Wulff

Nice Jay. J

Watermarking your photos is like having an alarm system for your house (but free). It wont stop a pro, it will stop some (but not all) kids looking for a quick score but importantly it limits the "damage". With your house and an alarm screaming they know they have time to grab the obvious and get out, they dont have the time to clean you out, find hidden stuff. The best thing you can do is reduce the size of the files you upload. While anyone who wants to go through the trouble of altering it can still do so, they are really limited to only using the photos themselves on the web. Small files like 800x500 and under 400kb dont print very well as anything larger than a 4 X 6. Any web based stock agency would flat out reject a submission of that size. The editors I send photos to won't accept aything thats not printable as less than an 10 x 8 and at 300 dpi. So by downsizing files and watermarking you've limited who and what can be done with it. Dont fool yourself, theres alot of ripoff occurring. Not long ago I was reading a thread on some forum that had found a person who was ripping photos from people and entering them in web based photography contest, winning small cash prizes. We all remember Grahams thread.

Some nice stuff Jim. Glad to see your still enjoying the journey.

Happy BD Ashby

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8

Very nice Andrew.

I have both and prefer the Ball head myself. I just find it easier to align, no knobby handles and is suitable in most applications. As TG said, don't skimp. If you have to reef down hard on the locking mechanism, you'll constantly be fighting not only creep but your also going to end up religning your comp. If it cant handle the weight it will constantly creep. A pain setting up a shot, a shot killer with long exposures. Any plans for bigger or heavier lenses, battery grip, flash or flash brackets? If you can account for those as well. Adding an over the barrel flash bracket like a RRS and putting the flash over the barrel and off body (desireable) will tip the scales so to speak between a ball head that works *now* vs not working down the road. Another maker you might want to look at is Malkins. I dont have personal experience but they came highly recomended to me and *appear* on the surface from their site to atleast similliar if not on par with RRS but a little cheaper.

Ferns are great Peter. Welcome to the addicting world of Macro

Lol, or maybe my kids just make me watch to much of it

Bascially what kargen and Peter said. Some will tell you, you can underexpose by 4 stops and still recover detail in the shadows. Never tried it myself but ya, I can see it maybe being possible. Hence the 8 stop arguements The end result ithough is going to look worse than the puke a rookie cop leaves behind and the gore from his first morotcylce road kill accident scene. As thats what you'll have. A roadkill of an image. Myself I delete anything that misses exposure ( i need to adjust) by more than a 1/3rd, unless its an important "memory" image...Say my kid hitting a HR. Your hisotrgam represents about 5 stops, there are lines or graphs that essentially break it down into zones (stops). Take a proper exposure that needs 1/100th. Set your body to TV and SS to 1/100th Take another at 1/50th Take another at 1/25th Watch the Histogram. After a while you can tell just by looking at the histo and where the recorded data is falling vs the edge ( 0 or 255) if you have room to push it 1/3rd or 1 more stop before clipping starts to occur.

Thanks guys. I'm have been/am still around, look at most threads just really limited in how much I can post and reply. Very little time at home in the eve's. If Im not doing something with the kids, I'm processing from the weekend . So the few forums I participate on I try to squeeze in the odd comment, or reply to people looking for help as I can from work. J

Say Cheese! Been super busy this summer. In some ways I cant wait for summer to end so I can start shooting some Fall stuff Thought Id stop in and post some of wha Ive been upto. Catching Browns in the sun Catching Browns in the rain Occassionally I try to do some Birds. Common Terns Osprey Dragon in flight...full frame. Occassionally I find time for myself and hit the 3D range Been hitting some Pro Bass Turneys..Man their rides are sweet. Big Bass to And finally in my *cough* down time *cough* trying to collect some classic Salmon Cheers all, hope everyones having a nice relaxing summer

Nice ones Jay

Generally not a fan of HDRs but thats real nice Andrew.

A couple Grey Fox images from my most recent day fishing.

Grats Jay. The 40D is a great camera. In my mind while it may not be as good as some others on paper, or by specs, it currently represents the best value for buck. By that I mean. Is it as good as a D300 or 5D? Not in all ways. But its alot cheaper. Its alot more camera than the Rebel line and yet only a couple hundred more. Its fantastic value. I still haven't decided if I want to buy one again or a 5D to serve as a backup to my 1D. Bob if you think the 40D is sensitive you should try my 1D in high speed My alternative is to keep saving for a MKIII and then ue my MKIIn as a back up to it. The MKIII is 5 grand, the 40d I could get tomorrow. Love the camera. Oh and guys. Don't write live view off so fast. For people like us, It offers something thats of extreme value. Jay if you have any questions about some of its functions or settings or even specs shoot me an email or pm. J

Nice jay, like the 2nd.

Nice Will. Not sure Id wat to share water with them either

Thanks all. Trout geek yes that shot and others were with the 24-70, yet others with the 85 1.8

Been awhile since I've posted anything. Lest you think I've fallen in a river never to be seen or heard from again, heres some images to show you what Ive been upto. Hairy image Dont do much birding lately, but heres a Scarlet Tanager A Guide and his dog Bringing one to hand One in the hand One on the reel One between the reels Browns to the Right Browns to the Left Stuck in the middle Mirror Mirror on the wall Is it wise to hatch and fall A Bugs Life J

Love the windblown hair shot. A hognose was my young ones first pet. When all the other 6yr old girls are looking at the rabbits and guinea pigs, there was mine in the pet store, draping snakes around her neck and insisting she wanted one. It was that day, that I knew Id be in trouble in the future and I kind of take pity on whoever decides to date her.

Old by 'todays" standards, not neccessarily by age. As mentioned in the other post. The Canon 300D while not "old" per se, its old in so much as its been replaced by the 350 XT, then the XTI, and now the XSI. 3 yrs ago the 350 XT was canons bleeding edge, entry level dslr. Compare the specs of its newer brother (XSI) to it. The D200/D300 are Nikons mid level offerings (Prosumer), so in the entry line correct me if Im wrong theres the D40 > D50> D70.

I'm not a landscape shooter, just beginning to learn that aspect but I think you have the right iea in #2 in so much as the stream leads the viewer into the frame and back out. The only thing I might suggest and its a common thing especially when starting ( I was/am guilty to ) is it looks a little underexposed, bt if i is not by much. Im definately not a flower shooter, any time I try I end up deleting 95% of them That said (imo) top down pictures rarely work, just like fish on shore, or most other subjects. Try for a lower angle/perspective.

Im not very familiar with Nikon so I dont think my comments are fair. For point of reference I just checked a retailer here who often carry "Open Box" stuff. Very similiar to B+H?? (sp?/name?) out of NY You can get a barely used Rebel XTI with an 18-55 kit lens for $540.00. The XTI is barely 1.5 yr old at 10mp etc, etc, yada, yada and has only just been replaced by the XSI. So the D40 which if Im not mistaken is Nikons entry level and old seems high at that price. Again Im not at all familiar with nikon though. http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/se...p;storeId=10001

Well that to is "relative" Newfie. If your a first tme buyer who simply wants a capable body to dip your toes into the DSLR world than 150 or 200 may be a good deal. It gets you a capable body at "relatively" cheap prices. It wasnt long ago that the 10D and 300D were cutting edge and everyone raved about them. *************** That said, you could spend more and get "newer" technology. I've seen 30Ds offered used for 600ish and I personally owuld not pay more than 900 or 950 for a used 40D. So if you simply want a DSLR thats going to take nice pics so long as they are in working order its a basement price. The reality is there won't be many buyers for technology that old and if the seller just want to get rid of a paper weight they might jump at an offer of 100 to 150. Id be surpirsed if they've had many nibbles. ********* Are you better saving some more and spending 600 on a newer body but not bleeding edge? Not for me to say.