anyone in the photography club?

I enjoy taking pictures. I don't do it for hire though, I can't compete with the quality that's out there. It is a super fun hobby though, and since my wife enjoys it too budget negotiations for camera gear are easier!


My little photo blog: http://www.oxcart.net


I've got a couple motorcycle pics way back in there...


http://www.oxcart.net/pixel/index.php?showimage=603
http://www.oxcart.net/pixel/index.php?showimage=525
http://www.oxcart.net/pixel/index.php?showimage=524
http://www.oxcart.net/pixel/index.php?showimage=640
http://www.oxcart.net/pixel/index.php?showimage=637
 
I am not a photographer, in fact, I am probably the worst person to have a camera in hand. However, I took this with my iPhone and dig it.

5483fe96.jpg


My wife just picked up a Canon 7D. I will have to post up the pics she took of the chop right before I sold it.
 
A few new shots -- a couple from a recent food shoot, and a few from my new Leica M9 (had to definitely save the pennies for that one).


Steak1.jpg



pizza2.jpg



Gallery1.jpg



Gallery2.jpg



Leesburg1.jpg



Tatu1.jpg
 
dude, leica m9? no way. is my envy showing? it should be.

http://ward-larson.com

here's my portfolio of photos/graphic/web stuff. mostly photos. I've done a few portrait clients and two weddings. not making a living or anything, but enough to break even on my Canon 40D (after 3 years... hah) which is good enough for me.
 
Vince Lupo said:
Took a while to save up for it, but very worth it.
MountainElmar.jpg
Sweet. I got an old Leica screwmount, not a very desirable of the Leica family, but it was purchased new by a late family friend so there is some history. There is something amazing about those machines. It's the precision and the fine machining that does it for me. Like a fine watch (literally in the case of the shutter movements) there is a mechanical feeling you don't get from new equipment.


I've also got a Nikkormat FT2 that is my sniper rifle...I'm so more precises and focused when I shoot film with those old cameras. The effort it takes to make a properly focused and exposed photo gives me a great deal of satisfaction. I haven't actually touched an M9, but I imagine them to have the same mechanical traits, just with the digital brain.
 
Cool thing about the M9 is that it can use all the old lenses (well, most of them anyways). The lens on the camera in that photo is a 105/6.3 'Mountain' Elmar from the 1930's. The other good thing about the M9 is that it's full-frame, so a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens. Some guys were trying to persuade me to get the M8, but that crop factor would have driven me crazy.


I'd be interested to see a photo of that old Leica you have -- I have a IIIf and two III's, and have been using screwmounts for 30 years. They are super cameras.


A shot from the M9 with a 73/1.9 Hektor lens from about 1935....
HektorColoour.jpg
 
Beautiful shots Vince. Love the color clarity in the last one. The Bokeh is nice too.
 
Vince - where have I seen your shot of Colin Powell before? It looks familiar.

And is that really the 'cold' coming off those ice cream cones? Makes me want some seriously good ice cream.
 
Kanticoy said:
Hey Tim!

The a55 is an awesome cam. I know a pro shooter who loves his, and he is an advertising guy, so to me that is saying something. It is similar to what I am using. I shoot mostly micro 4/3 now, and because of it, I feel like I am in love with photography again....or rather they suit my style of shooting better. I own a couple of true DSLR cameras, but honestly, they don't shoot as well (for me) as the two m4/3 cameras that I have. My two bodies are an Olympus E-PL1 and a Panasonic GH2. They are a lot like the Sony A series cameras in that they are an alternative mirror system. They also offer an auto focus with their native lenses (which I use a lot doing candid photography when my subject doesn't stay still when I ask them ;D ). They also will do full MF which all of the above were shot with.

I have found in the lenses that I shoot, that 10mm is about the sweet spot as far as the wide angle increment goes. If you can find one at f2.0 or below you will have an awesome lens. They will probably be pricey at that f range though. I love shooting wide angle, and find myself using it more than most, just because of the offered perspective that it gives. The one I use is an f4.0, and it it crisp edge to edge. Anything below 9mm starts looking fisheye, which is cool, but it's kind of gimmicky for everyday use. Recently I bought the 20mm fixed zoom f1.7 pancake and I'm telling you man, it is the business. It has a minimum focus distance of somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5", so macros are perfect and crisp along with beautiful de-focused bokeh behind the macro subject. But then the focal length will become sharp when shooting more of a panorama too which makes it awesome for everyday shooting and walk around photography. You've already started getting used to the lack of insane focus length, so using your feet to do the zooming is really just another step to me. The beauty of it is that it is FAST. The only downfall to these "alternative mirror" cameras to me is the low light difficulty that it has, but a super fast lens below the 2.0 range will completely fix the problem. It was a revelation to me to find that out.

I'd love to see some of what you shoot man. Photography these days has fallen into a close second to bikes in the things that I have fallen in love with. There is just something about the perspective of the world it gives you. The world just seems to become more beautiful.

The next lens I buy will be something in the 75-300 range, as my kit lense is the longest I have at 45, and sometimes you just need the distance, I'm jealous! Are you using adapted lenses or are all of yours a particular mount? I'm not familiar with what mount the A series cameras use. So far everything I have bought has been native, but I'm considering branching out into full manual lenses since I have been using that most lately anyway, and the lenses can be had for MUCH cheaper.

The a55 is the same mount as the SLR's - so it takes all the old Minolta lenses as well as the made-for-Sony lenses.

I had considered the NEX5, but Kim really prefers a viewfinder, and after using the one one the a55 (which while electronic, is an incredibly good viewfinder, better than many optical viewfinders in entry-level SLR's) I'm glad we have it.

I haven't ventured off the Auto settings yet, so it's still a point-and-shoot world for me, but I'll learn ;)
 
Tim said:
Vince - where have I seen your shot of Colin Powell before? It looks familiar.

And is that really the 'cold' coming off those ice cream cones? Makes me want some seriously good ice cream.


The Colin Powell shot is on my website, and I have it on Rangefinder Forum as well, so maybe from one of those places? I don't think I've had it published in a magazine or newspaper. I shot it a number of years ago when he was with 'America's Promise' in Alexandria, VA -- after I did the 'paying' photos of him, I had my Leica M2 with me loaded with Tri-X and snapped a couple for myself...this was one shot from that roll.


Yes, that is 'cold' coming off those cones -- this was the lead shot from a magazine feature on restaurants that make their own ice cream. This ice cream is from a restaurant called 'Salt' in Baltimore.
 
Well here's a picture I snapped while walking the slushy streets of Chicago back in 1988 or so? Just whatever basic point-and-shoot camera I had at the time.

I couldn't quite understand how the car had managed to be as clean as it considering its surroundings.

Nothing at all special about it from a photography perspective, and its a scan of a 23 year old drugstore print, but I've managed to keep the print around for that long, so that counts for something ;)

IMG.jpg
 
Great shots guys! Keep em coming. This is really what is inspiring me these days....behind a lens offers such a beautiful point of view and demand for attention. I love it.

Tim, the EVF (electronic finders) rock. I have a few cameras with the OVFs, and honestly when shooting digi, I prefer the EVF. I have hot shot buttons programmed on the camera, and it is awesome seeing all of the camera info such as ISO, shutter speed and stop position right in front of you. I also love the histogram inside of the vf. It's the way to go IMO for us layman photogs. Don't worry about the settings yet man, just keep experimenting.

Here's a few shots from today. We visited the horses at the barn and I went exploring the 300 some odd acres. Amazing what's out there when you pay attention.

sungate.jpg

pink.jpg

orangeflower.jpg

laurie.jpg

lauriesunny.jpg

headlight.jpg

fordlight.jpg

fordemblem.jpg

ford601.jpg

buzz.jpg

deehorse.jpg

beepole.jpg

bud.jpg

blackwhiteskeleton2.jpg
 
Good stuff Kiley! And Tim, I would honestly LOVE to have that Ghia pic framed. I like small prints like that.
 
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