kja

tlc - your beach is beautiful

Zack Arias knows how to see. He's doing a 365 Project and has a new blog dedicated to it -> DedPxl January 17th shows how the most hohum, no photo opportunity time & place can yield magic if only we'll allow ourselves to try. I hope it inspires someone else. I know it gave me a little kick in the pants.

Silly is a good thing - we all need more silliness in our lives! Can't wait to see it

that's part of the challenge...seeing things. Last January I shot my laundry

LOL SBT we don't even have a single neon sign!

Bec - shot of your dogs & OH at the cafe is super!! Kirislin - love the sunflower

Hmm, mine are on the left. No idea why they are on the right, but as long as they are there! So glad you found them - now back up that folder on an external drive!!

thanks, bec SBT - lives don't get more boring than mine LOL Day 18 - early morning leaving the beach. Canon 1DIII, Canon 135L 2.0, ISO 200, 1/500, f2.5

2/52 - Dora coz I haven't gotten around to processing Tilly's LOL hmm, this web version could have used flickr's excessive sharpening looks like. oh well, too hot & lazy to redo it so please to use imagination that it's sharp

Congrats!! It's a cute shot!

TN - loving your self portrait series! wolfsong - nice droplet & leaf fluffy - that is a great moment! huga - that chair is really cool. and you guys are super cute! JS - love the ferris wheel at night. weibritty - such soft black & whites, nice! poomother - BUBBLES! I have no idea where I'm meant to be up to. I've been shooting every day but haven't gotten around to uploading stuff (or downloading from the camera even) in order, so here's the past two days. FWIW my January challenge topic is simply "daily snippet" - pretty much anything goes and I'm just trying to grab a moment from each day. Day 16 - yesterday evening I went outside to put stuff in the bin and there was this really bizarre orange haze to the southwest. I went in to get a camera and when I came out this is what it looked like. Canon SD1200 IS (IXUS 95?), edit in Lightroom blacks +11 & clarity + 15 Day 17 - this little guy is hanging out in the dive shop with me. They scare me coz I'm afraid they'll jump at/on me! Canon 1DIII, Canon 135L f2.0, ISO 1600, 1/125, f2.2, edit in Lightroom crop, white balance, blacks & clarity

OMG she's AWESOME!!! Happy Happy - love it!

Let's find the files before we start ripping its guts out - this should be a pretty easy fix :D

You'll have heaps of fun with the new toys :D

The easiest way to find things is to do a search on your hard drives for the file extensions. That will show you where they are and then you can copy them to another folder. It would be very weird if LR deleted them when you didn't tell it to. They are probably there somewhere, just have to find them :D

FWIW I'm a weakling and I don't use a monopod, though Hubster did buy me one I've never used it. The 17-85 is a fine lens to start out with. I would highly recommend that you use it for a while and really play with it to see what it can and can't do for you. THEN start thinking about what you are not getting from it and what goals you have THEN start shopping. Personally, I have to say skip the videos. Just pick up your camera and start shooting. Get off the green box or P mode. You can either ease yourself off of it by using Tv (shutter priority) or Av (aperture priority) or go whole hog and go to M (manual) which isn't that scary. Here's a quickie to get you started: Tv - use me when you know you'll have a fast subject and need to freeze the action. Set the shutter speed and the camera will choose the aperture that is suitable to give you a good exposure in a general scene. If the camera cannot select an aperture for you, you need to bump up your ISO or decrease your shutter speed slightly. Av - use me when you want to control your depth of field. Set the aperture and the camera will choose the shutter speed that will give you a good exposure across the scene. This mode is often used when the light will be changing but you know you want to keep your depth of field the same - think shooting inside your house, going outside onto your patio, then out into the sunny yard and then into the shade. That path will need a changing shutter speed each time and letting the camera do it can work well. M - use me when you want to control what you are capturing. Have a play to see what the different combinations do in different circumstances. M is also invaluable when you have a tough scene that is very bright with a little dark or very dark with a little bright. You will also benefit from learning how to change from Evaluative (which is usually what your camera is on and simply means it takes the whole scene into account) to Spot (you point the camera where you want it to concentrate on) metering. It sounds overwhelming but most people pick it up pretty quickly. And once you get a "feel" for what works in the conditions you shoot, you get quicker at changing your settings in camera as you just "know" where to start. But the key is to shoot until your fingers bleed :D

Don't panic. Lightroom stores them in a weird place, most likely not on your desktop. Here's where mine are and it may help you - or search for the extension .lrtemplate or even just .lr Computer -> your name -> app data -> Adobe -> Lightroom -> Develop presets ... this is on Vista, but it's pretty much in the same place on XP, too. Please Everyone - make a backup of your presets in Lightroom and your actions in Photoshop!!!

Great stuff, Everyone! I'm shooting but not getting to the next part lately. By the time I'm done with work I just flop on the couch LOL

LOL go look at the archives on POTN. It's sharp, reasonably fast and versatile. It also has a lovely reach (400) and I like the range (100-400). Here's one day out I had with it just for fun. And although I love to help people spend money, sometimes it's better to slow down, figure out what you really want and then fill that gap. If you aren't sure what a lens (or other bit) does you need to at least have a look-see around to see if you have a "ah-ha" moment when you stumble across something or perhaps you don't really need it. Most folks look for new lenses because something is missing for them - reach, wide, speed, low light shooting, better backgrounds (the ever over-used "bokeh" word) are some of the common things and each one of those has different lenses as the solution. Once you start shopping, it's a slippery slope and you can end up with a TON of stuff...my own office is overflowing. I tried to narrow my own gear list down last month, but when I sat down and objectively went through my lenses & what I use them for there was only one lens that never gets used (and that I should sell coz it's a great lens) and one other that only gets used on the very odd occasion - but it feels like I have too much stuff!

The 100-400 ROCKS

Both cameras are very very good. I don't much like dpreview user forums but their own reviews are very good usually, so be sure to check them out. POTN has a camera body section (and a lens section and an everything else section and a whole heap more). It's a great resource with a lot of different type of users. As with anything, take everything with a grain of salt - advice on the internet is worth what you paid for it, so use your own brain, too IMHO you can't go wrong with either body at all. Want to shoot video - go 7D. Don't care about video, want to get a great body at a very good price - go 40D. I won't be getting rid of my 40Ds in the near future. I had a quick squiz on POTN for 7D vs 40D threads and didn't see any specifically in the first three pages, but there are bound to be some. And there are tons of threads about the 7D and about the 40D. There are some threads about the 7D vs 50D. The 50D did not appeal to me as I already had the 40D and the 40D fits my needs more snugly than the 50D so there was no reason to switch over. Both the 50D and the 40D are very very good cameras. If I didn't have anything at all, I'd still probably buy the 40D now as I have no need for or interest in the video and the 40D is a heck of a lot of camera at an awesome price point (which means more money for lenses!) Whichever body you choose will serve you well - there are no duds in the recent releases.

Actually, it can be a bad thing to have a filter on - some filters will reduce image quality, though you may not really notice. Some filters can also increase the chance of flare and other things. If you are going to do it, buy good ones. I shoot outdoors, on the beach, in the wind, laying in the dirt and other lens dangerous conditions all the time and I've not had an issue. I have no plans to add filters to any of my lenses. No, all hoods, like all filters, do not fit every lens. You need to get the right hood for the particular lens. A search at B&H for your lens will pop up the accessories menu next to it and it will list the hood you need.

I personally don't use protective UV filters. Some people swear by them. Circular polarizers can be useful - it's worth having a look around and learning what they do. I have one, have used it about four times and lug it around but never put it on Hoods offer protection for the front element of the glass. They also help reduce flare so can be very useful outside especially. I use hoods sometimes. The lenses that have hoods (of mine) I usually carry the hood around attached backwards so it's always there if I need it. I have several lenses that see a lot of work that I don't even own hoods for. Again, some people won't go out without a hood. Me, I'm pretty happy even if I don't have one. Extenders - if you don't know what they are or how they work, then you don't need one yet

Day 14 - these guys are so frickin' obnoxious every day. Canon 1DIII, Canon 135L 2.0, ISO 200, 1/200, f8

Very well could be my quickie edit, too. I like to take the contrast a little hard for show and tell - it's why I say season to taste Here's contrast pulled back to +30 and to 0 Some people like more, some like less. Experiment and see what works for you. I find that consumer labs need the contrast a little more than looks "right" or they print a little flat sometimes. Did this on the lappie and it's calibrated but quirky LOL