lizard

<p>I bought a SterlingTek battery that was inexpensive, and so far (a few months) it works as well as the Canon battery.</p>

<p>Thanks for the detailed response! It sounds like a great idea, but more work than I want to try to figure out right now. I ended up telling them $125 per photo, and they seemed happy with that. I'll meet with them soon and talk more details. Thanks soooo much to all of you for taking the time to help me! </p>

<p>I sure appreciate the responses, but I'm still at a loss....as I said, this is a local tourism board...a small (but not tiny) town in a rather isolated corner of the state. This area and National Monument covers a lot of land, with relatively few people. I'm pretty sure their budget wouldn't be huge, and I would love for my work to be used to advertise the area. </p>

<p>Thank you very much; that helps me a lot!</p>

<p>I have googled and searched the archives, and am still confused at what to charge. I really need some advice from you guys! I am an amateur, do landscape photography for fun. I live in a small town next to a National Monument. This area is not photographed much; I rarely see anyone else where I go, much less another photographer. I got a call from the local Travel & Tourism bureau saying they want to buy some of my images to use in their advertising for the area. They mentioned brochures, internet, possibly some large posters or prints for the local airport and courthouse. They want unlimited use. Photo credits would appear on most uses. I told them I would have to do some research because I didn't know what to charge, and they said they would look for their old records of what they have paid people in the past for the same usages. I don't need the cash, and am more interested in seeing my images used to show the beauty of this area than making money, but I don't want to just donate them either. In researching, I have seen every price from $30 to thousands. Can anyone give me advice before I talk to them again?</p>

<p>There is lots of great advice here! I agree with all the people who say "Have fun!" Lots of days I go out and don't come back with anything I like, but I just enjoyed being out in the wilds. Sometimes the camera is just an excuse to be out:) I learn really slowly, and after 5 years am finally coming up with some photos I like. Study and read online. Most of the useful stuff I've learned was from people here on photo.net. I found friends here who were willing to share their editing tricks with me and teach a beginner. That's how I learned the most. </p>

<p>I go out and shoot the same thing with different settings, f-stops, and exposures, then put them on the computer and see the differences and figure out what works and what I like. Sometimes I delete 20 or 30 images of the same thing and keep one. Sometimes I delete them all:) Sometimes I make stupid mistakes and ruin what should have been a good photo op. Shrug and say, "Guess I need more practice...I'd better go out shooting again:~)"</p>

<p>Keep the RAW files you think you might like. You will dig them out later to edit (sometimes years later), after you've learned some more editing skills, and say "Wow! This is what I had in my mind when I took this!" </p>

<p>I know I'll never "arrive"...there will always be room for improvement and new things to learn, but the journey should be fun and exciting. And remember....this is ART, and you are the artist...if you want to do something weird with your image that nobody else likes, YOU CAN, because it's YOUR art....artistic license:)</p>

<p>Much thanks to all of you! I already knew the 1.4 TC wouldn't work with the 100mm macro, but it didn't occur to me to put extension tubes in between that and the lens. I have the 1.4 TC, so all I would need is extension tubes for that. I will reread this thread and the other one, and decide what to try. Thank you all!</p>

<p>I've had the 100mm macro lens for a couple of years, and love it. I'm trying to find out how I can get more magnification for closer macro shots. Would extension tubes be the answer, or can I put a 250d or 500d close-up lens on the 100mm macro? </p>

<p>I shoot with this lens all the time, with a Rebel xSi, and have found I have to shoot ISO 800 to get enough speed for wildlife and handholding. I love this lens. I would think a 7D would perform a lot better than my xSi.</p>

<p>I love many of Ansel Adams' images (for example), but I have to admit that there are many that I wish someone would explain to me what's special about them, because I can't see it. Since I'm an amateur, I assume the problem is me, but I WOULD love to know what I'm supposed to be seeing that I don't:)</p>

<p>I just got my new 50mm 1.8 in the mail today...everyone's been having so much fun with theirs, I decided I had to have one, and it's a lot of fun!</p>

<p>I had that problem, but changing my images to sRGB before uploading them helped a lot.</p>

<p>We don't discuss items under about $200 because he buys hunting equipment like I buy camera stuff. Anything more pricey than that gets discussed first. This works for us because we are about even in our spending habits. </p>

<p>Another wife here. I have always hated being on the other end of the lens because I am NOT photogenic, and my teenaged son used to delight in taking the most awful photos of me that he could get...usually when I wasn't expecting it. When I saw him first, I'd pull a face at him. One day he said to me, "If you think the picture will be bad anyway, why don't you just smile instead of make faces...I'm not going to stop taking pictures, and the smile would look a whole lot better than the weird faces." That made some sense, and I eventually got tired of fighting it and gave in. I still don't like them, but once in a while someone gets one of me that isn't too bad:~) So the advice to take photos constantly and she'll get used to it and relax might have some merit.</p>

<p>I enjoyed your photos and also your brothers'. You saw a lot of animals, and got some beautiful images! I especially like the raven photo. I have been unsuccessful at getting a good image of one of those so far:)</p>

<p>Thank you Charles!</p>

<p>I have an Epson Stylus Photo 1400. I crop my photos to the size I want to print (4x6) and choose the correct settings for everything. I am printing with borders, and that's what it's set on, but it always crops the edges off the photos. It appears that all the Epson 4x6 photo paper is made for borderless printing; is this why it crops? Is my only solution to first crop my photos to somewhere around 3.75 x 5.75 if I want to print with borders?</p>

<p>Now that knowledge would raise a ruckus with a lot of fine Utahns...</p>

<p>Jeff, thanks. I want Nik software eventually, but trying not to spend the money right now. Patrick, I have Elements 6; will it work with that? If so, I'd love to learn.</p>

<p>Thanks! I forgot to ask if there is one for mac?</p>

<p>Does anyone know what happened to Red Paw Media, and if they are really ever coming back, and if there is somewhere else to download a Bleach Bypass filter?</p>

<p>Fascinating study! Thanks for the tips and the photos!</p>

<p>I've had a 1400 for over a year, and it took me a while of researching to figure out the settings, but I love the results I get. I have eye-one calibration, and an iMac, and I can't turn the monitor brightness down enough to match the eye-one, so I just brighten every image before printing it, and it works quite well for me. Don't give up yet!</p>

<p>I love my Sigma 10-20.</p>

<p>I have a very comfortable day backpack with a water bladder insert. I put extra jackets, water, etc. in the bottom of my pack and on top of those I have a tall skinny camera bag that I have cut all the extra weight off of (straps, etc.). It holds my lenses and camera accessories with cushioned dividers, and is easily accessible from the top of my backpack. I carry my camera around my neck or neck/arm and put it in a Zing neoprene bag attached to my pack belt. It rides at my waist in front, takes the weight off the neck strap, is protected by the neoprene bag (which has a drawstring to keep it from falling out), and is quickly accessible if a critter appears. I also like the weight distribution so all the weight isn't behind me. (And the tripod goes over the shoulder.)</p>