Random Thoughts... [Photographic Edition]

[nomix]

Remember reading of it, yeah. It's really quite clever and ingenious.

[phuckingduck]

Originally Posted by carolsLittleWorld

I think your problem is that, as you've said yourself, you can't figure it out. IMHO, you'll always get better pictures if you have some idea in your head of what you want to get. You don't need better photography skills-you already have those, you need "thinking" skills (not trying to be offensive, just making a suggestion.)

Have you thought about what kind of shots you want to take before you go to the car show to take them?

Last year, I shot a British car show for the first time and I had a hard time too. I had never really shot cars before at all. Out of the 2 hours or so I spent "shooting" over 30 minutes was spent "thinking." In the end, I wound up shooting telephoto (100mm macro) and shooting the cars as sort of "graphical elements" the way a graphical designer would. I came to that after several "false starts" though-tried a few things, didn't work, thought some more about it, "damn it! That's not working, let me try this instead..." eventually my head figured it out and then my hands just did it.

Just a suggestion but maybe try to think about the way you want the cars at the car show to look in your head, and refine the idea in your mind before you pick up the camera. (Works for me anyway.)

Here's the problem; I did think about what shots I wanted before I even went to the show, then again before I approached a car, then again before I left that car. I just don't have it. I think if I could stage a car, I'd probably do fine, but at a car show I just can't do it. Beats me....

:O @ the Russian link from Nomix!

Anyone got any idea on a good, cheap, full frame, wide angle lens for Nikon? I want to consolidate my photo gear down into one set of two Nikon cameras (Digi/Film) as I'm currently lugging old Canon gear around for film stuff and then my Nikon set for digi. I'm thinking Sigma70-200/2.8 + Nikon50/1.8 + Nikon 35/1.8 + ??. The Sigma 17-35/2.8-4 and 12-24/4.5-5.6 are tempting but both are a little $$$ even on the used market. Maybe just a Nikon 24/2.8 and keep my 18-55?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally Posted by phuckingduck

Anyone got any idea on a good, cheap, full frame, wide angle lens for Nikon? I want to consolidate my photo gear down into one set of two Nikon cameras (Digi/Film) as I'm currently lugging old Canon gear around for film stuff and then my Nikon set for digi. I'm thinking Sigma70-200/2.8 + Nikon50/1.8 + Nikon 35/1.8 + ??. The Sigma 17-35/2.8-4 and 12-24/4.5-5.6 are tempting but both are a little $$$ even on the used market. Maybe just a Nikon 24/2.8 and keep my 18-55?

Well, the lenses you've listed are solid, but the 35/1.8 won't do you any good on film. The Sigma 17-35HSM can be had for <$300 and the Tamron 17-35 even less than that.

[phuckingduck]

Yeah, I know that the 35/1.8 is at best a Holga-esque niche lens on FF (heavy vignetting). But I want to keep something with that relative FoV for my digital, so one prime isn't too high a burden. As far as the Sig goes I can only find cheap versions of the 82mm version which has pretty shady reviews and is an odd filter size. Any pointers aside from Amazon and eBay?

[Adunaphel]

Originally Posted by Cosworth

I'd tend to disagree, It's what you make of it really ...

That is one awesome shot! But tell me, did you gain access to that (closed) stand and how many hoops did you have to jump through? I've tried it, getting into these stands is pretty damn hard.

And I never said it was impossible, but that it is a pain, and I do not consider a carshow a good photography opportunity.

[Paddy]

Generally, yeah, it is a huge pain ! I just arrived early and waited for there to be no one in shot. Spent 45 minutes lying on the floor of the NEC to get a shot of a GT3 at Autosport before, just need a lot of patience !

[vikiradTG2007]

So... I'm on the hunt for a new lens alongside my 18-55 kit lens for the D40. I've spotted three possible ones within my budget (which is something around 210-230 Euros):

Nikon AF 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 G (187 Euros)
Nikon AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED DX VR (180 Euros, now on offer at 166 Euros)
Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G AFs VR (214 Euros)

Which one would you recommend?

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by vikiradTG2007

So... I'm on the hunt for a new lens alongside my 18-55 kit lens for the D40. I've spotted three possible ones within my budget (which is something around 210-230 Euros):

Nikon AF 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 G (187 Euros)
Nikon AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED DX VR (180 Euros, now on offer at 166 Euros)
Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G AFs VR (214 Euros)

Which one would you recommend?

I'd take the 55-200, was eyeing that before I decided to buy a prime lens first. That's still going to be my next purchase though, I desperately want VR.

[Ramseus]

Don't get a telephoto lens without VR/IS/OS unless you want to lug around a monopod/tripod everywhere.

Just practicing panning on some boring cars...

[LeVeL]

Originally Posted by Ramseus

Don't get a telephoto lens without VR/IS/OS unless you want to lug around a monopod/tripod everywhere.

Just practicing panning on some boring cars...

-snip-

You're shooting too early, I think. That's why some of the car is in focus and some is blurred. Try taking the shot when the car passes right by you.


On an unrelated note, I need help editing. I think I might over-edit my shots. As an example, I'll do a quick edit of Cosworth's shot (hope you don't mind).

Before:


After:


I see the light areas as too washed out and try to darken them, and vice versa with darker spots. As I'm going through the editing process, this makes sense and looks good to me. However, after I look at the shots after some time, I realize that the object doesn't "pop out" of the background, for better or for worse.

Here, for example, you can see that I burned the background (trees and sky) and the pavement before the cars quite a bit. Looking at this shot about two months after editing it, the background seems to take away from the object(s). I know I couldn't really help it, as this wasn't a setup shot (the people are pretty distracting too), but I can't help but feel that darkening the trees/sky kinda distracts from the cars.



Thoughts? I'll try to come up with a better example.

[nomix]

I like how you did Cosworths shot. I don't like your own shot, it's too dull, and has no contrast at all. Try upping contrast, and I think it'll work.

Edit: Just in from SLRgear, review of the OM Zuiko 50/1.8. The lens tested is a blacknose, which are usually better than the just as common silvernose.

Does seem quite usable. It confirms the experience I've had with my own OM Zuiko 50/1.8 Silvernose.

It also shows the difference of now and then. In the old days, primes were king. Nowadays, zoom lenses are generally as good or better than the older primes.

[phuckingduck]

Where does everyone buy their gear? Particularly, whats a good place to look for used equipment?

[sifu]

flee markets for me! m42 gear can be found there..

[Ramseus]

A bunch of photos looking like:


after running through PhotoAcute and taking the result into photoshop for sharpening and high pass filters: (maybe too much sharpening, but whatever)

[carolsLittleWorld]

Where does everyone buy their gear? Particularly, whats a good place to look for used equipment?

I have bought used gear from Wall Street Photo, Precision Camera (local Austin photo joint,) KEH.com, and B&H Photo. B&H (right now) is probably my current preferred dealer for new stuff, for used, it's a mixed bag.

I also get a lot of gear from friends-you can find photo "friends" if you join a local camera club, Shutterbug club, or the like. Also, check out your local university or college programs to see if there are people you can buy, sell, trade with-maybe students, faculty, or staff there can give you a point in the right direction for camera gear and where the good places are to get stuff.

[nomix]

Dark side's just published their review of the E620. Gets good marks.

[LeVeL]

I love B&H. Decent prices and they usually deliver the next day, even with regular shipping

[Shawn]

What's the benefit of CF cards over SD? Just browsing some higher-end cameras for fun and I see they all use CF (Nikons).

[nomix]

CF cards used to be quite superior to SD, which meant that any pro around usually had about five hundred of them in their camera bags. Therefore, swapping to SD didn't make any sense, especially as there's little space to be saved. Personally, I also prefer them to SD cards as they're physically larger and therefore harder to lose. This can be important, especially if you're out in the dark in freezing cold. The smaller the card, the easier to lose with your frozen fingers.

[epp_b]

Where does everyone buy their gear? Particularly, whats a good place to look for used equipment?

I like to buy from The Camera Store if I'm buying from Canada (which I prefer). Good prices, even better service and shipping. I've bought from them a number of times and haven't been disappointed yet.

I've only bought from B&H once, but it was a good experience. They shipped my order within a couple hours.

As for the original post: if I'm shooting at a car show, I just forget about shooting the cars exclusively and try to shoot it more as an event or from an artistic/abstract perspective. Occasionally, you can get a nice clearing to feature a particular car.

Here's a question from me: does anyone else have those "down times" when no good artistic ideas or thoughts come to you? Every once in a while, I get a few days in a row where all I get is crap. I feel like I've done it all, seen it all and that I've exhausted all the opportunities. Anyone else have these?