MWGL Photography thread

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... and this one too:
The-Photograph.jpg
 
Continued:

7. Get a quality tripod.

8. Three filters: UV, polarizing, and a good neutral density filter. Keep the UV on all the time to protect your lens.

9. Work quickly and trust your instincts. I know this is at odds with point #4, but the shots I'm happiest with (either straight out of the camera or post-editing) are the ones I labored over the least.

10. Be a critical judge. I don't like a lot of my shots nearly as much two or three weeks later.
 
Regarding UV filters, I had always heard this when I got started. It's definitely the conventional wisdom. But the more I read about image quality, there are a lot of people that recommend against it. For one, the quality of glass is usually lower than your lens element. And I believe you're more likely to get glare. And the types of things I shoot lately are typically low light and shooting directly into a stage light.

At this point the only time I use a UV filter is if I'm somewhere sandy, and I have lens hoods for every lens to protect against most threats. But I can't tell you whether long term that will turn out to have been the best decision.
 
This isn't the first time I've heard that.

I've got to defer to your considerable experience, but on its face I'm a little skeptical that the trade-off would be worth it for me. I suspect we're probably discussing a level of subtlety and nuance that's somewhat akin to trying to identify whether a guy's playing a PRS or an LP on a particular record. And you've met me — you know I'm a fucking klutz. I think I'm probably going to stick with a $20 UV filter versus the real likelihood of me fucking up a perfectly good lens.
 
dmn23 said:
... you know I'm a fucking klutz. I think I'm probably going to stick with a $20 UV filter versus the real likelihood of me fucking up a perfectly good lens.
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This. :( :thu:
For reasons that I can no longer remember, probably shit that I read somewhere, I use a plain glass protector on my wider lenses and a UV filter on my longer ones.
 
dmn23 said:
Philosophy? A few thoughts:

1) Any "name" photographer that you and I would recognize used 35mm film cameras. We're in the age of a gazillion megawhatevers and Photoshop. So with that in mind ANY CAMERA YOU BUY is going to the equivalent of a fucking spaceship (comparatively speaking). Annie Leibowitz and Ernie Pyle and Ansel Adams and everyone else before us worked within a much stricter set of limitations. You can't blame the tools these days.

2) Learn how everything works. Seriously. Even if you never move from the couch you can test almost every bit of functionality your camera offers. There's no excuse for not knowing your tools.

3) Shoot a lot. And I mean a lot. "Film" is cheap these days. My win/lose ratio is getting better but I still shoot 200 photos for every five or ten that turn out worth a darn. And that's on a good day.

4) Take your time. I think people are self conscious about using a camera, and they tend to snap in a hurry just to get it over with. Maybe they're worried about looking like a dork, I don't know. But If you take an extra minute to make sure you've got your settings correct and your composition is mostly okay and there's no visual clutter here or... well, you get it. But after enough times of "#$%, I should have___" it will become second nature.

5) They're never perfect straight out of the camera. I only crop, slightly tweak the color, and sharpen a little bit, and that's it. But it needs to happen.

6) YouTube tutorials.
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Good stuff. Is there anything you can't learn on youtube these days?
 
If you really want to worry yourself about making good shots, pick up a K1000 on eBay and blow through a couple of rolls of film. After shooting digital (even on an iPhone) waiting to see how they turned out makes you think about what you're shooting and what you want it to look like. :grin:

But seriously, don't do that. It is fun and exciting from time to time, though. :embarrassed:
 
I have a new camera on the way. A Canon 6d with the 24-105 L IS. I gave my daughter my 40d with a 85 1.8 and a 28-70 2.8 so she can get started doing some studio work. In response to the UV filter question. Use one but don't get a cheap one. Always get one that is multicoated as the additional coatings will eliminate any hazing or additional glare. There are many high quality ones available on the market. I always use them after an incident where I scratched a lens 2 hours after ownership.
 
xStonr said:
I have a new camera on the way. A Canon 6d with the 24-105 L IS. I gave my daughter my 40d with a 85 1.8 and a 28-70 2.8 so she can get started doing some studio work. In response to the UV filter question. Use one but don't get a cheap one. Always get one that is multicoated as the additional coatings will eliminate any hazing or additional glare. There are many high quality ones available on the market. I always use them after an incident where I scratched a lens 2 hours after ownership.
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That 6D looks great. I was between that one and the 5diii several months back when I was looking to make the leap from crop sensor to full size. I ended up going with the 5diii because I preferred the auto focus points layout. But I love that it's supposed to have even less noise than the 5Diii.
 
Lemme throw my 2 Cts in here. I bought a Nikon P7700 in the spring this year. For 500 bones, I am damned impressed at what it can do with me behind the lens. I am almost scared to see what a pro could do with it. I have been told that the sensor makes all the difference.
 
jaxn slim said:
That 6D looks great. I was between that one and the 5diii several months back when I was looking to make the leap from crop sensor to full size. I ended up going with the 5diii because I preferred the auto focus points layout. But I love that it's supposed to have even less noise than the 5Diii.
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I would have gotten the 5d for the same reason but even with my discount, it was just a bit over my budget. After all, there are guitars and amps to buy also.
 
xStonr said:
I would have gotten the 5d for the same reason but even with my discount, it was just a bit over my budget. After all, there are guitars and amps to buy also.
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Yep. I had to forego the guitars and amps while I was still paying for it.
 
I bought my D5100 in October 2012 and while I've had pretty good results with the kit lens, I've been wanting to move beyond the basics. So I rented a Tokina 11-16mm f2.6 that I've been lusting after and it arrived this afternoon. I've got it for five days and I plan to use it a lot this weekend.

IMG_265085.jpg


I can't speak to the image quality yet but:

1) It's almost comically heavy. It makes one realize how cheap and plasticky the kit Nikkor lens is.

2) I love the focal length. Most of what I shoot around here is landscapes so I'm really loving the 11mm side of the lens.

The rental wasn't too crazy: $73, shipping both ways and optional damage waiver included, five days. A brand new version of this lens sells for around $560 so this is a nice way to see if I really want to buy it.

I'll be posting some photos as the mood strikes.
 
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