GARY....oh yoohoo Gary

[LensBaby]

Everybody on here is wondering if everything is ok? You have been so quiet, and we miss those beautiful photos of the adorable birds.

[dkippen]

Gary oh Gary - where are thou Gary?? I've seen you popping in, but you don't stay. I hope we didn't scare you away??

[Snappers]

Common Gary, We miss you, Well I do, You know these ladies outnumber us men! :D

[gjtoth]

I've been here.... just gone into lurk mode until the weather warms and I can get out a little. I don't have much to add when it comes to portraits (which seems to be what most folks here want to do) so, I can't add anything. I'm just not into pictures of the kids. Most of you have DSLRs so, can't add much (if anything) to that end of the conversations either. Most of the others forums are the same. Kid shots and DSLRs -- soooooo... lurk mode. http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k119/gjtoth/emoti_236.gif As you can see, I pop in when I can contribute or if I have a shot to share.

Oh yeah... I got offered a part-time position with a local photographer doing his landscapes and nature jobs. Seems he came across my albums on Flickr and found it difficult to believe I'm getting the captures I get with a li'l ol' P&S. So, he shot me a private message and was amazed to find out I was local to him. I, of course, turned down the offer as I am doing this for ME and it would turn into drudgery if I would accept.

[ladyups]

Well, my dear man...you get your butt out of lurk mode cause I've missed your canter something terrible. I don't give a darn if you use a P&S or a 35 mm film camera, I like your photos and your advice has been awesome help to me...and do I like taking portraits? Not as much as I like taking wildlife and landscapes...the only kids I take are my grands and that's not that often.

So...get yourself back in here...NOW!

[LensBaby]

Yes Gary.It is just not the same without you. You have such good advice and always have great photos. PLEASE join in.

[Snappers]

Indeed Gary, I have to agree with the ladies on this one.
Sorry,.
We are all interested in different types of photography, and we all have different cameras but we still have an opinion that counts, at least I like to think so. Involvement in a forum makes the forum which is why it is important for us all to be involved. If you see what I mean.

Where would we be without your witty comments?
Glad to see you are ok though.

[LensBaby]

I am very interested in p$s photos (JUST as I am in DSLRs)( To me a camera is a camera, and that is it. The photographer is what makes the photo beautiful. I am love landscapes, but I am HORRIBLE at taking them. I have a couple that are ok, but that is about it.Maybe after the course I will be able to take stunning landscape photos.

[angierae]

Hey Gary,

You haven't been around much since I joined but I have seen your photo's and I think they're great. I've also read a couple of your posts and they've been helpful to me as well. As for you not having input on the portraits and kids stuff, that doesn't interest me as much either so I know where you're coming from. However, being somebody who doesn't look at them quite the same way as photographers who specialize in portraits, you might be able to add something they wouldn't normally think of. A fresh perspective sorta thing?

Oh, and just a quick question, you'll have to forgive my ignorance here lol but what do you mean when you say P&S? I've heard lots of answers for it but everyone's different so just wanna make sure I'm not confused with yours ;)

[gjtoth]

Hey Gary,

You haven't been around much since I joined but I have seen your photo's and I think they're great. I've also read a couple of your posts and they've been helpful to me as well. As for you not having input on the portraits and kids stuff, that doesn't interest me as much either so I know where you're coming from. However, being somebody who doesn't look at them quite the same way as photographers who specialize in portraits, you might be able to add something they wouldn't normally think of. A fresh perspective sorta thing?

Oh, and just a quick question, you'll have to forgive my ignorance here lol but what do you mean when you say P&S? I've heard lots of answers for it but everyone's different so just wanna make sure I'm not confused with yours ;)

P&S means Point & Shoot. As opposed to the DSLRs. P&S generally don't have a specialized lens for each thing you want to do (Telephoto, macro, etc.) They are "self-contained" and usually much less expensive and much more "portable". Usually, they are "looked down upon" or discounted as expensive toys by a fair majority of "professional photographers". To each his own. I have what I need and require and manage to turn out a pretty fair capture. Some folks refuse to accept that while it may enhance the quality of the photograph, all the big-time equipment in the world will not produce a good capture if the the eyeball behind the viewfinder is incapable of "seeing". I've seen some pretty expensive equipment produce snapshots that could have been made with a 2 MP No-name camera.

Just my take on it.

[angierae]

Ok, I thought point and shoot but didn't want to say anything incase it was a technical acronym :p

I've only got a simple Canon PowerShot S3 IS and while I do try to talk myself into saving up for a DSLR I can never quite do it. Sure it doesn't look as professional as some camera's and lots of people I know who own more expensive camera's automatically assume their's takes better pictures. Sometimes I let myself think like this until they show me some of their photos. They purchase expensive camera's with tonnes of capabilities just so they can take better sports shots in auto mode, they never actually explore the camera's capabilities, then they wonder at some of the photo's I get with my "simple little camera".

My biggest problem is zoom. When I'm taking wildlife pictures it always seems that the zoom falls just short enough to prevent me from getting the shot. When I start debating buying a brand new camera just for a better zoom I think back on what I started with. I can't even remember what kind of camera it was but it didn't even have optical zoom lol I eventually upgrade to whatever the schools yearbook camera was. Being the editor I got to steal it on weekends :D Still, neither camera had the most advanced options and I learnt to be patient and plan out my photos. Since getting my powershot I've found myself getting lazy and relying more on the camera to do the work, a DSLR would only make this worse. I prefer the point and shoot method in the end. I know getting looked down on comes with this approach, just like you said, but really, it makes it so much sweeter when you can produce an amazing photo that can put even the pros to shame. Makes some people eat their words :P

[jerryph]

Set the dSLR in manual, and enjoy photography the way it was meant to be enjoyed... at least that is my thought.

I don't say I make amazing pictures consistantly, but I am really enjoying my dSLR. Is it the choice or need for everyone? Of course not. If you enjoy a little Sony Cybershot (like the one I got for my sister this Christmas), thats ALL you need.

The important part is to have fun and enjoy this hobby to the best of your abilities. People who must have the latest and greatest thinking it will make them incredible photographers are in for a rude surprise. We say it often... 90% of any picture is the person behind the camera... not the camera itself. :)

[gjtoth]

Ok, I thought point and shoot but didn't want to say anything incase it was a technical acronym :p

I've only got a simple Canon PowerShot S3 IS and while I do try to talk myself into saving up for a DSLR I can never quite do it. Sure it doesn't look as professional as some camera's and lots of people I know who own more expensive camera's automatically assume their's takes better pictures. Sometimes I let myself think like this until they show me some of their photos. They purchase expensive camera's with tonnes of capabilities just so they can take better sports shots in auto mode, they never actually explore the camera's capabilities, then they wonder at some of the photo's I get with my "simple little camera".

My biggest problem is zoom. When I'm taking wildlife pictures it always seems that the zoom falls just short enough to prevent me from getting the shot. When I start debating buying a brand new camera just for a better zoom I think back on what I started with. I can't even remember what kind of camera it was but it didn't even have optical zoom lol I eventually upgrade to whatever the schools yearbook camera was. Being the editor I got to steal it on weekends :D Still, neither camera had the most advanced options and I learnt to be patient and plan out my photos. Since getting my powershot I've found myself getting lazy and relying more on the camera to do the work, a DSLR would only make this worse. I prefer the point and shoot method in the end. I know getting looked down on comes with this approach, just like you said, but really, it makes it so much sweeter when you can produce an amazing photo that can put even the pros to shame. Makes some people eat their words :P

The S3 is a great camera. As with most good P&S cameras (like the S3 and SP-550UZ) there are converters (teleconverters and wide-angle) to enhance the built-in capabilities. My Oly has an 18x optical zoom and whilst that is an excellent reach, it STILL wasn't *quite* enough so, I lurked on a couple of forums and discovered that a teleconverter that was built for a previous OLY ultra-zoom would fit mine perfectly and at a fraction of the cost of a "newer model" that was supposedly built for mine. They are both the identical lens! (surprise, surprise) I went on eBay, found a STEAL and won the auction because no one bid against me! I'm now at a 34x zoom (roughly 1035mm) which gets me where I want to be. With wildlife I found out you have to get CLOSE for a good capture. This was confirmed by Scott Kelby in the first edition of his book on digital photography. So, yeah, I *DO* have another lens. ONE big, honker. But, I normally don't carry it around with me. I actually received a free Canon A720IS that I carried around with me for a while and discovered I didn't really need it so I traded a guy a big screen TV for it. It all worked out quite well.

If you want to extend that 12x zoom of yours, consider a teleconverter. Well-worth the $$$ but, DON"T get one of the 2x jobs from eBay! If you get if from eBay, be sure you get a Canon Tele Converter Lens TC-DC58B.

[angierae]

I've been looking into a tele converter, as for wide angle, that isn't on the list at all. Thanks for the pointers, I'll definetely keep them in mind :)

I know what you mean with needing close up's when it comes to wildlife. While finding a herd of 200 elk looks great for real, it just doesn't translate into a photo as well. An up close of just a few head can be great though. Without telephoto and using smaller camera's like the Sony Jerry got his sister I learnt how to approach animals. That's what I meant by patience in my previous post. You can't just walk up to wildlife, you have to take it slow, zig zag, look at other objects, never straight at them (some call this impersonation) To me this is half the challenge, not only getting a good picture but seeing how close you can get to the animals.

The reason I'd like a telephoto is when I'm cruising backroads. You find tonnes of objects in fields along the road but get out of your vehicle and they're gone 98% of the time. More zoom would help this. I'm also going to invest in new hiking boots, my old ones have holes in the soles :p

[dkippen]

Gary - welcome back.

It's always great to see what you have to say. Like many others, while we have different cameras, we all have the same objective, to take better pictures.

I too don't care who shoots what camera, it's the end result that counts. I know I've said this before and I'll say it again, it's not the camera that gets the great shot, it's what's behind the camera. You take phenomenal bird shots, while I couldn't shoot a bird to save my a**.