Lo peeps

After all the saga with the BIg Fella being extremely ill and nearly losing him 3 damn times we managed a book a week in a different cottage as we had to cancel the two week booking thinking the Big Fella wouldn't be fit enough to go

Any way about 4 odd years ago ( probably more ) I spent a small fortune on a digital slr camera and have always had a passion for photography but big time lacking the knowledge of how to take damn good pictures.

I decided to brush the dust of this beautiful camera and with a few tips from a very good friend set about trying to learn a few skills to take good pictures.



The Boss said I want one of those , the white porsche in the picture and I said you better win the lottery first

Well looking at this picture I know which one I prefer and it aint white

And this picture , well I think Rodney looks awesome but hey I am going to think that anyway



was just playing with the setting on the camera to see what sort of results I could get and I was pretty impressed with the results but I am sure someone can tell me there is somthing wrong with any one of these pictures and to be honest am open to any criticism as this can only help me improve my photography


And this is my favorite picture of today , I must of take over 300 pictures over a couple of days but that is the beauty of digital photography




This one just shows how well the Big Fella is looking now



As said any criticism welcome

Cheers
Dave Current : 4.2 S/C, now Sold
Previous : V70 Volvo, S40 Volvo ( a very reliable old banger ), E39 M5, Carlton Diplomat and the list goes on

Life Sucks but ya just have to do the best you can with what you have !

Dave, I don't know enough about photography so I can't and won't comment on it. Just that I like the pics

If your missus is keen on a Porsche, then you can forget the 5.0 I guess, her turn to get some nice wheels

I like the bike pic and the boys in the park, they look very relaxed. Hope their health is good at the moment, I know more than I would like about a lovely dog being ill, happened to me several times unfortunately. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

Hey Eugene

The 5.0 was and is a dream but have sunk way to much money into this one to justify the change , would really love it but the idea of divorce is not a favorable one so will have to stick with Rodney and I have to say has driven flawlessly since leaving home for the holiday and using super unleaded at the mo and it seems to like it and the mpg has improved

The Boss was just joking about the Porsche but to be honest she had her new car just over a year ago , a Focus ST which every time she gets in it there is a grin on her face and the porsche is out of our league anyway

The photography thing has been a passion for so damn long but never done anything about it and decided when we booked this holiday that was going to change and so far am happy with the results

As for the Big Fella , well he has come on leaps and bounds and the crazy thing that turned the horrible experience around was a change of diet to all natural meat oh and we found out he has a thyroid problem but that can be managed with meds.

All in all things are a damn sight better than they were , nearly eight months of hell wondering if he was going to live or die and I know there are people out there that would say he is over eleven why bother , hey he is my best bud and I know by all the tests everything is working fine and for a dog of his age , he is extremely fit.

But hey I have rambled on enough , hope all is good with you are yours

Cheers
Dave Current : 4.2 S/C, now Sold
Previous : V70 Volvo, S40 Volvo ( a very reliable old banger ), E39 M5, Carlton Diplomat and the list goes on

Life Sucks but ya just have to do the best you can with what you have !

I am no photographer , so I can only speak of my experience with my Nikon d40x.
Its probably entry level and bought when dslrs were quite new.

You may like me just be snapping away with the basic lens it came with? They are typically the cheapest bit.
My mate who spends £££ on his kit advised me to get a Tamron F2.8 lens.
2.8 is a bigger aperture, faster and let's more light in. Takes the most incredible shots.
Versatile to leave on for all occasions .
I even took 400 shots for a friends wedding. The official photographer said some of mine were better than his

They are not that dear new, and a quick peruse of the bay finds used ones from
As low as £50. (Search Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP XR Di-II SP LD )

Ps good photos mate , "Rodney" is a great colour Alcohol and eBay is never a good mix

2006 4.2 Supercharged, Java Black

Good photos, Dave.

Keep them coming. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

Hi Dave,

I like the photos

A tip a for getting the pro look in photos:

Use the longest focal length your lens has, say 200mm with the widest aperture say F2.8, have the camera in aperture mode (A) and auto focus on the subject.

The subject will be clear with the background blurred.

Simples

E4 GUY wrote:

My mate who spends £££ on his kit advised me to get a Tamron F2.8 lens.

I have a Tamron lens for my ancient cannon 350. It goes from 18 to 270 which means you don't have to switch lenses all the time, it has image stabilisation and it's been reliable over the years.

And it wasn't silly money.

I still take plenty of crap pictures though.

Good morning Dave
Firstly, your dogs look fantastic ! We're big dog lovers here - I always liked the look of large hounds.
Favourite pic for me is the second - that's definitely "the" Range Rover look.
Top job !
Paul
 Where do you go after one of these . . . ?

Muttley wrote:

Fine looking vehicle I must say

For the second shot, I would have cropped out the Merc parked up behind, as below! I use a package called 'Picasa', its a free photo organiser app from Google and is very good. You can import all your images from the camera (either by connecting via usb lead or using a card reader) and easily make mods to your images.




One suggestion I would make is that you get yourself (if not already) a good external drive (1Tb) and use that to back up your digital images. Don't leave them all on the card in the camera as sometimes the cards can fail.

This guy has some good articles, particularly for Nikon and Canon cameras.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/

Nice looking car and love the hounds, they do some brilliant photography classes at Strodes College in Egham, not too far from you ( I think) I have done 4 so far  2005 Range Rover Vogue with Supercharged Accessories
GONE 2001 Discovery TD5 ES
GONE 1995 Discovery 300 tdi GS

Lo peeps

As you can imagine being on holiday it's been a bit crazy as only got a week down here so trying to cram everything in and really wanted to reply to all of your helpful comments individually but just havnt had a chance !!

Just wanted to thank you to all for the nice comments and helpfull tips , trying to enjoy the holiday with two crazy hounds and trying to learn how to take better pictures isn't working every time I try to experiment I find I have done something wrong with the settings on the camera , oh is a Canon EOS 30D , didn't go for the standard lens as was told it wasn't much good , got the EFS 17-85mm ultrasonic with image stabiliser and the second lens I brought was the 70-300mm ultrasonic with image stabilizer , am sure the guys who know what's what will know what this all means but I basically went into Jessops some 4 odd years ago ( maybe more ) and it was purely the advice of the guy behind the counter ( he was probably clapping his hands when he realised I didn't have a clue what I was buying ) I went on his advice and have now been told the 17-85 is a portrait lens , yet again me , clueless , got a Luvly Lowepro rucksack that it all goes in and even with horrendous back problems I can put the rucksack on and it's well comfortable .

I now want either a pro canon 100-400 lens £1,200 eeeek or the Sigma 150-500 I think it is which I have had conflicting comments from so called professional photographers , some have said the canon is better and others have said the Sigma is better , I know what some of you are probably thinking , learn to use the camera first before you go spending a fortune on new lens's , also want a Manfroto try pod and trigger grip head as the tripod I am using is cheap Jessops tripod my daughter gave me ( probably sounding ungrateful here but not the case )

Just so much want to learn , have considered college but don't like working in groups , like the sound of the courses in eton , thanks paul_h , but I have a feeling I will end up going to a studio so I can get one to one tuition which is probably going to cost me a fortune but have wanted to learn for so damn long now and fed up with using excuses for not doing so !!

Thanks again for your input as it is very much appreciated , you can't beat getting peoples input and learn from there experiences

Oh and Gary thanks for your comment about my car , you know how much I want that 5.0 litre as it ticks all the boxes apart from the divorce option

Cheers

Dave Current : 4.2 S/C, now Sold
Previous : V70 Volvo, S40 Volvo ( a very reliable old banger ), E39 M5, Carlton Diplomat and the list goes on

Life Sucks but ya just have to do the best you can with what you have !

Dave,

IMO the lenses you have are perfectly adequate.

I would go for the pro cannon if I had to choose; 400mm is ok if you are wanting to shoot long distance, football, wildlife, but you will need a steady hand or tripod, and shoot fast to ensure good focus.

I find that photography is like golf. You can buy all the best equipment, but it wont improve your technique or swing.

Keep up the determination! Current MY2020
Gone: 1 x L405 and 2 x L322's

Cameras don't take photographs, people take photographs.

Take it from someone who has spent more on photographic equipment over the years than i care to confess.........use what you have, buy what you want, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to "see" the image before you trigger the shutter!

and this is what I love about this forum

Honest opinion , the reason for the 400mm lens is wildlife and have got my eye on a Manfroto tripod and Trigger grip head

this is possibly the tripod I will go for but need to do some research as need to know it will carry the weight of future equipment

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-manfrot...d/p1549518

And this is the head I will probably go for , do like the idea of the way it works and cant carry on using this cheap tripod

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-manfrot...00#details

But need to do the research first as when I brought all the camera and kit I did no research what so ever but I do like the camera but have also got the bug to update the body to a

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-canon-e...y/p1540518

bonkers I know but I am a bit


Oh just wanted to say the car has performed flawlessly and has been a pleasure to drive still want a 5.0 Litre tho  Current : 4.2 S/C, now Sold
Previous : V70 Volvo, S40 Volvo ( a very reliable old banger ), E39 M5, Carlton Diplomat and the list goes on

Life Sucks but ya just have to do the best you can with what you have !