PossumCorner

For a while I really liked it, but it is done so badly so often that I've "gone off it". Trey Radcliffe (Stuck in Customs) is the ultimate, and also has tutorials along with brilliantly created images. Check out http://www.stuckincustoms.com/

Here is an earlier thread. http://www.dolforums.com.au/lofiversion/in...php/t14812.html There have been other threads. If you google kangaroo dogs there is a lot of info - including a lot of made-up rubbish and pretend experts as you'd expect.

As you have Photoshop, if you shoot RAW instead of jpeg, you can fix it in raw converter without having to go into Shadows/Highlights or anything that will be over-kill. Use the "fill-light" bar - it will only put detail back into the darkest spots, without changing the all-over exposure. Using RAW gives nice control to tweak a good image without going too far. D70 is a lovely camera, I've upgraded twice but would never sell mine and still use it. It would be worth doing the shoot again in RAW to see how it goes. (jpegs won't open in Converter, they go straight in to Photoshop).

Wrong, as others have said. A blood-chit is only bluff, to intimidate the client. Cheapest way initially is a Solicitor's Letter. Do the vet thing, then have a solicitor send a Letter requesting both payment to you for the vet bill and refund of your payment to them (or Court action follows). If your write/complain yourself they will laugh as they bin your letter. They won't be laughing if it is on a solicitor's letterhead, it is worth the fee.

That is the Victorian Animal Aid Trust at Coldstream (near Lilydale, near the Dandenongs). They are brilliant. They have good experience and capability. The emergency truck is going up to the flood areas tomorrow (today, Thursday). Food dropped there before 11.00 can be on it. Otherwise cash donations are welcomed anyway, and gives them bulk-buying advantage.

or this one (tad cheaper, different look) - http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/cla...her-camera-bag/

One website - www.melbournedogcentre.com.au - I've heard from users that these are very good. I brought a Fidos twin-tank-heater a few years ago, been happy with it, expensive but lived up to the advertising. www.hydrobaths.com.au is the Fidos website, they have amalgamated with Conmurra, takeover or whatever. They still produce Fidos and Conmurra under the two names, slightly different styles. If you're not in a hurry, the next Pet Expo will probably have stands for the major hydrobaths to compare. When getting it plumbed in, it's worth having a separate flexible shower head, just a normal one, over it as well. I often found that as useful as the hydrobath for smaller dogs, quicker jobs or final rinse (or for the rare dog that freaks at a hydrobath).

Happy Halloween!! You done good, must be pleased. Love the rock wallaby, that's a privilege to see one let alone get a shot of it. Nice work with the bats and snakes, it does have a Halloween ring to it.

There is an Arabic saying "When buying a horse or taking a wife, close your eyes tightly and commend yourself to God". They could have added the KCC Park Indoors to that short list. I don't think anyone, ever, has produced "great" results. Just acceptable at best. Good action shots are more than possible with good camera/lens, but the white balance is still not great, the ugly background of ring-fencing is too close to the action so can't be focussed out, and if done in Photoshop looks just that. Floor and wall colour and texture are bleergh. Lighting isn't just poor, it is very mixed. A capable photographer with a "good eye" and using their equipment to its best advantage and within its limitations can produce beautiful work from a pretty ordinary camera. But KCC Park lighting conditions are challenging, and in general only the higher level bodies and lenses can produce what exhibitors want - sharp detail, good action, correct colour. I think in a couple of years time entry-level cameras will be technologically more up to it, and it won't be necessary to also have classy lenses. Will be interesting to see, and KCC would be a good testing ground.

It seemed to be in two parts. One was Namadgi I think, an ABC thing. Then one made by a bush-walker, maybe that was Brindabellas not sure.

ABC Channel 24 News, Melbourne. Fellow studying the coloured wild dogs.

Good advice, congrats on new camera, you'll have seen the other thread on the A33/55, The purple pea flower is great but your other shots wouldn't show for me, (Just a series of invitations to sign up to Flickr). Can you upload from flicker to dol?

Haven't used the A33 but guess it is similar to A55. They say A55 is worth the bit extra cost because 16mp as against 14 and a couple of other small feature reasons. If anything about them annoys me, and it's pretty minor, is that it does sometimes have user-friendly messages briefly flashed on-screen (which can be turned off if they p you off). Like I just upped the ISO to 6400, and it says something like: "High ISO is great for shooting moving objects because you can now use a faster shutter speed". Okay, I knew that so did not want a one-line tutorial. But it is an entry level camera, so why not give the odd handy tip. Oh one other little thing: in some modes automatic over-rides your settings, like it thinks its IQ is better than yours. Well maybe it is, - trying to think of example. Oh yes, it has a nifty in-camera stitching thing to shoot panoramas. So you take 5 or 6 shots and it sews them into a panorama. I shoot Raw and Manual. When you set the A55 for "Panorama" it shoots in J-peg on Automatic. Quelle shock!! But it does enable it to keep the exposure consistent, and do a neat stitch-up. If I want to be bloody-minded about exposure and Raw I can use the Nikon, and spend some time with stitching software on the computer but this way is quicker and easier. Ringwood Lake Yellingbo overexposed (through car window in the rain). KJA I haven't done real low light, will think on it. Today at sunset I went up to the forest it was quite dark thats why I set 6400. The butterfly is high up a bushfire scorched gum-tree in the last ray of the sun. I think it was [email protected] - lens 75-300 kit lens at 300mm (I was after wallabies but they were crashing in the bush all out of sight). It would benefit from some PP and Noise Ninja or such. This agapanthus in the almost dark, no flash, iso6400, 160th@f8, lens 75-300 kit at 90mm. Definitely some noise there: this shot Raw, converted to jpeg, no crop, no other PP.

Battery does get used quicker than with my Nikons for equal shooting. But it does more for me: I like the viewfinder option when it is on a tripod, if that's battery-hungry along with gimping, so be it, makes life better. On an all-day constant shoot you might only have to put a fresh battery in towards end-of-day. For normal but quite busy use it lasts a few days at least.. I'd never take the Nikon out without a spare battery either. It just seems normal to me, not an issue, if a battery goes below 80% I change it, that's all. For overheating, I haven't made that happen which I did also have a reservation about. We both have a Sony A55, neither of them have ever overheated. I think it is pretty much b/s. I don't use the video a lot though: but anyone who does I find a bit weird: I mean, why didn't they buy a cheap video camera instead of trying to be a cinematographer with an entry-level still camera? Stoopid. It does take lovely video clips sure, but it's not what I want it for, so the overheating is just a non-issue. But battery, yes good idea to have a spare although I'd be surprised in normal use if you would ever "need" it . I thought this week about the A900. But will wait and see if the new release (not scheduled yet, just gossip) is "better than both". By the time it's released I might be too old to pick a camera up. Aside from needing to win the lottery first.

Well another month has passed using the Sony A55 and we are both still delighted with them. The negative comment at dpreview is mostly s/stirring, no different to the stoopid old "Nikon D70 green light of death" or "Canon is doing mass recalls" hysteria, none of it is worth worrying about, midge buzzings. Lenses: some lovely old Minolta lenses work well with the A33 and A55. Sony have a list of them., You can pick up a brilliant used Minolta lens for a tenth of the price of the same lens in Canikons. I got a 50mm 1..7 prime, a 35-105mm and a good 100-300mm for $300 the lot. Some Sigma-for-Minolta are not compatible, and Sigma are doing a free compatibility upgrade for people, so later I will grab one or two of the top Sigma for Minolta lenses also. Tamron are also moving into Sony mount now, I got a (new) 90mm Macro, and they will be releasing the 75-200 soon which is getting rave reviews. Huga the super-expensive lenses for Sony aren't Minolta or Sony: they are Carl Zeiss. Maybe that's what your friends meant. And of course they cost a ransom, you get what you pay for. I enjoy the smart features, especially the choice of viewfinder, the panorama stitching, the high speed fps, high ISO with manageable noise, and the fast focussing. I love my Nikons, it's not choosing between brands to me, it's adding something especially good to the existing mix and appreciating both. No Nikons for sale at this stage.

That is some gift!! It has to be Christmas and Birthday rolled into one, fantastic.

Thanks NSW for the AIS mention. Also tks confirming I hadn't become delusional about CGU's system. Allianze was the best deal I found for PL, but that didn't include equipment. I have reached pox on all their houses stage, but will keep chipping away. I had "bad feedback" re AON but that was agricultural business, maybe not their chosen market.

I'd suggest also consider the Tamron 90mm 2.8 Macro. I bought one on the recommendation of a photographer I more than trust. Certainly agree with him now that I've been using it. For macro it means you can set yourself back a tad further from spiders/bees whatever. For portrait it might be a bit long in some (indoor) circumstances but is beautiful in general for dog portrait as well as people portrait. Nikon and Sony lenses are superb, but generally out of my price range, and "telling the difference" against the better third-party lenses takes more expertise than most of us claim. (I also have the prime Sigma 150mm macro - it's very useful but not quite so much as the 90mm). Edited to correct lens. Tamron 90mm (not Sigma).

:D Geez, wish I was driving in that part of Melbourne that day! PossumCorner are you saying that because Kirislin has work listed on RB they can refuse to pay out?? It's interesting Luke was with CGU because that's the very one I said put all the restrictions on us as to "when how and if" a policy covers losses. As far as RB listing, what they said is that each claim is researched on its merits, and promoting photographs for sale at any level can be regarded as a business. And that they can be thorough in their checking, and because it is a legal contract that not disclosing is a larger issue. So I guess they can refuse if they choose, depending on the wording of the policy, but can equally choose to pay for claims. So as I said I'll look around next year, good to know that Luke had good treatment with CGU. But he mentioned the $2,500 per item limit. That covers entry-level cameras: it doesn't reach high-end bodies or lenses though, or for example our embroidery machine (can be used in some card-craftwork which is offered for sale) replacement over $4000, either of which combined with a few other items exceeds I think it was a $7000 limit on a claim. That's wooly English (late/tired) but I think understandable - that there is a per item ceiling, and then also a total claim ceiling for specified items.

Thing is, the client doesn't always appreciate distortion, and the client is "the money" (whether they are paying or not), it's a he who pays the Piper thing which was why I suggested not doing it. The bike's owner might love arty shots, but would want some as-it-is shots to document a vintage machine. RedAngel another little thing I forgot re car and bike photography to be watched for/aware of - owners do not like photographer's reflection in the chrome. It's considered 'bad work', like in a car advert in a glossy mag you never see the photographer's reflection, because it is again a distraction from the machine being the important element. If going arty and not just pj, don't forget some lying-on-the-ground shots to give it height.

For over-the-counter the best prices I've seen have been at JBHiFi stores. They don't always have the fastest SandiXtreme3 but any 4g card will be handy at times, and tide you over (cheaply) until the mail comes.

As size reference shots, these three from the Childrens Hospital Ride a week ago were taken with a 50-200 lens, set at 55mm. I started this shoot with a 100-300 by mistake, and had to hare back to the car for a shorter lens. Start off with the 50mm but do have your others within reach if you need to change, especially the 18-55 if it is very close quarters. (These 55mm shots were on the street, they're not cropped). Surely he can wheel it out of storage to give you better light and a decent background. I wouldn't go much below 50 because you don't want wide angle distortion unless looking for arty. You don't want flash if you can help it because of reflection-glare from the metal. If flash is a must, at least peel a layer off a Kleenex and put it over the flash to diffuse it. I'd suggest you also take the 70-200 for some shots stepping back a bit: the compression will give you a different (good) perspective of chunkiness. (I'll hunt about for a longer lens shot to add here to show difference). Use a tripod or monopod if possible, as the metal highlights show up camera-shake if hand-holding more than most subjects. This is at 120mm and this only at 100mm but also trying to show more of the compressing a longer lens will give you.

It's full of grey areas and a real need to read the small print. If you have any photographic work for sale (anywhere) they can refuse to pay up under "household" as the equipment is suddenly considered business-and-commercial. If multiple high-value items are taken from the house, they might pay out on only one of them or to an "agreed" maximum which is only half the value of the gear stolen. (And they can include computers in this amount). If you have insured all your gear for only "a bit more" that's great, usually it is a very big bit more to get full coverage. It's usually a requirement at "events" for photographers, even if amateur/hobbyist whatever name fits, to have proof of public liability insurance. You can get this at around $500 a year minimum, and include equipment in the package. Better to be covered if vague spectator trips on the tripod and sues, and even if the fall only kills the lens and camera. I'm not happy with our policies over all, and will be re-shopping around in the new year. So I'm also interested in how people cover their insurance needs at hobby, semi-pro or full-pro levels,

Yeas some of the new technology for presentation is so good. Some printers were at PMA in Melbourne, wish I'd taken more notice and picked up more brochures. They were advertising various corners/finishes, metal perspex, glass, with floating mounts. One or two of each would be good to have to show as examples (and would cost more than). http://www.print2metal.com/index.php - http://www.acrylicphotoblocks.com/?gclid=C...CFQPSbgod8yR7mQ - the gallery link here is to etsy, has some interesting works. http://printsonglass.com.au/

Snorts coffee over keyboard. Recovers. Quite an aspiration seeing we are talking about the country that has zero tolerance for anyone who speaks out against the horrors of bull-fighting. Or the well documented treatment of goats prior to private slaughter. Or the treatment of horses in 'training' of fighting bulls (a padded rug does not prevent broken ribs or disembowelling). I think the cultural okay-ness is the key, and it's sadly too entrenched to change in this generation or the next. They won't set a precedent in one area when the economy is so supported by another. Although I agree with the idea, I just don't think the country of the Conquistadors and the Inquisition will go along with it.