westsidesurfing

<p>thanks guys. and William I did notice many times throughout the day that i needed to frame up. And I find myself trying to force myself to frame higher, but still I would catch myself forgetting :) Can anyone answer that question about the pola i had earlier? Should the Pola not be used when it is overcast and or hazy. My first day it was overcast and hazy, and the pola made the hazy sky look quite bad. Purple haze. Also I'm reading online that alot of UV filters really dont do much, is this true? Would the UV filter help me considerably in the beach enviornment considering most of the time it will be early morning and its often hazy and or overcast?</p>

<p>thanks everyone. I did try a circular (multi coated) polarizer on my 1st test day. apparently a good quality sigma filter over $100. I thought the images looked horrible. It was a little more overcast, then my 2nd day, and the images with the polarizer looked purple in the hazy sky. Should the polarizer only be used on clear days? Even on my day 2 surfing shots, the part of the sky that is close to the horizon was hazy, therefore i didnt use the polarizer on day two.<br>

thoughts ?</p>

<p>Damn, no advice or teachings of any kind? Im wondering if Im having focus issues. Wondering If Im possibly not using the correct auto focus settings. Im using AL Servo, but there are some other Auto focus settings that im not sure what they do or how to use correctly. I dont know if im seeing focus issues, or if im being over critical, or what. when im tracking a surfer on the wave keeping the button half way down to stay in focus, i lose focus it seems at times and Im not sure if im at best focus because so much movement and tracking surfer. I wonder if i should try manual focus, but I would assume i would have more difficulty with that.</p>

<p>I would really appreciate you taking a look at my photos from yesterday and giving me some advice on how to achieve better images quality.<br>

http://westsidesurfing.smugmug.com/Other/Surfing-HuntingtonBeach/10321626_bgquL/1/713464755_HShHZ<br>

I'm 2 days into my new photography hobby. Day 1 was to test all the different settings and attempt to master them :) and here is day two's results. (Using Canon 40d & Sigma 150-500mm(with optical stabilization) and using Auto focus, and a very solid tripod with a killer gimbal Head which works amazing)<br>

There are no filters used, I programed C1 settings to what i thought would be best. I was usually between a 1200-1600 shutter speed, 400 to 640 iso , and the stop was usually around a 7 or 8 but would vary between 6.3 - 11 depending on the relationship of my lens direction and the sun. I also would add +2/3 stop of the cameras determination. I shot in RAW, brought into computer with Bridge and tweaked in camera raw 5.0. Primarily i adjusted the color temp, tint (slightly), rarely the exposure(maybe .20 only), Always upped the blacks by " 5 " , and increased the fill, and put the clarity to 50 on some and upto 90 on some.</p>

<p>Literally, I've really only used point and shoot in the past. Have always had the theory knowledge of fstops/shutter speed/ iso etc.<br>

But this is my first "NON" point and shoot camera, and I have two days of shooting experience so far.<br>

<strong>Thanks to anyone who can give me some good advice and critique</strong>.</p>

 

<p>thanks john and matt. Im doing a 14 day trial for smug mug. It seams a lot of people who use smug mug sell their photography to random people they dont know who do online searches and find their work. I never thought of that. I will eventually sell my surf photos, but to probably only surfers in the photos. I'll be curious to see if buying and downloading online is something that would interest them. I was planning on just burning photos to a dvd on my laptop at the beach. I'd be curious to hear more thoughts out there from you photographers who have experience in this. thanks again</p>

<p>Matt: I dont need print orders or paid downloads. Just need people to be able to download (free) multiple 3 or 4 mb jpegs. Not paid just download at this point. I'd like people to be able to view the thumbnails w/ a larger preview when they click on thumbnail, and download photos that they choose. I'll check out the smug mug site</p>

<p>Do you know if these sites require the people im sharing with to sign up for an account with them? That is not ideal for my situation. And do these sites share the photos in a way where they are going to send spam emails to them offering to sell them services etc.<br>

thanks</p>

<p>Any advice on the best free online photo sharing website would be appreciated.<br>

What I need to do is this, - upload 1000 surfing photos (large Jpegs). Then I need several people to be able to look through surfing pics conveniently, to choose the photos of them. they need the capability of downloading selected photos of them. since trying to look through a thousand small thumbnails of surfing photos would NOT be very easy for surfing photos, im hoping to find something where they can quickly click through the thumbnails and see a larger image of the thumbnail selected (like preview window) or something.<br>

Thanks in advanced to anyone who can direct me to something that can help me out.</p>

<p>Hey thanks everyone for your help. Much appreciated. I think Ill just download with iphoto, and then edit with Ps-CS3. Id have to think photoshop must be a much more powerful editor then iphoto. Yes or No ?</p>

<p>I definitely will be shooting some raw files. So do i understand you correctly that i can just drag the raw files & jpegs over to my mac, but if i want to view or edit the raw files i need software for that. ( I have photo shop cs3 will that do? ) The software you suggest for viewing and editing raw files is "DPP" ?<br>

And the Eos utility is just for transfering files from camera to computer, is that correct? I tried to download the EOS utility on Canon usa website in the downloads section. After i downloaded the utility, when i tried to install it it says its an update and i need the original program on my computer or the original cd. I tried all utility versions on the download page and got the same problem when tried to install. The software does not seem available other than the updates, where i need original software already on my computer. <br>

Any help, much appreciated.</p>

<p>

 

<p>Hi, i just purchased a used Canon 40d in mint condition. My question is, do I need to use the EOS digital solution software for downloading images to my Mac, or is there an advantage in using this software . The CD did not come with my purchase, so im wondering if i need to find and use it. With my old point and shoot digital cameras ive just always plugged in the camera to my mac and double clicked on icon, and dragged photos over. Is this not recommended for this type of camera or ? Please someone with knowledge inform me thoroughly. - ( on the canon site, under downloads, I see the updated versions for the software, but i tried to install and it says its an update and I need the original software or cd.)<br>

thank you</p>

 

</p>

<p>Is there really a difference in brands of filters? Any suggestions on a Polarizer and UV filter being used strictly for surfing photos on the sigma 150-500mm zoom. thanks</p>

<p>thank you for your help, much appreciated</p>

<p>Looking for suggestions for minimum needs for a tripod and head that is sturdy enough for a canon 40d with attached sigma 50mm - 500mm zoom. Is it safe to assume that a ball type head is what is best for my situation and equipment???? This will be for surfing photography shooting from the beach only. College student with minimum funds, so price is definitely an issue for me. Suggestions where to buy used would also be quite helpful...............Thanks</p>

<p>Thanks Dan, yes the surfing frame is about thumbnail size at arms length, and Ive seen some surf photos shot with a 500mm. Any suggestions on those three lenses or can someone rank them 1-3 ?<br>

Also, for my situation, does anyone think I'd get better images with purchasing a new Canon EOS Rebel XS instead of a used Canon 20d, while using one of the above mentioned 500mm lenses for surf photography.<br>

much thanks</p>

<p>Im almost definitely purchasing a used canon 20d next week, and Im looking at 3 possible 500 mm lenses.<br>

I will solely be using the 500mm lens for surfing photos only (Taken from beach) and dont have a problem using tripod or having a heavy lens. Ofcourse auto lenses would be nice but most likely out of the question for my price range.<br>

I would really appreciate if you can tell me which lens would be a better quality and better price/quality ratio.<br>

I dont have a big budget, so these are the 3 lenses im looking at.</p>

<p>Tokina 500mm f/8.0<br>

Phoenix 500mm<br>

takumar 500mm f4.5</p>

<p>Any other suggestions in the same price range would be great.</p>

<p>One concern I have in considering these lenses is that 50% of the time the surfer and the face of the wave will be back lit or side lit with the surfer and face of the wave not as bright as the rest of the frame. Will there be contrast issues to consider when choosing one of these lenses?<br>

Your help is greatly appreciated</p>