[Menandore]

I've just looked through the entire thread and there are some really fantastic photos on here! Are any of you guys professionals?

I haven't been posting much of anything lately but feel the need to share some of my recent(ish) pics. To start with, these are from about a year ago, skiing in Italy...


Ski Holiday 100 by sunrise2104, on Flickr


Ski Holiday 090 by sunrise2104, on Flickr


Ski Holiday 4073 by sunrise2104, on Flickr


Ski Holiday 124 by sunrise2104, on Flickr


And a couple from a beer festival in Germany last summer...


Picture 019 by sunrise2104, on Flickr


Picture 013 by sunrise2104, on Flickr

[Animace]

A photography thread on malazanempire? Where have i been!

Photos in this thread make me jealous!

Heres some of my stuff:

[Use Of Weapons]

Love that last one -- the blurred reflections in the stone floor look like steps into the nether regions.

[Gothos]

It looks as if the reflection was of a giant baroque hallway.

[Animace]

You know, I had never noticed that before you mentioned it, what a happy accident! (Just like me)

You learn something every day, thank you muchly!

[Traveller]

 Falcon websize.jpg (147.94K)
Number of downloads: 0

EDIT... I've sharpened up the beak a bit, and lightened the pic a fraction - hopefully that doesn't count as too much interferance!

This post has been edited by Traveller: 17 July 2011 - 06:22 PM

[Binder of Demons]

Nice shot Traveller, nice detail in the feathers. Pity the beak isn't crisp as well but you got the important part sharp (the eye).

One tip i'd give for any wildlife shots, particularly like this, is to try and have the subject looking perpendicular to you (at the very least), or preferably slightly towards you. It will make a HUGE difference in how viewers engage with the subject. I know this isn't always possible with animals, but it's worth keeping in mind.

To test this out, you could take 3 shots of an animal (bird, whatever) that is looking off to the side of the frame. Shoot one image as it is looking slightly away from you, one that is perpendicular to you, and one that is looking slightly towards you. Unless you can also see in the frame what the animal is looking at, even the tiniest tilt of the head away from you significantly reduces the impact of the image. conversely, if the bird turns even slightly towards you, the impact will be much greater. I hope that is clear, and doesn't sound like gibberish. Because

I've seen it in my own bird photos over the years, and it took me ages to realise it. But it stopped me from wasting loads of photos on birds that were moving away from me, or looking away, since i knew then to wait for the right moment.

Anyway, hopefully that doesn't sound too preachy. Too long doing critiques of wildlife images for my local camera club. Will see if i have small versions of some of my images on my comp to post and ye can all rip mine

[Traveller]

Yes, I know what you're saying.. any pic where the subject turns away or looks like they are heading out of the frame rather than into it spoils the composition.

And yes, bummer about the beak, I could maybe do a tweak in PS to sharpen it up a bit. I took this crop out of several shots of the bird looking different ways, but I chose this one as the detail in the feathers was high, and the eye sharp - and I like the dead-on profile view as he focusses on something out of the picture. I think (in this case) having him looking slightly towards the camera wouldn't have looked as good. I will look back at my other shots though, and see how they look with the same treatment.

[A Demon Llama!]

Some interesting photos you guys have here (that one with the bridge in Sydney looks good) I have a question regarding cameras. I have been planing to buy an SLR camera recently but have no idea what to look for. I really can't afford anything expensive, and probably looking around $300 - 500$ range. Hopefully theres some decent ones in that price range. Any input from people that actually know cameras would be great.

Is the Canon EOS Rebel XS any good? Its on sale at futureshop and comes with a bag o.O

Thanks.

[Binder of Demons]

A Demon Llama!, on 03 August 2011 - 03:01 AM, said:

Some interesting photos you guys have here (that one with the bridge in Sydney looks good) I have a question regarding cameras. I have been planing to buy an SLR camera recently but have no idea what to look for. I really can't afford anything expensive, and probably looking around $300 - 500$ range. Hopefully theres some decent ones in that price range. Any input from people that actually know cameras would be great.

Is the Canon EOS Rebel XS any good? Its on sale at futureshop and comes with a bag o.O

Thanks.

What you need to consider when buying a Digital SLR is that you are always going to be wondering if you should have bought the newer model for all the great new features. The rate of change is frightening to be honest. However, what you will find is that while you could upgrade the body of the camera every 6 months, if you invest in good quality lenses, you will have them for many years (I have 2 lenses which are over 10 years old and still in great condition, while the cameras have changed several times).

I'll say up front that I am a fan of canon's camera's but that's simply down to the fact that it was the system i bought into years ago, and now I'm heavily invested. A few years ago, Canon stole a march on everyone else in the DSLR market with the quality of the video as well as the stills. Nikon has responded recently, and can probably boast superior capability in low light conditions (and is catching up on the video too).

While other manufacturers have produced decent cameras as well, I would stick to either CANON or NIKON for the extensive selection of lenses and accessories. You can't really go wrong in terms of image quality from either Canon or Nikon in the last 5 years, so anything you buy will be a great start for stills photography.

Nikon has the additional advantage in that there is a huge market of older 2nd hand lenses which are compatible with their newer cameras no matter where in the world you are.


If you don't feel the need for having HD video in your camera, then look around at either the CANON or NIKON camera's from a few years ago, and see if you can get an older body with a higher quality lens on it. And maybe a local camera store of yours will have a second hand camera to look at instead.

Sorry for the waffley answer, but it's very hard to know what to recommend without knowing what you'll be using the camera for. No matter what, the REBEL XS will be a fine starting point, but you may be able to get better value by going the 2nd hand route.

[A Demon Llama!]

Using it mostly for taking pretentious pictures, but I would also like to be able to take decent HD videos. I noticed that the Rebel XS does not have video capability, so I guess wont be getting that one. Will have to get in contact with my elusive friend since he knows (or pretends) to know whats good to get.

[A Demon Llama!]

Its been a while since my last post up there but I finally purchased a camera. Got the T2i. Twas on sale and came with an extra battery, 16 gig card and the standard 18-55mm lens.