On Fri, 2 Jan 2004 22:44:14 +1000, Tanya Mayer Photography wrote: >" Is there a reason for using manual focus? " > >Yeah, a couple really - I am still getting used to the "feel" of the >autofocus on the Olympus - it feels very different to any of my Pentax >bodies, and as I am unfamiliar with it, I didn't want to "risk" it. Also, >due to the nature of the shots being so close-up and with very low depth of >field in some instances (I was shooting in macro with f2 in some places - >remember these are young childrens clothes, veeeeeeerrry small...), and >again, I just didn't "trust" it and wanted to be sure that I got what I >wanted in focus, in focus, iykwim? And I am also pedantic, and almost >always use manual focus anyways, except at weddings when I need to be >quicker...
I've been shooting marine molluscs that are only 4mm long and in water and possibly behind glass and move - I know what small is. At this size you can only manual focus, and you have to track the animal as it moves - they can move across the frame in half a second. You have to learn to trust equipment before you can let it have it's own way. I usually autofocus, but keep an eye on what it is doing and switch to manual if I feel the need. Does the Oly have depth of field preview? I would be lost without it. >couple of soft boxes." > >Yup, me too! I would love some. I lit these shots with only one monobloc >bounced into a white umbrella, which I was moving around all the time to >stop those blasted reflections on the stickers etc. I lit the backdrop with >my trusty Pentax AF360fgz, on slave mode (had to mention Pentax to keep it >somewhat on topic! lol)... And used a gold reflector when I needed it... Does the gold reflector change the colour? I have a small silver/white reflector that I have used on the figurines and other "products" I hae photographed and was thinking of a larger one for natural light portrait photography, but have yet to decide if the gold would be more use than a silver/white one. >buttons/stitching/labels/pockets etc. I can't wait to start working on the >shots with the kids, I have some cool ideas that I am hanging to put into >practice... Thought you might. Make sure you post them when they are done. >"You'll do a great job for this wedding in Brisbane too. Can you supply ... >I have no idea! This has all only come about this afternoon, so the details >aren't "nutted out" as yet. I have another in Brookefield (a place called >Bundaleer Rainforest Gardens) on 28 Feb, another in Sandgate (on the beach! >yaaaay, I love shooting beach weddings!) on 14 March, and then one in >Coolum, and one in Noosa in August, and another in Brisbane (not sure of >exact location) in September too... Sounds like you are getting jobs from all over. What do you charge for travelling to Brisbane? I can't say that I've heard of Brookefield, but I've been to all the others at one time or another. Lots of opportunities for great backgrounds. >I totally agree! And this is what I thought I'd done! Seriously, this lens >is that good - some of the fibres that were showing when I viewed the shots >at full resolution were amazing! I went back and looked at the cuffs of one >shirt in particular and for the life of me, I could not find, until I looked >at them with a magnifying glass, those said fibres! Also, shooting in low >light (only using a 60watt modelling lamp), at night, made it difficult to >see such things... I like light. Lots of it. I'd go nuts with only a 60 watt light. I like to cast a fine eye over my targets before I start to shoot. For my studio marine shots I wash everything and then filter sea water through a coffee filter. You have no idea how difficult it is to wash dirt of an animal 5 mm long. >I *can* shoot RAW with the Oly, but to be honest, I'm a bit too scared too, >I really need to read up on it alot more to fully understand what it is all >about. I have a great article in, I think, Australian Camera Enthusiast >from a few months ago, that I have been meaning to "go back and read" so, I >really should do that... I've only used the Pentax software and tried Genzo for a few things, but RAW gives you much more scope for editing and still keeping the necessary quality. The downside is that they require post processing for general viewing as only proprietary software can view them and they take up more room on your memory cards so they fill up more. I get 34 RAW to a 512 meg card on the *istD while I get 120 or more fine Jpegs >"What did you have? We had a potato bake." > >mmmmmmmm! potato bake, yuuuummy! Whenever I make it, we have huge domestics >over it cause my hubby tries to sneak all of the leftovers off to work with >him the next day! lol. I was too tired tonight to cook, such a domestic >goddess I am! So, we all had toasted sandwiches with left-over roast >chicken and melted cheese on them. Was very yummy, even if very simple, and >a good stand-by that I know my kids will always eat without arguments! Week days we cook so we deliberately have left overs for lunch. Weekends we tend to go simple. I must remember the melted cheese over left over roast chicken, I could definitely enjoy that. Leon http://www.bluering.org.au http://www.bluering.org.au/leon
