Photography!

[csmith12]

Good luck man, I hav enjoyed what you have shared so far.

[Apex]

I appreciate it!

[Mountain Dew]

Bought another one...



MUCH lighter than my RZ.

[Apex]

That looks super clean

[Mountain Dew]

It is. The light seals are crumbling, but only affected the focusing screen (pieces got on the mirror and screen); no light leaks. I'll still be replacing it, because I'm tired of cleaning off the mess already.

I'm actually pretty impressed how well it did. Focusing was easy because it's helicoid-style instead of bellows. Focusing wasn't extremely fast, but it's accurate because it has a long throw and fairly even spacing, as well as the WLF and magnifier. It's much lighter than my 6x6 and 6x7s, weighing in at about 2.2 lbs.

Some of the scans are dusty, but only because my flatbed glass was dusty for some reason, and I didn't use dust removal or digital ice.

I was also surprised with the colors from the Kodak Ektar 100. Fantastic for landscapes, but not so much for people. They come out too red. But that's fine, because Portra is for people. I only edited it to replicate the colors, as well as some sharpening and contrast (it loses vibrance, contrast, and saturation when scanning, and I don't like the scanning software's color correction most of the time).

[Apex]

Nice!


Did a walk around the park last week

[Apex]

Some shots from our Sphyx breeder.

The first one is of her cat, the last two are of our kitten that will be ours in a couple of weeks

[LittleRedNinjette]

OMG too cute!!

Beautiful pictures. I've been thinking about getting into photography professionally. Lacking the funds and a good starting point though. But i've always love getting a good shot at auto shows and stuff.

[NevadaWolf]

I love the first picture of the kitten! "Yum, human finger noms."

[Apex]

Originally Posted by LittleRedNinjette

OMG too cute!!

Beautiful pictures. I've been thinking about getting into photography professionally. Lacking the funds and a good starting point though. But i've always love getting a good shot at auto shows and stuff.

It is expensive! However, look around at garage sales! I just snagged a $60 collapsible backdrop that is reversible for $20, and two nice cloth backdrops for $40 (normally go for about 40-50 each).

Also, NETWORKING! Amateurs and professionals alike will offload gear once they upgrade. I just got a new Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 lens (Retails for $+450). A couple of days later I saw a lady offloading a Nikon VR version of the same lens for $350 (retails $550-ish). STEAL!

I didn't return my Tamron because I honestly LOVE Tamron over Nikon lenses. I won't be trading in my Nikon's for Tamron glass, but as I buy new glass, I try to replace my old glass with more higher-end enthusiast level glass, or pro glass.

[Rogue]

Night time freaky art at a downtown Des Moines, IA sculpture park.



One of my furkids.



Black Canyon of the Gunnison (CO)



Box Canyon near Ouray, CO



My favorite photo from the Indianapolis 2013 MotoGP



Another interesting one from the same race.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Originally Posted by Apex

It is expensive! However, look around at garage sales! I just snagged a $60 collapsible backdrop that is reversible for $20, and two nice cloth backdrops for $40 (normally go for about 40-50 each).

Also, NETWORKING! Amateurs and professionals alike will offload gear once they upgrade. I just got a new Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 lens (Retails for $+450). A couple of days later I saw a lady offloading a Nikon VR version of the same lens for $350 (retails $550-ish). STEAL!

I didn't return my Tamron because I honestly LOVE Tamron over Nikon lenses. I won't be trading in my Nikon's for Tamron glass, but as I buy new glass, I try to replace my old glass with more higher-end enthusiast level glass, or pro glass.

Didnt think of looking at yard sales. We have a a lot of good ones around here.
I'll start keeping an eye out.

[Apex]

You can also find some good local garage sales on Facebook. My wife and I are members of 6 or so local groups. That is where I found the deal. Also, you could put up "wanted" ads in the groups (if they allow that).

Also, see if there are any local photo FB groups. Sometimes they will try to ditch older gear via those groups.

[LittleRedNinjette]

^^ I know what im doing this weekend.

[thisisbenji]

Here's a few I'v taken recently.







The last one is with my bargain basement Nikon V1. Not sure why no one liked that camera, I seem to get good results out of it.

[Apex]

I was considering the 1-series Nikon's as my next purchase.

With the lens I'd want to use, plus the V2/V3 body, I'd actually just rather have another DSLR. Sure it would be more compact and light weight, but honestly, I would rather carry around one extra pound (or whatever the weight difference would be), and be able to use a DSLR with tons of controls at my disposal. I was looking at the AW1, but that would be more of a "fun" camera. So I would most likely pass on it.

My old Coolpix S630 is so old I MAY get $80 for it. Those suckers don't hold their value like the DSLR's. I may try to sell it myself to maximize profit.

I also like how some are all on the hybrid wagon right now. I'm not slamming hybrids, but it is all about the "weight savings and compactness" or whatever. Yet if you put a decent piece of glass on that thing, it will be almost as heavy as if you had a DSLR body. I just feel DSLR's are too bloody useful. That is why my next purchase will be a 7100 body or higher so I can dual wield. Once I get two bodies, I can then start photographing weddings.

Those Nikon 1's are nice though, and a great bang for the buck.

[thisisbenji]

Well, with the Nikon 1 system I shoot with this lens

I never use anything else, it makes it quiet a bit more compact than my SLR. Additionally, the V1 and my SLR (D7000) share the same battery. I like to think of my V1 as my fun camera, I take it with when I don't really have any interest in taking good photos but might want to grab some snapshots with more range than my iPhone has to offer. So vacations, mountain biking, hiking, camping, parties, etc.

When I shoot with my SLR I'm a huge fan of primes and have a 28mm f/1.8, 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.8 & a 105mm f/2.8 in my bag. Typically the 85mm doesn't leave the camera, but I have grown rather fond of the 28mm lately. This photo of my bike is with the 28mm.



My next purchase will be a Nikon Df body to compliment my bag of primes

[Brother Michigan]

I can't believe I haven't seen this thread before! My mom has been heavily into photography for quite a while and, while I don't have her talent and my equipment isn't of the highest quality, I have occasionally produced a few good-looking images. Here are a few of my favorites.

Seeing as this is Ninjette.org, I might as well start off with a motorcycle.


From the Keeneland Concours de Elegance (same as above)


A few astronomy images:






And a few I took on Hawai'i when I was there for my last observing run:

[csmith12]

Took this pic last year.

[Apex]

Originally Posted by Brother Michigan

....

Man, that moon shot is killer. Too bad I got out of astronomy (sold ALL my gear) before I got into photography.

I love seeing nebula's and all that great stuff.



I took the shot below while attending a conference for the past two days. Got there yesterday at 1pm and was instantly put to work. This is a volunteer thing that my wife does (awesome to network and great resume stuff). I have been working on the website for the group for the past several months. They have paid me nicely for that. So I came along because they invited me. I was working my butt off yesterday. I was full tilt until 11pm or so. We were all over setting the place up.

Woke up today at 6am and got back to it. Just got home an hour ago. I am exhausted. Between the setting up, breaking down, and doing techie stuff all over, I'm worn out.

I took this early this morning through a seriously dirty hotel window. I tried to work it over to get rid of it, but didn't help much.

On a side note: Apparently they REALLY liked me. I now have leads for future photography gigs for the group. I have been told that I will be the "photographer" for all the future conferences (of this type) until I decide I don't want to do it anymore. Oh, and I will be paid for my services. I also have leads on a few other conferences for another organization. SWEET. The crew I spent time with were awesome.

[Apex]

Have my first maternity shoot scheduled for this weekend. I am not sure about the weather though. Hopefully the rain will be cleared out of the forecast by this weekend.

Currently it says 0%, but that could change at any time. lol

I also hope the client doesn't back out. It has been hard to get in contact with her. Oh well, she hasn't said anything close to cancelling, so I'm holding out on it being all set. I have been practicing some low key lighting today, and plan on doing more tomorrow. I have been watching photography videos like it is going out of style. I am trying to learn more poses/lighting techniques for the studio.

I love learning.

[snot]

My baby.. my favorite pic of her. I took this with my old phone.

[Apex]

I like that a lot! Even with all the grass, I don't find it all that distracting at all. Well done!




Oh, still nothing from my maternity shoot client as of yet. Hmmmm. Weather now says 80% chance. Nice. I can do studio anyway, so no big deal.

On a side note, I snagged a little gig doing sphynx cat photography. It doesn't pay, but we get freebies for our two sphynx cats and I should be getting published soon! The maker of the clothes should be using a few of my photos in the magazine! She will be giving me full credit for the photos. I also provide some shots for her Etsy store. It is good experience, and I really don't mind doing pet photography (especially my own pets).

Here is one image from the shoot I did tonight

[snot]

Thanks, she made a hole in the grass to hide. She waits for the squirrels, but she usually falls asleep instead.
I like the the clothes and the ball is a nice touch.

[Apex]

Typical cat. Plans to hunt, takes a nap instead! lol


Well, I'm doing shots for a sphynx clothing designer. Since the Sphynx don't have fur, clothes are popular, especially during the winter time, to help keep them warm. So I have to try to get a shot that captures not only the cat, but the clothes as well. Need to show how it fits on the cat, and what it looks like.


Pop quiz:
Can anyone figure out what I did to get this shot?

[choneofakind]

I love this thread still. wish I knew heads or tails about pictures.

Benji, whenever you sell your bike, you're going to have the best represented CL listing ever with pictures like that.

[Mountain Dew]

New toy (the lens).

[Apex]

Quite nice. I still would like to get a sub 20mm lens to tinker with.

[Apex]

Our little kitten. She is such a cutie.

[Brother Michigan]

Originally Posted by Apex

Man, that moon shot is killer. Too bad I got out of astronomy (sold ALL my gear) before I got into photography.

I love seeing nebula's and all that great stuff.

Thanks! Unfortunately, that's mostly NOT done with stuff I own. All of the astro stuff was done with a Planewave 20" CDK scope and the M42 and M27 pics were taken on the same scope with an SBIG 6303E CCD. That scope costs nearly three times what I paid for my car.

[Apex]

I've been quiet on here lately. Facebook has taken up some time, as well as some photography sites I frequent. Here are some recent shots of mine:

Taken with my 300mm lens:



These were from this past weekend at The Texas Renaissance Festival. I took these with my 70-300mm lens.

[Mountain Dew]

Oh I shot a few rolls several weeks ago.

This is probably my favorite.

[Apex]

Nice! I really like it!

[alex.s]

i couldn't find the drawing thread but this is close enough to post this:
http://imgur.com/gallery/tfgow

[Mountain Dew]

Interesting.

Developed a few old rolls from like 6 months ago. Portra 400 and Velvia 100, shot with a Mamiya C33.

This is probably my favorite.

[LittleRedNinjette]

thats awesome.

[Apex]

Nice framing!

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Apex

Nice framing!

[Apex]

This was from class last night:




Oh, and her necklace is driving me nuts. I should have caught that last night. Then again, we had several people in class, so I couldn't pay too much attention to her attire.

[Mountain Dew]

Keeping the thread alive. Haven't taken many keepers recently.