Photography nerds!

[gymell]

Nice work all around! I wish I had more time to post to read/go through this thread, unfortunately I'm pressed for time so in lieu here's some of my work: http://51feetunder.wordpress.com/category/photography/

I like the composition of that second shot. It has a sense of scale and also movement with the climber heading toward the top right of the image.

[GoGo]

..

[KillerGriller]

I like the composition of that second shot. It has a sense of scale and also movement with the climber heading toward the top right of the image.

Cheers, the prints for all those climbing shots are much clearer than the web shows...of course I probably posted them online 9 years ago so...

[AKLulu]

So on Saturday morning, I had a chance to photograph (read: my brother asked me to watch the gear and take pictures the night before) a cold water swimming clinic put on by the triathlon shop my brother works for. It sounds like I might get a little money for having done this, which is exciting, but I'm hoping it's worth it for them. My brother also mentioned that they're always looking for people to take pics at events, so there might be a chance for more stuff like this in the future. So now I'm going through about 700 photos, trying to tweak the photos and pick out a few favorites. Not going to lie, I use Picasa to play with my photos currently. BUT if my photographing prospects are really what they're seeming to be at the moment (and regardless), I think it'd be worth it to invest in some better photo editing software. What I think I've understood so far in here is that people favor Lightroom and Photoshop? I known nothing about taking raw images, so would Lightroom only be practical if I was doing that? Any recommendations for a highly amateur photographer? Also, any gear/shooting recommendations for a would-be action photographer?

Also, a couple of my favorites so far:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2650[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2649[/ATTACH]

[KillerGriller]

Here's my latest from our rock climbing trip to Kentucky this Easter:

I have a full set up on my blog at: http://51feetunder.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/red-river-gorge-rock-climbing-spring-2012/ (It's an embedded slideshow, otherwise I'd just post them here)

[bigm141414]

@Lulu - So in my experience Lightroom is really all most people need. Photoshop has some very nice and highly advanced editing capabilites, but outside of professionals and graphic artists there is nothing that Lightroom can't do.

Lightroom is a RAW editor (RAW in this case means that you get the actual sensor data not some compressed and slightly altered jpeg or tiff file). It can handle editing of JPEGs and what not but it shines with RAW files. With the sensor data you can adjust everything from exposure to white balance to colors and make the photo look great. When you try this with a jpeg you don't have as much data to work with so it makes it much more difficult if not impossible to fine to aspects of your image.

I spent about two years with free software (GIMP and UFRAW) before making the switch to Lightroom. Doing this helped hone my skills (as much as they are) in creating great images with little need for post process because we can all agree that GIMP is a little clunky.

And for action you need long zooms and fast glass. But those are expensive (think $1000 or more). A slower f 4-5.6 70-300mm will do in full sunlight as long as you can get better than 1/1000 exposure times.

[gymell]

Since I shoot Canon, I use Canon's free Digital Photo Professional software to adjust the RAW files. Those adjustments include bumping the exposure if needed, noise reduction, color saturation, and sharpening. From there I convert to tiff and finish up in Photoshop (which I only use now because I'm on a Mac.) All I do there usually is resize, sharpen and then convert to jpeg. Sometimes I might clone out a speck of sensor dust, etc. but that's about as advanced as I get.

For shooting action, if it's usually in daylight then you can get away with a slower lens. If your lens has IS/VR then that will help you with a few stops of light so you can keep the shutter speed up. Also a good camera will help, with a high burst rate and good size buffer so you can get those action shots. And one that can give you clean shots at a high ISO, again so you can keep the shutter speed up when the light isn't as good

For sports, you need really understand the sport to anticipate where the action is going and give a sense of what is about to happen. Each shot should tell a story. For example with the swimmers they need a sense of direction and the environment they're in. It's also nice to have some aesthetically pleasing symmetry to the photo. Obviously when you're shooting in burst mode you'll end up with hundreds of shots, but if you have an idea beforehand of what types of shots you want to get, you should wind up with some good ones. Part of it is luck, but there is also planning that goes into it.

Here's an example of what I mean. There were about 30 loons swimming around on this local lake. All back and forth, mingling in and out with one another. I was trying to get some lined up together, so I was looking for points where I'd see a group, and then fire off a burst. Eventually I wound up with this shot, which was exactly the type of thing I was looking for.

Canon EOS-1D Mark III ,Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM 1/640s f/5.6 at 700.0mm iso200

Here's another example - I saw these 2 eagles coming from some distance away, and fired off a lot of shots as they passed by, and got some great symmetry as well as a sense of environment and direction.

Canon EOS 30D ,Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM 1/1000s f/4.0 at 500.0mm iso800

[humanperson832]

I use Photoshop when I'm working on assignments on campus, Pixlr when I'm at home.

For school, I have a Canon XSi with a 28-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens with hood. For myself, I have a Canon 20D with the kit lens (whatever that is) and a 50mm f/1.8 lens. I prefer my 20D, by far.

Lindsay. by pmiranda06, on Flickr

Caretaker. by pmiranda06, on Flickr

311. by pmiranda06, on Flickr

Blue Scholars. by pmiranda06, on Flickr

[gymell]

Ah, the nifty fifty - a great lens! Looks like you're putting it to good use on those concert shots (I'm assuming that's what you used since it's such a good low light lens.) Nice job on those. I really like that 311 shot.

There used to be a thread on the Canon photography forum called "Where's Nifty?" There was a 50/1.8 that was sent all over the world and people would take pictures with it and post them in the forum. Each person would take their photos, and then send it to the next person who requested the lens. Cool concept!

[Strickland5]

Canon 5dC with a 28mm prime at present - thinking of getting a 35 or 50 as my next lens. I edit using UFRaw and GIMP - both free - and with good results I think.

Flickr gallery link

Samples!

Something wicked - remix

No particular place to go

Up close and personal

Hey There Big Boy

Sharp Dressed Man

[KillerGriller]

mmnmm...fast primes. I got some great results back in my film days with fast primes.

[gymell]

Yes, great results!

[bigm141414]

Nice strickland! Love the Smething Wicked picture. Beautiful model.

[humanperson832]

Thanks! I looooooove my 50. And concert photography in general. It's my "me" thing. I'll shoot portraits and spot news and features all day long.. but that's what recharges me.

[bigm141414]

Thanks! I looooooove my 50. And concert photography in general. It's my "me" thing. I'll shoot portraits and spot news and features all day long.. but that's what recharges me.

I looove concert photography too! Unfortunately, I never have press creditials so I am limited to fairs and festivals, but capturing the energy of the performers and the crowd gives me such great shots. Here are a few of my better ones. All were taken with my trusty 35mm f1.8. Great little lens for DX bodies.

Corb Lund by bigm141414, on Flickr

Corb Lund - North Texas State Fair Denton, Tx by bigm141414, on Flickr

[gymell]

I really like that last shot!

[Cosmo]

I love that last shot, its really emotive.

[gymell]

Keep up the good work everyone! There sure are a lot of Nikon shooters here (I'm totally ignorant about Nikon equipment.)

So here are a few shots I've taken with my Canon G10 - a point and shoot but with a lot of manual exposure control. I can shoot RAW with it, and manipulate ISO, shutter speed, aperture, etc. I can even use spot metering. Since I only have super telephotos for my DSLRs now, it basically functions as my wide angle. Really nice out in the field too, since I don't have to worry about switching out lenses.

An example of that was when I at the Viera wetlands in Florida, photographing a nesting heron with my 500mm. The sun popped out from behind some clouds but just for a brief moment, made for some great light. I was able to frame a nice shot with the G10 instead of fiddling with changing lenses, and then go back to the long lens.

Palm tree birdscape with the G10. See the great blue heron sitting in the palm tree toward the top left of the photo?

Another time where the point and shoot came in handy was on a trip to the Boundary Waters. With having to portage the canoe and all the camping equipment, there was no way I'd cart along a bunch of DSLR stuff. So all I took was the G10, which forced me to get creative.

Moonlight canoe:

Fallen birch tree at the campsite:

Sunset by the campfire:

[AKLulu]

They didn't show up, Gymell.

[gymell]

That's odd, I can see them. Not sure what's wrong. Anyway, here are the links:

http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/108610297

http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/125855589

http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/125855589

http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/125855587

[AKLulu]

Oh, huh, they're there now. I guess maybe my computer was just being an idiot

[gymell]

Heh, computers do that sometimes.

[bigm141414]

I really like that last shot!

I love that last shot, its really emotive.

Thanks y'all! It was a blast of a concert, and I think I did a burst of about 30 photos to get that one shot. The lights were flashing and moving so good old manual mode and hope for the best. I got tihs printed and hanging in my house.

Gymell, I really like the Fallen Birch shot. Composition and colors are top notch. I'd print it with a metallic sheen paper and it'd look great. (but i am a sucker for sparkly photos).

Back in the day I had a Canon Rebel film camera which I used for high school photography classes (oh the days of dark rooms and red lights ). When I went digital I switched to Nikon mainly because my dad had one and I stole his better lenses from time to time before I acquired my own. If I could do it again I'd probably go with Canon, mainly because I can hack the Canon firm wear and get more control over the settings. Nikon I can't do that.

[gymell]

Thanks - that morning I woke up and it was foggy/wet out. Great conditions for taking photos in the woods. Everything was super saturated with color. I might try your suggestion of printing on metallic paper.

Speaking of printing ... I get my printing done through White House Custom Colour which is a pro printing shop, but you don't have to be a pro to use it. Really good prices and quality, and a big bonus for me is that they are local!

Each year I create a calendar as a Christmas gift for friends and family. I didn't know how much everyone liked them until one year when I didn't get around to making one, and boy did I ever hear about it! For that I use lulu.com. Very nice quality calendars.

One year I made a book at blurb.com of eagle photos I had taken in Alaska. Turned out really nice and of course that was the Christmas gift that year!

[bigm141414]

Thanks - that morning I woke up and it was foggy/wet out. Great conditions for taking photos in the woods. Everything was super saturated with color. I might try your suggestion of printing on metallic paper.

Speaking of printing ... I get my printing done through White House Custom Colour which is a pro printing shop, but you don't have to be a pro to use it. Really good prices and quality, and a big bonus for me is that they are local!

Each year I create a calendar as a Christmas gift for friends and family. I didn't know how much everyone liked them until one year when I didn't get around to making one, and boy did I ever hear about it! For that I use lulu.com. Very nice quality calendars.

One year I made a book at blurb.com of eagle photos I had taken in Alaska. Turned out really nice and of course that was the Christmas gift that year!

Ohhh WHCC looks cool. I've been looking for a shop that could do metal printing as I have a metal sign theme going in my breakfast area. I've got a print that I'd love to get done in metal to continue on with the style.