This is Photography

[ST1G]

Some photos from shooting this week. South Boise, Idaho desert.

[cbouchez]

[noE30]

advise me please,
picked up a 60d last year to replace my xsi that I owned for 3 years or so. I've barely used the 60d and I'm pretty disappointed in myself about it but thats whatever. Basically I'm trying to motivate myself to get back into photography, I really want to start shooting landscapes/weather/outdoorsy stuff. But with winter coming here in the Midwest, my options will be limited.
I can handle being outside in the cold but I'm not sure how my equipment will take it. I have the run of the mill lens', ex: 50mm 1.8, 40mm "pancake", sigma 10-20 ultra wide, efs 55-250zoom , 18-135(kit lens). Any one have recommendations for getting into this?

[Deltron Dirty30]

edit: didnt mean to post here.

[flyboyx]

advise me please,
picked up a 60d last year to replace my xsi that I owned for 3 years or so. I've barely used the 60d and I'm pretty disappointed in myself about it but thats whatever. Basically I'm trying to motivate myself to get back into photography, I really want to start shooting landscapes/weather/outdoorsy stuff. But with winter coming here in the Midwest, my options will be limited.
I can handle being outside in the cold but I'm not sure how my equipment will take it. I have the run of the mill lens', ex: 50mm 1.8, 40mm "pancake", sigma 10-20 ultra wide, efs 55-250zoom , 18-135(kit lens). Any one have recommendations for getting into this?

this entry is confusing to me. what is it that you don't like about the 60d? i haven't used one but they seem pretty awesome. too big? too heavy? too much to carry? for the type of photography i do, the lens choices you have there would be less than ideal in my hands. i would carry the sigma 10-20 and the 55-250. the rest can likely be left at home. don't worry about the 35mm worth of focal length gap you will have in your lenses. you won't miss it.

you purchased a pretty darn nice camera but the lenses you have don't seem to quite match? perhaps you had them beforehand with the rebel? i guess it depends on your budget, but for me the lenses are more important than the camera. the "kit" lens is a piece of crap. i wouldn't wipe my butt with that. the two primes you have can be good but they lack versatility and add more weight to what you are carrying that don't offset their utility.

for an approximate 1500.00 budget, i would buy the latest rebel 600.00, the sigma 18-250 f3.5-5.6 macro 350.00, tokina 11-16 f2.8 550.00 and find a way to splurge on a canon bounce flash.

i'm not saying to sell what you have, but i think you can make the best of it. to take good photos, i would go take a couple photo classes at your local community college. you can learn about composition and exposure the correct way and have other like minded students to critique your work. all the camera equipment in the world won't make you a good photographer if you don't know how to properly compose a photograph or have an eye for it. just walking around blindly shooting photos will not a good picture make. go back through this thread and study the pix that ST1G and others have posted here. some are better than others but start with the ones that you really like. what is it that you like about them? how are they composed? where is the subject in most of the better ones? where is the horizon line? start by finding someone else's work that you like and mimic it to the best of your ability. at some point, you will presumably develop your own technique and style and you will be happy with your work.

[pantelones]

advise me please,

I really want to start shooting landscapes/weather/outdoorsy stuff.


I have the run of the mill lens', ex: 50mm 1.8, 40mm "pancake", sigma 10-20 ultra wide, efs 55-250zoom , 18-135(kit lens).

Better advice than what is stated above....

The lenses I put in bold are the ones you will use more often in landscape/weather photography, and remember, your 60d has a 1.6x crop sensor. You have the 50mm prime and 10-20mm wide angle covered, which are the most used focal lengths. The aperture is NOT very crucial, most of the time you will be shooting 5.6f and up and will be playing with ISO and stutter speed to make up the difference. Sharpness is the name of the game in landscape/weather photography.

My questions, or recommendations would be to (if you haven't already) invest in a QUALITY tripod, a remote stutter release, and QUALITY FILTERS! I cannot stress enough the importance of filters in landscape photography. Neutral density filters are the most common; gradient ND filters are key for keeping even exposure and producing a quality image. Circular polarizing filters are also used, but are not as helpful as they only reduce, or eliminate glare and reflections. Also, do you have quality photoshop? Cs3 or up will do fine as you WILL need to edit most of your shots. CAREFUL use of RAW file, or bracketed HDR can be helpful in some situations, but do NOT rely on photoshop to do your magic! And one more thing to note, keep and eye out for the rule of thirds, landscape photography is very favorable for making things look good if you use this composition technique.

You don't need to take a photography class and certainly don't rely on R3v for your ideas :loco: Go to flickr, and when you find a photo you like look at the camera data which reads out the: shutter speed, ISO, aperture, white balance, exposure bias, and a few more stats that tell you how the photo was taken. Also, a lot of the times if there are filters used, or photoshop is done they will note that in the description. Acceptations to this are film (may be listed in the description), all rights reserved photos, and "digital painting" creations...


This is a film photo of mine that is taken with my 50mm prime, and I really NEEDED a gradient ND filter to get proper exposure. When I printed this in the dark room (not shown) I was able to fix it, but, it was a pain in the ass that could have been avoided if I had used (bought..) a gradient ND filter to even out the exposure.



Untitled-Scanned-11 by mattrides, on Flickr


In looking at my flickr, I realized you may want to take photos like the one below... And that is more in the 100mm+ focal length range with apertures lower (technically higher...) than 2.8f. This photo in particular is shot with a 100mm prime, at 2.8f and has some photoshop done to it. So your current glass will not cut it, and your only real option is to get the 70-200mm 2.8f L or 70-200 4f L glass which is about $1000-1500 depending on the piece and deal you get.



Untitled by mattrides, on Flickr


I hope this was helpful, and I know exactly what you mean by being disappointed in yourself for buying the 60d and not using it... Good luck! :up:

Very cool, but did you take those? This is supposed to be only shots YOU have taken... BTW I saw the thread you posted with your shots... Very nice :)

[pantelones]

the "kit" lens is a piece of crap. i wouldn't wipe my butt with that. the two primes you have can be good but they lack versatility and add more weight to what you are carrying that don't offset their utility.

I'm sorry, but I had to quote this in regards of utter bullshit...

First off, the 50mm 1.8f is an extremely versatile lens, and it weighs nothing/takes up barley any space; same with the "pancake" lens. Prime lenses promote creativity, they don't allow you to "point and shoot". They force you to use your head when composing a shot, as apposed to getting all excited and rushing to click and stare at the back of your camera...

The 18-135 kit lens was a lot better than I expected it to be. Good coatings, color correctness, and sharpness. Barely any PS in this shot...


Untitled by mattrides, on Flickr

[almostacrayon]

This is a film photo of mine that is taken with my 50mm prime, and I really NEEDED a gradient ND filter to get proper exposure. When I printed this in the dark room (not shown) I was able to fix it, but, it was a pain in the ass that could have been avoided if I had used (bought..) a gradient ND filter to even out the exposure.

I Can't agree more!! If you are wanting to shoot landscapes (in my case sunrise/seascapes) a set of GND and ND's are a must!





Without GND's, I wouldn't have been able to balance the light coming from the sky with the darker foreground.

If you're keen to see more of my shots check out my 500px account (it has the exif and I detail what filters I've used too)

http://500px.com/almostacrayon

Cheers.

[Massimo]

Finally got to really test my 70D at Legend of the Lakes 1400 photos.

Here are my best ones I suppose. Not edited BTW

[Ocell]

Those landscapes are stunning, almostacrayon!

Great shots, Massimo.


My friends went to their first autocross this weekend. My E30 was out of commission, so I dusted off my 100mm 2.8 prime to get them some photos. Here's the only one I've worked up, so far. There's not the most scenic backdrop, but it is what it is.


Amber Steele by Ocell, on Flickr

[thearkitekt]

Just switched from an old Nikon D40 to a Canon 7d, so I'm still learning where all the buttons are, and aren't lol. I was recently in Cabo for work, so I took some photos around the resort as well as of the jet. All the shots were with a Sigma 17-70 lens.

[Nsquared97]

...with a Sigma 17-70 lens.

How do you like that lens? I have been looking into that as most likely my next lens.

[thearkitekt]

How do you like that lens? I have been looking into that as most likely my next lens.

great bang for the buck, think of it as a kit lets, faster and with good bokeh. I've done a very very little amount of video work with it, and it does a nice job as long as you leave it at 17. The only complaint I have is it goes to f3.2 at ~20mm. The image stabilization seems to be great too. If you're looking for a versatile lens for under $600 i think this is the best bet.

[almostacrayon]

Finally got to really test my 70D at Legend of the Lakes 1400 photos.

Here are my best ones I suppose. Not edited BTW

You've got a good panning technique, the cars are nice and crisp and the bg is blurred enough. If you want more blur without slower speeds a longer lens would help.

Those landscapes are stunning, almostacrayon!

Thanks mate, really appreciate it :D

You've got a good panning technique too.

Just switched from an old Nikon D40 to a Canon 7d, so I'm still learning where all the buttons are, and aren't lol. I was recently in Cabo for work, so I took some photos around the resort as well as of the jet. All the shots were with a Sigma 17-70 lens.

That pano is epic!! So wide! I think I've only done a handful which were like 10:1 aspect ratio.

[wark]

I have recently started trying to do some architecture photography, any tips?








and some automotive ones for fun