Photography

[JohnG]

A while back I derailed @SD_Andy‘s G&G Desk thread with photography talk. I’ve seen some other photography discussion on here so I thought I’d start a thread to see if there’s enough interest for an ongoing thread. 

Anyway, I recently picked up a new lens and got to play with it a bit on a vacation to Florida. I got a Canon EF 70-300 IS ii. It’s my first lens longer than the 105mm kit (except for a similar lens on a crop sensor). 

Here are a couple pics I took while getting familiar with the lens. Nothing special or particularly good. 

First time taking a pic of the moon. Could be much sharper, but this was handheld 1/80 at about 275mm. I’d say the IS did a pretty good job.

 

These little guys were everywhere.

Pelican, also everywhere. 

I generally just shoot my 50 or 85 primes. I almost exclusively take pictures of my daughter and family, but enjoy mixing it up and trying other things. 

[wtnhighlander]

Nice shots! My son just got a Nikon B500 point & shoot to begin learning with. I'm working with him to develop his scene compositions, letting the camera handle the settings for now. His favorite subject is trains, and he shot this old rail bridge across the Mississippi yesterday.

Hanrahan bridge opened in 1916, and is still used for rail traffic. The ramp in the foreground was originally the East-bound lane for wagons, and later automobiles. The West-bound lane has been revamped as a pedestrian walkway, with awesome views of the Memphis skyline.

[Chestnut]

I run around with a camera quite a bit I'll for sure chime in. Handheld at night with long lenses is difficult. Also through the atmosphere isn't helping you either.

I take mostly landscape and have been working on wildlife. Not very good but this is a shot from our campsite the night before we got chased out by a momma bear and her cub. Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior.

[pkinneb]

54 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

I take mostly landscape and have been working on wildlife. Not very good but this is a shot from our campsite the night before we got chased out by a momma bear and her cub. Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior.

Great Pic of Split Rock!

[Chestnut]

30 minutes ago, pkinneb said:

Great Pic of Split Rock!

I have to correct you. That's the lighthouse not the split rock. There is a rock up the split rock river for which the lighthouse and river are named. I don't have a picture of that, much to my displeasure... long story. Short story i tried to get there and failed.

[Gary Beasley]

Just got some pics done I shot in the dungeon just messing around with my Calumet NX 4x5 studio camera. Shot on Kodak Professional Copy film, an orthochromatic contrasty film made for duping. Developed in Dektol 1:1, printed on Ilford Multigrade with no filter except for the shot of the bowls.

[lewisc]

Photography is another addictive hobby. I haven’t bought anything new for a while. I’ve just settled with a fairly easy to use setup at the moment. Canon 6D, 35mm 1.4 and 135mm 2.0.  I used to buy lenses second hand, try them out and then sell them on if I didn’t like them or it didn’t fit into what I was doing. 

The area I used to live in was literally in the middle of nowhere so I took up bird photography for a while. Other than that, I mainly focus on doing panorama shots and stitching them all together. 

[JohnG]

 

I enjoy landscape photography, and want to get better and wildlife, but don’t get much opportunity for it these days.

[JohnG]

1 minute ago, lewisc said:

Photography is another addictive hobby. I haven’t bought anything new for a while. I’ve just settled with a fairly easy to use setup at the moment. Canon 6D, 35mm 1.4 and 135mm 2.0.  I used to buy lenses second hand, try them out and then sell them on if I didn’t like them or it didn’t fit into what I was doing. 

The area I used to live in was literally in the middle of nowhere so I took up bird photography for a while. Other than that, I mainly focus on doing panorama shots and stitching them all together. 

I also shoot on a 6D. I’d love to move up to a 5Div but don’t want to pay for it.

I just tell Lightroom to stitch panoramas for me 

Nice shots!

[lewisc]

Thanks. Yeah, it’s a great little camera. I looked at the new model and decided I didn’t need to spend the extra cash to upgrade - it does all I need it too. I was considering switching over to the Sony mirrorless system for travel. The canon gets a little bulky with the lenses. Hence, just having two of them at the moment. 

And I totally agree about the software. It literally takes about 5 clicks and the computer churns it out. Quite remarkable really. 

[pkinneb]

3 hours ago, Chestnut said:

I have to correct you. That's the lighthouse not the split rock. There is a rock up the split rock river for which the lighthouse and river are named. I don't have a picture of that, much to my displeasure... long story. Short story i tried to get there and failed.

lol ok.

[Tpt life]

Africa took me into this as a hobby and so I have only recently picked it up. I am far better at documenting events than composing art. This  Sample includes my favorite train shot Ross. 

[Tom King]

Good stuff guys.  We take pictures, but don't do much art stuff, like some of you.

When I was a teenager, in 10th through 12th grades, my bedroom was a combination darkroom, and telescope mirror making workshop.  I toted a 35mm daily to school, and shot all through the days, printing at night, and selling 8x10's the next day for $1.50.  I made enough money to buy a lot of stuff that I wanted, like water skiing gear, and telescope making supplies.  At a buck fifty, I was making over a buck a piece, and sold over a dozen every day.   Doesn't sound like much now, but then you could buy a nice, new car for less than 3,000 dollars.

All my teachers would let me leave class anytime I wanted to, with the excuse of going to take pictures, so it was a big advantage.  They all knew that I had an easy time with schoolwork anyway, and I often bribed them by giving them prints.

This was before there was automatic anything, and you had to manually focus, and set exposure. 

Some pictures were also sold to the local newspaper, and I was sent to shoot things especially for them, once in a while.  I'd buy film in 100 foot rolls, and slept with the smell of developer, and fixer every night.

I had started with a 35mm body that had a knob to wind to advance the film.  It was to use on telescopes that my friend, and I built.  A B22 enlarger, and the other gear accumulated from there.

When I was a Senior, in 1968, our yearbook won first prize nationally for photography. I was the only photographer, other than the individual portraits. That was all in black and white.  After High School, without my darkroom, I switched to color, and kind of lost the touch for composition that I had with B&W, and control over the developing process.  Automatic cameras also made me loose most of my touch for exposure, and focus control.

Gary, I always wanted an 8x10 view camera, but never ended up going that direction.  I ended up just getting interested in a lot of other things.

[Gary Beasley]

4 hours ago, Tom King said:

 

Gary, I always wanted an 8x10 view camera, but never ended up going that direction.  I ended up just getting interested in a lot of other things.

I have found the 4x5 to do quite a good job, film is easier to get and I have an enlarger for it. 

I used to have an 8x10 Korona but I found it way too bulky and heavy, also had an 8x10 Elwood enlarger, what a beast! 

You still have a darkroom?

[Coop]

And I thought I was in high cotton when I got a camera phone 

[Gary Beasley]

23 minutes ago, K Cooper said:

And I thought I was in high cotton when I got a camera phone 

Dont knock it, modern camera phones are pretty amazing.

[Chestnut]

I have also wanted a view camera but i told myself i need to shoot my Hassie more before i ever do that. I have the stuff to develop B&W but then i picked up up  this woodworking hobby and decided to spend all of my time doing that.

[Gary Beasley]

I know what you mean Drew, did pretty much the same myself but might have been way more into photography, since high school. Got more gear than I can use now and trying to simplify things a bit.

I actually got started woodworking with the intention of building a wooden view camera. With your skills you could probably pull that off.

[JohnG]

I took an intro photography class in high school, mainly because I had taken all of the other cad/drafting and technology classes offered, and that seemed like the next best thing (oh how I wish I had taken some wood shop classes!). 

I enjoyed working with the film and the processing at the time and even set up my own darkroom at my house, but at this point in my life I have absolutely no interest in the time, materials, space, and mess. 

I love being able to immediately see if the shot was any good and always having the EXIF data tied to the photo. While it can easily get out of hand, I also like being able to take extra photos at no extra cost and without worry of getting to the end of the roll of film at just the wrong time (this was one of my best “skills” as a film photographer). 

[Chestnut]

I just searched for film processing places near by and now i'm debating if i want to take my Hassie to DC with me over memorial day. It could be really cool to get some medium format shots in Arlington with all the flags....

[Bankstick]

Film? Who uses film these days? I have a Nikon SX 530 HD that takes great photos and I'm still learning. I have seen some great underwater videos of released fish with the video shot using an iPhone. Looked that price and scratched it off the list.

[Tom King]

I don't have much of my equipment left from when I was in High School, but remembered this Honeywell flash, in a drawer in a piece of furniture that came out of my Parents' house.  The batteries were rechargable, in the handle, and about the size of D batteries.  They were thrown out long ago.  You had to wait for it to stop screaming while the batteries charged a capacitor before you could shoot.  It was state of the art then.

 

[Gary Beasley]

Cool! A Honeywell hammerhead! I have one of those, the cells are in the clip on the back of the head and are nicads. They can be replaced but be sure to match the voltage closely or you can blow a circuit. These things put out a lot of light.

[Tom King]

I believe I bought that new in 1967.  You're right about the battery location.  I remembered it wrong.  I haven't used it since 1968.  All my other camera equipment from then was stolen.  My next camera was a fully automatic Canon A1, and my photography became taking pictures.

[Gary Beasley]

I used to pack mine along with a Minolta SRT 102 into an ammo box and take it caving with me. I would handhold the flash away from the camera and got some really good cave shots, got published on the cover of the NSS News.