tdierikx

It IS a nice lens... and I'm sure that once I get the mechanical stuff under control, I'll get very nice results with it. I must say that it does focus in pretty darned quickly when panning and zooming to catch birds flying about - it's more about learning the actual reach and zoom movement to catch them more often that needs the practice methinks. The added bonus is using it on a 60D means that I'm actually getting more distance out of it due to the cropped sensor... *grin* Maximum effective zoom becomes equivalent to 640mm... I am so looking forward to getting a nice tight facial shot of a tiger - like the lucky ones I've had of the lions in the past (lions appear to be way more lazy and will sit near the glass and stare at you for ages). Minimum focusing distance on this lens is 1.8m too, so I can be further back and still get the shots I want. Looking forward to getting closer shots of the chimps and gorillas too - especially the ones that stay their distance with their little ones. I might even be convinced to shoot in RAW with this lens... *grin*... but I'll need a bigger memory card first, as I have a nasty habit of taking LOTS of photos. T.

Gorgeous pics from yesterday... and you've proven that you can get lovely results from the camera... *grin* Snook's notes really do explain a lot of things about how to get your camera to work for you - and she's written them in a way that most laymen can understand. You should be producing awesome indoor shots in no time... T.

They are coming along really well... and look way too cute for boots! T.

I hope you at least called a vet last night... what you have there is NOT normal, even after surgery for a retained testicle. There is way too much bleeding from both sites for my liking. At the very least I'd be at the vet's door this morning as they open. T.

IS and AF on - no editing apart from resizing for posting online. I'm still very much a beginner... *grin* Seriously - I leave all the manual stuff well alone - just point, focus, and click... on one of the presets (Sports is my fave setting). I figure that if I've spent that much on camera gear, it can bloody well do all the hard work for me... lol! T.

All handheld Roova... and it's a big heavy lens with a slide in-out zoom system. They may be my first photos with this particular lens, but I have had lots of practice with my older and smaller lenses. It's going to take me some time to get a proper hold on the zoom on this one while panning around methinks, but I'm pretty happy with my first foray... *grin* Please also note that I took a lot of really crappy blurry photos today too - but funnily enough, I only posted the really nice ones... lol! For each focused flying shot, I got about 10 more that were completely off. I did manage to get a swallow diving into the water and a couple of him flying - all in reasonable focus, but the framing of the shots was sub-par, so I haven't shared them. This weekend is going to be fine apparently, so I'm off to the Zoo, and maybe even go to Manly and try to get collision pics of the seagulls... they are funny as! T.

I changed the link settings on Photobucket to only post the IMG - no linkbacks... Went to Update Link Options (on the right), then unselected everything except the "IMG code" one. T.

Don't cry Kirislin - you still get MUCH better photos than I do... *grin* T.

We used to get $20 for "top and tail" (ears and tail basically) of foxes and dingoes when I was a kid in the country... no way one can mistake either for a domestic pet. T.

Oh - no cropping on any of the photos - that's what I actually got. T.

Ummm... you would REALLY like it Kirislin... it takes nice pics... *grin* I'm definitely going to need some more practice with tracking and keeping/getting focus, but I think I got a few nice pics at the pond this afternoon... Check these out... ... and this one's my fave - at 400mm no less! I think the Zoo is going to be tres fun with this lens... *grin* T.

Snook's notes are brilliant! I urge you to take up the offer... T.

I think I might just toddle off to the pond in the park up the road - and see if I can get any decent bird shots... T.

At 400mm... Handheld no less... and a bit of shake because I'm such a noob... lol! T.

Feck it's BIG! And it zooms differently to the twist style I'm used to... Here's just a sample of the 2 mins I dared to take it outside... At 100mm.. Images a bit big... next post for the 400mm...

Kirislin, if you bring your Whippets up to Sydney for a fun day, I'll happily lend it to you... but only if you let me cuddle your babies... T.

I've just got home with a brand spanking new (still in the box) Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM... I think I'll just look at the pretty box for a little while before I get up the courage to take it out, attach it to the 60D, and have a play... feeling a little bit intimidated by the size and weight of this bit of kit just now. I'm planning on taking it to the Zoo this weekend, so I'm going to have to get a bit of practice in, don't you think? I also got a nice new backpack that will fit the camera, lenses, and a few other odds and sods - oh - and a bloody expensive UV filter for the new baby (it's HUGE!)... *grin* Can anyone say "she's excited"... lol! T.

Kirislin's going to be an Aunty... *giggle* T.

Oh my! She IS a little full, isn't she? T.

Contact Les and Christine Speerin from The Grooming School if you want great groomers and grooming advice... they are great, and are usually very happy to help out with events like this... http://www.thegroomingschool.com.au/au/contact-us-dog-grooming-course/ They are the organisers of Groomquest - http://www.purinagroomquest.com/ - you could maybe even meet them in the flesh there in August and have a chat. T.

Nope - no actual governing body to keep them in check... The best part is that they get to police their "competition" - like rescues and shelters... makes you think, doesn't it? T.

Big hugs Teebs... T.

The AWL usually have the same investigative powers as the RSPCA - so I'd probably try them first if you had any evidence that an RSPCA shelter was dodgy. They can and will investigate each other if pressed hard enough... T.

Holroyd council put on Petfest each year - and it's got a bit of everything going on... might be worth a call to see if they'd be happy to share some of their contacts with you. Flyball always pulls a crowd... I'd like to see more pure breeds and breeders represented at these things too - they seem to have lots of rescues, but very few purebreed fanciers to share the wonderfulness of owning a well bred pedigreed animal. Do NOT get Don Burke or Dr Harry... they are usually not as great as their PR says they are - and they cost a bit more than they should too. Steve Austin gives great talks/demonstrations and advice about dogs and training - and he's usually really good with talking to people one on one too. Steve is also great for compering dog/owner fun "competitions" - he can be very funny, but well enjoyed by all. T.

Funnily enough (my own perception here), I find that if I do a course in something that needs a creative edge, my creativity actually suffers for all the trying to apply the physics of the thing. I wouldn't know jack about aperture, ISO, f-stops, etc - but I'm still managing more decent pics of my subject choice than not... and therein lies the rub... do you want to be technically brilliant, or just to be able to take nice pics resonably consistently? When all is done and dusted, what really counts is learning your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to framing the shot, getting it in some sort of focus, and producing a pleasing result that you are happy to share with others. I certainly wouldn't call ANY of my photos technically brilliant, but I DO know that I'm getting enough that are very pleasing to the eye - even someone else's eye... *grin* If you are becoming overwhelmed with the technical stuff, just ignore it all for now and just play around with what the camera will already give you with it's preset modes. Pick a subject matter that you like, and it will be easier too. The best equipment in the world will still give you crap results if you don't practice a bit with it and find out what works best for the type of photo you want to take. The only people that really *need* to take so much technical stuff so seriously are those that need to make a living from it - yes, it's nice to have the technical ability and to understand all of those manual settings - but for the average Joe like me, it's more about what pleasure *I* get from the end result, rather than pleasing someone else because they are paying me to. There is the bonus when others like your stuff too, but my primary concern with my photography is actually in pleasing myself... T.