Photography

[JT]

Jabba,
THANKS for that! as a still newbie picshooter that helps alot.. I've been reading,testing and learning, but once again, a picture is better than thousand words :)

[GoldenSpydie]

That's a cool graphic, Jabba.

One other thing to keep in mind regarding depth of field and aperture settings: above about f/11, you will notice a decrease in sharpness caused by diffraction, so try to make f/11 your smallest aperture.

Here's 3 pictures I forgot to upload before. I promise, these are my last pictures, and I'll try not to clutter up this thread anymore. :p

[i am travvy]

Hey golden go ahead and clutter it up! Your pictures are awesome.

What is a good way to start building a porfolio? My goal is to go to local concerts, festivals, events and photograph them. Has anybody here done this?

[Water Bug]

Nice photographs, GoldenSpydie and i am travvy! And, I like that infographic, jabba359!

[awa54]

bokeh, with a vintage 35mm f2.8 (70mm equivalent on micro 4/3)
P7110020 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

ultra-wide accentuates curved lines with perspective
Axinn Center by David Wimmer, on Flickr

vintage telephoto isolates, 400mm equivalent
P5060041 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

patience and the right shutter speed...
not in the face!! by David Wimmer, on Flickr

bokeh portrait
DSC05528 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

tonality that could only come from film (scanned 35mm negative)
img125mdr by David Wimmer, on Flickr

low angle fisheye
Charlie by David Wimmer, on Flickr

composition can make boring things interesting
DSC03928 by David Wimmer, on Flickr

The power of huge negatives (scanned medium formt film, view large!)
img073mdr by David Wimmer, on Flickr

[Water Bug]

Nice photographs, awa54! I do like the creative images that fisheyes lenses offer.

[Skidoosh]

I'd like to hear some takes on going mirrorless. I shoot a DX now and enjoy it but would like to step up to an FX platform in Nikon but don't like the size. I won't make the change for a few years but it looks like mirrorless is making some excellent advances. My hesitation is lenses. Thoughts?

[GoldenSpydie]

I'd like to hear some takes on going mirrorless. I shoot a DX now and enjoy it but would like to step up to an FX platform in Nikon but don't like the size. I won't make the change for a few years but it looks like mirrorless is making some excellent advances. My hesitation is lenses. Thoughts?

I got into Nikon DSLRs about 4 years ago. Now I have a fair amount invested in Nikkor FX lenses, so my next camera body will probably be a D810 or its successor.

However, if I weren't so heavily invested in Nikon lenses, I would probably go with the Sony A7RII mirrorless. The only thing is I'm not sure if Sony makes quite the same lenses as Nikon, especially on the super telephoto end.

[awa54]

I'd like to hear some takes on going mirrorless. I shoot a DX now and enjoy it but would like to step up to an FX platform in Nikon but don't like the size. I won't make the change for a few years but it looks like mirrorless is making some excellent advances. My hesitation is lenses. Thoughts?

I got into Nikon DSLRs about 4 years ago. Now I have a fair amount invested in Nikkor FX lenses, so my next camera body will probably be a D810 or its successor.

However, if I weren't so heavily invested in Nikon lenses, I would probably go with the Sony A7RII mirrorless. The only thing is I'm not sure if Sony makes quite the same lenses as Nikon, especially on the super telephoto end.

I have two main digital platforms, a Sony a700 (yeah, it's antique, but there are a lot of things to like about it still) and an Olympus OM-D EM-5.

There are three big things that bug me about mirorless;

Comparatively low resolution EVFs; even the best electronic viewfinders fall short of a good optical viewfinder in terms of seeing small details like critical focus, I'm not a fan of focus peaking either, so EVFs probably won't really make me happy until they're at least 6MP resolution.

I also dislike the fact that the shutter is open when lenses are being exchanged, which allows dust in to the sensor area.

Which brings me to the shutter mode that's required for continuous live view use, again the default shutter position is open, so when you press the shutter release, the shutter closes, opens to expose the image, closes again, then re-opens to allow live view to resume. Shutters last a long time, but a mirrorless system is going to last half as long, and the process adds a small but sometimes important amount of shutter lag.

There's a lot to like though, my OM-D is tiny, the lenses are tiny, it's easy to bring along the body and a few lenses without a huge camera bag. The ability to mount almost any lens via an adapter is a huge bonus too, you may have to focus manually and remember to stop down for each shot (and re-open the iris afterward), but being able to take advantage of the unique look of great vintage lenses is one of my favorite features.

As noted by GoldenSpydie, the Sony full frame mirrorless bodies are fantastic, the lenses though are a bit quirky and aside from the cost of a complete new system, the lens issue is the second most important thing keeping me from buying in to the a7 series. I have plenty of full frame A mount glass, that can be adapted, but I would also like a full stable of modern glass that fits my aesthetic and so far the FF E mount offerings are not grabbing me.

[i am travvy]

here are a few of the sunset tonight




(this is my favorite one)

[Water Bug]

Nice pictures! The colors and contrast are beautiful, especially in that first image where you captured the sun and its reflection in the water.

Sunset photographs can be quite beautiful. Sometimes you get lucky and get that wonderful shot right off the bat... sometimes you have to plan for it, set up your equipment, and wait for the right moment to trigger the shutter... and, you're also changing up the camera settings and taking shots before and after the moment you were waiting for just to make sure you get that one right picture. And, a good tripod comes in handy for pictures like these.

[i am travvy]

Just going to fan girl a little bit here.... Canon commented on my picture!

[ShaneInDenver]

Here is some of my work. I shoot on a Canon T3i and switch it up from the 18-55mm is, 55-250mm stm, 50mm 1.8, Rokinon 8mm 3.5 and a Rokinon 14mm 2.8. I will also use circular polarized filter, ND filters and UV filter on my 18-55 and 55-250 lenses depending on the conditions I'm shooting in.

Cheeseman Reservoir Stack by ShaneInDenver, on Flickr

IMG_4401 by ShaneInDenver, on Flickr

IMG_2981 (1) by ShaneInDenver, on Flickr

IMG_1549 by ShaneInDenver, on Flickr

IMG_1347 by ShaneInDenver, on Flickr

IMG_3908 by ShaneInDenver, on Flickr

[i am travvy]

The pictures of the stars are amazing!

[ShaneInDenver]

The pictures of the stars are amazing!

Thanks Travvy! If you're interested in taking Milky Way photos I recommend going out during a new moon and study a light pollution map.

Here's a light pollution map:

http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html

Once you've found a nice dark place, your next step is to read up on camera settings, which it sounds like you have a pretty good grasp on already! Checkout this tutorial:

http://www.lonelyspeck.com/how-to-make- ... ay-galaxy/

Here's a great video on editing Milky Way photos:

https://youtu.be/6sBrQ6yAcNI

Once you've gone out and taken some photos you'll probably want to try and reduce the amount of noise in your images. One really neat technique I like is image stacking to reduce the noise in the image.

https://youtu.be/Rydg7JGTAbw

[i am travvy]

awesome thanks for the tips and the links as well!

so my nifty fifty came in today and i must say... i absolutely love it! my photos are still uploading, when they are done ill post them up.

[i am travvy]

IMG_0790 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0791 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0812 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0832 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0833 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0840 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0844 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0851 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0879 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0887 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0905 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0932 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

[awa54]

Man, this thread is showing some great images! Travis, you've got a great eye. Awesome Milky Way and panning shots Shane.

keep 'em coming...

[i am travvy]

i probably post way too much on this thread butttt...... i just really enjoy snapping some good pictures! and it helps me learn by sharing with other people.

these were from my little walk today. i had some furry models running up to me and posing for pictures. (literally, they ran right up to me, let me get about a foot away taking about 20 pictures or so and then would causally walk away lol. it was awesome.) all shot with my new canon 50mm 1.8. im really loving this lens.

IMG_0990 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0981 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0977 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0969 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0964 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0957 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0953 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

IMG_0952 by Travis Raffety, on Flickr

also, never using photobucket again. been using it for years but i had finally had enough of all the bs from that site. few months ago started having problems uploading from my phone, then they put a bunch of ads all over their website. have to exit out of 5 pop ups and wait for 3 or 4 videos to finish before you upload and then they kept failing. switched over to flickr and so far so good. what do yall use to upload?

[awa54]

Flickr all the way for me, Not only is the upload and sorting interface excellent, but as far as I can tell, it's the place on the web with the biggest cross-section of photography and some of the best content as well (user uploaded stuff that is). The fact that the viewing interface encourages you to browse others' photos is one of my favorite features, it really is both fascinating and inspiring to see all the great images other people have made!

It may not be as hip as Instagram, but from what I have seen it's a bit more tilted toward "serious" users... not that you have to be a serious photographer, but people who just slap filters on their pics to be cool annoy me :rolleyes: