Messages

1

Canon General / Re: When out & about, how do y'all respond to gear small talk?

« on: Today at 03:16:24 PM »

People with expensive cars like to take pictures of them, so I get sucked into gear talk all the time in the field.

Haha!  Just last night as I was shooting a bike race, some guy drives thru in a porsche convertible and seeing my white lens (70-200 2.8L) stops and waves his hands and yells (in a friendly tone) "don't you want to take a picture"?  Uh, no, but thanks.  I just smiled, pointed it in his general direction (without even looking thru the viewfinder) and feigned pushing the shutter.  He smiled, waved and drove off.

2

Software & Accessories / Re: Adobe to Stop Making Packaged Software

« on: Today at 02:08:22 PM »

No, I figure if I can't make my images better with what I have now, then I need to become more focused on becoming a better photographer rather than a better PP'er. 

I think there is a lot of wisdom in your words.  It is supposed to be about photography.

I think that is a bit open to debate.  Is a photographer synonymous with "camera operator" or is it the ability to create a final image?   

Personally I kinda suck as a camera operator, but think I do a decent job of ending up with good photographs because I can see the end product and ultimately get there, even if I struggle to do it "in camera".  And yes, I'm talking about stuff that could have been done in a darkroom, so the "that's not photography, that's graphic arts" argument doesn't really apply.

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Software & Accessories / Re: Favorite new feature in LR 4/5

« on: Today at 01:56:01 PM »

Adobe has online videos on how to use new features in both LR4 and LR5.  For LR4, the update to the 2012 process is very important as well as soft proofing, for LR5, the Upright feature and the Radial filter are notable new features.  Photobooks might also be something to consider.
 
You should definitely go to Adobe TV and view the julieann kost videos, some subtle things might be easy to miss, but be important to you.
 
http://blogs.adobe.com/jkost/lightroom-training-videos

Thanks!  Yeah, I generally know of the resources to find what the new tools are, I'm just curious which ones people are using/enjoying the most. 

4

Software & Accessories / Favorite new feature in LR 4/5

« on: Today at 12:36:16 PM »

So I just upgraded from Lightroom 3 to 5 last night, and although I was mostly too busy sorting thru my photos and doing basic crop/exposure corrections, I did stumble across the radial filter which helped me produce the image below in just a few seconds.

But it got me thinking--what are people's favorite "new" features in 4 and/or 5 ("new" is in parentheses because LR 4 obviously isn't new, but it's features would be new to me.    )

5

Reviews / Re: Incapable of posting to the adorama thread money still not returned

« on: June 11, 2013, 02:14:20 PM »

Your very basic take-away from this should be nothing other than "Don't use wire transfers."

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 720P or 1080p? which gives better resolution output?

« on: June 11, 2013, 11:31:00 AM »

1080p/30 gives higher static resolution but lower temporal resolution. At certain rates of camera or subject motion, the effective resolution of 1080p/30 will drop below 720p/60.

Is this due to rolling shutter, or something else?

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 60D over exposed in sunlight - how do I control?

« on: June 08, 2013, 08:26:47 PM »

Turn down the light intensity. Do you have a dimmer?

how do i turn down?
what control?

i couldn't dim the sun - it's powers where too great for me. (joke)
i take it u r talking about something else
let me know what it is

still a relative complete newbie - so ur advice is greatly appreciated

thanks

"Dim the sun" = use a neutral density filter.  If you're already at 100 ISO and like your other settings, that's your easiest option that I know of.  Moving to (or creating) shade, or shooting when there is less sun are other options, but it sounds like that's not what you're looking for.

8

Lenses / Re: LensRentals.com Tests the EF 200-400 f/4L IS 1.4x

« on: June 06, 2013, 05:21:27 PM »

Me want!  I can just sell my car and just bike to work, right?  (And take the kids to soccer practice, and get groceries, and......aw dang.)

9

Canon General / Re: Newspaper Dumps Photographers, Wants Video

« on: June 05, 2013, 05:14:58 PM »

My expectation is that the measurement for success at news sites is nowadays how long a consumer actually stays on the site, instead of the quality of reporting and associated images.

No, the measurement for success is profit.

One possible way to make money is to imitate TV, with articles being shot in video and accompanied by ads breaks. For this to work, video would have to be good enough for people to watch till the ad break, stay for the ad, then come for more. That would require, of course, people who can shoot good video.

Actually Ellen is correct, but only because you are also correct.  The longer a person stays on a page, the more ads rotate thru, thus profit is increased by time spent on a page.  And unlike TV, the ads don't have to wait for a break--they are in the header and side margins.  But as others have pointed out videos take longer to consume than an article, thus more video=longer page view=more ads=more profit=more sucky user experience.   

10

Canon General / Re: Newspaper Dumps Photographers, Wants Video

« on: June 04, 2013, 02:54:29 PM »

If a reporter turned up to my door for an interview with an iPhone I'd think that he was not taking me seriously and was mocking me.

Can you imagine the reaction some serious political figure or a scientist or whatever would have when the reporter whips out his phone or whatever and snaps a quickie?

Obviously you haven't seen Ironman 3 yet.   

Yes, the quality of so much continues to deteriorate, from mp3s to iphone photos.  And even online news sites seem more and more intent on pushing some iphone video instead of actually writing a news article.  Personally, I hate having to get my news from vide.  Rarely am I looking for an online crappy video--I want an article and a relevant photo.  But I guess I'm part of a dying breed...   

11

Animal Kingdom / Re: Wrong Photography Ethics?

« on: June 03, 2013, 11:28:42 AM »

From the cartoon strip "Calvin and Hobbes".... it seems relevant to the discussion

Awesome--thanks for sharing!

12

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS 70D Coming in July? [CR2]

« on: May 22, 2013, 07:52:56 PM »

Of course any wedding photographer worth paying would simply use the stepstool that they brought for such purposes.  ;-)

Now there's an idea! I'm pretty sure I've got a step stool sized space in my camera bag. Brilliant! 

If you're shooting a wedding out of your camera bag, more power to ya! 

I didn't mean to say the flip screen wasn't useful (personally I'm in favor of them), just that in that one instance there are other options. 

13

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS 70D Coming in July? [CR2]

« on: May 22, 2013, 03:11:09 PM »

Reminds me of the photographer at my cousin's wedding. For the big group-shot of all the family and extended family, she kept lifting her camera over her head, taking her best guess at aim, then bringing it down to see if it was okay. She did this 8-10 times until she was satisfied.

My brother, on the other hand, flipped the swivel screen out on his T3i and took two (great) pictures.

Of course any wedding photographer worth paying would simply use the stepstool that they brought for such purposes.  ;-)

14

Canon General / Re: Seeking advice for corporate sporting event gear

« on: May 21, 2013, 11:24:21 AM »

• Cycling with high shutter speed
• Cycling with slow shutter speed and pan
• Runner (with feet!) airborne
• Freezing motion in a poorly lit environment

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Canon General / Re: Seeking advice for corporate sporting event gear

« on: May 21, 2013, 11:21:39 AM »

Think about having a couple of really strong images of each event.  Get the winners on the podium.

Winners on the podium--often easier said than done.  Many (if not most) of the events I've done just kinda hand out awards and call it good without really setting up a shot.  Step up and take charge and get the people to pause and pose for a photo.  Move them around if need be (all step up on the top podium for a nice close up).  If you just wait for it to happen....well, it won't.  ;-)

A few sport specific thoughts-- in cycling a good slow shutter panning shot is often one of the most expressive, but you'll get a lot more misses than hits.  If it's just "get a shot", crank 'er up and freeze the action.  But if you have multiple chances and can afford the misses, go for a panning shot.

Don't crop runners at the knees or ankles--runners love to be able to see their feet, especially if you can catch them airborne.

Photographing swimming sucks--good luck.  If you have limited time, try to catch the butterfly event(s) as those are some of the most dramatic shots.

You mentioned wanting to outdo the cell phone pics--one of the easiest way (IMHO) to do that is simply get the shots that they can't, which means more challenging situations such as freezing motion in a poorly lit venue.

I'll post a few samples below (not necessarily my best, just what I could dig up while here at the office)...