kja

All my lenses come from the US as at the times I've wanted to buy the Australian prices compared to the US prices were totally ridiculous. Shop around and double check as things may be closer right now thanks the strength of the dollar (which is falling again, I see). FWIW Canon lenses are under international warranty, if you care about such things. www.bhphoto.com -> can't go wrong with them. not always the cheapest though. www.adorama.com -> sometimes have very nice prices & always seem to have a lot of stock www.sigma4less.com (also does Canon & Nikon lenses) -> all my lenses have come quickly & been perfect. Great prices. www.canogacamera.com -> can have some good deals www.calumetphoto.com/ -> can have some good deals My absolute favourite to deal with -> Allen's Camera These guys are soooo good. Sometimes not always the cheapest so I tend to use them when I have questions because I'm happy to pay a little more for customer service.

I've commented on both of yours. I was able to post as my google ID for nik's

In the weeds at Kristin Anderson Photography blog And I've been prolific this February so far with my Daily KJA shots and random posts (including finally Ushuaia from last year LOL) -> Kristin's News

Serena - What an amazing tribute to your beautiful Roc. He's missed by us all. Through your photography we all felt like he was an active part of our lives. My love you.

OUCH! that hurt

Thanks Hoped at least some "got it" :D Great photos for this challenge, Everyone!

huga - yeah, he always looks like that LOL maybe he's always pissy hehee nik - winner = dog with ball & drool!

#19 Measure. My neighbor's cat thinking hard about his options. Canon 40D, Canon 100-400L IS @ 400mm, ISO 1600, 1/200, f5.6

Cloning in LR is still medieval - go to Photoshop or another program for all but the least detailed cloning needs. Split toning is awesome. It's pretty easy to start playing with: move the saturation sliders for both highlight and shadows up a bit so you can easily see the effects each colour has. Then start moving the colour sliders. It does take an enormous amount of time to find something that is just right so don't forget to save stuff that is "close" as a preset so you can come back and tweak it or simply use it as a starting point on the next image. You may find you have a lot of presets at first but as you develop your sense of style and taste you'll dump some of them. It's a learning curve for sure. And not every image takes split toning well, so it's important to just play and have fun with it so you can get a feel for things. Don't forget that split toning works on colour images and on black/whites :D It's a bit addictive, just like any new discovery - have fun!

Good start! Don't sell the lowly kit lens short, just check out what it can do! 18-55: Proud to be a kit lens!

Sounds like a great idea to me. I think it's a solid way to go. And Kindles rock

PM sent

anniek - hehehehe

BTW - shouldn't #18 wait/weight be one or the other? I kinda get the point of having both spellings, but...if you're going that road shouldn't be #8 be heel or heal? Doesn't really matter, but I'd rather see just one word and then everyone's interpretation of that single word myself.

Great start Kate & huga!

I have one of these that is cracker sharp and I never ever use it. If you're interested.

Sigma 17-70

How much zoom range do you want? Do you want an "all in one" zoom? Do you want something nice and long for things far away? Do you want something wide so you have to get up close? Do you want just a walk-around that has can do reasonable macro, portraits, a bit of "landscape" type stuff? What? You guys gotta give us some help here I love to spend your money!

Yes, as long as the total of your order is under $1000 you are good to go. To pick your first lens, what are the first things, off the top of your head, that you really really want to shoot. The first TWO things only now...

Yes, Dick Smith will have them as will Target, Kmart, any computer or electronics or camera store etc. Some card readers have slots for a variety of cards: SD, CF, XD and so on. You need to make sure the one you are looking at support your card which I *think* is the SD?

I've never noticed a quality difference in my Canon lenses (and I have a few LOL). On the other hand, I've never bothered to look at where they were manufactured.

+1 for the card reader. I don't think I've installed any of the software that comes with any of my cameras Oh, and my card reader went walkabout the other day and I had no choice but to connect my camera to the computer. I was also connected to the web and it automatically found what it needed in a few seconds and I was able to download from the camera to the card. I'd say skip loading the software unless it's something you actually need. Otherwise it just bogs down the hard drive and processors with crap you'll never use.

Pretty much any photo on the web can look fabulous so you likely won't be able to tell anyway. Leica is awesome stuff and those who use it can be nice & snobby about their superiority but in real life those I've met who are Leica fans are just like regular folk (who are convinced nothing can touch their chosen tool LOL).

Ash - yoga is very good for this

Day 31 - read the story here Canon 1DIII, Canon 24L MkII 1.4 @ ISO400, 1/60, f2.5