Greene and Greene Desk

[JohnG]

14 hours ago, SD_Andy said:

Thank you Slayer.  Yes this one is for me.   I use it as a computer desk for photo editing.

Photography as a hobby or profession? 

The desk looks fantastic! Very well done. 

[SD_Andy]

On 11/29/2018 at 9:48 AM, JohnG said:

Photography as a hobby or profession? 

The desk looks fantastic! Very well done. 

Aspiring professional 

Thank you again.

You can checkout my work here, no account required

Instagram

Facebook

[Chet]

Wow, Andy I was just looking at you Instagram account you have some real talent with the camera.  You have enough to do a nice coffee table book.  Have you given any thought to publishing a book?

[JohnG]

I’d say you’re well on your way! Really great shots.

I’m just a wannabe, mostly portraits since my daughter was born. I’ve always wanted to be good at wildlife photography, but we don’t have as much interesting wildlife here, and I haven’t brought myself to shell out the cash for long lenses for birding. So for now, the only wildlife shots I get are of my dog or at a zoo 

I agree with Chet, would make a great coffee table book. Have you done much in the way of books or enlarged prints?

[pkinneb]

Wow not only a talented WW but an awesome photographer as well! You must get around too. I live in Zimmerman and a lot of those shots are not from around here LOL

[Chestnut]

Wow Andy those are awesome. I have a few ok snaps but nothing near what you have on your Instagram.

[SD_Andy]

7 hours ago, Chet said:

Wow, Andy I was just looking at you Instagram account you have some real talent with the camera.  You have enough to do a nice coffee table book.  Have you given any thought to publishing a book?

Thank you Chet.   I'm not sure about a coffee table book but I might be able to.   I was actually thinking about a kids book or two.   Maybe I'll start with a calendar next year.   

[SD_Andy]

23 hours ago, JohnG said:

I’d say you’re well on your way! Really great shots.

I’m just a wannabe, mostly portraits since my daughter was born. I’ve always wanted to be good at wildlife photography, but we don’t have as much interesting wildlife here, and I haven’t brought myself to shell out the cash for long lenses for birding. So for now, the only wildlife shots I get are of my dog or at a zoo 

I agree with Chet, would make a great coffee table book. Have you done much in the way of books or enlarged prints?

Thank you John.  Not sure where you live but there is some interesting stuff everywhere.   I prefer to shoot mammals but they typically take a ton of time and can be hard to find.  Instead I shoot a lot of birds, especially waterfowl, since they are everywhere.    We have different seasons here which bring different birds so it's always interesting.    You don't have to spend a ton of money for a long lens but it helps    There are some really great zoom lenses out there by tamron or sigma that a lot of pros are using.  They will get you out to 600mm for a little over $1k.   Great versatile lens.   Feel free to message me if you are interested.

No books yet but I have done some prints.   I haven't put much effort into try to sell yet.    Just building a portfolio and a following even if its small at the moment.   Just starting to look at selling to magazines.

[SD_Andy]

5 hours ago, pkinneb said:

Wow not only a talented WW but an awesome photographer as well! You must get around too. I live in Zimmerman and a lot of those shots are not from around here LOL

Thank you.   Unfortunately my woodworking is slipping because I've been spending all my time in the field.   Hard to balance hobbies.

I do get around quite a bit but there is a lot of wildlife in MN too.   One of the best places in the country for owls. for example.    Sherburne WMA in your backyard is an awesome location for wildlife.

[SD_Andy]

20 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

Wow Andy those are awesome. I have a few ok snaps but nothing near what you have on your Instagram.

Thank you Chestnut.   It takes a lot of time, patience and practice to get good shots.   I have plenty throw away shots too so don't be to hard on yourself.

I bet some people wish this thread would die!  Thanks for resurrecting it

[pkinneb]

6 minutes ago, SD_Andy said:

Thank you.   Unfortunately my woodworking is slipping because I've been spending all my time in the field.   Hard to balance hobbies.

I do get around quite a bit but there is a lot of wildlife in MN too.   One of the best places in the country for owls. for example.    Sherburne WMA in your backyard is an awesome location for wildlife.

I live about a block from the refuge and hike in there with my huskies quite often  

[Chestnut]

4 minutes ago, SD_Andy said:

Thank you Chestnut.   It takes a lot of time, patience and practice to get good shots.   I have plenty throw away shots too so don't be to hard on yourself.

I bet some people wish this thread would die!  Thanks for resurrecting it

Are the places you go secret? I've seen a lot of interesting things in my backyard in MG as well as in the parks around here. Time is the big factor that if i invested more i'd probably have better luck. I also feel like something is slightly off on the focus on my 300 2.8.

My favorite pic is terrrible quality but it was in my backyard and i hate them rabbits so it carries extra weight because of that.

500mm 1/250 f/4.8 18000 iso on a D500. Quality is bad cause it was dark.

[SD_Andy]

26 minutes ago, pkinneb said:

I live about a block from the refuge and hike in there with my huskies quite often  

That sounds great!   It's a really nice place.  I didn't think it was as good this year as last year so I didn't go as often but its a really nice refuge.

[SD_Andy]

12 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

Are the places you go secret? I've seen a lot of interesting things in my backyard in MG as well as in the parks around here. Time is the big factor that if i invested more i'd probably have better luck. I also feel like something is slightly off on the focus on my 300 2.8.

My favorite pic is terrrible quality but it was in my backyard and i hate them rabbits so it carries extra weight because of that.

500mm 1/250 f/4.8 18000 iso on a D500. Quality is bad cause it was dark.

Cool image!   All photographers have secret places but in general I'd be willing to share most locations.   Wildlife takes a ton of time.   It isn't like shooting landscapes where you go out and take a couple pictures and call it a day.   I generally take hundreds or thousands of pictures on an outing hoping to get THE shot.

Sounds like you have some good gear with time and practice you could be getting some great shots.   D500 is a great body and the 300 f/2.8 is really nice.  I'd like to have one of those.  What is your instagram?

I'd be happy to share locations if you are interested.   The rut season is coming to a close and the owl season is picking up so I'll be chasing those most of the winter.

[JohnG]

I like it, Chestnut. Even if it's not technically the best image quality, the picture has a neat feel to it.

Here's a couple of my favorite "wildlife" shots, though it's cheating because both were at a zoo.  

 

I'm along the coast in VA, so there is a decent variety in birds around here, as well as deer, some foxes, and a red panda that escaped from the zoo last year. 

I encountered a moose in the BWCA a few years ago, that was swimming from one island to another. We kept our distance but watched it for a while. I was kicking myself for not bringing my DSLR along. 

 

[SD_Andy]

14 minutes ago, JohnG said:

I like it, Chestnut. Even if it's not technically the best image quality, the picture has a neat feel to it.

Here's a couple of my favorite "wildlife" shots, though it's cheating because both were at a zoo.  

I'm along the coast in VA, so there is a decent variety in birds around here, as well as deer, some foxes, and a red panda that escaped from the zoo last year. 

I encountered a moose in the BWCA a few years ago, that was swimming from one island to another. We kept our distance but watched it for a while. I was kicking myself for not bringing my DSLR along. 

 

Nice John.  Zoos are a good place to practice.    I used to use them all the time.   It just isn't the same as seeing wild animals though.   Not to mention the scenery is better more interesting.    

The Virginia coast has a lot of photo opportunities.   Wild horses in NC, a ton of shorebirds and waterfowl, black bears in the swamp and a good selection of deer even if they are small.   

I still haven't seen a MN moose but I haven't been looking that hard.

[JohnG]

Just now, SD_Andy said:

Nice John.  Zoos are a good place to practice.    I used to use them all the time.   It just isn't the same as seeing wild animals though.   Not to mention the scenery is better more interesting.    

The Virginia coast has a lot of photo opportunities.   Wild horses in NC, a ton of shorebirds and waterfowl, black bears in the swamp and a good selection of deer even if they are small.   

I still haven't seen a MN moose but I haven't been looking that hard.

I forgot about the horses in NC, there are also the Chincoteague ponies just a bit north of me. I was previously living in SoCal and had a lot of encounters with coyotes and some wild burros, but never had my camera with me. That was before I was taking many pictures.

My dad spent a decent amount of time paddling around in the BWCA growing up, and that was just the second moose he had seen up there.

I got started down the photography road when I got a hand-me-down D90 with the kit lens. I ended up buying 35mm and 50mm lenses for it, which really sparked my interest. Last year my brother-in-law was selling his 6D so I bought it from him along with a couple lenses (kit 24-105, 40mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8) and I recently bought the 85mm 1.8 and have really enjoyed that one. I occasionally eye some of the 300-600mm range lenses and daydream about buying them. But for now, the time required for wildlife photography is just not in the cards for me, so I stick with portraits of my daughter and family/friends and spend the little amount of free time I have on woodworking.

[SD_Andy]

46 minutes ago, JohnG said:

I forgot about the horses in NC, there are also the Chincoteague ponies just a bit north of me. I was previously living in SoCal and had a lot of encounters with coyotes and some wild burros, but never had my camera with me. That was before I was taking many pictures.

My dad spent a decent amount of time paddling around in the BWCA growing up, and that was just the second moose he had seen up there.

I got started down the photography road when I got a hand-me-down D90 with the kit lens. I ended up buying 35mm and 50mm lenses for it, which really sparked my interest. Last year my brother-in-law was selling his 6D so I bought it from him along with a couple lenses (kit 24-105, 40mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8) and I recently bought the 85mm 1.8 and have really enjoyed that one. I occasionally eye some of the 300-600mm range lenses and daydream about buying them. But for now, the time required for wildlife photography is just not in the cards for me, so I stick with portraits of my daughter and family/friends and spend the little amount of free time I have on woodworking.

SoCal is a great place for wildlife especially birds.   We moved from San Diego to MN recently.   Unfortunately I wasn't serious about photography until my last year or so there.

There used to be a lot of Moose in MN but the numbers are dwindling unfortunately.

Photography does take a lot of time.   I was doing a lot of woodworking when I lived in CA.   Now I'm doing a lot of photography and not much woodworking.   I don't have any kids but I still find it hard to balance hobbies.   You really don't have to spend a ton of time doing.  You can go for walks in the park with the kids and take bird pictures and teach them about all of the different kinds.   Of course a longer lens is really needed for birds.   You can pick up some pretty nice zoom lens for a reasonable price.

[Chestnut]

12 hours ago, SD_Andy said:

Cool image!   All photographers have secret places but in general I'd be willing to share most locations.   Wildlife takes a ton of time.   It isn't like shooting landscapes where you go out and take a couple pictures and call it a day.   I generally take hundreds or thousands of pictures on an outing hoping to get THE shot.

Sounds like you have some good gear with time and practice you could be getting some great shots.   D500 is a great body and the 300 f/2.8 is really nice.  I'd like to have one of those.  What is your instagram?

I'd be happy to share locations if you are interested.   The rut season is coming to a close and the owl season is picking up so I'll be chasing those most of the winter.

Bob.Chestnut is my instagram I just followed you. I don't post really any of my pictures on instagram, mostly woodworking stuff. I take pictures for myself. I probably have some awesome pictures on my computer or they could be terrible but no one sees them but me so we'll never know.

I was more or less wondering if you hit public land or have patches of private land that you frequent. Finding specific spots is 50% of the fun.

If you have any tips on finding owls I'd love to hear those I've always wanted to see one, let alone take a picture of one.

9 hours ago, SD_Andy said:

Of course a longer lens is really needed for birds.

Amen to that. my 300 with 1.7 and the crop factor of the D500 puts me around 700 something and that doesn't seem like enough a lot of times.

[Chet]

1 hour ago, Tpt life said:

Bolded spelling edit

I fixed it in the original post.

[SD_Andy]

10 hours ago, Chestnut said:

Bob.Chestnut is my instagram I just followed you. I don't post really any of my pictures on instagram, mostly woodworking stuff. I take pictures for myself. I probably have some awesome pictures on my computer or they could be terrible but no one sees them but me so we'll never know.

I was more or less wondering if you hit public land or have patches of private land that you frequent. Finding specific spots is 50% of the fun.

If you have any tips on finding owls I'd love to hear those I've always wanted to see one, let alone take a picture of one.

Amen to that. my 300 with 1.7 and the crop factor of the D500 puts me around 700 something and that doesn't seem like enough a lot of times.

Most of my stuff is from public land.   The only thing that is private is the wood ducks that were taken on my property.   I'll send you an instagram message regarding owls.

[Chip Sawdust]

I love photography and am a permanent amateur. But I like to mess around with post-production stuff too. Like this oil painting haha!

This was in Grangeville, Idaho last summer. 

[JohnG]

On 12/1/2018 at 11:47 PM, SD_Andy said:

SoCal is a great place for wildlife especially birds.   We moved from San Diego to MN recently.   Unfortunately I wasn't serious about photography until my last year or so there.

There used to be a lot of Moose in MN but the numbers are dwindling unfortunately.

Photography does take a lot of time.   I was doing a lot of woodworking when I lived in CA.   Now I'm doing a lot of photography and not much woodworking.   I don't have any kids but I still find it hard to balance hobbies.   You really don't have to spend a ton of time doing.  You can go for walks in the park with the kids and take bird pictures and teach them about all of the different kinds.   Of course a longer lens is really needed for birds.   You can pick up some pretty nice zoom lens for a reasonable price.

Here's a terrible iphone pic of the moose. We drifted and watched it for a while, then it took off into the woods. We could track its path up the hill from the noise and watching the saplings fold over. Pretty neat experience. Of course we also saw many bald eagles, loons, and other wildlife, and had a beaver just outside our tent one night.

 

When my daughter is old enough to enjoy learning nature walks like that, I may be able to justify some long lenses. I'm sure she will enjoy that one day, but for now is more interested in looking at the pictures in Sibley books and on a "Backyard Birds" deck of cards we have. She likes pointing them out when we go on walks, but isn't yet interested in knowing more than the fact that it is a bird and it is flying (or hopping on the ground). Having kids makes you really evaluate your priorities. I had hobbies that I thought were lifelong hobbies/obsessions, that I have hardly even thought about since she was born. Not necessarily a bad thing, since it has let me focus more on a couple hobbies and look forward to focusing on others as she grows older. Watching her near full-time plus a full time job means that I use my free time very intentionally.

Sorry for hijacking your thread. Maybe we need a photography thread in Off-Topic.

[SD_Andy]

On 12/3/2018 at 5:41 PM, Chip Sawdust said:

I love photography and am a permanent amateur. But I like to mess around with post-production stuff too. Like this oil painting haha!

This was in Grangeville, Idaho last summer. 

 

Wow, that's a beast.   Were you riding in it?  Post-production is a requirement with digital images now.  I used to hate it but I'm growing to enjoy it more.

[SD_Andy]

On 12/4/2018 at 8:13 AM, JohnG said:

Here's a terrible iphone pic of the moose. We drifted and watched it for a while, then it took off into the woods. We could track its path up the hill from the noise and watching the saplings fold over. Pretty neat experience. Of course we also saw many bald eagles, loons, and other wildlife, and had a beaver just outside our tent one night.

When my daughter is old enough to enjoy learning nature walks like that, I may be able to justify some long lenses. I'm sure she will enjoy that one day, but for now is more interested in looking at the pictures in Sibley books and on a "Backyard Birds" deck of cards we have. She likes pointing them out when we go on walks, but isn't yet interested in knowing more than the fact that it is a bird and it is flying (or hopping on the ground). Having kids makes you really evaluate your priorities. I had hobbies that I thought were lifelong hobbies/obsessions, that I have hardly even thought about since she was born. Not necessarily a bad thing, since it has let me focus more on a couple hobbies and look forward to focusing on others as she grows older. Watching her near full-time plus a full time job means that I use my free time very intentionally.

Sorry for hijacking your thread. Maybe we need a photography thread in Off-Topic.

Moose are amazing.  They are one of my favorite subjects.   They have become a rare sighting in MN unfortunately.    Any experience with wildlife is special, I really enjoy it.    

Glad to hear you are getting your daughter involved with wildlife.   I love to see kids that actually appreciate them.   There is an "app for that" which has sounds.   She might like that.   I use iBird.   I think it would be awesome to hike and teach and learn about wildlife with your daughter.   Maybe even take up photography together.   Ashleigh Scully is a young photographer that is incredible.   I think she's 14.   You can look her up on IG @ascullyphoto.   One of the best around.  I suppose you could also teach her about working  

You didn't hijack my thread.   I'm going to try going for the longest running active thread and see how many times it changes topics!