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guitar_j

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Posts posted by guitar_j

    Oh, God! Dollywood...

    in Travel

    Posted

    Things are what you make of them. Give dollywood a chance but don't have the attitude that you've got. If you go into it thinking that there won't be anything to photograph then you probably won't find anything. Keep a clear mind and an open eye, and if you REALLY can't find anything to shoot then why not put the camera down for a day or two and *shock* actually enjoy yourself with your family.

    e-bay strobe light set

    in Lighting Equipment

    Posted

    if you're looking for a cheap.. and I mean cheap way to learn studio lighting... give Briteks a try.. I've got 2 120ws monolights and they do alright... Give me enough power to use a shoot through umbrella at f16... Here's the things to know about these flashes.

    they're cheap, they don't offer much control over the output (full or half) and their slaves could be a bit more sensitive (but the weak flash on my digital doesn't help that). the stands that come in the kit are kinda flimsy but they work good enough, I can't justify putting a 90 dollar light on an expensive stand.

     

    I disagree with the comment about 60w modeling light not being enough, as long as you turn the lights off in the room you're working in it is plenty.

     

    Would I try to light a group of people with these? nope but you could easily do 2 people. and one person is a breeze. I've not tried to do a full length portrait though (I don't have enough room to backup that far) but 3/4 length are good...

     

    I was going to get ABs but then decided against it because I was unsure if I'd even like doing portraiture so I didn't want to drop the ~800 dollars on 2 AB 600s so I thought $185 is much better and a safer investment for the time being.

     

    just my .02

    perhaps I should put on my flame retardant suit now.

    Can I buy NPH 400 on a bulk roll?

    in The Wet Darkroom: Film, Paper & Chemistry

    Posted

    I wish I had a good camera store around I'd like to buy a few rolls of Fuji and Kodak both 160 and 400 to see how I like them :-/ Closest thing we have is a 1 hr photo. They do good work though for me anyway, but charge outrageous prices on film. They stock a few Kodak pro films, but for some reason I'd just rather use Fuji. The closest camera store (a Ritz) is 2 hours away, which isn't that bad. I might have to make a trip out there this weekend and pick up a few rolls before I try to buy a bulk of anything from adorama.

    <p>

    As far as getting another strobe, I probably will, I got these two "inexpensive" strobes on ebay and contrary to what most people say about them I've been fairly satisfied. I would like to have better control over output rather than Full or half, but I like them, and for what I paid for them I feel like I got a decent deal.

    <p>

    I might pick up a used 283 or 285 and a peanut slave if the 1st bank of my wife permits :-)

    <p>

    Right now I'm going to have to convince her that bulk film loading is more cost efficient which shouldn't be too hard because it is.

    <p>

    I plan to do alot of "Hey, come over and get your picture made... I'll give you some copies... Don't forget to tell your friends" kind of thing for practice, so I'm going to need some film on the cheap.

    <p>

    I've babled enough... <p>

    -Josh

    Tungsten lights with a black backdrop

    in Lighting Equipment

    Posted

    What kind of setup are you using? when I want a dark background, I pull the subject far from the background. The light will naturally falloff and you get a black background.. This is pretty easy to do with strobes, but I don't know about tungsten lights. I usually try to have the background meter 3 stops below the light falling on the subject.

    Let's try again!

    in Travel

    Posted

    well, if you really can't find any classes (community college or otherwise) and even if you can, there is a lot of good information right here on photo.net about photography basics. Read the sections under the Tutorial (Click on Learn then on Tutorial) Knowing how to use your equipment is as important as having the equipment, so don't expect a new high-tech digital camera to start pumping out fine art prints for a dime/dozen.

    <p>

    As far as a new camera, know that some beautiful images have been taken with one time use cameras. But if you really feel restricted by your present camera then perhaps investing in a beginner SLR kit wouldn't be such a bad option. (I really like my Minolta Maxxum 5)

    <p>

    If you're going to keep your current camera and want a card for it (I Think I saw something about that in your other thread) I'm pretty sure this card would work (but don't blame me if it doesn't)

    <a href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-160-030&depa=0">256mb SD card</a> 256mb is the max. you can use in that camera.

    <p>

    -Josh

    Can I buy NPH 400 on a bulk roll?

    in The Wet Darkroom: Film, Paper & Chemistry

    Posted

    I'd like to start using this film, I recently bought some strobes to

    do some studio work and I think this is the film for me. I'm gonna

    get a roll or two and see how I like it before I buy a lot but I was

    just wondering where/if I can get it on a bulk roll. until now I've

    shot on Superia 200, this stuff just isn't cutting it, when I got

    back my first roll of studio shots of my wife I was disappointed with

    the skin tones and overall contrast. I know I can get 160 in bulk

    but as I have some fairly low powered lights (2-150w/s), I'd like to

    get the extra stops that 400 can give me over 100 or 160. From what

    I've seen the grain of 400 doesn't seem to be an issue.

     

    Thanks

    -Josh

    Lighting newbie: Help me understand different types of light and which bands to choose.

    in Lighting Equipment

    Posted

    If you get strobes and learn to use them correctly there shouldn't be anything you could do with Hot lights that you couldn't with strobes. Hot lights are just that.... Hot, you have to filter them or your lens, or use tungsten film, they make the models sweat, props melt, etc..etc... in general as Garry said, Strobes are the way to go, for $2000 you could easily get a set of monoblocs that give you great control and leave you plenty of room to grow.

    best camera for $500 max

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    tell us a little more, are stuck on digital? would film be an option? How much functionality do you want? do you want fully automatic? or controls over things like shutter speed and f-stop. There is alot to consider when making a camera purchase. Also consider size, that c2100 looks huge! of course some people like a big camera, I personlly don't. Its all a matter of taste for you.

     

    I am going to suggest that you decide on what you need, but take into consideration that as your skill level grows, you may want a camera/camera system that can grow with you.

     

    if you are stuck on digital I'd look into the Fuji FinePix or the Canon Powershot lines of cameras.

     

    www.dpreview.com has good info if you've not been there...

    First real attempt at portraiture - Few Questions

    in Lighting Equipment

    Posted

    Thanks John, I agree on the overexposure, though I kinda like the overexposed look...I do want to not overexpose... I wonder if a)my meter is whacked or b)the fstop on the camera isn't exactly correct. I set the camera for exactly what the meter said and metered several times throughout to makesure nothing had changed. But I do seem to notice consistently that the images are brighter than they should be.

     

    <p>-Thanks

    <p>Josh

    First real attempt at portraiture - Few Questions

    in Lighting Equipment

    Posted

    I got myself some lights and I've been playing, tonight I tried to

    take a picture of myself... I've got a question... I don't know if

    this will showup in the picture I upload or not, but I notice that

    where the highlights bleed into the shadow, I guess it would be from

    the broadside of my face to the narrow side (most noticable across my

    forehead) I see an increase in the red tones. The key light is about

    1.5 - 2 feet to my left, White fill card on my right, I'm using a

    shoot through umbrella.

    <p>

    Is this because of a crappy digicam? (I'm playing with a Canon A65

    on ISO 50, f8.0, Don't want to waste film/processing cost on this

    yet) or is it because the light is too bright / harsh or a

    combination? If I shot this same picture on ISO50 film would I see

    the same thing?

    <p>

    Also feel free to point out any other technical flaws you see fit...

    This is just a learning experience for me...

    <p>

    thanks

    <p>

    -Josh

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