Quote :

"I thought some cameras have a bracket button, no? "

A lot do, which can be helpful especially with a remote. But for example on my 30D I have to auto bracket three shots at a set over and under exposure; such as neutral, one step over, and one step under.

I tend to spot meter the darkest and lightest parts of the frame and base my exposures on that. Typically, just three exposures, but when dealing with a large dynamic range I take many different exposures and see what works during combination.

6/25/2008 10:28:05 AM

Nevermind, I had misunderstood the Rebel XT instructions. Got it now. I need to take a picture of the bamboo with exposure bracketing so it'll not only show the bamboo's canopy, but the thick stalks in the stand as well.

6/25/2008 3:57:20 PM

Quote :

"That photo was taken in a mental hospital that has been abandoned for 30+ years in new york. I visited several hospitals over the weekend, and have film to develop in addition to the digitals."

i've been wanting to do this for (quite literally) YEARS...how did you find it? i know that there are a number around NC, but i don't know where to find them, or how to go about getting permission to go inside (though i don't really care about the permission )

anyone know where any are? i'm horribly fascinated by the idea of abandoned mental hospitals, and i would love to go traipsing about one

6/25/2008 4:59:03 PM

The good hospitals are up north. But there are plenty of other abandoned locations right here in NC. That's what the bulk of my photos are.

6/25/2008 6:12:49 PM

canebrake rattlesnake


eastern diamondback rattlesnake

6/25/2008 7:37:51 PM

Quote :

"The good hospitals are up north. But there are plenty of other abandoned locations right here in NC. That's what the bulk of my photos are."

do you have any recommendations? how'd you go about getting permission (or did you even bother)?

6/26/2008 8:48:09 AM

Bain WTP (btw is this the same pezking?)

http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread.asp?fid=3&threadid=54677

6/26/2008 11:34:53 AM

Yep, same pezking as on uer.

Quote :

"do you have any recommendations? how'd you go about getting permission (or did you even bother)?"

Getting permission sometimes works, but it takes forever. There's hardly ever a need.

I thought I was about to get arrested and have my gear taken while I was in NY but the cop ended up being a nice guy about it and I just had to get off the property asap.

Let me know if you're ever in the mood to go check out some local places. It gets addicting quick.

6/26/2008 12:08:56 PM

Where's the water plant (Fayetteville Road)? Is it easy to get into?

6/26/2008 12:29:20 PM

yep, Fayetteville Rd, just down from the beltline bridge. Depends on if they forgot to close the gate again.

6/26/2008 12:41:36 PM

well, i tried my hand at making some HDR photos but they didnt line up on top of each other. i thought i had them framed perfectly but if you are off by a hair it looks like shit.

i was up to almost midnight trying to get something to post in this thread

6/26/2008 12:48:29 PM

So I got my D40 yesterday in the mail and decided to start playing with it. Took a few photos and then put it on the charger (always seems to take longer to charge when you REALLY want to use it) and then got back to taking more photos.

Here's one I took yesterday evening of a fountain at an apartment complex. I won't claim it to be amazing by any standards but I kinda like it.

6/26/2008 2:20:29 PM

who likes baby toads?

6/26/2008 4:25:59 PM

Sure its not a tree frog Nice shot





Found this guy right after I got home from work the neighborhood dogs had nearly killed him.




[Edited on June 26, 2008 at 10:28 PM. Reason : .]

6/26/2008 10:11:38 PM

That's terrible!!

I hope you helped him...he looks like he could really use some help.

6/27/2008 1:35:56 AM

6/27/2008 3:04:17 AM

oh geez that's really sad...poor guy!

lol and yes, baby toad

6/27/2008 6:56:12 AM

wtf, I got a D40 and don't get pictures like the fountain one.

i am totally doing it wrong.

6/27/2008 6:59:39 AM

uh...its not the camera...

6/27/2008 8:18:11 AM

did you shoot the groundhog in the head to put him out of his misery (serious question)?

6/27/2008 9:51:19 AM

Just got one of these suckers the other day, just trying to figure it all out as I go. Know a little bit, but not enough.

6/28/2008 7:27:39 PM

Quote :

"did you shoot the groundhog in the head to put him out of his misery (serious question)"

I got the dogs off of him and watched him run off into a nearby field. I would have shot him but it looked like he would make it.

6/29/2008 7:05:51 PM

^^What kind of lens did you take those pics with?

I was asked to photograph a friends wedding, meep.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28108346@N07/2623125892/in/photostream/

Stuff from last week, please to critique

6/29/2008 9:21:21 PM

maybe I'll take a photography class at wake tech or something.

6/29/2008 9:58:06 PM

^^That was just the old kit lens. Literally just outta the box. I need to get something else but right now only want to spend <$100

Thoughts? I was thinking the 50mm f/1.8. I've heard good things.

6/29/2008 10:00:44 PM

For 100 bucks the 50mm is awesome. Its very sharp and a great potrait lens.

6/29/2008 10:04:12 PM

Can Nikon take off brand lens? I know Canon can, or the ones I've seen can

6/29/2008 10:08:49 PM

http://www.bythom.com/tamrondb.htm

That's a list of lenses for Nikon by Tamron.

6/29/2008 11:28:34 PM

I'm really kicking myself for cutting the reflection off the inflight picture. Lesson learned.

6/29/2008 11:31:43 PM

those are still pretty good.

6/29/2008 11:35:06 PM

Bodie Island Lighthouse



[Edited on June 30, 2008 at 12:17 AM. Reason : pic]

6/30/2008 12:16:40 AM

Photoshopped rays or natural?

6/30/2008 12:26:19 AM

Quote :

"^^That was just the old kit lens. Literally just outta the box. I need to get something else but right now only want to spend <$100 Thoughts? I was thinking the 50mm f/1.8. I've heard good things."

what do you have now?

I was going to buy the kit + the 50mm 1.8, but then the current deal (buy a d40/d60/d80 kit and a 55-200 or 70-300 and save $100) and I got the 55-200vr. I love it and I can't imagine not having it. It's about $225 new.

at this point I'm sometimes frustrated by not having a tripod. I'd drop $100 on a tripod before I got the 50mm 1.8.

6/30/2008 7:29:55 AM

^^its a 1 minute 7.7 second exposure so the rays you see are how they were exposed by the camera

6/30/2008 8:03:37 AM

Quote :

"what do you have now?"

It's an XTi kit with 18-55 lens. It's okay, but not as sharp as I'd like.

6/30/2008 8:07:30 AM

oh right, I'm talking Nikon over here. In any case, I really like having the 200mm focal length. the problem with the 50mm on a Nikon d40 is that it wont auto focus, if that's not an issue with the XTi, you won't regret it, I'm sure.

6/30/2008 8:47:16 AM

i wanna take one of you cats fishing with me and let you take good pictures of my favorite fishing places for me

my amateur shit always looks like amateur shit

6/30/2008 8:51:03 AM

Yeah, as far as I know the Canon 50mm has AF. They say it's loud, but that's it.

The only issue with photography is it's like golf in that it's an expensive hobby. I need to get a better tripod and a nice camera bag.

6/30/2008 9:42:34 AM

Anyone know if a good spot to take pictures of the fireworks in DC?

6/30/2008 11:25:54 AM

Any recommendations on how to take great firework photos too? Use a Tripod, set my iso really high, take lots of a shots, pray, etc...

[Edited on June 30, 2008 at 11:50 AM. Reason : ]

6/30/2008 11:50:00 AM

I was reading something the other day, it went like: use a tripod, zoom in fairly tight, go full manual and set aperture to f/11 and shutter to 1/4. Even better, use a remote & bulb shutter (press to open, press to close). Check your LCD and tweak the framing and timing.

also, google turned this up - some good tips including watch the wind direction so the smoke doesnt get in between you and the fireworks.

http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-photograph-fireworks/

[Edited on June 30, 2008 at 12:08 PM. Reason : ..]

6/30/2008 12:06:35 PM

I heard to keep the ISO at 100 to keep the noise down (that can occur during long exposures)

6/30/2008 12:57:54 PM

yeah, I used ISO 100 at f5.6-8 at like 1/30th shutter speed. I was pretty surprised of how much light those fireworks give off.

6/30/2008 7:00:22 PM

my first HDR-ish shot:


[Edited on July 1, 2008 at 12:31 AM. Reason : .]

7/1/2008 12:29:54 AM

oh yeah, now i remember. i used a wireless release for my firework shots. makes things soooo much easier because you can pick when you want to start and end the exposure. keep it at a high fstop like f11 and you can catch a good bit of stuff without over exposing. personally i like seeing the sky black with the fireworks though. i don't think i can take any this year though



http://www.flickr.com/photos/sayitloudbap/page11/

they are already posted in here somewhere anyway.

7/1/2008 7:19:06 AM

Some test shots I took today. Not the best as it only took me about 30 mins to setup. Used 4 lights. The ps3 was an afterthought and does require a lot more work to setup properly, the only angle I could and control the reflections.

7/1/2008 3:37:59 PM

Nice shots. What are you using for the background?

7/1/2008 4:28:34 PM

just a roll of white paper. Some more, this is proving to being addictive

7/1/2008 4:36:00 PM

^those are kinda cool

7/1/2008 4:37:03 PM

This is fun! Now to start mixing some drinks to take pictures. Hopefully my perspective won't be at an angle... but that's what the level tool is for!

7/1/2008 5:11:53 PM