hahaha, so sellout status could not buy you a new car, huh? :D

it's tuff out there if you're a working musician. :)

It's important to spend money on a decent tripod and head.

I'm currently using a manfrotto tripod and head. You shouldn't need 2 different tripods as the one I'm using for example, the legs collapse outwards to get low to the ground.

A quality head is SUPER IMPORTANT. Just wanna emphasize that haha

http://digitalcamera-photoprinter.co...-mechanism.jpg

Hahah yes good head is a must!

My Manfrotto was stolen out of my apartment in texas while i was in seattle on assignment : ( Oh well time for a new one. And Ken, manfrotto is great, cant go wrong!

Good news for the Z! Z1 called me today said my Quife LSD should be arriving at my house today!

Thanks! :tup: i will check this out for sure. :p

dang, sorry to hear about your tripod getting stolen. :( i didnt know people steal tripods! a quality LSD should net you some great numbers at the track (road racing or drag). :tup:

hummm... ive looked at the manfrotto's but it seem that the center verticle shaft will be the limiting factor for getting very low to the ground... when i mean low to the ground, i want the camera bascially just an inch or two above ground just enough to get it on an angle to point at the car. i'd use a 2second delay to snap the shot.

i dont think i can get these tripods to go as low as this table top one... right?

amazon customer pict...

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image...a1fa2210.L.jpg

On most pro quality tripods, you can flip the center post.

http://www.millionflame.com/photo/Re...s/IMG_8474.jpg

You could also attach a lateral side arm, but that's really more useful for macro work.

Great work so far by the way.:tup:

funny looking, but that's correct. even my crappy costco bought tripod can do that :rofl2:

My tripod sucks!!! I totally need to invest:) My pics for the day....
My girlfriend, overexposed I know, but I like it.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l265/avryan/kara.jpg
Cognac anyone?
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...yan/brandy.jpg

ohhhh~~ now that's smart! :tup: thanks. i didnt know that.

cool. obviously my crapo one cant. :icon14: time to get me a real tripod...

everything you have is crap :icon17:

kidding, ken <3

wish we could all be like you, phelan. :icon17: :tup:

Pretty picture, pretty girl!

Love the composition of the cognac shot. Very nicely done.

Thank you sir:tup:

yah, definitely like the rich colors in that cognac shot. :tup: cute girl you got there, alchemy. :D

Ok so i did some playing around in photoshop.. I think i improved from the last time. Let me know, i dont mind harsh criticism lol

Different crop though. And i think thats a crab shell he was eating : ) Wish i could lower the over exposure on the shells attached to it.. I should just picked them off, but it was sticky.. haha

second edit
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/o.../IMG_01553.jpg

Shot of one of the fishes in my tank.
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/o...i/IMG_0192.jpg

Nitex,

Can I make a suggestion for you about the composition of your photos? I notice generally your photos have the main image centered in the photo. Not saying this is bad, but I would suggest maybe reading up on how shooting with the rule of thirds in mind can help improve your photography.
Heres an article I found that might help.

Rule of Thirds

:tup:
Nitex, what is that in the first pic? That things crazy.

Ahh yes, that makes sense. And to think ive been croping them this way haha! I was experimenting with getting close to small things.. this could be mis interpreted :icon17: . I think even then what your saying still pertains :tup:

Alchemy, i have no idea.. I was fliping over rocks in tide pools and take shots : )

yea, I use it for both composition while shooting and then for cropping afterwards. A majority of the shots I've taken and posted were originally shot with the object central and then cropped using the rule of thirds

The real question is.. wtf is this thing :confused::confused:
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/o...i/IMG_0160.jpg

I just noticed the green crab out of focus in the background :icon17::icon17:

nitex- nice picts.. yah, wat he heck is that thing? good question. :D lol at green crab posing naked. :icon17:


so i took snaps of my piano keybed yesterday only to find quite obvious dust on the keys. i didnt even see it while taking the snaps. i need to dust it off and re-take. :icon14: doh...

do you find that's better than trying to frame right from the get go? i've usually been taking my shots using rule of thirds and putting the object off-center. i know when i was still point and shooting i'd just shoot object central but since i got the d5100 i've been much more adamant about framing before taking the shot.

also nitex, what settings did you use for the fish, and was it moving at any decent pace? i tried taking a photo of a fish at my grandparent's place, the damn thing wouldn't sit still, so i had to go for a really fast shutter speed, and use exposure compensation to get the light in

^

I generally shoot it how I want it, but leave myself enough room to play with the crop if I need to. Also if you crop something to tight, and then want it in an 8x10, you're out of luck.

This is really how I would go about doing it. If you can get the composition right on the fly then perfect. If you have to do a little cropping that's ok too. But posting pictures on the internet and printing are TOTALLY different as far as image quality goes.

Always frame for the shot you want, because post processing can't solve everything. The rule of thirds is a good method, but I usually take multiple compositions of the same shot. This is what narrows the gap between the pro's and amatures. Back in the day, most of us were limited since we couldn't go through rolls of film like the pro's. With memory cards, you can shoot away without needing a huge payroll. This is something most people can't grasp right away. Your odds of getting the shot greatly improve if you take A LOT of pictures, not just a few. It's gets tiring and it feels like you shouldn't have to, but this is how the pro's get "the shot."

For most moving shots like that fish shot, you need a lot of light or a larger aperture. Use a diffused speedlight, strobe or even a flashlight and you can "freeze" the action with a faster shutter speed. Raising the ISO should be a last resort since it will start to get noisy at ISO 800 and higher.

I totally agree. Ill take a ton of shots of the same subject with different compositions and from different angles. Its amazing how many shots come out terrible. Im no pro so its very nice to be in the digital age where I can shoot away. Im always experimenting.

I used a wrong word there, I should have said if you frame something to tight, then you are out of luck if you want to print an 8x10. It use to happen to me a good bit when I first started taking pictures, I would frame something up in the viewfinder exactly how I wanted it, not thinking that if someone wanted an 8x10 of it... it would have to be cropped in on each side.

i take a ton of shots because i typically get a few that are blurred b/c i'm tensing up when i press the shutter button.

i know, i know, for a really sharp pic i should use a tripod, but when i'm vacationing, i'm not lugging that thing around with me!

just turn him into sushi and then take the shot. :tup: i thought you were into taking shots of food?


and i try to frame my shot with 3rds in mind but im not there yet. no cropping for me.

Aslong as you are using a reasonable shutter, there is no need for a tripod. Its only when you get into slower shutter speeds that you should start to worry about that.

i am into taking shots of food, but when i was on vacation i took a lot of active shots as well.

SPEAKING OF WHICH - anybody have suggestions on how to take really good food photos?

parker - my shutter speeds, in hindsight, were typically pretty slow as i took a lot of lowlight. during the day, yeah, no problem, but closer to twilight...yeesh.

Do you ever bump your iso up?

Something I was told once was its better to have a grainy pictures than a blurry pictures.

I used my 50mm in close up setting (no manual settings here). He was nice enough to slow down. He was thinking... hey guy... are you going to feed me?

yes, i bumped up my iso, especially when i tried to take pictures out of a moving car at night...that was ridiculous.

i agree, i'd rather grainy than blurry, at least i can run some noise reduction filters!

my daily visuals...
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...egianjewel.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...n/grafitti.jpg

^ Alchemy, your shots always come out with such vibrant color. Im not sure if im doing something wrong with my cam/software. Or if your just using a better camera than I.

Great job though :tup:

Nice pict alchemy! :tup: CPL and a touch of saturation on the software ? :)

Thanks Nitex. Like I have stated, Im no pro. A lot of trial and error goes into a lot of my shots, though both of the ones I just posted were the first and only shots I took of those subjects :) Both shots are very mildly edited. My pc has been down forever so my edits come via gf's pc, in Picasa, which is VERY limited to say the least. It really is time to splurge on that new power charger for my HP.

I actually had a CPL and NEVER shot w it until recently seeing people talking bout it on here, now I have been trying it out. Excited to try car shots midday! Yes just a touch of saturation, thats basically all Picasa can do lol.

Cool! Those yo JDM picts on the other thread by that blogger is definitely using CPL. :)