kja

Awwww these little tykes are just too super cute!!

OK, composition is "easy" to practice. Not so easy to get right sometimes, but easy to experiment with. Try some/all of these - I'd pick one, practice it for a bit and then add another bit: - always look at your background. If it's cluttered, do NOT pull the trigger but MOVE so that subject is in front of a clear background. Harder than it seems some days LOL - imagine your tic-tac-toe grid (or turn it on if your camera has the feature) and practice putting every subject for a shoot/day/week/month etc on each of the four cross points. This is your rule of thirds. Shoot a lot of frames and make sure to shoot the same subject with the various points - move your camera. This exercise is extremely helpful (imvho) to getting your eye in. - get down on your belly, or up on a chair, and do the above two things again. Changing your perspective now and again is always a good thing and again, doing this with the same subject and applying the other two points will really help you get in the groove of what feels right to you. And then, of course, critique your images - look at what you think works and write down what you think doesn't. Try to redo the frame or at least do something similar and re-critique. When you get a few images that you think are nearly there, how you want them to be, toss them up here for input. Either put your list of "what went right, what went wrong" up with each image or keep it to yourself until you see how others are viewing your images - depends on how you learn which works best (I'm usually the second way, but not always - probably 90%/10%). Being honest and tough (but not too tough, there is no perfection) with yourself is a fabulous learning tool that doesn't cost anything And my take on this one: The OOF of the nose draws the viewer to the very strong eye(s) which are really the core subject of this frame, imo. If the nose was all in focus, too, the impact would be lost (and more of the background/distracting elements would also be in focus and competing for attention).

Loving these shots!! I will eventually fill in all the blanks that I've missed - life is so crazy and I guess I don't have that good of a handle on things LOL Here's one from Monday... 87/365 - roughback ray getting a clean Canon 40D, Sigma 17-70 @33mm, f13, 1/125, Subal housing with big dome port, 2 x Inon strobes

LOL you can see some shot on the day at www.exmouthdive.blogspot.com but unfortunately I don't get to go out every day and haven't been out yet this season! Don't think I got out til like June last year, it's just sad!

1 - identify what you aren't happy with in your photos 2 - identify what you want to see in your photos Without those two key pieces, moving forward is tough as there are too many variables to offer much useful advice. is it composition? is it something technical like bokeh or sharpness or focus or exposure? is it editing?

thanks Yup, the whale sharks are back and have been awesome so far this season!

Fishie

What I'm saying is anything you buy now will last you - unless you really specialize and need a certain something and if that happens you'll know it and it likely won't matter what you already own. 99% of us will never use the full potential of our cameras. I use my 40Ds for everything and they rock. The 60D will "last" just as long

OMG I went diving today for the first time in like forever! Only one image up for your (I hope) enjoyment...more coming as I get time (hey, really, eventually I will have some time!!)

You can't think five years down the track - there will ALWAYS be a better, newer, faster, smoother, blah blah camera no matter what you buy. I'm still shooting 40Ds and I can't really even tell you how many years I've had them, I'd guess at least 4? They do any and all jobs I need them to do. I have no plans to upgrade in the immediate future. Every time a new body comes out, I do have a look-see to see if any of the new features or benefits are worth dropping the cash. So far, not. I think you'll be perfectly happy with the 60D for at least several years and unless you're really going to specialize in something that a higher end body does, save your money right now and put it towards good glass (or a trip so you can just use your camera). There shouldn't be much angst in buying a camera body - find one you like, buy it, start shooting!

83/365 - what am I? For more clues check this out Canon 40D, Canon 60mm macro, ISO200, 1/80, f3.2

God, I'm so glad you guys are posting! I am shooting each day but I haven't had two minutes to do anything since I got back from Bali. I haven't even LOOKED at most of my shots from Bali yet, it's terrible. One day I will get some "free" time again.

My bestie just had her new 60D arrive today. She hasn't played with it yet, but she tossed and turned about the 7D, too, and chose the 60D. I'll let you know what she thinks in a couple of weeks (if you wait that long) as she's taking it on a trip Monday for two weeks and has some opportunities to test it out in a nice variety of conditions.

Cool!!!

+1 for Lightroom I have Photoshop, of course, but it doesn't get much use by me most days.

There are a million different filters Best thing to do is to have a bit of a google and browse through some photography forums. Filters are, imho, an extra and not a must-have for the vast majority of people/photos.

Oh my, that's a bit harsh, isn't it? perth-girl - I'm sorry you got that response. It wasn't very welcoming or professional, imho. I totally understand standard replies, but one really should be a little personable in a standard response, I reckon. Email is becoming more and more the way people communicate and it's skill we probably all need to be working on - writing and reading since there are no voice or facial clues available. You might want to give the breeder the benefit of the doubt and reply like several here have suggested - that yes, you'd be interested in the waitlist and would like to know about the puppies etc. Maybe that will open things up a bit - it certainly could be the way the breeder culls out crappy enquiries. Not everyone has as much grace in communication as we may wish. If they come back with a second email without answering any questions or offering anything, then I'd write them off. I have been lucky to have good responses, some nearly as brief as yours but not nearly as abruptly stated, from breeders in the past when I was looking for Ridgies. I hope you can find a breeder for your chosen breed and that you find the perfect puppy match!

A couple from yesterday morning on my blog - sorry for the link instead of the photo but I'm posting this from work and don't have the photos on the lappie!

Wide, Baby, wide! 10ish is where I'd start.

yes, the 50 1.8 prime is very different to your zoom. One, it's fixed at 50. Two, it opens up to 1.8 for low light shooting and out of focus backgrounds. Sounds like teleconverters, not lenses, to me and if so, they go between your body and the lens. Experiment as some no-name brands will work fine and others won't

Holiday put me behind...again. Eventually I'll catch up...again 78/365: Today's is boring - the super moon: Canon 40D, Canon 100-400L, Kenko 1.4x, ISO800, 1/500, f13 OMG huga is that the new pup? Too freakin' adorable!!

I took a couple of pot shots from my backyard: Canon 40D, Canon 100-400L, Kenko 1.4x, ISO800, 1/500, f13 Bloggy with a NASA link. It's a pretty moon.

Love to hear your thoughts on the focus modes. I'm using the spot mode the majority of the time and dunno but it seems we missed focus a bit, really. Stuff the baby Canon SD1200 simply never misses right out the box. Frustrating. Still haven't looked at everything I shot in Bali but am noticing the same problems over and over so hopefully it's just a setting. Took the dogs to the beach yesterday and had more misses than keepers - even on really easy shots.

Probably missed you already but a UV filter really doesn't do much expect protect your front element. Of course, cheap crappy ones can screw with your image quality, but a good one won't hurt. A polarized filter will have an impact on your images - basically it will help cut some glare, make your skies bluer etc. The downside? They often give you a vignette in the corners and if you don't have it on exactly right will give part of your sky the effect but not the other part which looks dicky. Depends what you want your filter to do as to which one you choose. I don't use filters on any of my lenses day-to-day.

What else do you shoot? For travel, the 24-105 is hard to beat and the 24-70 wouldn't even make my short list