TLW Photographers make your interest known

[Nick Leeson]

ok i bought a set of close up filters. I have 1, 2, 4 and 10 diopter close up filters now and also bought an ND8 filter too.

 

The magnification thing is still really puzzling me though.

 

If i stack these filters i get a 17 diopter rating. but that means the focal point on my 18-55mm lens set at 55mm is only about 3cm from the lens itself which is too close to not scare insects away. How can i get a decent magnification but from a few feet away?

[Nick Leeson]

went to the albert dock last night as the night sky was purdy. got loads of lambananas which are on the gf thread but also got these...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nick Leeson]

another one from today

 

[Karl_b]

I haven't really had much chance to play with the camera since I got back from holiday, I took it away with me at the weekend and I'm definitely starting to get the hang of it. I'm getting much better shots than with a compact and I think slowly I'll get there with the really excellent photos like those on this thread. I think I'm fairly good with composition, it's just knowing how to tweak the camera to that next level.

 

Anyway, here are some of the better ones I took down at the Sainsbury Centre/Norwich/Cromer at the weekend:

 

 

 

 

 

To be honest, I'm still finding all the settings a bit puzzling but I found I learnt far more at the weekend by playing with the camera then I did reading a book.

[Nick Leeson]

Some good captures, esp. like the last one but i'd suggest shooting a little under exposure as the skies look a little light to me and are blown out in a couple of places. Also, make sure you're shooting in raw so you can adjust your exposure levels in lightroom later. You can't recover the parts that are blown out(completely white but, you can bring detail back when it looks too dark at first).

 

I do like a good pier though and that there's a good pier. A-

[jacco maccaco]

another one from today

 

 

Always loved this effect.

Tilt & Shift lens or Photoshop ?

[Captain]

I desperately need a new camera to replace my Coolpix 3500. I have borrowed a friend's Coolpix 7900 since March this year while looking for a camera.

 

Yesterday it was overcast, and I was out at a show and took a few photos. And they were basically ruined because of shit ISO performance, even at ISO 200. I have been pissed off since yesterday about this.

 

I'm on the brink of getting a D40 tomorrow, as prices have dropped ridiculously low for that model in Norway now.

[sm9]

I desperately need a new camera to replace my Coolpix 3500. I have borrowed a friend's Coolpix 7900 since March this year while looking for a camera.

 

Yesterday it was overcast, and I was out at a show and took a few photos. And they were basically ruined because of shit ISO performance, even at ISO 200. I have been pissed off since yesterday about this.

 

I'm on the brink of getting a D40 tomorrow, as prices have dropped ridiculously low for that model in Norway now.

 

I recently bought a Canon 450D for around £360 body only including the £50 Canon cashback. It seems like a really good camera for that sort of price range, but I am a Canon man with Canon lenses so don't even look at the Nikons.

 

You'll find that any DSLR will give you really low noise though!

 

Ste

[Captain]

A Canon 450D is much more expensive than a Nikon D40 in Norway, the price is 70% higher.

[sm9]

Ahh yes, I've just looked on Warehouse Express and noticed that it's £277 with a 18-55 Lens, so that's quite a bit cheaper. You'll be pleased with the image quality of any D-SLR though!

 

I got my first D-SLR back in 2004, when I went from a Canon PowerShot G5 to a Canon EOS 20D. The image quality was great of course, but I quickly wanted to buy extra lenses and better lenses and it soon put a strain on my relationship with my lovely girlfriend! ;-)

 

I also miss being able to put a compact camera in my pocket! With a few lenses and a D-SLR, I have a little shoulder bag and it does seem like more of an effort lugging it around on walks etc. But I wouldn't go back and find it's a worthwhile trade-off for the extra image quality, being able to print pictures out at bigger sizes, being able to crop images more and still get decent print sizes etc.

 

Good luck with whatever you end up doing!

[sm9]

Always loved this effect.

Tilt & Shift lens or Photoshop ?

 

I really liked that too - I wasn't sure if it was a real picture or not at first! :-)

[Nick Leeson]

Always loved this effect.

Tilt & Shift lens or Photoshop ?

I wish. It was done in photoshop. A tilt & shift lens is waaaayyy off my budget right now. Not even sure I'd want one to be honest because it seems they're really only of use if you can get a good vantage point and the same effect can be achieved with a lens baby (the shifting I mean). As for the tilting, I'm not that much into architectural shooting, just yet anyway -- so I dunno if I'd use it all that much.

[Karl_b]

Some good captures, esp. like the last one but i'd suggest shooting a little under exposure as the skies look a little light to me and are blown out in a couple of places. Also, make sure you're shooting in raw so you can adjust your exposure levels in lightroom later. You can't recover the parts that are blown out(completely white but, you can bring detail back when it looks too dark at first).

 

I do like a good pier though and that there's a good pier. A-

 

Thanks for the tip on the exposure.

 

What's lightroom?

[sm9]

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a piece of software that allows you to edit/adjust/manipulate your RAW files. It also allows you to keyword them, do web photo galleries, etc.

 

You can see a full spec here: Adobe - Photo Management Software - Photoshop Lightroom

 

I've been using it for a year or two now since they first launched a public beta and think it's excellent - I find it has a much neater and efficient workflow for editing images than just Photoshop on its own.

[Nick Leeson]

When you start taking lots of photos it starts to become a bit of a nightmare keeping them all in order. Lightroom is a bit like itunes but for your photos, and ever better at organising. It also allows you to view all your RAW files natively and edit them on the fly. It's also gives you quicker access to open them in photoshop.

 

It's nothing you can't do with a combination of Bridge Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop. It just makes it all simpler.

[Captain]

I'm on the brink of getting a D40 tomorrow, as prices have dropped ridiculously low for that model in Norway now.

 

Plan ditched, didn't like it at all. It's too small for me to get a decent grip on.

 

The D90 is pure sex. I think I'm gonna save up for it.

[Captain]

Going away for this year's moose hunt on Thursday, and managed to convice a friend to lend me her D80 for the trip. Get in!

 

Also, I'd recommend you this excellent site about photography: KenRockwell.com

[WaltonRed]

 

Berlin by the Reichstag, my favourite building in the world.

[Captain]

Did you shoot it yourself?

[WaltonRed]

Did you shoot it yourself?

 

aye, on my inter-rail

[WaltonRed]

Some more from Berlin:

 

 

Brandenburg gate

 

 

 

Holocaust Memorial

[sm9]

I took the photo below on Monday evening at Derwentwater in the Lake District - the image came out a bit dark as I was underexposing it quite a bit to try and prevent the sky from being too washed out with the sunlight peeking through.

 

This meant that the foreground needing brightening quite a bit in Lightroom, which spoils the image in places. Although I had a tripod, I also had my girlfriend waiting so didn't want to spend too long faffing around taking multiple exposures to combine later.

 

[Captain]

What camera and lens were you using?

[sm9]

What camera and lens were you using?

 

I was using a Canon 5D and a 17-40 lens at 17mm.

[sm9]

I was just looking at the original image and can't believe the amount of dust on the sensor! Would appreciate anyone's recommendations for sensor cleaning kits as it could definitely do with a good clean!