tkphotog

<p>From experience: Piers Park in East Boston gives an unobstructed view of the Boston skyline across Boston Harbor, but the sunset will be very far off to your right this time of year. There is a walkway near the Airport Hyatt (you go to the water taxi stand and walk down to the end of the seawall) that might be better in terms of sunset over the city, but it's still going to be tough to get the sunset behind the city. <br /><br />You might try some locations in South Boston, but I have no experience with them personally. </p>

<p>Sunrise over Boston is tougher to get — you might be able to shoot it from the Cambridge side of the Charles River, but I can't speak to that personally. </p>

<p>Disclaimer: What I know about aerial photography could be written on a Post-It.<br /><br />That having been said, I do know it's cheaper to charter a small plane than a helicopter — the tradeoff being you wouldn't necessarily be able to shoot out an open door in flight on a plane. (This depends on the small planes and pilots available at any particular time.) </p>

<p>You mentioned rain. How about an imperfect reflection of something in a puddle? <a href="

<p>I saw the face of a stylized bulldog in this section of ornate, wrought-iron fencing: <a href="

<p>Puddles reflect. Find other reflective things and go for it: <a href=" </p>

<p>Admittedly, the last one is lame, but perhaps one of these will spark an idea in your mind. Good luck!</p>

<p>You can use this without a battery on full manual. I bought and used a Wein cell for my used camera, but ended up using Sunny 16 and taking full advantage of the latitude modern film provides. It is really a fun little camera to play with.</p>

<p>Be wary of the Quick-load film system. A moment's inattention and you'll end up not shooting the roll you thought you did.</p>

<p>I'm sad, and for a perfectly selfish reason. Their store on Boylston Street in Boston is the most convenient place for me to make prints, and (with the caveat that they print as received and not adjust shots) they did a very good job. Many of their employees attend the local art schools and seem to enjoy their jobs.</p>

<p>Other locations were disappointing, but "my" store seldom disappoints. I'll miss it.</p>

<p>I have to agree with Mätt; once you've written over the old data, it's usually not recoverable.</p>

<p>I have used a program called <a href="Card Recovery">Card Recovery</a> to get photos off of an inadvertently-formatted card. (A friend forgot to download his images before formatting.) You can download the trial version and it will tell you whether it can recover images or not; then if you want to proceed, you have to pay $39.95 for the full version. This is at least better than purchasing a program and then finding out it won't recover your photos.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>From one New England photog to another, welcome!</p>

<p>My gear isn't as heavy (usually D60 with battery grip and 28-135 is), but I can attest that this is a great way to carry my camera. The biggest inconvenience for me is, when I want to use a tripod, I have to take the strap off and put the tripod shoe on, which is pretty minor.</p>

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<p>I've used <em>Business and Legal Forms for Photographers</em> by Tad Crawford, on the occasions I've needed a contract. He gives information and advice on making sure it's done correctly and completely. Link below</p>

<p><a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=business+and+legal+forms+for+photographers&hl=en&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1680&bih=949&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9618800678723662612&sa=X&ei=VicAUPC_IcmB0QHat7DdBw&ved=0CGQQ8wIwAA">http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=business+and+legal+forms+for+photographers&hl=en&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1680&bih=949&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9618800678723662612&sa=X&ei=VicAUPC_IcmB0QHat7DdBw&ved=0CGQQ8wIwAA</a></p>

<p>That having been said—and others will tell you the same—you should always consult an attorney, regardless of the provenance of your forms and contract, in order to be certain they're legal in the jurisdiction where you work.</p>

<p>Cheers!</p>

<p>Welcome! </p>

<p>I applaud your discipline in setting aside time to shoot, even if it makes me feel like a dilettante as I rarely haul out my camera except on odd opportunities. :-) </p>

<p>Do you rename your files after selecting your images? If so, it would seem you should simply be able to number your files in the order you want them in and burn to disk.</p>

<p>Thank you for the clarification, Dan. Great link as well!</p>

<p>Reminds me of "Big Bertha," a lens designed for sports photography that was a little more than five feet long and weighed more than 100 pounds. </p>

<p>(Details and photo scan from "TELEPHOTO and WIDE-ANGLE PHOTOGRAPHY," ©1959, The Modern Camera Guide Series.)</p><div></div>

<p>Welcome back to photography, Mr. Rennie!</p>

<p>I use the ZoomBrowser Memory Card Utility extensively, because it downloads and orders my photos in a logical (to me) manner. </p>

<p>I use the 20 mm f/2.8 with my 60D with good results. Only caveat is that good filters for a 72mm diameter can be both harder to find and considerably more expensive than smaller-diameter lenses.</p>

<p>Some people live by the maxim that, "if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing."</p>

<p>I use the program myself. While it does nothing that a talented and experienced Photoshop user couldn't do himself or herself with the tools available, but it does make it much simpler to do a lot of touch-ups quickly. And, importantly, it offers a preview of the finished product and a functional undo button, which gives you more control over the finished product than the slick, over-produced images you see in the ads would have you believe.</p>

<p>Portrait Professional, like any tool, can be used to improve the quality of images, or to completely overdo it.</p>

<p>The only way I know to do it is to get in nice and close (pixel-peeping territory) and carefully clone out the spots, one by one by one. If you use a small brush with a soft edge in Photoshop and you do it carefully, it can be done. It just won't be a quick job.</p>

<p>Alternatively, the healing brush might speed things along for you, especially for the spots not near detail areas, i.e., edges of suit or creases in the pants. </p>

<p>I wish I knew a faster way—and perhaps others do—but I can tell you that, with a little attention to detail and a couple of hours, you can make substantial improvements removing these spots.</p>

<p>As posters above have said,<em> composition is key</em>. A technically-perfect photograph can be the most boring thing in the world. I can't add anything substantive to their very good advice on composition. </p>

<p>In regard to the mechanics of your camera, those can be baffling if you try to tackle everything at once. Try breaking down your course of self-study to one particular aspect—aperture, for instance—and really spend some time learning how it affects your images. Get that down cold, to the point where you can set up your aperture in your head before making your image, and know that it will be right. Then, go on to another aspect of the mechanics, and repeat the process again. And so on, until you have a working understanding of what your camera is doing and why.</p>

<p>I've been taking photos for two decades now, and I'm still learning about the cameras and the processes. Occasionally, I learn how to do something and find it positively delightful! Keep playing, do it for fun, and enjoy it, and you will never want to stop learning. :-) </p>

<p>It's about one-quarter to the left from the Canon logo on the mount-end of the lens. See photo attached.</p>

<p>(Sorry it's so harsh; snapped the pic with on-camera flash for the sake of expediency.)</p><div></div>

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<p>The thing I find most difficult about group photography is not the camera setup, but herding the people. </p>

<p>Bring some folding chairs. Arrange people like they're on bleachers -- first row kneeling, second row seated, third row standing. If you need a fourth row, have them stand on the chairs. For the standees, if you have taller people, you can have two rows of standees, and have the taller people behind the shorter ones, staggered so their heads aren't half-hidden by those in front. Make sure everyone's face is visible in the image; I always tell people that, if they can't see me, I can't see them. Take several shots, because inevitably, somebody's eyes will be closed in one of the exposures. And, as much as possible in the circumstances, make everybody comfortable. </p>

<p>The "huge" building in the background could be difficult. Are you planning just to use the facade as the backdrop, or do you want the entire building in the image. The former is considerably simpler than the latter, if only because large buildings make people look tiny in photos. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p><div></div>