i've just caught up and am as usual amazed by the pictuires that you guys take - there is so much real talent in this community that I find both awesome (in the true sense of the word) and inspiring. If I stay away too long I might just be tempted to lurk and not participate.

The pictures on P 2321 represent everything that I love aboutthis thread - variety of subject and venue, great colour and different themes.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your work.

Thanks Paul & Georg for the comments of the random shot,

All I can say to the photos today is:

Ian - Wow
Ron - Wow and interesting fact about philadelphia
Laura - Wow
Georg - Wow
Kenny - Wow and I'm not sure I like the way that Lioness is looking at me out of the monitor. makes me feel like I'm lunch. Wow.

jhinkey wrote:
Portrait of me by my 9 year old daughter Chloe. Had the D800 with the 50/1.2 on it and she wanted to shoot with it, so I said what the heck, why not? She was very careful with the camera and had great technique. Not bad for only using the focusing screen for focusing at f/1.2!

She took a bunch more of the restaurant, her dessert, etc. and took more when she came home.

I'm so proud!

Too delicious for words John! The expression on your face is priceless. This is what happens when people we love are either in front of or behind the camera. Nice to know that MF lenses finds favor with another generation. Well done John... you're being a great dad!

Thanks to both Laura AND Ray who've guided me through the intricacies of Zenfolio. Laura posted her guidance on the thread and Ray sent a PM with step by step instructions to make larger size photos available for public viewing. They have now been liberated and my affection for the photo sharing website is growing. Now I need to do the unthinkable... watch a few instruction videos so I can figure out what until now I've been missing. As with most things technical, I'm inclined to jump right, trusting that I'll find my way through it all. That is what I did with Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator and Dreamweaver. That means I learn enough to get myself in trouble... Then have to dig my way out... Nice to have friends willing to lend a hand.

Oosty wrote:
i've just caught up and am as usual amazed by the pictuires that you guys take - there is so much real talent in this community that I find both awesome (in the true sense of the word) and inspiring. If I stay away too long I might just be tempted to lurk and not participate.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your work.

Thanks for helping me say the same thing, Peter. I'm far enough behind and I've just been lurking, especially since my own photographic output has been zero for what seems like a long time. Think I might be joining Ben in his funk.

Maybe when Sunday rolls around I'll sit down and provide appropriate kudos for the pics that caught my eye, though I'm sure it'll be so many pages down the road I may just have to pick the most recent five and be done with it. In the meantime I must shoot something, and with MF glass so I can participate.

Mark, no, no cats on the lap when I saw the photo. And thanks for the "wow"

MarkdV wrote:
Thanks Laura, glad you liked them, but was it your cat that told you to mention that particular photo....

NightOwl Cat wrote:
Mark, love all the images, but that ball of twine really stands out!

MarkdV wrote:
Random shots from the weekend, testing out the 55mm in various guises + the 300mm + 50mm



You're welcome, Curtis, and yes, I do the same thing... "manuals, manuals? we don't need no steenkin' manuals..." Ok, so I do read assembly instructions first though. Speaking of which, I think the two rooms in the house that are unoccupied need some Ikea organizers for computer equipment, music CD's, DVD's and camera equipment Keep the kids from moving back in so fast!

CGrindahl wrote:
Thanks to both Laura AND Ray who've guided me through the intricacies of Zenfolio. Laura posted her guidance on the thread and Ray sent a PM with step by step instructions to make larger size photos available for public viewing. They have now been liberated and my affection for the photo sharing website is growing. Now I need to do the unthinkable... watch a few instruction videos so I can figure out what until now I've been missing. As with most things technical, I'm inclined to jump right, trusting that I'll find my way through it all. That is what I did with Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator and Dreamweaver. That means I learn enough to get myself in trouble... Then have to dig my way out... Nice to have friends willing to lend a hand.

Ray, if you find you're going to be in this neck of the woods, you can drop a PM and we can go visit the museum, it will definitely be a change of pace for you.

Reagan wrote:
Ben, Just get up and go out shooting at dawn again
Those were great images

Reagan


hey Reagan - nice to see you're lurking. Yeah I know, dawn pics would be great - but it's summer now and dawn is earlier and earlier - I need my beauty sleep. If the weather holds - I'll go out in the next few days.


ben

That means you're awake at Sunset then, bet you'll have some lovely shots then too.

bruni wrote:
Reagan wrote:
Ben, Just get up and go out shooting at dawn again
Those were great images

Reagan


hey Reagan - nice to see you're lurking. Yeah I know, dawn pics would be great - but it's summer now and dawn is earlier and earlier - I need my beauty sleep. If the weather holds - I'll go out in the next few days.


ben

Re my recent efforts:

Mark - thank you but I made a real mistake shooting at f2.8. Decent DOF on a big pano would have been really good but maybe next time

Georg - thanks. The cameras belong to the old farmhouse and would be good fun to have fun with - maybe.....

Laura - thank you. I'd love to go again - and will - although I'd love to let Curtis with his eye foe knick knacks loose there.

Scott - thanks. I'm sure something broke or they bought a new tractor and probably used the engine as an electrical generator or to drive a water pump - as with all farms there are lots of old implements all over the place but most are overgrown and not really my cup of tea.

rankamateur wrote:
The great City of Philadelphia just about a half mile away. A 3 shot pano with Photoshop and all I did was crop it.
80-200 4.5 at F5.6 For those of you who don't know anything about Philly- to the right of the PSFS sign is William Penn's statute on top of City hall. Up until a date which escapes me no building was allowed to be taller than his hat. Thus the reason Philly does not have the typical skyscraper skyline.

Ron, it is a great city and I'm totally in love with Philly. My son lives Lansdale and was married nearby. His father in law got us set up to see the key sights when we went for the wedding in 2005 and when we visited in '09 the "kids" were living in the City near the cathedral. Last year we were out in Lansdale but managed to visit the city again - Reading market and the Italian market are great attractions as are all the more conventional attractions.

With a bit of luck we'll be there again in spring or fall 2013 to renew our love affair with the "City of brotherly love".

Thanks for a great pic.

More from the farm. Previously, because of the dry conditions, the farm was stocked with Angora goats for mohair but the new manager and "share cropper" has changed to farming with Nguni cattle. According to wikipedia, the Nguni were brought by the Xhosa, Zulu and Swazi people, during their migration to Southern Africa between 600 and 1400 AD.

King Shaka of the Zulus understood this cultural and economic importance and seized control of the Nguni herds on his dominions. Shaka also bred the Ngunis according to colour patterns in order to produce skins for the several regiments of his army, henceforward recognized by them.

A hybrid between Zebu and European cattle they are disease resistant and suited to the rugged veld types of SA.

Some pics -

Great shots Peter and that's no bull

Oosty wrote:
rankamateur wrote:
The great City of Philadelphia just about a half mile away. A 3 shot pano with Photoshop and all I did was crop it.
80-200 4.5 at F5.6 For those of you who don't know anything about Philly- to the right of the PSFS sign is William Penn's statute on top of City hall. Up until a date which escapes me no building was allowed to be taller than his hat. Thus the reason Philly does not have the typical skyscraper skyline.

Ron, it is a great city and I'm totally in love with Philly. My son lives Lansdale and was married nearby. His father in law got us set up to see the key sights when we went for the wedding in 2005 and when we visited in '09 the "kids" were living in the City near the cathedral. Last year we were out in Lansdale but managed to visit the city again - Reading market and the Italian market are great attractions as are all the more conventional attractions.

With a bit of luck we'll be there again in spring or fall 2013 to renew our love affair with the "City of brotherly love".

Thanks for a great pic.

Thanks Peter it is a great city. I was with some 10 other folks from our local camera club and we were simply amazed how friendly all the walkers and bikers were. I bet no less than two dozen folks would stop and chat just to see if something important was going on. One can only imagine 10 old folks lined up taking pictures-especially on the South Street Bridge. The pano was taken from Belmont Mansion on the edge of Fairmount Park. Make sure you let me know when you coming. If nothing else I can run up and meet and say hi. I am less than 45mins from Center City Philly. WE DO NEED A NEW FOOTBALL COACH! PLEASE HELP

Matt OHarver wrote:
OK guys, as much as it pains me I'm going to put a few of my lenses on FM to sell. I am going to look up what I paid for each one and ask that price. I'd prefer not to have to deal with Paypal fees so sending a check would be best if possible.

I am going to keep the 85MM F1.4 as I really love that lens, and don't want to part with it. And also so I can still participate in the thread. The others I feel I can get as good a copy of later on. But my 85MM is special to me. I am also going to keep the 300MM that a special person on this thread sent to me and also keeping teleconverters.

If you are interested in any of the following lenses send me a PM and when I get back I will let you know how much I paid for it. Come the weekend I'm going to list what isn't spoken for.

35MM F1.4 Serial number 362666

105MM F1.8 Serial Number 205811

180MM F2.8 ED Serial Number 420689

75-150MM F3.5 E Series Serial number 3039862

35-70MM F3.5 Macro Serial Number 828559

Matt

I realize this may not be of interest to any of you, but I'll also be selling an 85MM F1.8D autofocus lens.
So sorry that circumstances cause you have to let these go because I know how hard you worked to collect them. Good luck with you sale!

Paul Gabel wrote:
This one is taken in August, a steel plant on the Dutch coast. D700 55mm/2.8 micro at 1/2000 sec, f8.0 and iso200. Selective (de)saturation and some other pp in Aperture.


_PG10347 by Apapa56, on Flickr



Paul I Love skyscapes and this one is exceptional!

georgms wrote:
Paul, I like this shot a lot - the "blue hole" in the grey sky makes for an almost biblical scenery.

Matt, I'm really sorry to hear that you have to let these fantastic lenses go. I hope their future owners will make the best out of it in your sense.

Monty, I'm sure Higgs will be everybody's darling at Webex!

Raul, welcome! Love your debut-shots here, especially the street-portrait.

Ray, the shot taken with the 35/1.4 is excellent. No wonder you're loving this lens too ;-)
And regarding the 135/2 - some lens/camera-combos that work for one photog don't necessary work for another one. I for my part enjoy the D7000 with really long lenses (200mm with and without converter) or with short to medium focal lengths. I've tried several 105's and the 135/2 on the D7k too, but it felt just not right.
I'm glad you've found it out before buying the 135/2!





Thank you Georg

mp356 wrote:
Ben, really like your bike image.

Leighton, congrats on the contest. The photo is very nice. Good looking dog.

I have a couple manual focus lenses up for sale on the BS forum. Here are the links:

28 f2.0

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1168019

35 f2.0

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1170474

It was unseasonably warm day for December today so I took a walk at noon with the 28 f2.0 (up for sale on the BS forum). Here a couple images from it. Thanks for looking.
Scott



Beautiful steeple shot Scott

MarkdV wrote:
Random shots from the weekend, testing out the 55mm in various guises + the 300mm + 50mm
Great shot Mark, certainly worth another look

bruni wrote:
thanks for the encouragement everyone. New toys huh Georg? I'm ashamed to admit just how many "toys" I've bought - I can blame Curtis for some of them - but for the bulk of them I guess I have to face the music - speaking which I've bought a lot of hifi lately. I bought a set of Audeze LCD3 headphones and Schiit Dac and Amp. You yanks are pretty hopeless at most things - but you sure do make great headphones!

ben


and a self portrait:


nikon 75 - 150 f3.5 by benmorgan28, on Flickr
Very cool shot Ben!!!

rankamateur wrote:
The great City of Philadelphia just about a half mile away. A 3 shot pano with Photoshop and all I did was crop it.
80-200 4.5 at F5.6 For those of you who don't know anything about Philly- to the right of the PSFS sign is William Penn's statute on top of City hall. Up until a date which escapes me no building was allowed to be taller than his hat. Thus the reason Philly does not have the typical skyscraper skyline.
Great Pano Ron - simply beautiful