Photographic Ambitions

[Ted124]

I'm reading all the posts, wow! This is going to be fun!

I started with an Agfa rangefinder camera similar to this. It gave up on me at some point, wouldn't transport the film any more.



Here is myself in Rome 1975, taken w/ the Agfa, probably on Ektachrome film.

[BrokenolMarine]

I took a lot of pics throughout my career, and got some great shots. I never got around to calling myself a photographer however, I was just a hack. Lol. I'd get lucky. I had a camera, and an eye for what I liked. I had too many other hobbies to really get deep into it. But I enjoyed it, and some of my shots were good enough they were used by others.

Album covers, Subaru Ad, brochures for the state park we belonged to, and for one shot, they had it blown up into a large portrait size and put over the fireplace in all the new rental cabins at the park. I donated the rights to the park for the use of the images... to support the park.

[Ted124]

I have an educational background in photography, but wouldn't call myself a photographer. I like taking pictures. It adds an interesting aspect to daily live. I also love gadgets, aka cameras. Just recently I decided to limit myself in this regard.

I don't recommend to do this kind of thing. No enhancements were used in post.

101 West, LA County

[dave77]

It's not just Canon that have abandoned DSLRs. All the major manufacturers have moved to mirrorless. I made the move several years ago and never looked back. It took me a couple weeks to get used to the electronic viewfinder. After getting used to it, I much prefer it to the optical viewfinder. One of the big advantages is that it offers an exposure preview in the viewfinder. When looking through the viewfinder, I can see if I have blown out highlights, or underexposed shadows. I can then make adjustments and see the results immediately, without having to take a picture and look at it on the back of the camera.

As primarily a wildlife photographer, the advances in autofocus are a godsend. Object detection will lock in on the eye of a bird or animal and track it while it is in motion. It's not perfect, and occasionally gets off track, but it is head and shoulders above the older AF systems. There are other features that can be extremely useful such as pre-release capture and highlight weighted metering to name a few.

I guess if I got serious about getting a new camera I'd have to check out a mirrorless, I saw a camera with a electronic viewfinder years ago and was not impressed but I imagine they've improved a lot since then. I'd have to drive to Seattle or Spokane to see one as we no longer have a camera store in Wenatchee. We used to have 3 but I guess they just couldn't compete with the prices offered by the big online camera stores. I'm all for supporting local businesses but when I got my 7D I saved over $300 getting it at B&H instead of locally.

I have also heard about the greatly improved and faster auto focus and really like the idea of it automatically focusing on the eyes of the subject.

[Ted124]

Mirrorless is the new thing. Technology has greatly improved and advanced. Canon, Nikon, Sony etc. they all render enormously clean images even with high ISO. It may matter if you shoot video. Manufacturers have the market well cut out. Entry level equipment is available, beyond that, pricing goes up fast. Canon, Nikon have adapter options for EF or F -mount lenses. Canon's option worked better. Most of those cameras have IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) and radically improved EVFs (electronic viewfinder). The market is hot, even Olympus started a new generation (OM Systems).
B&H is a great source to check for pricing.

A Canon 7D is quite a capable camera, if you're ok with crop format. You can use EF-S or EF lenses on that body.

[Coach]

Here’s a favorite of mine. iPhone 2012.

[Ted124]

Great shot. Where is that?

[Coach]

This is in London. It was taken in the park behind the parliament building. Opposite side of Big Ben on the shore of the Thames river. The main subject is the London eye.

[Ted124]

London Town. I haven’t been there in a long time, if at all.
Been in Brighton 2 or 3 times.
I’m sure there is lots of things to see in London.
I’m a notorious jay-walker, so I hate them driving on the wrong side of the street.

Early morning on the way to work.
Pacific Coast Highway going East somewhere between Malibu and Santa Monica, 2017/18

[Ted124]

It should be mentioned, those high-end cameras set forth you do post production on a level above average, which in most cases requires Adobe (subscription) and good knowledge on how to use it, in order to get the most out of your images.
Not everybody goes plain .jpeg like Ken Rockwell.

I don't use Adobe.
I use DPP4 (Canon) which is a minimalist software and Nikon NX Studio which has a few more options to process RAW.
Both are free, as long as you use/own the respective product (requires serial # input).
I recently purchased (1-time purchase price) DxO Photo Lab 9 and started to use it. I really like it so far.

[dave77]

Mirrorless is the new thing. Technology has greatly improved and advanced. Canon, Nikon, Sony etc. they all render enormously clean images even with high ISO. It may matter if you shoot video. Manufacturers have the market well cut out. Entry level equipment is available, beyond that, pricing goes up fast. Canon, Nikon have adapter options for EF or F -mount lenses. Canon's option worked better. Most of those cameras have IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) and radically improved EVFs (electronic viewfinder). The market is hot, even Olympus started a new generation (OM Systems).
B&H is a great source to check for pricing.

A Canon 7D is quite a capable camera, if you're ok with crop format. You can use EF-S or EF lenses on that body.

You said in a earlier post that "I reversed course away from mirrorless, back to DSLRs." so I was thinking you didn't care for mirrorless.

I'm happy with my 7D and will most likely not be getting a newer camera. I do like the idea of the new faster/better focusing but for my needs the 7D is adequate.

I always wondered about full frame as I bought a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 along with the 7D kit. I really like this lens but every once in a while it will take a really soft image and I once read an article saying that sometimes full frame lenses are not the best to be used in a APS camera. I also recently read an article saying that he thought that the Tamron was actually sharper than the equivalent Canon L lens. I just use the Tamron most of the time and use one of the kit lenses if I'm taking a photo that is important and can't be repeated. I have a Canon EF 50mm f1.8 which is great for portraits. I also have a battery grip and while it does make the camera bulkier and heavier it makes it a lot easier to hold and operate in portrait mode. It's easy enough to remove if not needed.

[BrokenolMarine]

Here is my Original pic of the Spillway at Bear Creek Lake State Park... I have always liked to take pics of reflections.

spillway comp.jpg

I gave the park the high resolution copy of the pic and they blew it up and mounted it in the cabins when they were finished.

My pic in the Bear Creek Lake Cabins.jpg

Like others have said, it's a matter of having an eye to spot a good pic, and having a camera.
Patience pays off. Sitting in the garden early one morning, I caught a Hummingbird Moth in flight. It was the Photo of the Month for the Virginia Wildlife Magazine. Tina laughed at me, sitting in the garden for an hour here, an hour there, I caught some great shots.

hummingbird moth kbf.jpg

I also caught a great shot of the sunlight filtered through the trees into the front yard at the Cumberland Farmhouse. We worked hard on the place and kept it nice... It showed.

morning sun 01.jpg

[Ted124]

Mirrorless is the new thing. Technology has greatly improved and advanced. Canon, Nikon, Sony etc. they all render enormously clean images even with high ISO. It may matter if you shoot video. Manufacturers have the market well cut out. Entry level equipment is available, beyond that, pricing goes up fast. Canon, Nikon have adapter options for EF or F -mount lenses. Canon's option worked better. Most of those cameras have IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) and radically improved EVFs (electronic viewfinder). The market is hot, even Olympus started a new generation (OM Systems).
B&H is a great source to check for pricing.

A Canon 7D is quite a capable camera, if you're ok with crop format. You can use EF-S or EF lenses on that body.

You said in a earlier post that "I reversed course away from mirrorless, back to DSLRs." so I was thinking you didn't care for mirrorless.

I'm happy with my 7D and will most likely not be getting a newer camera. I do like the idea of the new faster/better focusing but for my needs the 7D is adequate.

I always wondered about full frame as I bought a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 along with the 7D kit. I really like this lens but every once in a while it will take a really soft image and I once read an article saying that sometimes full frame lenses are not the best to be used in a APS camera. I also recently read an article saying that he thought that the Tamron was actually sharper than the equivalent Canon L lens. I just use the Tamron most of the time and use one of the kit lenses if I'm taking a photo that is important and can't be repeated. I have a Canon EF 50mm f1.8 which is great for portraits. I also have a battery grip and while it does make the camera bulkier and heavier it makes it a lot easier to hold and operate in portrait mode. It's easy enough to remove if not needed.

Check your focus mode. Maybe it focuses on a different part of the frame.
I did get some strange distortion with wide angle EF lenses on Canon APS-C cameras, but all functions worked.
I don’t know the Tamron, so I couldn’t say how good this lens is. If your 50mm is the stm lense, it’s actually pretty good for the price. I have that too. I also had the 50mm 1.4 USM which is also very good for reasonable money.

My first interchangeable lens camera (digital) was a Panasonic LUMIX G1, basically the original mirrorless micro four third sensor size (m3/4). I used that for a long time, than switched to Olympus OMD bodies, also m4/3 and fully compatible with LUMIX lenses.Great cameras, although the EVFs left much to be desired.

I used Nikon DX a lot. D80/90/7000 and still have a D7100 that I like a lot. I never had issues with Nikon full frame lenses on those APS-C cameras.

My first full frame camera was a Canon RP w/ the kit lens 24-105 f4-7.1. Introductory price, I was very happy. That zoom was great, but only in daylight. I bought the 50mm budget lens and was not happy with the results. I started using the adapter with EF lenses which gave me better results. Only than I got the Canon 6D body and was very pleased with the image results. More ambience than the RP. RAW format is CR3 with the R bodes vs CR2 in D cameras.

Picked up a Nikon Z5 and like it a lot. Initially I purchased the 2 budget lenses, 40 and 28 mm.
The 28mm was a great lens. The 40mm not so much. A 24-70 S lens I picked up reasonably priced in excellent used condition.
I enjoyed adapting all kinds of vintage lenses with manual adapters until all the tinkering got too much.

I used the FTZ adapter with F-mount lenses which worked, but less than perfect. I spent some solid $ on more Z lenses, but found myself with more buyer's remorse than superb image results. That is probably where knowledge and skill in post processing becomes an issue. If one doesn’t know how to really use Photoshop or Lightroom, you’re not getting the full results out of your camera investment.

I got me a used Nikon D750 and again, I found the images more pleasing and easier to process with basic adjustments.

I decided to part with both, the Canon RP and Nikon Z5, plus Z lenses and stay with the Canon 6D, the Nikon D750, the D7100 and as of recent a Nikon D700, which is the original Prosumer Nikon FX camera with 12MP in a full frame sensor.
The D700 is a whole another animal which requires a good amount of engagement and skill because of its mostly manual nature.

I also unloaded 2 bags full of manual Vintage Nikon, Minolta & Leica R lenses.

[Ted124]

Here is my Original pic of the Spillway at Bear Creek Lake State Park... I have always liked to take pics of reflections.


spillway comp.jpg


I gave the park the high resolution copy of the pic and they blew it up and mounted it in the cabins when they were finished.


My pic in the Bear Creek Lake Cabins.jpg


Like others have said, it's a matter of having an eye to spot a good pic, and having a camera.
Patience pays off. Sitting in the garden early one morning, I caught a Hummingbird Moth in flight. It was the Photo of the Month for the Virginia Wildlife Magazine. Tina laughed at me, sitting in the garden for an hour here, an hour there, I caught some great shots.


hummingbird moth kbf.jpg


I also caught a great shot of the sunlight filtered through the trees into the front yard at the Cumberland Farmhouse. We worked hard on the place and kept it nice... It showed.


morning sun 01.jpg

I had to look that up to see where it is located.

[BrokenolMarine]

We used to own twenty acres about a half mile outside the main entrance. I drove an hour to work every day for twenty plus years. Sometimes more than that depending on my assignment for the month. But, it was quiet, and the dollar bought a LOT more in rural VA than in the urban areas. Same applies everywhere else. We never would have left, never planned to, except for the dramatic change in the political climate. But THAT's another (sad) story.

[Ted124]

I used to build guitars. Not so much anymore, had to reduce the inventory.

[Ted124]

Sunday on the way to the grocery store. Around 2 pm.