabilized version at some point when I have no further use for money. If you aren't planning to print 'big' posters the option is open between crop and full frame bodies. If you are mostly wildlife oriented a crop camera 'let's you get in closer' using a shorter lens. It's an optical illusion but useful to know. The biggest advantage of a crop is the firing rate. My full frame has a burst of about 5 frames per second. My crop camera is easily double that. A big advantage when trying to capture birds lifting off. Think about what subject matter you have photographed in the past and will likely photograph more often then re-ask the equipment question.  For a lark, go to B&H to look up: Canon 1d Mkii camera body, a 500mm Mkii lens, a Gitzo tripod, a Jobu heavy duty gimbal head Mk4. That would be a really nice birding kit (circa $20K). Don't tell your partner you've ordered it.

[rodekyll]

My only problems with canon are that they are more expensive than their counterparts and they've been fickle with their lens mounts over the years.  Pentax and Nikon have kept their "bayonet mount" consistent since they went to the PK and F-mount (respectively) in the early 60s.  I can use any Nikon lens on any Nikon body made from about '64 forward.  Canon has had a number of design changes, many of them backwards incompatible.  That means that as you upgrade a canon body you have to also upgrade your lenses.  Since that's the direction everyone else is going, your old lenses have a limited resale market.

Here's another bird pic for the thread.  It's awful as far as lighting and blur, but I was taking pics of the ducks when the eagle flew through the frame in full-on attack mode.  I had the camera set for slow action and on a tripod with a telephoto lens -- all the wrong stuff dor the job.  But like they say, the best camera for the job is the one in your hand when the opportunity presents itself:






Sometimes opportunity doesn't knock, it spouts.  I was going for the bike when I suddenly had to change focus.  It's my favorite out of focus guzzi pic.








When I have the time to gear up properly, I can do better: