ZYX's Photography

[ZYX]

I LOVE photography, and thought I would post some pics from my recent vacation. I have many more than this, I'll post some more tomorrow. There are quite a few fantastic ones that I will not be showing however, because they show people's faces, for safety and security reasons.














I was also playing around with the black and white/color feature. Once again, I'll post more than just these two tomorrow. But as of now, it's late, and I'm tired, so this is all you get.

[TheArtist]

 Very serene. Where is that?

[ZYX]

It was on Pensacola Beach, FL. There are a bunch of Condo towers right next to that where we stayed, but I was on National Seashore land, where building is not allowed, which made the beach much less crowded.

[patric]

If you are going to shoot black-and-white, try a red filter (#25) and see what it does for the sky and clouds.
Does your camera give you the option of removing your IR cutoff filter?

[ZYX]

I don't have a DSLR, yet...so I can't put all the filters and lenses on it. My camera is about the best point and shoot you can buy before moving up to DSLR. I'm saving up for a Nikon D-5000 and a lens. If only they weren't so freakin' expensive.

[Ed W]

If you want to play with the effects of color filters with black and white film, download Picasa from Google. It's a free photo editor and database that will catalog every image on your computer. Once that's done, click on a photo to open the editor and select the effects tab/filtered B&W.

Another free processing program is Zoner Photo Studio 12. I liked it because it allows editing of the EXIF information - the metadata in each image file - and you can search for the tags later on.  I liked Zoner so much, I bought the paid version. It's supposed to be much like Lightroom, but I can't vouch for that as I haven't used Lightroom yet. But Zoner handles 99% of my photo needs.

It even does HDR:

[Hoss]

I'm just about ready to move up a notch out of my entry level DSLR (Nikon D40), although Ken Rockwell sure does like his.  Better than some of his pricier cameras.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm

Unfortunately, the D40 is discontinued.  He recommends the D5100 as a good replacement.  The D3100 would be viable as well.

[Red Arrow]

Is that your daily driver?

[patric]

I'm just about ready to move up a notch out of my entry level DSLR (Nikon D40), although Ken Rockwell sure does like his.  Better than some of his pricier cameras.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm

Unfortunately, the D40 is discontinued.  He recommends the D5100 as a good replacement.  The D3100 would be viable as well.

The Nikon D40 is a great low-light camera that out-performed many of their newer models.   Hang on to it.
I've taken moonscapes with the D40 that look like noon except for the sky being full of stars.
Dont know how the 3100 or 5100 compare, though.

[Ed W]

Is that your daily driver?

I had a few that were worse.

[Ed W]

The Nikon D40 is a great low-light camera that out-performed many of their newer models.   Hang on to it.
I've taken moonscapes with the D40 that look like noon except for the sky being full of stars.
Dont know how the 3100 or 5100 compare, though.

I purchased a D3100 for my daughter, but it's sitting in a closet until Christmas. However, I did go to Nikon's website and downloaded a copy of the user manual.  It's a great way to compare cameras.

Later this week, I'll get an actual new camera, really. A new one, as in never been used before.  That's unlike those other 'new' cameras here that are only 20 or 30 years old.  I have an Olympus E-PL2 on the way. I was going to order an E-PL3 when they become available later this month, but my cheap kicked in when I realized that the 2 was 200 dollars less AND we have Number One Son's birthday coming up.  He'll be 21.  I offered to get him a fifth of whiskey and a subscription to Playboy, but SWMBO was not amused.

[ZYX]

Here are some more unedited ones. I think I'll try Picassa.

[Hoss]

The Nikon D40 is a great low-light camera that out-performed many of their newer models.   Hang on to it.
I've taken moonscapes with the D40 that look like noon except for the sky being full of stars.
Dont know how the 3100 or 5100 compare, though.

I full well intend on keeping it.  I've put almost 15000 shutters into it and she works as good as ever.  I've got the stock 18-55 lens that came with the kit, then splurged about a year later and bought a 55-200 VR zoom that works well.  Both lenses work awesome in low light, as I used them for hockey photos at the BOK Center.  When I was afforded floor access, I had great results with it.

Here are a couple of samples of that:

[nathanm]

No AF with the $100 50mm f/1.8 lens, though. An extra 2 stops from the lens over the short end of the 55-200 or 18-55 is incredibly helpful. I need to get a D300 (or D3!) someday.

[ZYX]

Here are some that I took with my Canon S5 IS in macro mode: