scott_fleming1

<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9884074/">link</a>

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This was the case of the man at a street fair in Texas taking pictures and the police

accused himof taking pics for sexual gratification. He spent 24 hours in jail and his photo

and name were printed in the paper and went world wide on the internet. I posted a

thread on this board a couple weeks ago about it.

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The DA looked at the pics and dropped all charges. Said police had NO CAUSE for the

arrest.

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I hope he sues for A LOT of money. This was an egregious abuse of police power. The

guys reputation was destroyed for NOTHING. This could happen to any of us at any time.

This is a headline on Drudge today. This is the first 'cops and photographers' story that

really bothers me. Very scary.<P><P>

<a href="http://www.nbc5i.com/news/5086442/detail.html">http://www.nbc5i.com/

news/5086442/detail.htm</a>

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Police Arrest Man For Improper Photography At Octoberfest

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Police Say Photos Were Of Sexual Nature

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POSTED: 5:17 pm CDT October 11, 2005<p>

UPDATED: 9:42 am CDT October 12, 2005<p>

<P><P>

SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- Thousands of people milled through the Southlake Town Square

Sunday night during the community's Octoberfest celebration. One man, however, was

arrested during festivities after police said he used a digital camera to take inappropriate

photographs of women and children

Looks like a female Black Chin Hummingbird. The most common hummingbird in Texas. I

live out in the Hill Country. I feed using two one quart bottles and in mid summer they

drain em once a day. I've seen thirty birds around and on one feeder.

They're getting scarce now. I don't know if they go North for a few weeks with the new

young or if they've already started South. I suspect N because in September I notice a bit

more sugar water consumption just before they dissapear altogether untill the next March.

There is a botanical gardens in Austin. Never been there. You might take a little feeder

with you and hang it in a tree and wait .... if they will let you. You might try stopping in to

a nursery and ask if they feed and if you could take photos. I mention places with flowers

for obvious reasons although I have no flowers around my place after the cactus bloom in

May/June. My 'herd' stays at my place cause I've been feeding steady for ten years now. I

worry about it just a tad cause if I go away there's going to be a hundred hummers, some

seventh generation or so, that will have to find a new summer home. ;-} Little buggers

are SO territorial.

This is really nuts I know ..... but what if the N in the new mk II is for Nikon?

I know it couldn't happen. Canon could never put a Nikon mount on one of their cameras.

Could they?

I only skimmed the responses. I'm probably repeating. Leslie Stroebel's "View Camera

Technique" explains everything.

For most field work a loupe is just a hindrance. I find that 3x reading glasses allow me to

fine focus quite exactly. If one is doing macro work or something in the studio with

complex movements ... table top work .... a loupe is indespensible but in the field with just

a front tilt or some rise ... why bother? But then I never shoot wider than f/22 either.

I'm hoping this is temporary. I NEVER look at OLD adds as I search the classifieds twice

daily at least.

Will this be fixed?

It all depends on the rains. We should have a good year this time but if we don't get

regular rain thru April they sort of fizzle out.

I live in the Hill Country W. of Austin and the BB are better out here. The SE corner of

Llano County ( bout 60 miles NW of Austin) are the best i've seen. Gotta get out and

drive the dirt roads.

I've heard they are even better Around Mason.

Franka,

Proactive? Heck, they're barely active.

<a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/new/index.shtml">luminous-

landscape.com</a>

To my mind the only advantage of 6x6 over 6x4.5 is that one does not have to turn the

camera for vertical shots. I don't care for the square and neither does the human eye all

that much. I like the rectangle and this has a large impact on the 6 x 7 aspect for me. I

always want to crop off the top to get a 5 x 7 rectangle so 6x7 isn't as big as most think.

To me 6 x 8 is the perfect aspect ratio.

This may be about as close as yer ever gonna get.

http://www.cameraquest.com/zikontc.htm

Unless you would be able to consider the Mamiya RB for which there is a 6 x 8cm back. I

too like a wider neg than 7cm. 6 x 8 really is a great aspect ratio. When I use 6 x 9 I

often crop back to 6 x 8. 6 x 7 is as good as square to my eye.

http://www.tomwestbrook.com/Photography/arca_swiss.html

If you ever handle one of these with geared Orbix and an Arca Swiss binocular viewer on it

... you will sell your car and walk to get one. That's what happened to me although I also

saw one with a Mamiya motorized 6 x 8 cm roll film back as well and life will have no real

meaning for me untill I get one.

I don't much care about the feel of a landscape camera. Once it's bolted to a good tripod

it has NO feel. Now the controls are important as to accesability and ergonomics but any

decent landscape work is done off a tripod and quite slowly compared to the chimping

style of the digital 35mm shooter. A good ballhead helps too.

Now would be a good time to wait and see how things shake out.

If you are not willing to do that then pick up a used Mamiya AF kit which you can sell

pretty easily in the future for a 100% return on your money if you buy right. Given

Mamiya's recent moves in the MF digital arena it's a solid choice.

You may like the Mamiya just fine and decide to keep it. You may decide MF isn't really

worth it for you. You may love the format but not the camera and decide to move up

later when it shakes out which MF companies are going to remain strong.

If you could scratch up the cash you can't go wrong with Hasselblad given their recent

developments.

Contax is a giant 'Who Knows' right now but the lenses are to die for.

I guess this means I'll never see the $200 that Contax ripped me off for on my 35mm

Distqagon T I bought from B&H.

I must be really dumb. Would someone please explain to me why it would be a good idea

to drill holes which allow light INSIDE a device designed to keep light OUT?

As someone who bought and got rid of a Toyo 45 A II ... I will never own another field

camera. If you truly enjoy LF photography and know how to use movements ... get a

monorail. Arca Swiss seem to be the best and the lightest these days.

Field cameras are clunky, fiddly and a study in compromise. Monorail cameras are built to

do everything one CAN do with a large format camera. Why people mess with field

cameras other than saving two or three pounds is beyond me. You give up something in

nearly each and every aspect of LF photography when settling for a field camera. You gain

back two pounds of weight and ALL the functions by going with a monorail.

You'll never put a digital back on a field camera either whereas you might be able to with

an Arca Swiss. I'd go with the Metric function carriers and add Orbix.

This is the only 680 guy I know. Danny Burke. He has a review of the camera on his site.

He also sells prints and offers drum scanning services. It would behoove him to help you

out and maybe make a drum scan client of you.

http://www.dannyburk.com/

Framers want as much profit to mount your work and frame it as you will probably get

after splitting with the gallery.

Matting is easy and a Logan mat cutter is cheap. Get the big one. Picking up 'chops' from

a local art supply is a breeze and if you start moving prints can be ordered in bulk from

several web sources as is true for mat board as well.

Get a book about matting. There are some tricks to mounting photo paper. Talk to the

gallery about glass or no glass. I like my framed prints unglazed as you can see them so

much better.

It takes about 30 minutes to mount and frame a large print if you take your time and are

careful which you must be. When you see how much the framer wants for $50 worth of

material and 30 minutes labor you will start thinking about doing it yourself. There's

good money in it. More money than shooting landscapes .... unless you are Jack Dykinga.

Oops, forgot to put in the link.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/

Here is one of those links which is Thalman's lens tests. The fourth coulumn over gives

three rows of three colums each. The colums are the line pair per milimeter for the center,

half way out and edge of the lenses at differing f/stops. This is the most objective info

I've found yet. Takes a bit to wade through it but you will know more than most if you

study it a awhile.

http://www.hevanet.com/cperez/testing.html