Re: Just one tip
I totally agree graywolf, which is why I think my strike rate needs improving. At the moment, like I mentioned, I am getting probably 18 salable images from a roll of 24 exposure film. Of those, probably 4 of the rejects are due to eyes closing/subject moving etc. The two remaining are usually rejects due to being underexposed, or out of focus etc. Even though the bulk of the rejects are usually due to the subject did something the photographer has no control over, I still consider this my fault as I should be able to predict or at least anticipate these things, and make allowances for it. I still stand by my original goal - when I get to consistentantly producing 22 salable shots per 24 roll, I will be happy to some degree with my own competency level. But until then, I still think, basically that I'm not worthy of people's tan. - Original Message - From: graywolf [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2003 11:26 AM Subject: Re: Just one tip Maybe I should clarify this. I am speaking specifically about event photography. graywolf wrote: You were thinking of works of art, Tanya is thinking of salable pictures. There is a big difference. Any pro who does not get a salable picture with every shot except where the subject did something the photographer has no control over is not very competent. -- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com You might as well accept people as they are, you are not going to be able to change them anyway.
Re: COMPLETELY OT, but relevant to New Year's Eve...
Happy anniversary Kevin! tan. - Original Message - From: Kevin Waterson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2003 11:55 AM Subject: Re: COMPLETELY OT, but relevant to New Year's Eve... This one time, at band camp, Tanya Mayer Photography [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: lol! that's funny Bill! I am the same with our annual Melbourne Cup horse race. They say it is the race that stops a nation. And everyone who is anyone bets on it - except me! and me :) Tonight I will lounge around the pool with family and friends and have a BBQ. Watch the fireworks at 9:00 (for the kids) wait till midnight then bed. Point of trivia. I was married at midnight Jan 1 2000, so it will also be my wedding anniversary. Kind regards Kevin -- __ (_ \ _) ) | / / _ ) / _ | / ___) / _ ) | | ( (/ / ( ( | |( (___ ( (/ / |_| \) \_||_| \) \) Kevin Waterson Port Macquarie, Australia
Re: Pentax's dSLR future?
lol! I was talking to Rob about this comment today. In Australia, the term pissed is taken to mean drunk or intoxicated, so when I read it for the first time, I was even more confused, thinking that he meant he was drunk at the time and so wasn't as angry as he had anticipated! lol... vbg But, upon rereading it, I *thought* it was intended to read as: My angst diminished when I picked up an ist D the first time. I *was* pissed. meaning that he had been previously annoyed, UNTIL he picked it up at which time his angst diminished and so his state of being pissed was in past tense ie was. hehe, how silly to be deliberating over such trivial things. I am procrastinating as I should be working, I have more of those product shots that Shel hates so much to shoot. Already, wasted much of my day gas-bagging to Rob on the phone, so I really should get back to it... tan.
Re: Color film processing at home 1st results (Att: Dave)
John, I can't see any of your pics on photonet... tan. - Original Message - From: John Daniele [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2003 3:26 PM Subject: Color film processing at home 1st results (Att: Dave) Well I blew the dust off the jobo duolab and gave it a try I have posted 4 of the photos of my first results. Here are the details for those interested. http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=363756 Camera Super A w/smca 35-105 camera and lens set to auto (note these were just some quick snaps to see developing results) Film El-cheapo Max 800 kodak Tetanal Press Kit 14.95 @ BH PHOTO makes 1 liter JOBO duolab (basically a rotary drum with an aqua stat and a slot processor in the rear) I followed the directions for the press kit exactly you can get a copy at the jobo web site in the support section. Mixing the chemicals was easy and surprising to me no odor (I hate the smell of BW fixers) http://www.jobo-usa.com/instructions/instructions_process_c41_presskit.h tm I was amazed at how easy this whole thing was and I am a complete amateur I am absolutely positive you can do this in a bucket of warm water, The original scans were equal to anything I have picked up at the one hour place the scans on photo net are all low resolution. Conclusion I will be developing more color film and scanning the shots I want printed will go to disc then to the photo lab for printing at least I Wont be paying for the shots I would not have wanted printed (I take lots of crumby shots between good ones) Regards JD
Re: 50/1.2 in Trading Post
Bill, I just phoned the number and it was answered by a very old sounding man who said it was his son selling the lens ( he also has a K1000 listed in the Trading Post for $235.00!), and that he would get him to ring me back. He didn't speak English very well though, so I won't hold my breath as I am not sure how well he took down my number. Will let you know what I find out... tan. - Original Message - From: William R. [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2003 11:47 PM Subject: RE: 50/1.2 in Trading Post That is a great price! I`m so tempted in buying another one especially for that price too bad I don`t like to buy things without seeing it in person. I`ve had a bad experience buying at ebay once so I`m wary of auctions and such. I may change my mind later though there are some good deals on ebay. Anthony that link you gave us doesn`t seem to be working. William R. From: Anthony Farr [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: 50/1.2 in Trading Post Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2003 20:10:18 +1100 www.tradingpost.com.au has a listing for: Pentax F1.2 50mm lens, excellent cond, $185 (03)98002825 Wantirna (not mine). That area code is in Victoria, from other countries you would dial 61-3-98002825. It looks like a good price ($Aus1.00 = $US0.74), but I can't vouch for it's condition beyond the sellers description (no photo but that's not unusual on this site) The actual web page is http://www.tradingpost.com.au/browse.asp?State=NSWsMsg=Search but that's a search result so you may have to enter via the home page above, choose Victoria on the map, choose the audiovisual category and the photographic sub-category, then search Pentax. After all that it could have sold already but you'd never know without enquiring. Just a heads up, especially for new *istD owners looking for a fast portrait lens. As it's not an auction I guess it's OK to spread the word. regards, Anthony Farr _ Linguaphone : Learning English? Get Japanese lessons for FREE http://go.msnserver.com/HK/30476.asp
Re: Just curious ... Related questions
I am almost embarrased to say that I am one of the ones that falls into the never category having never developed my own films in a darkroom. I did purchase all the gear to set one up a few years back, but sold it all again when I found that I was expecting our baby and would need the room as a nursery... tan.
Re: Just one tip
Bill said:Tanya, that is bullshit. What it means is that you shoot an extra couple of rolls of film on any given job to get the number of hits you need, - that is exactly what I *do* do now Bill, it sucks though, cause I really wish that I could be confident that I could open the package straight from the lab and know that it would be ok if my client was sitting over my shoulder looking at them as I was, and not feel that I need to hide any from them... increase your prices to compensate the extra material cost, and get on with life. - easier said then done. I feel really bad expecting people to pay for my mistakes, so generally, I just wear it, and hope that I continue to improve... When your hit percentage increases to where you want it to be, which is unreralistic at the moment, but you'll either figure that out on your own, or you'll slit your wrists, you can cut back on the amount of film you have to shoot, - but as Tom said anything less than 100% means that I am incompetent as a photographer. What do you (and others) think IS a realistic goal to aim for? raise your prices again because you are a better photographer, and put the extra money towards something nice. - like, maybe a certain DSLR and then, I could shoot as much as I wanted without regard to cost?!? ;-) At least thats what I think anyway. - thanks for your thoughts Bill, they are both appreciated and respected. I will never turn down genuine constructive criticism and always take it as it in the nature that it is intended. tan.
contact sheets...
A question to those shooting digital - just wondering how you present your proofs to your clients... do you: a) print out a contact sheet such as that generated in PS? b) hand over a CD with low res files for the purpose of proofing? c) present them to your client as a slideshow etc? d) do something that isn't covered in any of the above options? Just wondering as I am trying to decide on the best way to present the shots I am currently shooting which include both product shots and fashion shots of a kids clothing line. Also included in this lot are some landscape and still-life shots of country oriented items to use as backgrounds etc for the country themed product line. The shots will be on the company's website and in their mail order catalogue, print advertising etc. TIA, tan.
Re: Pentax's dSLR future?
Bill said: And this is in no way to imply that I find you or your internet company tiresome. Quite the opposite, I find your posts delightful, and enjoy poking around your website as well. Must admit, I *was* starting to wonder if I should take the hint when you said Of course, I could also tell someone to piss off, which would mean that I find their company tiresome. hehe. We too, use the term pissed off, piss off etc in Oz, but rarely is it shortened to just pissed, which is kind of ironic really considering how famous Aussies are for shortening almost every common phrase that they use. eg afternoon/arvo, sandwich/sanga, spaghetti bolognaise/spag bog. etc... Oh, and then there are peoples names - such as Caroline, Darren, Barry, Russell, Sharon, Kerry, Gary, Larry, Murray, Geraldine (my best friend's name), who in the traditional Aussie way, are generally shortened to result in Cazza, Dazza, Bazza, Rusty, Shazza, Kezza, Gaza, Lazza, Muzza and Gezza... lol... try saying that quickly after a few New Year's Eve drinks... tan. (who is dying to hear Cotty's comeback on Bill's use of the term poking around in reference to him viewing my website)...
Re: Kodak TMAX 3200 or Fuji Press Pro 1600
Boris, I recently did exactly what you are planning and experimented at a friends wedding, knowing that they had already hired another photographer for their formal shots. I decided to have a play and used Fuji Press Pro 800. The resulting grain was a pain in the butt. It wasn't significant enough to look artsy but was too much to look good. Also, the skin tones were TERRIBLE. My bride looked blotchy and even as though she had a fake tan in places, whereas shots I had just taken on a different camera with the same light and equivalent exposure with Fuji NPH 400 (my fav. wedding film), looked gorgeous. I have never used the TMAX film, but I wouldn't recommend shooting anything for a wedding with film faster than 400 unless you are going for a REALLY artsy look and using the grain for its creative/artistic merits. And don't even think about group or family photos, as you can just about guarantee that people will want enlargements of these, which will of course look shocking with the grain. My preference would be to take a tripod and shoot with a 400 speed film. If you look here, I did exactly this for this wedding, which was another friends and at which I also let myself do a little experiment. These shots were shot handheld (and leaning against poles/church pews etc in place of a tripod) using only available light, in a dark church with a 135mm prime lens, and T400cn film. Not what I would refer to as my best work, but an interesting experiment nonetheless... http://www.tanyamayer.com/themarriage/churchbellsaringin/churchbellsaringin.html Good-luck! tan.
Re: PUG January is open
Wow, there are some great shots there guys and gals... I think that my pick of them would have to be Fluffy by Fred Widall, I also love Cotty's use of DOF with his The Eyes Have It. Funny that I should pick these two as I am SO not a cat person! Not sure why, although I know that the colours grab me, but I also really like Denali Caribou by Kenneth Waller, it really seems to jump from that background Fanned Out by Lon Williamson is great too, I really like the light coming through the tail feathers, and despite your comments Lon, I love the composition. Would love to see the better ones if this isn't one of them! Lovin' Fly by Dag Thrane - it is one of those shots that really makes me want to know the how and whys of how it was made. What is the fly sitting on? Is it a reflected surface? etc etc... Love the sidelighting in Walking on a Strange Animal by Gianfranco Irlanda, a shot that was captured with great timing! Watch by Alin Flaider has fantastic focus, depth of field and just the right amount of flash to add that punch to the colours (IMO) - the colours in the bokeh only serve to make the lizard stand out even more whilst adding a warmth to the overall shot that makes it really eyecatching. Nemo by Christian Skofteland, - underwater photography is something that has been slowly building my curiosity in the past year or two, and having the Great Barrier Reef only four hours drive away - it is really something I should learn about. The vibrancy of the colours are fantastic here and the focus and composition are just great. Amazing to think that you took this shot whilst under water! Oh, and I showed it to my kids too, and it was obviously a resounding success! I *possibly* would have cropped a fair wack of the out of focus pink side of the anemonae, off but still not sure if it would really benefit this image or not. Either way, I love it... *istDaRose by Joseph Tainter, is a fantastic shot and a great take on a very traditional subject. I love the texture that the petals have, and the colour is great. You really can have fun mixing light temperatures... Bingo Grain by Michal Mesko, is a great, memorable shot, although just slightly too sepia for my tastes, I prefer subtle tonings, but that is just a personal opinion. Other than that, I love the shot... Looking at You by Bruce Dayton, is a gorgeous shot. Love the sidelighting and skin tones, and just look at that hair... and those eyes! SO cute! Thanks to all for sharing your wonderful images, on a personal level, I learn so much from viewing them and always get really excited when it comes to going through the gallery each month. I don't think there has ever been one image posted that I haven't learnt *something* from... tan.
Re: Happy New Year from Australia
John wrote: ... so anyone without kids leads a shallow, worthless existence? Sheesh, of course, John, that is *not* how I meant it to come across. I probably should have emphasised the our and the we or rephrased it to read It is because of *my* kids that all that *I* do on a daily basis becomes worthwhile... . When I made reference to our and we I was referring to my husband and myself, not making a generalisation for everyone else on the entire list! Sorry if I offended with a comment that was given as a gesture of friendship, love and goodwill to welcome in the New Year, and which I assumed would be taken as such. I'll just go back and hide behind my camera now, I feel much safer there sometimes... tan.
Re: Happy New Year!!
Bill said: ... and I am sipping on Champagne that I made using the traditional method... Ok, that sounds very ominous... exactly what is the traditional method?!? BTW, Happy New Year to you too...! Must be some heavy duty partying happening in the Northern Hemisphere, the list is veeery quiet this afternoon... tan.
Re: AP liked the *ist 35mm best
ERN asked: Who wears a skirt when taking photographs?? Actually, you know what, I should have said that I was 'figuratively' speaking when I typed that cause, guess what? I NEVER wear a skirt when I am shooting - and especially not weddings. Last week I had 3 guys hoist me and my tripod up onto the roof of a Golf Club to take a large group shot of all the guests - can you imagine that if I'd been wearing... NOT a pretty sight would that have been... *eek*! And it would be even less wise to wear one when shooting kids, as I almost always end up sitting or lying down with them and shooting at ground level, or at least sitting and playing with them for a bit to capture candid shots... I'll try and dig up a shot of me that I know I have *somewhere* of me dressed in my uniform... tan.
Re: AP liked the *ist 35mm best
LOL! He'll be a bit out of fashion dressed like that though! tan. - Original Message - From: Pieter Nagel [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 9:06 AM Subject: Re: AP liked the *ist 35mm best On Fri, Jan 02, 2004 at 08:53:24AM +1000, Tanya Mayer Photography wrote: and i know who looks better in a skirt... True. Lewis the Robot Photographer is more suited for a corset and hoop dress. -- ,_ /_) /| / / i e t e r/ |/ a g e l
Re: PUG January is open
I tried numerous versions of cropping the shot and really liked this one the most. The relationship between fish and anemone is very special and I wanted to convey that in the picture. Thanks again! Christian Yeah, Christian, I think I would tend to agree with you. In fact, I really like the composition, my main thoughts behind the cropping possibility was due to the out of focus part of the anemone to the left. BUT, in hindsight, I tend to agree with you, and the crop as it is gives true scale to the shot, depicting just how small the clown fish truly is in relation to his chosen home. Either way, I love the shot. You know what, I have never been scuba diving, or even snorkelling for that matter. I have asthma and have never been able to go when the opportunity has presented itself to me... It is so funny that we get so complacent (sic?) with those regions that we come to know and never truly explore them. I have said to my hubby on a number of occasions that it is ironic that people travel from all over the world to visit what we literally have on our doorstep, and are yet to properly explore ourselves. tan.
Re: AP liked the *ist 35mm best
Christian said: bet he can't drop his cameras hmmm, maybe so, and even if he did, he is probably equipped with the technology to fix them himself anyways! lol... Christian asked: have you seen tv in a skirt...? *eek*, i really didn't need *that* picture in my mind's eye, that is going to haunt me all day now! vbg (no offence of course, tv!) ...mind you, he *could* start a new trend in wedding photography attire; pity tv is shooting digital, cause it would make for some very easy warming opportunities for film straight out of the fridge... (as cotty and paul discussed already...) tan. (waiting for the kilt jokes to start rolling in...)
scary stuff with win 98...
Omigosh, I just went into Windows 98 Explorer to add some actions to my Photoshop folder, and discovered all of these icons and folders that are faded in their appearance! These are in the c: directory. Then when I go into the Windows folder, there are more of them AND 304 empty notepad files with all of these weird names. I am scared - this looks like virus-like activity to me, but I am totally up to date with all of my virus definitions and only just last night did a full system scan that came up all clear... Can anyone help here? tan.
Re: scary stuff with win 98...
Not that I know of Trevor... They *do* look exactly how you described - it is as though I have selected them all and clicked on cut, but alas, I have not, and they are in a number of different directories, and even after I clear the clipboard, they still remain... this is not good... t. - Original Message - From: Trevor Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 11:36 AM Subject: RE: scary stuff with win 98... G'day Tanya. Usually the icons and folders appear faded: when they have been Edit...Cut or if they are hidden or system files. You didn't press something by mistake did you? Hooroo. Regards, Trevor Grafton OZ -Original Message- From: Tanya Mayer Photography [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, 2 January 2004 12:29 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: scary stuff with win 98... Omigosh, I just went into Windows 98 Explorer to add some actions to my Photoshop folder, and discovered all of these icons and folders that are faded in their appearance! These are in the c: directory. Then when I go into the Windows folder, there are more of them AND 304 empty notepad files with all of these weird names. I am scared - this looks like virus-like activity to me, but I am totally up to date with all of my virus definitions and only just last night did a full system scan that came up all clear... Can anyone help here? tan.
The weirdest booking ever...
Ok, so now that I have p*ssed Cotty off with another of my enormous Aussie posts, just wanted to share with you all the strangest thing that just happened... I just got a booking from an Englishman, who phoned me from, wait for it Sultanate of Oman!! I had to Google to even find out where in the world that was!! He and his partner are getting married in 3 weeks time, in, of all places, Brisbane, Australia. So, this is incredibly weird because - a) he was calling from the Middle East! b) he has no budget and said that money is no object, they are just determined, after viewing my website, that I am the one that they want to shoot their wedding because they love the romance of my work and my philosophy (go figure?!?! there is no accounting for taste with some people, i guess) c) i have only 3 weeks notice for a wedding that is 1500kms away! d) the wedding is to take place on a Monday - Australia Day to be exact. a public holiday) and e) did I mention that he was calling me from the Middle EAST?!?!!? Seriously, he even said to me, that if I already had another booking on that day, that they would pay me whatever I wanted to cancel that booking and shoot theirs!! OMG, fairygirl is on a role (and knowing Murphy's Law, is just waiting for the bubble to burst...)... *eek* more airfares to book... Now I am totally nervous that I won't be able to live up to this couples high expectations... tan.
Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions?
Ok, I'll play too... These are just my photography related ones, you should see my personal list... 1. To complete my calendar and see it for sale in every newsagent/Target/Kmart/Angerson Robertson Bookworld in Australia... 2. To get my books setup properly so that the tax man doesn't hunt me down... 3. To shoot in at least 3 separate Australian states... 4. To purchase/lease a DSLR/lens/accessories that is compatible with all of my current kit... 5. To purchase a big flat screen LCD monitor... 6. To upgrade my RAM... 7. To purchase a laptop/data projector... 8. To become enabled with a Pentax FA 100m f2.8 macro... 9. To win an award of some description for my photography... 10. To finish my blasted website... 11. To publish a book of my works about fairies... (shh, that's a secret, don't tell anyone about that...) 12. To stop making so many crazy, unachievable New Years resolutions... tan.
Re: scary stuff with win 98...
Ta Ryan... tan. - Original Message - From: Ryan Lee [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: PDML [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 5:56 PM Subject: Re: scary stuff with win 98... Tanya, I think you meant to post this to the list but you only replied to me. Here's forwarding it. For the record- Trevor, Robert, Kevin.. if it were any more of a glamorous problem, I wouldn't have a clue! :-) Cheers, Ryan - Original Message - From: Tanya Mayer Photography [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Ryan Lee [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 2:44 PM Subject: Re: scary stuff with win 98... Bingo!!! That's what it was, yaay, for Ryan! - and it was my own fault as I actually changed that setting the other day when I was browsing a CD for a file that I couldn't find, and obviously I forgot to change it back... So, I am breathing again now, phew! Thanks for your help everyone... tan. Hi Tan, I'm not sure if you've tried this already, but it sounds like your setting to 'view all files and folders' is on when most of the time it's hidden. If this is the case, open up explorer/tools/folder options/view/do not show hidden files and folders. Not guaranteed, but worth a shot.. Cheers, Ryan
Re: AP liked the *ist 35mm best
Ok, I SO didn't need THAT mental picture just before going to sleep... Cotty, I blame you if I have nightmares tonight! vbg tan. ERN wrote: Tanya posted, among many other things: and i know who looks better in a skirt... vbg Who wears a skirt when taking photographs?? To which, Cotty responded: Do nappies (diapers) count?
Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions?
Cotty said: snip...and I just need the resolution to see them through. Bloody whinging Poms, never happy, I thought that 6mp should be plenty of resolution for you... vbg tan.
Re: Today, I feel as though I have achieved something....
Kevin, I can't believe that you actually went through them ALL! Thankyou so much for your encouraging comments. This most certainly was my first attempt at this type of shoot. Previous to this, anything I have shot that was even remotely commercial, has always had people in it, and was generally shot outside with available light. Many of these were shot late in the night, after my kids had gone to bed! Again, thankyou so much Kevin for taking the time to wade through them all and to respond to my (dizzying!) post... tan.
Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions?
Mainly for showing proofs to my clients Boris, but probably for photo editing too, I have a window that site right behind me and I really need a non-reflective surface to work from... Is this a no-no? I can feel another lesson for fairygirl coming on... tan. Hi! TMP 5. To purchase a big flat screen LCD monitor... Tanya, you're not going to use it for photo editing, are you? Boris
Re: Today, I feel as though I have achieved something....
Leon wrote a really detailed, and most appreciated reply which included: 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, veeerrry 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... Digital is a great learning tool, now all I need is some more time and a 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... I can be a harsh critic, and having said that some of your photography is better than I ever hope to achieve, but you asked Really?!? I am truly humbled... The shots are very good, but I think it is the ones with people in them that will sell the clothes... Yeah, those are the ones I am looking forward to. The purpose of these shots isn't really to sell the clothes as much as to illustrate them for mail order/web site purposes. They will be used more in a shopping cart context rather than a marketing one - hence the closeups on 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... You'll do a great job for this wedding in Brisbane too. Can you supply some details of where you will be shooting? I grew up in Brisbane and shot some weddings about 16-17 years ago up there. 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! yy, 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... ...If there are a few lose threads or bits of grass out of place on the images it's difficult to see on the small files, but it's probably best to correct that before shooting - it's difficult to exactly match fabric textures by cloning on a curved piece of fabric. 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 wonder about some of the shots you deleted. Most were just duplicates of some that were already there, and others were obvious stuff ups whereby, I missed the focus or wasn't happy with a reflection/shadow due to the position of the light... I can see some obvious landscape crops in some of you portrait shots (and a little the other way). Some of the shots are a bit unbalanced, but I can see a 6x4.5 crop in them that would make them right. This may have been your idea from the start, I just notice it because in all cases I would crop fully from one side of your images - I tend to allow extra on both sides of the image and crop the middle, so I notice it more in your images. Nh, that's just me, I'm a bit warped and unbalanced myself you see vbg Seriously though, yep, mucho cropping to be done yet, and much more other editing too... Once you get the *istD or if the Oly allows it consider shooting in RAW format. It gives you a lot more latitude in the image and cuts down the need to bracket (some of the shots of the dark fabrics were a little too dark and with only a 24 bit image to work with could be difficult to lighten enough and keep the tonal range smooth). 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... What did you have? We had a potato bake. ! potato bake, ymmy! Whenever I make it, we have huge domestics over it cause my hubby tries to sneak all of the
Re: Today, I feel as though I have achieved something....
ok, so I set myself up for that one, I really should have anticipated the whip jokes... At least that one was G-rated... Hardy, har, har! tan. Christian, the smart-arse, said:Now, how does this tie in with Children's clothing? Keeping them in-line are you? VBG
Re: Happy new Year from a new list member (Charles Braswell)
Mark wrote... For those who don't know, Charles was Best of Show winner at GFM in 2003. Listmeister Brewer and I judged he's the contest (just so you don't attach *too* much credibility to his win!) and Charles's photo is the one for which I unofficially re-named the awards: Instead of Honorable Mention, Runner-Up and Winner, I suggested they be categorized as Great Shot, I Wish I'd Taken That One and, I Hate This Guy! ;-) Here's Charles' winning shot: http://www.grandfather.com/events/naturephoto2003/leaf_Braswell.jpg (It looks even better as a print or projected) He *also* won the Wildflower category: http://www.grandfather.com/events/naturephoto2003/flame_Braswell.JPG omigosh! When I was first considering GFM and browsing their website, I looked over those photographs! I was completely blown away by them both, and particularly the leaf one. I am humbled to be in such talented company... tan.
Re: Today, I feel as though I have achieved something....
Leon asked:Does the Oly have depth of field preview? No, but I generally have a gut instinct of what will and will not be in focus. My MZ-6 has it and I have never used it! I think that this, like most of my photography related knowledge is one of my instinctual things, that for some reason, I just seem to know... Pity I couldn't say the same about exposure and metering though... ;-) 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 have 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. I have a 5-in-1 disc reflector (has gold, silver, white, translucent and a black panel that absorbs light), which I love. I also have a couple of car window shades that do just as good a job when needed. I love the gold reflector, but that is cause I primarily shoot people and it adds that tiny touch of warmth to their skin that I am always seem to be chasing. Not sure how it would affect your type of shooting, but it is very subtle and not obvious at all. I never use silver for shooting people, unless I am going for a high-end fashion look, as it gives obvious shine, and high contrast to them, and has an almost harsh look at times. Sounds like you are getting jobs from all over. What do you charge for travelling to Brisbane? Uh-oh, its my rates again... I love to travel to Brisbane, the break away is so much fun. I generally just charge about an extra $400 on top of my standard price. The airfare is around the $250 mark, and then the rest covers food/taxis etc. I have many friends in SE QLD and can basically pick and choose so don't need to pay for accom. I just make my money on my normal day rate that I add to my wedding packages, as really I'm not putting in any extra work than I would be shooting up here... Soon, when I get some courage, I will start to drive in Brisbane, so then there will be car hire to add to that, I guess... Thanks again Leon, tan.
Re: The weirdest booking ever...
Tom Reese wrote:I always feel that way when I have an assignment. That nervousness can help you as long as your hands aren't shaking G. Use it to motivate you to do good work. Many thanks Tom, and I totally agree. I often tell myself (and other people in earshot when I mention that I am nervous), that if I ever stop feeling nervous before a job, I will stop shooting for money. I think the nervousness aids to keep me grounded, ensuring that I never get complacent with what I do, and reminds me that I still have so very much to learn when it comes to photography... tan.
Re: The weirdest booking ever...
Frank said: English accent? Sounded like he was talking from a million miles away? You recently (despite his protestations to the contrary) pissed off that vengeful bastard Cotty? Hohum, and I thought I had this great booking to look forward to, but really, it was just another of those bloody whinging pommie bastards pulling my leg vbg t.
Re: Today, I feel as though I have achieved something....
Vic wrote:Maybe incorporate some Australian landmarks in the background to help identify it. I'm not suggesting these photos would be better than what you have already shot, just different and it may lead to a visual concept that would help sell the clothing. I know that in North America anything Australian is pretty cool. Many thanks for your lovely comments and great suggestions Vic! This is exactly what we intend to do with the location photography, incorporating the kids wearing the clothes, some very Aussie backdrops, and the kids doing some very Aussie things... I will be sure to post some for you to see when they are done, and again, many thanks... t.
Re: The weirdest booking ever...
Frank wrote: English accent? Sounded like he was talking from a million miles away? You recently (despite his protestations to the contrary) pissed off that vengeful bastard Cotty? And to think, I was all excited about this very cool possible booking, when really it was only yet another of those bloody whinging pommy bastards pulling my leg... vbg tan.
Re: The weirdest booking ever...
Thanks Frank, now lets just hope I don't stuff it up... That's great gnus. Good things happen to good people (so I've been telling myself for years g). t.
Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions?
Chris asked... How do you pronounce whinging? I assume it's wine-ing, but I keep saying win-jing in my head. then, Bob said: Australians pronounce 'bastards' wonderfully. That's why we whinge so much - we just love to listen to their cute little accent followed by Franks image of fairygirl in a, *gulp* cheerleader's outfit... *eek*... and then, Chris's observations of fairygirl complaining about her puppies or something... it gets worse... cause then, Bob W chimes in with his FANTASTIC explanation of the definition and history behind the terminology bloody whinging pommy bastards and adviced that fairygirl could remove her cheerleader's outfit now *double EEK*... to which Graywolf added his very concise, and accurate definition of the aforementioned terminology... and then, Cotty, the only one who apparently is talking ANY sense at all, sums it all up with World Goes Mad - Official... WHAT a fantastic way to wake up in the morning, I came to my 'puter and literally laughed my way through breakfast. You guys are so hilarious, and have just increased my motivation to get to GFM about 10-fold... Ok, seems that there is an Aussie accent lesson in order here... The terminology is pronounced as follows in my neck o' the woods (thanks for the quote Al Rocker...), hehe... drum-roll please... blud-dee win-jin' pom-ee baar-stads! (with emphasis on the EXCLAMATION mark!) lol... meaning as follows in said context: bloody - please place emphasis on the following terminology, and know that it is said with passion... whinging - a verbal occurance that happens frequently and continuously, usually a complaint of sorts, that is both annoying and punishable with violence toward the whinger, if repeated frequently and continuously enough... (the point at which it reaches enough is decided upon at the discretion of the whingee...) pommy - an individual of English descent, usually with fair skin, pink cheeks, and generally assumed to have a very strange concept of bathing... bastard - an australian colloquial, generally meaning whinging pommy, so really, a tautology when used in conjunction with the above defined terms, *however*, in typical australian form, it generally has many meanins and can also be taken as a term of endearance when used in an altogether separate context... eg. how ya goin', ya fat bastard?, usually accompanied by a friendly slap on the back, and said as the recipient is being offered a seat, and having a coldie forced into his awaiting palm. This term has also been known to be used in context with display of the typically Australian tall poppy syndrome, when someone achieves at a high level of their chosen vocation, phrased as follows 'friggin' lucky bastard, how did he/she manage to get THAT far/famous/rich etc?!? hope this clears some things up for you, obviously uneducated mob of vegemite hating, pentax loving, bloody hooligans... hooroo...! VBG tan. *as she ducks for cover*
Re: Nick's pics
Some great shots there Nick! I particularly love that bee one, I have tried shooting bees before and they are bloody hard - the move so quickly and are so difficult to get in focus! Now, if you could only add some cute little babies faces poking out of those bee outfits, the image would be just about perfect... vbg (that one was for Frank, the huge fan of all things Anne Geddes) tan.
Re: Evening / night photography
Ho hum, only serves to remind me how hopeless I am at anything that doesn't involve people! Tom these shots are fantastic! Don't ask me why, but I really love this on: http://www.bigdayphoto.com/cityscapes/munich_subway_04020001.htm tan.
Re: It's Stopped Raining
Ok, I now declare Frank to be 100% crazy... 8 degrees celsius!?!?!? That is sitting by the fire, wrapped in a blanket, watching a DVD and drinking hot milo (aussie hot chocolate), weather in these parts. And in fact, I don't think it is ever below 18 degrees celsius in anytime other than the dead of night, at any time of the year around here. I think that last year, in the middle of winter, the coldest night was around 0 degrees celsius (for like, half an hour at sunrise!) in the early morning, and the coldest temp during the day was around 19 degrees celsius... Going outside to photograph at 8 degrees celsius, well, lets just say, you won't have anywhere left to warm your films next time you remove them from the fridge, if you do it on a regular basis... tan.
Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions?
Ok, so moral of the story is that I am better off just bying a normal flat screen 19 monitor that costs pretty much half the price of the LCD displays anyways?!!? Just gotta find room on my desktop for the huge montrosity of a thing... tan.
Re: It's Stopped Raining
Bill said:Right now, we are dreaming of the warmth of 8ºC. Daytime highs here are around -20ºC, night time lows are probably around -30ºC Seriously, how do you drag yourself out of bed in weather like that?!!? How do you get your fingers to work?!!? Give me hot sun, and sweat any day... tan.
Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions?
Chris said: That has to be the best o' the lot so far. Thanks, Tan. :) Chris, I have no idea what you are talking about, those definitions were plaguarised straight from the Oxford Dictionary of Australian Pronounciations and Prose - a text that is used and referred to in Universities all over the country!! vbg tan.
Re: Regarding Legal Proceedings
Bernard, a legal partner(?!?) declared in this here public forum known as PDML: Please be advised that our client, Mr. F Therriault, has been declared unable to look after his own affairs by a judicial order instigated by his family. A few days ago, Mr. Therriault started an action against certain members of the Pentax Discuss organization. This action will proceed, as Mr. Therriault is not deemed compentant to dismiss his council, and his legal guardian feels this action has enough merit to go ahead. Commiserations to you Frank, it seems that it is all out of your hands now. I will be sure to visit you in the Loony Bin, and I will endeavour to pass the hat around to fellow PDML'ers so that we may all be able to put in for a Pentax oriented Care Package for you too Pity, don't think they'd have any Photo Lab facilities within those padded walls though At least it will make great sound insulation, no more worries about noisy autofocus or shutter sounds... BTW, your LX MLU never did stop working, that was just crazed mind of yours playing tricks on you... tan.
Re: Semi OT: Anyone do a big print yet
Mark, wear did the trails go?!? Cool shots, btw... tan. - Original Message - From: Mark Cassino [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 2:33 PM Subject: Re: Semi OT: Anyone do a big print yet The first one was shot on Royal Gold 400, so it's hard to say what the colors were exactly like. But the first shot (last year) was taken during a January thaw after a few inches of snow had melted, during a very dark and over cast day. This winter has seen no snow and it was in the 50's today - so the leaves on the ground were not tamped down - and there was actual sunlight shining through a high overcast today. So the colors were different, though I'd say the contrast levels are more the results of lighting and media. - MCC At 08:18 PM 1/2/2004 -0800, you wrote: Are the colors in the two scenes really as different as the photos show? Mark Cassino wrote: http://www.markcassino.com/temp/IMGP2100_sm.jpg http://www.markcassino.com/galleries/landscapes/0308land05.htm - Mark Cassino Photography Kalamazoo, MI http://www.markcassino.com -
Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions?
Really Chris, do I detect a strange tone to your voice? Sarcasm? Cynicism even? I promise you, I could never lay claim to such eloquently written words, and yes, I do agree that the imparitiality and objectivity are to be admired. I'll have to look it up and see just who it is that gets chosen to write these things... ;-) oops, who put that wink there?!? tan. Ah, yes... I couldn't help but be bowled over by the overwhelming impartiality and objectivity that is the hallmark of academic writing. :) Good job on the transcription. ;) chris On Sat, 3 Jan 2004, Tanya Mayer Photography wrote: Chris said: That has to be the best o' the lot so far. Thanks, Tan. :) Chris, I have no idea what you are talking about, those definitions were plaguarised straight from the Oxford Dictionary of Australian Pronounciations and Prose - a text that is used and referred to in Universities all over the country!! vbg tan.
Re: Semi OT: Anyone do a big print yet
Mark, do you have a printer at home that is capable of printing 12x18?!?! Or do you have a lab nearby that is able to make one quickly? Or do you run a business yourself? Sorry for the barrage of questions, I was just amazed that you said you were shooting today and that you already had a 12x18 print! tan.
Re: It's Stopped Raining
*eek*, it's a wonder that people aren't sick all the time with colds and flu with temperature fluctuations such as those... I am a real baby - I hate the cold and I would be quite happy to hibernate right through our winter, during which times temperatures generally range from 3degrees celsius during the night, and sit at around the 20 degrees celsius during the day. BTW Gianfranco, how to you get the little o (degrees sign) next to your numbers?!?!!? tan. Gianfranco said: Tan, you'd better avoid to come here (Naples, Italy) in this period, when you can have a 12°C day, followed by a 21°C day and then another day at 5°C... (really happened last December.)
Re: It's Stopped Raining
Bill said: Or, use the character map. Ok, Bill so enlighten me on what a character map is... tan.
Re: Semi OT: Anyone do a big print yet
Bill, does this mean that Mark works at, or runs/owns a lab? Bill said: The lab I work at can go as big as 12x18 from digital. The first 12x18 print I did from my ist D was printed within about 15 minutes of being shot. William Robb tan.
Re: Today, I feel as though I have achieved something....
OMG!! I have a wedding in Airlie Beach on Friday (did you visit the Reef via Airlie? It is the hub where most of the ferries leave for the islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Or did you go there via Rockhampton/Yeppoon?)! Imagine the fun I could have if I could get my hands on one of these before then!! tan. Christian posted these great links: http://www.seaandsea.com/ http://www.digideep.com/product.php?pType=housingmID=20pID=232 Much better than the accessories available for Pentax digital cameras for underwater use which is NONE! Blub, blub... Christian
Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions?
That's a great suggestion John, and one that in fact I am in the process of doing. I will be purchasing a laptop by the month's end hopefully, for the express purpose of burning cds on the run and showing slideshows to clients immediately following their shoot. I am also aiming to purchase a data projector so that I can project their images as a slideshow at their wedding reception. I have many clients who are extremely excited about this concept and so, this is my next cab off the rank so to speak... I hadn't even thought of the flexibility it would offer by plugging my monitor in and allowing them to view that way. In fact, when I do get my 19 monitor, I *will* already have a second monitor to do just that, namely the one that I am using right now! tan. - Original Message - From: John Coyle [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 5:40 PM Subject: Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions? I guess if I wanted to minimise the weight and size of the kit, and maximise the flexibility I would buy a laptop and a second monitor, which could be plugged into it. I've used that setup to demo programs to clients, and it works well, as you can sit anywhere and drive the program while they sit comfortably opposite you and can see what you're doing. The laptop can replace a desktop too, and you can always pick it up and take it with you, for both on-site downloading and display to clients without the second monitor. John Coyle Praxis Data Solutions (www.epraxisdata.com) Brisbane, Australia - Original Message - From: Herb Chong [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 9:07 AM Subject: Re: Photographic New Years Resolutions? SNIP Tanya specifically wants to sit with someone else to show them her photos. Herb
Re: PUG idea..
Yeah, I tend to agree with Fred on this one Ryan - it is much nicer to keep it friendlyand besides that - everyone is so subjective, and photography is really a matter of opinions rather than something that can be given an overall scale. This is why I detest the photo.net rating system, as it can never truly give a representation of the quality of your work, due to the large variation in people's likes and dislikes. Also, now with the added Open gallery, how do you judge an image that is submitted in for eg the animal category such as this month's and then a portrait of a child that is submitted into the Open gallery - two very different genres of photography there. And THEN, you have the difficulty of judging colour images against black and white... Believe me, I know, it is more trouble than its worth. I am the steward/co-ordinator and main judge for the past 2 years (this year will be my 3rd) for the Photography Section at our local show (hehe, our small version of the EKKA), and last year I completely re-did all of the categories to try and make it easier, and more objective for the judges and to give fairer competition to the various types of images submitted. Prior to this there had been colour images up against black and white, landscapes up against portraits, it was just crazy... Anyways, you can all tell me to pull my head in if you like, but those were just my thoughts on the idea, and I hope I haven't offended you Ryan, by my voicing them... tan. Fred said: No. Trying to combine Friendly and Best of Show competition gets you an oxymoron. Fred
Re: laptop question...
Cotty said: You buy it. You take it out of the box. It works. Yeah, but my credit card won't if I went out and bought that thing! I have so much that I need to buy at the moment, and the laptop is one of the things that I feel I can scrimp on a little, I really don't need anything with the latest you-beaut, flasho technologies, just something that can transfer my files from their respective CF Cards/Smartmedia cards to a cd, and something that I can use to run a projected slideshow for clients at their wedding receptions etc. One day, when I win the lottery, Cotty, you'll be the first person that I turn to for advice... BTW, as great as they are (and I HAVE worked with them whilst I was at Uni.), Apple Macs are almost non-existent in this part of the world. Not trying to flame here, but I am dead serious, I have never seen one in this town at all, and you cannot buy any software or hardware for them until you hit Brisbane (which is 1500kms away!)... tan.
Re: Thanks for the Welcome!
Jasmine, I would like to also welcome you to the list... There never can be too much girl power around here! lol... I have only been back on list for just over a month now, (I use to subscribe a couple of years ago) and I have been welcomed so warmly, it is like I was never gone. The advice, the assistance, the kind words, the knowledge, and the bloody hilarious entertainment are in a class of their own. I really feel as though I have found a little part of the world here that was designed just for someone like me - who is a mum, and married to a great guy, but whose husband has little to no interest in photography or equipment, or even computers for that matter. I am extremely passionate and pedantic about what I do, which is mainly people photography, and this list truly allows me to express it freely, whilst providing constructive and useful advice that I am always able to put into practice. It isn't always Pentax related, or even photography related for that matter, but that's cool cause sometimes we all need a little digression to lighten the atmosphere... And believe me, these guys are the KINGS and QUEENS of digression - prime example, the recent topic asking people to post their Photographic New Year's Resolutions, which quickly degenerated into a lengthy, and hilarious, topic about the definition of what whingeing pommie bastard is and ending with people having visions of me looking like Lucy Lui in a cheerleaders outfit (yep, you can thank your official welcomer Frank for that saga! lol)... As for asking silly questions, well, I fear that I am very guilty of that crime, and way too frequently, too! Lucky for us, despite them primarily being a bunch of Grumpy Old Men vbg, for some reason, most of them seem to tolerate my frivolous use of bandwidth with amazing patience, and usually offer explanations that are both helpful and concise and not patronising at all... If you are anything like I was when I picked up my first camera just under 4 years ago, you will soon see that not only is photography addictive, but it becomes both a passion and a way of life second to none... Again, welcome aboard, and get ready for an interesting ride... These are a great group of people always willing to help. tan. (aka fairygirl in these parts) - Original Message - From: Jasmine [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 5:43 AM Subject: Thanks for the Welcome! Hi again, Thanks for the welcome. Frank, that was helpful, thanks. The needle doesn't move! Is that the light meter? Where can I get a battery? Can I go to a drugstore or camera store? I love this camera! I took a roll of film when I first got it (about a month ago), but haven't developed it yet. I will in the next couple of days - it will be interesting to see how I did. Interesting or embarrassing! I have some pictures of my ex-boyfriend on there so hopefully those are the ones that DON'T turn out! One thing I would like to get is a flash-thingy. Are they hard to find? Expensive? (and yes, I said flash-THINGY - I have a fine command of the English language, thank you very much!) I just realized I've had the skylight filter on for all my photos. Is that ok? What does the filter do? It's not colored, so does it just soften the photos? Hey! Will it make me look younger? :) Jasmine
Re: January PUG Comments Part I
It's a lovely shot Herb, and only made better by viewing in the correct colour space... tan. *who is REALLY itching for an underwater housing* - Original Message - From: Herb Chong [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 9:26 AM Subject: Re: January PUG Comments Part I i entirely forgot to convert to sRGB before uploading. Herb - Original Message - From: Tanya Mayer Photography [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2004 5:29 PM Subject: Re: January PUG Comments Part I Ok, so I just did it, and this is what I found - viewing that particular image in Adobe RGB most definitely does improve it significantly. The colours are richer, there is higher contrast and it looks much less washed out in general.
Re: Today, I feel as though I have achieved something....
Ok, so this topic ended up relating primarily to, yet again, my rates, with John, Chris et.al observing: That's not a budget - it's a joke. four rolls of film, and expecting 100 shots? HAR! Hmmm, now how do I respond? Well, it all started back in August when a local lady approached me and told me that she was starting up a kids clothing label. She was going to be developing a website, and would need about 18 photographs. Her budget was au$400. I told her immediately that, I would need to shoot at least 4 rolls to come up with the 18 that she would need, to allow her at least some choice etc. At this stage, it didn't include any studio work, this was JUST for the location stuff with the kids dressed in the clothes etc. The reasoning for my quote? Then, I had never done anything commercial at all. Fashion is an opportunity that I don't get to do very often out here, but it is the root of my photographic passions, I love to do it that much. Combine this with getting to shoot with the kids, and I get to double my fun. I felt awkward and fraudulent charging her too high a rate for something that I have little to no experience in, so, I quoted her a rate of au$100 per roll of processed film. She would receive, as proofs, first run 5x7 prints, plus negs. To be honest, I was just covering my expenses, cause I would have done this entire shoot for free just to gain the experience and the exposure from her website. This lady has vision, and mark my words, her label is going to go places... au$100 per roll, is what I was then charging for my portrait sittings, so I just quoted her the same. Well, time passed, and there were delays at the manufacturers etc. My lady only received her final garment samples last week. Obviously my situation has now changed somewhat than what it was in August. I am now able to offer her digital services. S, basically, I won't incur any processing/film costs that I had already factored into the original $400 and so, that in effect, is clear cut profit. I didn't want her to feel as though I was ripping her off, as she knows very well that I now wouldn't have to pay for film/processing, so instead I gave her more of my time. I still have another 2 or 3 days work to go. I know that this averages out at a very low hourly rate, but like I said, remember, I would have done this job for free, I love this type of work THAT much, and never get to do any of it out here where I am located. *eek* i just worked it out and it is like, $7.30 per hour of shooting time alone, that is without factoring in post-production, archiving, burning, etc... When she pays me the $400 in coming days, it will go straight to the seller of the camera, and so, really, she has assisted in enabling me with said camera, and for that I am very greatful. Add to this, the exposure that I am hoping to get from her website, and I feel that in this instance, I have truly been paid enough. You just cannot put a price on the value of a valid tear sheet/full website combination (but I am secretly hoping that the website is very well designed and doesn't look dodgy! although knowing this lady, I doubt that it would be done any other way than wonderfully, as she is very calculated about everything that she does)... To be able to refer someone to that site and say, oh, yeah, btw, all of the photography on that site is mine... would just be so fantastic... Secondly, she has already booked me for a second shoot for her fashion line that will be released in April, on the strengths of the images that I offered her the other day after my studio shooting. So, now I feel that I have painted myself into a corner (as warned by many of you already!), and now I am trying to work out how to increase my prices for the next shoot so that she still feels as though she is getting value for money, whilst paying more for it. If I were doing the same amount of work that I have done for this one, I would want the budget increased to around the $1500 for it to be feasible I would think, that way I would at least be making around au$25 per hour, something that I think is much more reasonable. (still too cheap by most of your standards, I know, but reasonable to me...). She is really appreciative that she got a great deal for the first time around and does expect it to increase somewhat - so I was thinking that I could maybe invoice her for the $400, but divide it out over a per hour basis so that she does actually see that I was only earning $7 per hour, which is less than the award wage for a Check-out Chic in these parts! So, that way when I invoice her for the next job, I can simply put 60 hours @ $25 per hour = $1500 . This is more inline with an average weekly wage, and I am sure that she would appreciate that, knowing that I put in well over an average weeks worth of work. What do you guys think? TIA, tan.
Re: Introductions, introductions...
Hi Steve! Welcome! I luurv this one... http://www.elvum.net/gallery/favourite/sun_trees ok, now we are surrounded by bloody whingeing Pommies... vbg tan - Original Message - From: Steve Jolly [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 9:54 AM Subject: Introductions, introductions... Since there's this whole introductions thing going round, I thought I might as well join in the fun... I'm Steve, I live in the UK, theoretically in London, although I've been exiled to Bristol while I try and finish off my PhD thesis. Photography is a major hobby of mine - I'd describe myself as an improving amateur. :-) Equipment-wise, I own an ME Super, a cheap Sigma 28-70 compact zoom, a rather curious Sigma AF 55-200 Zoom (the AF one for manual-focus cameras with the entire focussing mechanism incorporated into the lens) and a few sundry items. Oh, and the standard M50 1:1.7. I also have a collection of cheap nasty compact cameras which I'll try to avoid mentioning here too often... ;-) Some kind of online gallery link seems traditional - most of my photos are on the web, and I keep an album of my all-time favourites at http://www.elvum.net/gallery/favourite (largish thumbnails, but should be OK even over a modem). Anyways, this looks like a nice list - hopefully I'll be able to contribute usefully to the conversation :-) S
Re: It's Stopped Raining
Congratulations on your wedding Thrainn! Here's hoping that you and your new wife live a long and happy life together... You will have much more opportunity for that *istD to get a workout should you decide to add to your family! all the best, tan. - Original Message - From: Thrainn Vigfusson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 10:51 AM Subject: Re: It's Stopped Raining I'm afraid I've got my *istD quite wet a few times and also used it immediately after bringing it in from the cold. It shows no signs of any damage. This was all done against my better judgement. My girlfriend and I were married on Dec. 30th. It was a very small wedding, with only parents and siblings present. I had also taken pictures of the church the evening before, in the rain. We used a birthday party the 30th to celebrate on my wite's side and a family gathering New Years Eve to celebrate with my family, and that meant lots of pictures inside and outside, because of the fireworks. Since there were a number of relatives visiting here for the holidays, I was forced to use the *istD so everybody could see the pictures before they left. In hindsight, I'm glad I found out the *istD is more weather-resistant than some people believe, but I don't think I'll take any more chances if I can help it. I've previously used plastic bags to cover my cameras in the rain and snow, but I never really liked using them, since there is always wind tugging at the bag. I'm now toying with the idea of taking some fairly heavy material (e.g. thick denim), spray it with some sort of water resistant spray (e.g. the silicon aerosol that you can buy to waterproof clothing and shoes), and sewing velcro strips to tighten one end around the front of the lens. Thrainn On Saturday 03 January 2004 23:37, mike wilson wrote: Hi, Dag T wrote: After living 10 years on the west coast, I couldn't agree more. Downside is that it drains batteries faster. And that it takes a lot more time to acclimatise the gear to room temperature afterwards... I was very impressed with the MZ-S in this respect. Coming out of well below 20degrees under zero into a warm and moist cafe, it produced enough condensation to soak about 30 paper napkins. I just kept mopping it off until it had warmed up sufficiently to cease creating. Never had a problem of any sort. I was also using the 28-70/2.8 FA* lans. ME Super, Super A and LX also handles this great. Have anybody taken the chance on the *istD yet? I didn´t take the chances on new years eve... Given my (apparent) stance on DSLRs I was rather afraid to ask this - but I am interested in the answer. mike
Re: Introductions, introductions...
http://www.pdml.net/dbrewer/p4.html tan. - Original Message - From: Stan Halpin [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 2:14 PM Subject: Re: Introductions, introductions... Actually, there is a PDML FAQ. It was once set to all new subscribers and then to all members once a month. It is still out there on the web somewhere if you want to do a search Steve - welcome. FYI, and for others as well, you can find anything you want about Pentax lenses and cameras via my site, Boz's site (referenced from mone) or this list. Welcome! Stan stans-photography.info [NOTE new address...] Mark Roberts wrote: Steve Jolly [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: frank theriault wrote: I just replied to his initial post, making nice to the new guy, you know, not scaring him off or anything Oh, don't worry about scaring me off - I read the Frank Theriault section of the PDML FAQ... :-P Is there a PDML FAQ??? I had no idea. I'd better have a look. Probably contains warnings about several members. I'm probably one of them...
Re: Epson 1640 SUP scanner prob ?
Ann, I have the Epson Perfection 1650. It seriously sucks for neg scans and I loathe the day that I bought the thing. For print scanning it is great, but I shouldn't have been such a tight-wad and spent the extra 500 or so bucks to get a neg scanner. I can't help you much cause I've never been able to get it to do anything that is even remotely usable for me... tan.
Re: laptop question...
Ok, ok, at the risk of this thread becoming a world record holder in length, I feel that I do need to respond as I have had many of you taking the time to give me advice both on list and off. And so, here goes... In regards to the laptop - I actually had them mixed up and the one with the burner wasn't the one that I preferred, it was actually this one here, which I am winning at this point: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=3450789600category=3717rd=1 Bigger HDD, bigger monitor, faster processor. Yes, the RAM does suck, but I am only running 256mb on my home PC and that is with Photoshop, Image Ready, Go Live etc, and I've never really had an issue with it (am planning to upgrade it to 1gb fairly soon though just for the sake of it really). And I am looking at buying this (or something similar) to run with it: http://shop.centre.net.au/index.html?cat=0005WZ0005XE0007KCprid=000V2Dit=product or this one: http://shop.centre.net.au/index.html?cat=0005WZ0005XE0007K7prid=000ZHFit=product Honestly, I really think it will be ample for what my needs will demand of it... for now. Remember, this is a *temporary measure*. For some time in our house, we have had ongoing arguments over the home PC due to the kids and their computer games etc. So, I am planning on buying one of this level now and passing it onto the kids in a month or two for them to have. Why the rush to get one NOW rather than wait until I can afford the real thing? Well, I am now digitally enabled. I have 6 weddings in the next 6 weeks where I will be able to shoot digitally, but it is ridiculous to even attempt it without a laptop, as I will be 1500kms away from my home PC for them. I can't afford anything decent right now - I have a young family, who just had a very expensive Christmas, we have ongoing house renovations, and I have just spent over $4k in the past month on equipment as well. On a personal level, we have our own bills to pay, and my husband was injured when a diesel tank exploded in his face 8 weeks ago and has been unable to work, and so I have been basically supporting the family with my income during this time. He has now gone back to work this week, BUT there have been bills that have been neglected over the past 8 weeks that will need attending to asap. Ok, so basically, as much as I would love to, I can't devote ALL of my profits straight back into equipment - I need to feed my kids first, and I would feel much too guilty and selfish buying toys for myself when I know that as a family we have other priorities. Although, I have been really busy with photography work over the past 2 months, all of my profits have really been spent on pulling my family through a rather difficult time financially. Anyways, enough of the sob story... The moral of the story is, that I will be leasing a decent laptop as soon as I can, BUT I will still need $1000 or thereabouts as a required deposit as my business has only been trading for under a year and there are very little financial records that I can provide when applying for such agreements. Anyways, sorry for the prattling on, but basically, I am buying a little laptop to get me through the next few weeks or maybe month or two, so that I am able to shoot these upcoming bookings digitally, and thus make a larger profit from them (ie no film/processing costs...), I will then ditch it in favour of something that will keep me going on a longer term basis. I *could* of course just wack all of my resources into a laptop right now, but I really want to get my *istD as well, and am still trying to aim for a certain trip to the US come June, and so I feel that this is a pretty good compromise and will settle many a dispute in our house when the kids finally get to have it! Stan, you observed this: As John Francis commented, you have a situation where you should not be fretting over a few dollars... And I aim that eventually, I won't have to. BUT, the fact is, that I am a mum first, a wife second and a photographer third. My priorities are such that, for the time being, every little cent certainly does count. Stan also said: I figure your gross income each year should be about $200k ASD, a net of $100k before taxes. ROFLMSAO (Rolling on the floor laughing my skinny arse off...!), hahahahahaha, heeheeheeheehee, hohohohohoho!!! phew, ok, taking a breath now... In reply to that comment - are you kidding me? If I was making that sort of money, my hubby could quit his job and be a full-time house husband and I would travel the world flogging my wares. Remember, guys, I live in a small, drought stricken country town. I am only just now branching out to the metropolitan areas where people have a much more disposable income. My aim is that in 5 years time I am earning that amount, but seriously, there is only one of me, and only so many hours in a day. I have three babies that need me in that day as well. Last year, by a rough estimate (I wasn't
Re: PUG January is open
If you are eating stakes graywolf, you'd wanna watch out for those blasted splinters - at least you won't be short on toothpicks though... ;-) Sorry, couldn't help myself, nasty aren't I to play on a typo?!?! tan. graywolf wrote: Ah yes, the 4 basic food groups: pizza, beer, stake, potatos.
Re: PUG January is open
Nothing wrong with that graywolf - I lrv(ed) Buffy. Actually, was just looking at the series on DVD on Ebay... tan. - Original Message - From: graywolf [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 2:26 AM Subject: Re: PUG January is open Watching too much Buffy grin. -- Tanya Mayer Photography wrote: If you are eating stakes graywolf, you'd wanna watch out for those blasted splinters - at least you won't be short on toothpicks though... ;-) Sorry, couldn't help myself, nasty aren't I to play on a typo?!?! tan. graywolf wrote: Ah yes, the 4 basic food groups: pizza, beer, stake, potatos. -- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com You might as well accept people as they are, you are not going to be able to change them anyway.
Re: OT: While we're on language, have a collective noun won't ya..
graywolf said: So, they are geese? How about a pantheon of photographers (are they gods)? No, I got it a murder (crows) of paparazzi. GRIN DEFINITELY a pantheon of photographers, but only if it allows for godESSES too! lol tan.
Down off my high-horse... with a thump.
Hi all, well, it is 2.12am here and I am heading for bed after a long night of invoicing, contracts, photoshopping files for ftp'ing etc. I just wanted to tell you all about my rollercoaster of a day. Just when I thought I might have been getting somewhere with this whole charging what i'm apparently worth thingy, I was quickly dragged down off my high-horse by a would-be wedding client. They had telephoned me in late November after seeing my website and an add in the paper (this was a local enquiry), and the bride to be had said omigosh, i've just seen your website and you HAVE to shoot my wedding - your images are just beautiful, our budget is this, but i don't really care what you charge, i just want you, blah, blah. So, we talked budget, deposits etc and she promised to pay her deposit within 7 days as I always require, to reserve her day etc. Well, 14 days came and went and I telephoned her and she said that they had had some unexpected bills and so could she pay on 24 December? No worries I say, I understand these things. 26th December, no money received, so I phone her again, reminding her that if anyone else wants her date before her deposit is paid, and they are flashing $$$ under my nose, I will be forced to give it to them. I said this extremely politely of course, and she responded with well, too bad, i can't afford it now until 7 Jan, and if someone else pays before then well that's just not fair because i booked it first. Ok, so in the meantime, whilst waiting for 7 Jan to role around, I send her out a really nice package of information, a very polite congratulations on your engagement and thankyou for choosing TMP letter, some sample images etc. I figure this will wet her appetite a bit and maybe make her keep her word this time. Well, today, I ring her back to check if she was going to deposit the payment tomorrow as promised and who should answer but the groom-to-be, he says to me oh, is this about the photos. well, i've decided that i don't want you as i have found this bloke with a better deal, thanks anyway... I ask him if it was the quality of my work that has let me down and he says no didn't even look at your work, it was dollar signs that i was looking at. Click! And that was the end of that conversation... Now this was, let me tell you after he was presented with my OLD price list - imagine what he would've said had I shown him my new improved, fairygirl charging for what she is apparently worth list?!!? Just goes to show that I am not worth as much as you all seem to think... So, then my day progresses, and I get a phone call from my kids clothing lady who starts the conversation by telling me just how much she loves the work that i have so far completed for her, and really appreciates all of the extras I have given her, and how she has always loved my stuff etc, and that she has paid me by depositing the funds into my account. Ok, so far, so good... then i go on to explain about how i am re-assessing my rates and how i need to start making money rather than just covering costs as i will never be a true professional photographer until i do (her and i have become quite friendly during all of this and discuss business/money issues all the time as she is just starting out too). she agrees with everything that i say, even adding comments such as well, there is no use being in business if you aren't able to pay yourself a wage etc. So, then i explain that any future work that i do for her will be charged out at either an hourly rate ($25 p/hr) rather than a flat quote, OR on a by image basis, whereby she pays $100 per image that she decides to use on her website/catalogue etc. Suddenly, her tone completely changes and she says that she could never afford that and that she would have to fly her dad (a landscape photographer) up here for any future work. She said the only reason that she didn't get him up here for this job was because she loved my work so much and it is very different from the sort of stuff that he does... I said, I totally understand, but I can't keep working so many hours and palming my kids off to people for no reason, and I thought that of all people she would appreciate that as we have just completed a business management course and in the classes she was SUCH a stickler for working out the financial side of things. I said please no that I won't be upset if you need to use your dad in future, and I am sure that you will be as happy with his work as you have been with mine and that it will help you to sell your products just as well, she said well, i won't be, cause he's a landscape photographer and you are the only person around here that i really trust, but i won't have a choice now will i, i'll just have to make do with him... Now fairygirl is dragging on the ground, eating dust behind her high-horse... Round three - the Arab guy. Emails me after seeing my packages, and says yep, we want you and we want X-package, but without these
Re: Re[2]: PUG January is open
You are most very welcome Bruce, credit where credit is due I say, and that little girl of yours is adorable too... tan. Bruce D: Thanks for noticing. Means alot when a people photographer notices. That hair is fun at times, but can be a real pain when she doesn't want to cooperate (seems like most of the time). She does like to pose, however, for which I am grateful. They seem to grow out of that after awhile.
Re: JanEweAviary Pug Comments (all photos, long post)
Bruce and Lon observed: Bruce: ...I'm not a huge fan of cropping out part of the head Lon: I wouldn't change a thing, and this violates one rule I've heard of never to crop a person's head in a portrait. Fairygirl says: The best thing to do with rules is to learn them really well, and then to learn how to break them even better... Here's my middle son, one of my all time favourite pics, still makes me melt when I see it: http://www.tanyamayer.com/heir/kidsgallery.html My eldest son: http://www.tanyamayer.com/heir/kids/pages/i.html Both boys: http://www.tanyamayer.com/heir/kids/pages/d.html And just to keep you guys interested (this is my sister by the way, the one I always whinge about): http://www.tanyamayer.com/fairmaidens/pages/o.html And one for the girls just for good measure: http://www.tanyamayer.com/fairmaidens/pages/k.html This one has always been one of my favourites: http://www.tanyamayer.com/fairmaidens/pages/i.html Gosh, I didn't realise it, but looking through my site, it appears that I have developed into a serial head cropper... It must be just one of those things that makes me, me... vbg (to quote the great tv)... tan.
Re: *ist D lens problem -Healed!
My question is, have you since tried it again WITHOUT the grip? And if so, did it revert to not working with those lenses again, or did it keep on keepin' on? tan. 2) My lens problem with my *ist D has gone away. FYI, I had three FA lenses (50 1.4, 100 macro 2.8 and 135 2.8) that could not send aperture info or AF with the *ist D body, even though they worked fine on the MZ-S in A mode. Other A, FA, and sigma AF lenses worked just fine. Extensive contact cleaning did nothing. They began to work after I added the grip, for which I took the batteries out of the camera. I'm convinced this is what worked and that it must have been some electronic glitch. Steven Desjardins
Re: Homonym
very cool idea!! tan. - Original Message - From: mapson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 12:26 AM Subject: Homonym Seeing the popularity of the word, maybe we should change one of the PUG themes to : H O M O N Y M ? This would test creativity! (*)o(*) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Nice Website
omg, that is one phenomenal photographer, check this it for a fantastic shot... it is totally unique... http://www.brphoto.net/pageimages/Normal/New/yellowtulip.htm thanks for posting that link Robert! tan. - Original Message - From: Robert Leigh Woerner [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 12:23 AM Subject: Nice Website Hey gang, Check this website out. It rocks. www.brphoto.net Regards, Robert
Re: Techniques [Was: Re: JanEweAviary Pug Comments (all photos, long post)]
OMG, WHAT a beautiful site!! Your niece is more talented than I could ever be Bruce... Must be in the genes in your family! lol. tan. - Original Message - From: Bruce Dayton [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Kostas Kavoussanakis [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 2:47 AM Subject: Re: Techniques [Was: Re: JanEweAviary Pug Comments (all photos, long post)] Hello Kostas, This is a link to my niece's site. She is a working Wedding/portrait photographer. http://www.camilynne.com If you look through a bunch of her stuff you will note that many shots are very tight (cropping into the head, etc) and that many are shot on an angle. It is certainly a style. Some really like it and some don't care so much for it. Two books that I rather like that might be more what you are looking for are: The Art of Wedding Photography by Bambi Cantrell ISBN0-8174-3325-2 Master Posting Guide for Portrait Photographers by J.D. Wacker ISBN 1-58428-057-3 -- Best regards, Bruce Monday, January 5, 2004, 8:32:17 AM, you wrote: KK On Mon, 5 Jan 2004, Bruce Dayton wrote: the slight angle type shots KK Could you elaborate on this a little bit please? What are these shots? KK BTW, could anybody recommend a book on photographing techniques? I KK have picked up the theory of things like the rule of the thirds from KK here (PDML :-) and there (just as I am trying to pick up the slight KK angle thing now) but nothing systematically. I have an old version KK of Hedgecoe (which I should read again) but would like something with KK less equipment and darkroom (or none at all) and more shooting. Oh, KK and no Photoshop either if possible. I shoot all kinds of things but KK poorly :-) KK Thanks, KK Kostas
Re: *ist D lens problem -Healed!
Yeah Steve, I get that, :-) but what I wanted to know is - have you tried it again without the grip? And if so, did the lenses continue to work? Or does it now ONLY work whilst using the grip? tan. I moved the batteries from the camera to the grip. I have been using the CR-V3 variety. As mentioned, I think the important part was the rebooting that occurred when I removed the batteries entirely. Steven Desjardins Department of Chemistry Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA 24450 (540) 458-8873 FAX: (540) 458-8878 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: OT: While we're on language, have a collective noun won't ya..
In Australia, an eiderdown IS a blanket that is stuffed with said filling. And in the typical, Australian way, we have shortened it to be doona... a word that I always thought was funny for some reason! ;-) tan. - Original Message - From: Jostein [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 4:00 AM Subject: Re: OT: While we're on language, have a collective noun won't ya.. Eiderduck is a kind of duck. :-) Traditionally, supplier of the softest filling you can get for your pillow; eiderdown. Nesting many places in Europe, including Norway, Scotland and Iceland. http://www.tringa.no/pages/gallerier/galleri-fugler/aerfugl.html There's a couple of North American relatives too, I think... Jostein - Pictures at: http://oksne.net - - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 3:36 AM Subject: Re: OT: While we're on language, have a collective noun won't ya.. Hmm Ern, isn't an eider a type of duck? I just went to check and the one I was looking for was 'a flush of ducks'. It's more fascinating then I thought it'd be- I did a Yahoo search on collective noun and ducks and got http://www.nzbirds.com/Collective.html http://www.sentex.net/~tntcomm/kwfn/numbers.htm and I must say it's a bountiful poet's resource! One for ducks was a badelynge of ducks and I have no clue what a badelynge or a badling is, but ooh.. :) And one I thought was fascinating, an RSVP of egrets. Wouldn't have thought of it in a million years! 2 more entries in my bookmarks.. Btw, Tom- a plague of photographers alliterative and apt! Cheers, Ryan I remember eider as a collective from years ago; I recall noticing that it was the same as a variety of duck. But -- the site I found with some of these interesting terms http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/help/faq/animals/names.htm didn't have eider. The Concise Oxford didn't back me up, eider; so I can only assume that eider I remember it wrong, or was given wrong information Way Back When by some source. Probably a substandard textbook. :-)
Re: Loving an image you really hate
Bumper sticker: If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat? Yet another good bumper-sticker slogan butchered (sic) by the sub-editor. The right slogan: If we're not supposed to eat *people*, why are they made of meat? Or, in the Flanders Swann version (which predates any bumper-sticker): If the Juju had meant us not to eat people, He wouldn't have made us of meat! As far as I can tell this is the original, from their 1956 review. I am so offended by this post, I am a vegetarian you know... ;-) j/k, - my family tend to only eat small amounts of red meat, but we LIVE on chicken - eat it probably 5 times a week. This is because of two reason really - taste - no-one in our house likes Pork, (w!), only likes Lamb a little bit, and although we all like a good steak, we can't afford to eat it very often. This, despite the fact that we live, smack bang in the middle of the Beef Capital of Australia - yes, they take a beast from paddock 1km from here, they slaughter him, cut it up, send it to Brisbane for distribution and then send it back to us with a 500% mark-up! Ironic, isn't it? Anyways, I have discovered that chicken mince makes THE yummiest lasagne... tan.
Re: *ist D lens problem -Healed!
Oops, please disregard my last post, as I just saw this: Quoting Steve Desjardins [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I tried what Tanya suggested, and the camera/lens works without the grip. I also waited a while before re-inserting the batteries inot the body. Since there is not little button battery hiding somewhere that I know of, the camera should have been completely powered down. tan.
Re: Cropping Heads
Cotty wrote: Sorry, but I gotta do it, I gotta quote one of my hero's again here, Jenloup Sieff: I make picture for myself, if someone else likes them, to bad!! Great quote Cotty! Mark, are you taking notes for next year's hall of fame? ;-) tan.
Re: Cropping Heads
lol! Spot on Bill! tan. - Original Message - From: Bill Owens [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 8:00 AM Subject: Re: Cropping Heads Also add another o to to. Bill - Original Message - From: Cotty [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: pentax list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 4:53 PM Subject: Re: Cropping Heads On 5/1/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: Sorry, but I gotta do it, I gotta quote one of my hero's again here, Jenloup Sieff: I make picture for myself, if someone else likes them, to bad!! One day I am going to learn to proofread. Strike the apostrophe and add an 'e' in heroes, and add an 'a' in Jeanloup. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
Re: Cropping Heads
Mark Roberts wrote: Yeah. I've already snagged this one from you: The best thing to do with rules is to learn them really well, and then to learn how to break them even better... What THAT 'ole thing? - it was just something that I copied out of that same book I plaguarised from for the whingeing thread, I believe it was called the Oxford Dictionary of Australian Pronounciations and Prose for Dummies...! lol. tan.
Re: Cropping Heads
Cotty said: What a bloody nightmare! fanfare The last time: ' Sorry buy I gotta do it, I gotta quote one of my heroes again here, Jeanloup Sieff: I make pictures for myself, if someone else likes them, too bad !! ' TA DAAA. And now, an exploding penguin. Cheers, Cotty You DO know that there is no such word as gotta don't you...? vbg tan.
Re: Cropping Heads
really?!?! well, there you go, that's what I get for being a smart-arse... I am going to check my dictionary right now... just checked Chambers English Dictionary and low and behold, there it was! I stand corrected... You truly do learn something new everyday - especially on the PDML... tan. Gotta believe there IS, Tan. . . keith whaley Tanya Mayer Photography wrote: Cotty said: What a bloody nightmare! fanfare The last time: ' Sorry buy I gotta do it, I gotta quote one of my heroes again here, Jeanloup Sieff: I make pictures for myself, if someone else likes them, too bad !! ' TA DAAA. And now, an exploding penguin. Cheers, Cotty You DO know that there is no such word as gotta don't you...? vbg tan.
Re: Down off my high-horse... with a thump.
frank theriault [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: All of Frank's reply was excellent but this really stood out for me: I'm sure that she just loved the little arrangement she had with you. It seems that you thought of her as almost a friend. She wasn't. She was a business associate. mark roberts: wrote: You have no idea how many times people try to rip off others (not just photographers) by using this technique (consciously or unconsciously). I always had an *idea* of what was going on but never really *got* it until Frank put it so succinctly. This is an excellent observation and one that is completely true in this instance, more fool me for thinking it, but I really had begun to think of her as a friend and this is why I initially hesitated so much in charging her the extra for the next job. I am GETTING to a reply to all of these wonderful responses to this thread, please don't think that I am being rude to you all, it is just that there are SO MANY! lol. And they are all very detailed, so it is taking me some time to really process it all, iykwim? tan. (who just got a really nice phone call from Leon and now feels much happier about things!)
Re: Cropping Heads
Yes, that's right Shel - they are referred to as happy accidents and this is a term that I learnt when I was a subscriber of PDML last time! See, I DO remember some things... vbg tan. Sometimes accidents make great photos ... and the photog learns something new. graywolf wrote: The first rule is: never break these rules ACCIDENTALLY.
Re: Another Beee-uteeful site....
Bob W observed: Why do people try to hide what it is behind a verbal fig leaf?? Can't answer that one Bob, but LOVE the terminology He also says Viewer disgression is recommended. 'Disgression'? After all that trouble making a really professional-looking website he can't bothered to check the spelling? Maybe his smell-checker was broked As an aside, I didn't even notice the link to that page, I looked at the Model, Portrait and Landscape galleries and then my telephone rang and I forgot to go back to it! lol... tan.
Re: cable release
Isn't it the same one that you use for the Mz-S and the Mz-6 etc? tan - Original Message - From: mapson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 3:17 PM Subject: cable release Does anyone know if the current cable release for *istD [CS-205] is different from the old cables for the 35mm cameras. Apart from the jack connection and the looks, is the rest the same or different? IMHO cable switch is just that. Why change then? I do not think there is an awful amount of electronics in the new one. I think it wasn't a smart move for a company that has a reasonably record of being backward-compatible with their equipment. Plus for me the old one seems to be handier to use ;-D (*)o(*) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Cropping Heads
graywolf said: Most of these little rules are intended for beginners. Don't cut off Aunt Tillie's head. Always have the sun over your shoulder. Compose with the rule of thirds. They are basic, how not to fuck up your photo rules. Once you have them down then you can experiment to your hearts content, but by then you are no longer a beginner, are you? Next, you do your own damn thing, because you are now an artist. Finally, you combine them all, because you have something to say and that is what it take to get the message across. You have nothing to prove to anyone. If a simple snapshot tells the story you use a simple snapshot. If it takes a wild surrealistic avant-garde photo to say it that is what you use. Not too many ever reach this point. Many don't even realize it exists. great points tom and thanks for sharing them... Uh-mah - he said the f word, I'm dobbing vbg tan.
Re: On a hot summers night...
Cool shots Kevin, I love those ship ones... How cool is that effect of the moon behind those clouds. Funny actually, cause I was outside with my boys at around 8.30 and Jaimyn (my 5yo) observed that tonight the moon is round, so we call it full, and tommorrow it will be a half-moon, you just wait and see. Of course it is not actually a full moon tonight, but it does look like it to him. Anyways, sorry to digress, they are lovely shots and you did a really good job with the guestimations. BTW, it is bloody hot up here tonight too - and so humid, you could just about stick your tongue out and have a drink! Wish it would just rain, cause it generally cools off for a couple of hours after it... It is 11.10pm here now, and still well over 30°c, and that is WITH the air con on! (Thanks Butch, I used the degrees symbol!) 'night all, tan. - Original Message - From: Kevin Waterson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 10:27 PM Subject: On a hot summers night... 8:30pm and the temp is still over 35C. So to cool off I took a drive into town for some atmosphere. In town there is a small carnival and a ship has anchored in the river. I thought I would try my hand with the Bulb setting on the *istD and rather than let the camera do the exposure work, I thought I would do it myself, without the camera meter, or ambient light meter. Basically what I have done here is alter the aperature and guestimate the correct exposure, counting the seconds in my brain cell. Here are some of the results. http://www.wildcherry.com.au/showthumbs.php?p=night Kind regards Kevin -- __ (_ \ _) ) | / / _ ) / _ | / ___) / _ ) | | ( (/ / ( ( | |( (___ ( (/ / |_| \) \_||_| \) \) Kevin Waterson Port Macquarie, Australia
Re: *ist D lens problem -Healed!
ROFLMAO - I have this dreadful mental image of Steve trying to insert his batteries into Mr Wong... Ok, change of subject, I don't think I *like* said mental image so much... vbg tan. Steve noted: Correction: The CR-V3's are hard to put in Wong. I meant to say wrong, and I know of no one named Wong that requires batteries ;-) Steven Desjardins Department of Chemistry Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA 24450 (540) 458-8873 FAX: (540) 458-8878 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Down off my high-horse... with a thump.
Hi guys - I meant to comment on this when graywolf and frank raised it. Where I am, it is standard practice to ask for money up front, and I have no problem with that. If they balk at it, I usually just tell them that due to me being such a small business, I don't have enough through-put with the labs meaning that I have to pay for the order *when* I send it off, and don't get the luxury of having accounts with them etc. I actually like this though, as it means that I never get this huge surprise bill from my lab at the end of the month. Instead, I pay as I order, and we are always square... Oh, anyways, back to the topic. My wedding contract clearly stipulates that all monies must be paid 2 weeks prior to the wedding. I require a non-refundable $350 deposit within 7 days of them booking me to reserve their day, or it will remain open to other couples. (Like mapson, I generally remind them that I am really happy for you to keep looking around at other photographers and what they can offer you, but please be aware that I already fully booked that month except for your chosen weekend, and it is highly likely that another booking could come in before you get your deposit to me, and if this is the case, and if they wish to pay their deposit immediately, then the day will become theirs. And I never do any work, book any flights or accomodation etc, until their package is completely paid for, that just goes without saying for me. Eg, the Arab guy? Well, he payed me today via Paymate, so I then went ahead and booked my plane tickets, hire car, accomodation etc, but there is no way I would've done that until I saw the $! Commercial work is different though, as most businesses in this locale work on an account basis, so they get invoiced for their job and my payment terms are listed at the bottom of the page as strictly a 7 day account, remittance can be made by... etc.. The kids clothing lady? I emailed her an invoice yesterday, the money was already in my account when I woke this morning! One thing to be said about Country people, they might be tight-wads but they are usually people of their word! tan. Chris Brogden said: . The best way to handle these situations, IMO, is to let your potential clients know that no date is booked until you have received the first deposit, usually 25-50% of the total amount. No money, no booking. Period. No exceptions. If they can't pay you now, what makes you think their promises to have the money later will hold water? chris Dave said: Can't agree more with this statment,Chris.When i first started my horsey digital work,people would email me wanting a picture or two.I would tell them the charges and they would agree,the cheque will be mailed today type of thing.I would then print the picture and wait and wait etc.They never sent any money. Now im out X number of $ for ink paper time etc. Now its like Ebay.Pay me and i'll do you pictures. I still get people ordering and not sending,but now i'm not out any money either.g Good luck Tanya with this.I'm sure the people who appreciate your work will eventually find you. Dave
Re: Ergonomics of *istD
mapson wrote: * camera too small - with grip is OK - my wife says the same thing This was one of the concerns I have wondered about, I do love my camera to be big and chunky and to look like a professional camera rather than a toy version. tan.
Re: My first photo-wedding
Boris wrote: So when he recovered, he turned to me and said something like Bro, we have a dangerous job. I was very pleased, one may say g. Cool, a feather to put in your hat! Congratulations... It would take too much of mental power out of me. It is plain difficult. Since I came to have fun, I did have fun. But I wasn't paid for that. Glad that you had fun Boris! What you say is so true. It is truly draining, and Bill's sentiments about the whole whoring thing couldn't ring truer. For every wedding that I do, I hand over the proofs feeling that a little piece of me is going with them. I now give the negs with my packages (they get them after their family have ordered prints/enlargements), cause I just keep the scans, and I am generally petrified of being responsible for storing them for goodness knows how many years to come. The first wedding that I did this for, it just about tore my soul out. I was literally shaking as I passed the negs to the couple, as I felt that I was also giving them a very personal part of myself. Of course, I am learning to deal with this now, and all is getting better in that respect, and like I said, I have since discovered the joys of roll scanning with processing, so I at least get to keep copies of everything that I shoot. But anyways, the point was, that yes, it is emotionally, mentally, intellectually draining. And the best cure for this is to eat a huge block of chocolate, and listen to loud, boppy music in the car on the way home, whilst singing very loud and hoping to God that no-one hears you! lol. (yes, I admit to having done this MANY times, but I probably drive many more km's than most of you too. The wedding I have this Friday, I will be doing a 750km round trip for, and all in the one day. So, singing and chocolate helps...! By the way, Tanya, do you do weddings with MZ-6 you have? If so, I must really ask, how on earth you manage to time your shots w.r.t. very slow and unreliable AF of this camera, even with such a lens as FA 50/1.7. I missed several shots just because the darn thing wouldn't focus, even with its middle sensor... Hmmm, now let me think. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, I generally keep the MZ-6 as a second camera, loaded with bw and with said FA 50mm f1.7 lens attached, and use my much older, less featured cameras as my main ones. I only shoot an average of 2-3 rolls of bw per wedding, so it doesn't really get much of a workout. (The main cameras that I use are the Z-20, which I love! Don't ask me why, I think it is just the feel of the thing in my hand, but I also know the controls so well now that it is very intuitive to me to use this camera). Anyways, back to the question... When I do use the MZ-6 with that lens, I almost always use it for shots that I have already taken in colour and have then thought to myself oooh, that would be a good one in BW, so I'll generally set it up to look as similar as possible, and then reshoot it. Also, I shoot in Manual focus alot, so in light of these two things, I'd have to say that I have never even noticed the AF problems. I am assuming that you were shooting with the camera in a Portrait hold when this happened? The only time with any of my cameras that I have had problems with the AF is when I am holding the camera this way. I always get around it by turning it around to hold it in the Landscape position, AF on my object, and half press the shutter to lock the focus (or quickly switch it to manual focus) and then turn camera back to the Portrait hold to shoot the image. Sounds like a long-winded process, but really, it is second nature to me now, and takes probably less than 2 or 3 seconds to do it. I almost never change the AF switch thingy to the wide option, always keeping it on the little middle point option thingy so that I always know what point in the pic will be most in focus. (I know that said thingies have proper names, but I never remember these things. I know what the buttons do and that's all that matters to me, who cares about their names?) Well, I'd appreciate any responses, including some advise. Well, I probably shouldn't really be giving advice cause I am such a newbie at it myself, however, I hope my comments have helped, and I can't wait to see the pics! Tan.
Re: The Toughest Pentax
tom and alex were discussing: Or even the *ist D. My *ist D fell a few weeks ago and the CF door cracked. Someone else on dpreview dropped one in November with a flash attached and the flash ripped off of the hotshoe. The shoe on the camera ripped out? The flashes are designed so that the foot on the flash will break before the shoe on the camera. At least that's what I was told by Pentax after having broke about 9 of them. tv tom! I have had the same problem! Only when using crappy Sigma flash guns though. Since getting myself a genuine Pentax AF360fgz I haven't broken even one! When I was using only the Sigma flashes, I broke that many that despite having 3 separate flash heads, I would often find myself without a working flash! S, I got clever, phoned CR Kennedy (the importer of said flashes) and order 3 x of those little module thingies that have the foot on them for each of my separate flash guns. I think that they were around 30 bucks each. So, I just kept them in my cupboard and each time I snapped one off, I would unscrew it, pull out a couple of little connectors and attach a new one. Kept me going for ages, but just thinking about it now, I'd better order some more cause I may be out of them. Bloody plastic What is it about you and I and breaking our gear?!?! Actually, I know exactly why I do this with my flashes so often, it is because I leave the gun attached to the camera and usually have a second camera, (with flash attached) swinging around my neck, and many times this has resulted in it being ripped off by someone running past me and catching themselves on it, me running into or backing into a doorwar etc with it, oh, and dropping it on the road and getting it runover will do it too... vbg tan.
Re: Ergonomics of *istD
Christian said: This was one of the concerns I have wondered about, I do love my camera to be big and chunky and to look like a professional camera rather than a toy version. tan. Is it time to start THAT thread again? So small is definately non-proffessional regardless of feature set, right? ;-) I guess my LX and MX were toys VBG Of course there are some on this list that would call all 35mm SLRs toys... Christian Naah, that's not *really* what I was getting at Christian, it is totally about personal preference and I have seen many a professional wedding photographer sporting old Canon, Nikon *and* Pentax SLR's around their necks that are older than I am! Of course you are totally correct that many who call themselves professionals would never consider anything but MF for a wedding My main point was that *I* have tiny, weeny hands (people comment on how small they are all the time), and scrawny little arms, and yet even *I* find some of the MZ range feeling as though I am wielding not much more than a ps. My Mz-6 with the FA50mm 1.7 is a perfect example of this. Mind you, must admit that it *is* much easier for me to handhold in lowlight... I never was one that took to the little credit card sized mobile phones either though, just another thing for me that would become too easy to lose and abuse, and I would *never* do that to a Pentax vbg tan.
Re: OT: While we're on language, have a collective noun won't ya..
hehe, I like the whiff one Bob! tan. - Original Message - From: Bob W [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 3:12 AM Subject: Re: OT: While we're on language, have a collective noun won't ya.. Hi, I quite like: a bokeh of photographers. I'm sure the correct expression is a sweat of photographers. Or perhaps a whiff. -- Cheers, Bob
Re: wedding photography...ugh!
Tom Reese said: The wedding photography thread got me thinking about my experiences... I wanted to shoot some portraits of a bride and groom and couldn't find the groom. He was outside behind the building smoking dope with the best man. By the end of the reception he was stoned out of his mind and trying to give me a handful of cash from the wedding gifts that the BG received (of course I turned him down...several times). Are you crazy man, like, you should've like, taken the dosh dude... oh, and like, peace, man, OKAAAY!? vbg At least he would've been nice and relaxed for his night, pity though as he would've had red eyes in all of his shots! I have seen it to many times in grooms and it is just so obvious! Another time, I showed up at the brides house at 12:00 noon per my appointment for the pre-wedding portraits of bride with mom, dad, etc. The bride answered the door in jeans and a t-shirt and asked me to wait while they all ate lunch. I had one who had made the appointment for me to arrive at 1.30pm after doing the grooms preparation shots, so I got there at 1.35pm (yeah, I was 5 mins late due to said groom deciding at the last second to use his drag car in the shots and having to go and pick it up). When I arrived she was beetroot red and screamed at me when I walked in the door. Omg, where the hell have you been, we've been ready since ONE O'CLOCK I was like ummm, I'm sorry that I am a little late but the groom wanted to add the car to his shots and they had to go and get it. She yells WELL, ISN'T IT COMMON COURTESY TO RING SOMEONE WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE?!!? I was immediately, devastakingly (sic) nervous and proceeded to shake my way through every shot, all the while hoping against hope that I didn't stuff any up or Bridezilla would have me for breakfast! So, we got through the preparation shots, and the ceremony, after which I took the bride and groom back into the church to do some creative stuff with the stain glass windows behind the alter. Whilst I was setting up the shot with my tripod etc. She was chatting away with the groom and bitched about how I was 3/4 of an hour late. To which he and I BOTH responded in unison (sic, too lazy to check it!), you mean 5 minutes late? and she said no, 3/4 of an hour late, she was supposed to be there at 1pm. I showed her my diary where I had originally written 1pm and then crossed it out and changed it to 1.30pm when she had *phone me and aske me to do it*!! The groom confirmed it and the bride apologised and spent the rest of the afternoon embarrassed that she had verbally attacked me and blaming herself if the photos are a mess cause i upset the photographer for no reason. Anyways, some of the shots are on my site, under the Roses Are Red link, and she was more than happy with the result. Thank gawd! BTW, the wedding wasn't until 4pm and we had finished shooting by 2pm and so had to sit there twiddling our thumbs for almost 2 full hours! I always recommend that I don't come until around half an hour before the wedding, unless I am covering the hair/makeup/getting dressed thing, cause it really doesn't take that long to take shots of the bridesmaids/bride/mum, dad etc I quit doing them eventually. I couldn't take wearing the jacket in the hot weather (summer weddings suck IMO), the neckties, the drunks and all the other aggravation. I wish I could just shoot the B G portraits and forget about all the other stuff... Har! Did I ever tell you about the time the couple was having a nuptual (sic, yeah, again, i know i'm lazy!) mass, where they have communion etc and it goes for like 2 hours, on the hottest day we had had in 5 years? It was 48 degrees inside the darn church and people were dropping like flies. Literally, fainting all over the place, including my assistant, who happened to do so just as they were about to exchange the rings...! It was so hot, the guys in the wedding party didn't even wear their jackets, just their vests and shirts, and they even had to send out for an esky of bottled iced water to hand out to the guests during the ceremony. I learned my lesson and don't take an assistant with me anymore... tan.
Re: OT: While we're on language, have a collective noun won't ya..
ROFLMAO!!! tan. For those who can't afford the istD a cache of photographers For those who can afford the istD a cash of photographers For those who work with tv a crash of photographers
Re: Down off my high-horse... with a thump.
Cotty, I honestly think that if one was given enough supply of drinks they would be very dead by now. You know, having *that* many drinks in sequence is a bad idea. I know, I know, some bodies are better suited for drinks than some other bodies... But still, I wonder if you could just tell us what the integral value of these drinks would be. Then we can substitute different beverages and get the netto value of the spirit intake... That wasn't a coercion to have lots of drinks, it was lots of coercion to have just one drink! Har! But yes, my friend you omitted to remember that I am a teatotaller! I like a dash of water with my red cordial though... vbg tan. *who wonders how many of you northerners know what cordial is*?
Re: *ist D lens problem -Healed!
LOLOLOLOLOL! very clever... tan. - Original Message - From: John Francis [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 3:45 AM Subject: Re: *ist D lens problem -Healed! ROFLMAO - I have this dreadful mental image of Steve trying to insert his batteries into Mr Wong... Now you know why it's called assault and battery ...
Re: Truth in photography (was: OT - Digital B/W or Colour ?)
That certainly gives me some food for thought. Thanks for posting that Cotty and Christian... tan. Christian said: A great quote from that article: I hear the word manipulation forming on someone's lips. Yes, you're right, converting a digital file to monochrome in Photoshop is manipulation, but photography is manipulation from beginning to end. Your choice of lens is manipulation; so is the way you frame, the shutter speed and aperture at which you shoot, your selection of Fuji or Kodak color film if film is what you're shooting, which frame you select from the contact sheet, or even whether you print your selection on matte or glossy paper. How many times have you waited until golden hour before shooting a landscape? Isn't that manipulation? The reality is that real life doesn't look like a photograph, which of course is one of the reasons that we take photographs in the first place. I think I was making this argument recently. Christian Cotty posted: Bearing in mind the prevalence of the *ist D and others in the kit bags of folk on this list, I thought it would be worth mentioning this article I found while going through the back issues of The Digital Journalist (www.digitaljournalist.org). On the subject of monochrome versus colour, with film you load it and get that mindset on. With digital http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0311/howe.html
Re: wedding photography...ugh!
Bob admitted: Hi, I crashed a wedding a few years ago in Transylvania. I'd spent the day in a nearby village photographing a funeral, and getting very, very drunk on the local moonshine. Back at my hotel I stumbled, half blind, into a wedding and started photographing the dancing. Some of the guests plied me with large quantities of whiskey. One of the guests waved me over to his table and insisted on a portrait. He was dressed in black trousers, black rollneck and black leather jacket. All the other bulky-looking men at his table were dressed the same. I think they Securitate who had privatised themselves. At least, that was the impression they wanted to give. When he learned where I was from he said OK, you send me the pictures. I have many friends in London. If you don't do as I ask, you go missing. I laughed in the face of danger. I was very, very drunk at the time. None of the wedding pictures came out. That is BLOODY hilarious!! This is a great thread... tan.
Re: Flash photography and *istD
Fritz wrote: I disafree here. With flash compensation I would be able to control how much flash I ad to the existing ambiant light. For instance, someone in the sun, will have harsh shadows. These shadows can be reduced by the usage of flash. If however, the flash has the same brightness as the ambient light, the flash will be too dominant, so I would like to be able to have less flash output with still the same correct exposure for the ambient. The result is that you still get shadows from the sun, but not too strong. Look at http://www.xs4all.nl/~wuthrich/albums/scotland/Image59.html Taken with the PZ-1 and the Metz 40MZ-2 in TTL, the flash output is too high for my taste. -- Frits Wüthrich [EMAIL PROTECTED] Oh, I totally hear you Frits! Sorry, I may have written that a little ambiguously. Of course there are *many* situations where flash compensation is required, for *many* different reasons. I just meant that in regards to the *istD, if the TTL was working in the first place for normal shooting, you shouldn't have to *need* to fiddle with yet another setting by also having to think of flash compensation. In regards to the shot that you posted, I would have actually INCREASED the output for that one. The model is still in too much shadow for my tastes. Of course, you are dealing with the reflection on her glasses, but a polariser could have helped that. The polariser could have also assisted in saturating the background creating less contrast, BUT fill flash can have a similar effect as well so that such a bright background doesn't overexpose, and your sky and ocean would've been bluer etc, just from increasing the output of the flash a little more. Ok, so probably everyone will disagree, cause I am not very good at this technical stuff, but that is just how I would've tackled that particular shot... She is very pretty btw... tan.
