On Oct 26, 4:00*pm, John H. wrote:

I'm a long way from getting close to Russ in any of them.

I doubt if Russ would let me get close to him anyhow.

?8^ Q

In article ,
says...

"Loogypicker" wrote in message
...
I posted some pictures over somewhere else for those interested, and
those that have enough manners, couth, brains and sense to be allowed
there!

How do we know where over somewhere else is?

Interested, TIA,
JT

It's in your email box, where else...??

Tosk aka, Plays With Sharks...

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:31:39 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

On Oct 26, 4:00*pm, John H. wrote:

I'm a long way from getting close to Russ in any of them.

I doubt if Russ would let me get close to him anyhow.

?8^ Q

Get him to take a picture of your pupil with his wide angle lens.
That'd work.

I've been giving some thought to Russ's work, and I've reached a
couple conclusions. One, it pays to be in an area of the country which
has spectacular scenery, two, it pays to have a good camera and KNOW
HOW TO USE IT, and three, one must have a good photographic
imagination. I think, after some thought, the last one is the most
important. I'm a long way from getting close to Russ in any of them.

Thanks for the thoughts, and you are correct on all three counts. However,
even though it's been many years since I've had a chance to shoot it, I
found Washington DC immensely photogenic, both night and day. I have
hundreds of color slides of the area that I shot in the late 70's. I'd love
to return sometime and shoot it again.

Great scenery can be found within a day's drive of many places, although
I'll admit that the southwestern US is indeed hard to beat in that
department. Two places that are on my wish list for places to shoot are
Great Smoky Mountains National Park and New England in the Fall. Both are a
whole lot closer to you than to me. Natural beauty is where you find it.
You just have to seek it out. It's usually not all that far away.

Technically mastering your equipment is extremely important, but really not
all that difficult. All it takes is a commitment to be a student and devote
the necessary time and resources to learn the technical fundamentals of
photography and the nuances your particular gear. There is no shortage of
resources to assist in this process whether it be how-to books,
classes/workshops or online tutorials. The technical fundamentals of
photography haven't really changed since Ansel was dragging his tripod
around Yosemite. Focus, exposure and composition. Today's gear can do much
of the thinking for the first two, allowing you to concentrate more on the
third. What's really changed in the last 10 years are the possibilities
offered by the digital darkroom. Today's editing software allows the user
to turn ordinary images into good ones and good ones into truly outstanding
ones. Once again, there is no shortage of learning resources available for
whatever editing package you choose to use.

Your third concept of a good photographic imagination I think the most
difficult thing to nail down. I suppose some are born with a photographer's
eye, but it can be learned as well. However, it takes time and effort, and
a lot of practice, just like mastering the technical fundamentals. I have
two recommendations. First, look at other people's images and get a sense
of what works and what doesn't. Discover what type of photography most
interests you. Most photographers tend to gravitate to a particular
specialty. Some love to photograph people. Others prefer to capture
landscapes. Others enjoy stalking wildlife or shooting urban street scenes.
There are countless books with wonderful images, but the internet makes
things even more convenient and affordable. I spend quite a bit of time in
the forums at Nikonians.org. Since I shoot primarily landscapes (many from
my boat), I spend most of my time in the landscape forum, and I often post
images there. There are forums that cover just about every specialty of
photography, as well as very helpful forums covering specific equipment and
techniques. The forums are a gathering of Nikon shooters from all over the
world. Some of the stuff that is posted is pretty poor, from people early
in the learning process, but much of it is quite masterful and inspiring.
Much can be learned from examining both - what works and what doesn't. In
addition to the images themselves, there is often constructive criticism of
the photos that can be quite helpful in learning how an image could be
improved in editing or have been better captured in camera. Most, including
myself, will post along with each image the camera, lens, and shooting data
to aid the viewer in understanding how the image was captured.
Nikonians.org is just one of hundreds such websites devoted to photography.
Secondly, the most important thing to do is to shoot a lot and shoot often,
and then critique your own work. This is perhaps the biggest gift of
digital photography. Once the gear is purchased, it costs the same to shoot
a thousand pictures as it does to shoot ten. Shooting a thousand images in
a weekend will help familiarize you with your gear and train your eye like
nothing else. This would have been cost-prohibitive in the days of film.
Since I normally bracket everything I shoot, it's safe to say that 90% of my
shots get culled in the editing process. It costs nothing to reformat the
memory card and start again, and I'll typically learn something even from
the rejected shots. I make boneheaded mistakes every time I go out
shooting, but they are always learning experiences, and my skill set has
improved considerably in the past several years. I expect that gradual
improvement will continue in the coming years, and I look forward to the
results from it.

But like anything else, you have to decide if the pursuit is worth the
effort. I don't know anyone who just buys a nice camera and then starts
producing quality images from the get-go. Snapshots yes, photographs not so
much. I've purchased and read dozens of photography books and shot
thousands of photos in the past several years. I've attended workshops. I
continue to upgrade my gear. I'm out before dawn for the good light. It's
really no different than fishing or golf. I've done both enough to know
that I have no innate ability for either one, and have even less desire to
learn. But I recognize that the difference between being a pathetic hack at
either or being proficient enough to really enjoy the endeavor is all about
the commitment of study and practice.

If you ever make it out west, let me know and we'll go find something to
shoot. Just be prepared to get up early.

RG

On Oct 26, 4:39*pm, Tim wrote:
On Oct 26, 1:26*pm, Loogypicker wrote:

On Oct 26, 3:23*pm, John H. wrote:

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:45:05 -0700 (PDT), Loogypicker

wrote:
I posted some pictures over somewhere else for those interested, and
those that have enough manners, couth, brains and sense to be allowed
there!

And nice photos they are, too. Thanks!

My pleasure! I'm certainly not at Russ's level yet, and those pictures
have had no editing.

Excellent! *I'll check 'em out when I get home this evening.

Looking forward to it.

Did you get a chance to check them out, Tim?

On Oct 27, 7:44*am, Loogypicker wrote:
On Oct 26, 4:39*pm, Tim wrote:



On Oct 26, 1:26*pm, Loogypicker wrote:

On Oct 26, 3:23*pm, John H. wrote:

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:45:05 -0700 (PDT), Loogypicker

wrote:
I posted some pictures over somewhere else for those interested, and
those that have enough manners, couth, brains and sense to be allowed
there!

And nice photos they are, too. Thanks!

My pleasure! I'm certainly not at Russ's level yet, and those pictures
have had no editing.

Excellent! *I'll check 'em out when I get home this evening.

Looking forward to it.

Did you get a chance to check them out, Tim?


Sure did. I thought the autumn colors were good. actually a lot of
good pics. Throw some more up. I have one on me meddled around in the
music section over there somewhere.

On Oct 27, 8:50*am, Tim wrote:
On Oct 27, 7:44*am, Loogypicker wrote:





On Oct 26, 4:39*pm, Tim wrote:

On Oct 26, 1:26*pm, Loogypicker wrote:

On Oct 26, 3:23*pm, John H. wrote:

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:45:05 -0700 (PDT), Loogypicker

wrote:
I posted some pictures over somewhere else for those interested, and
those that have enough manners, couth, brains and sense to be allowed
there!

And nice photos they are, too. Thanks!

My pleasure! I'm certainly not at Russ's level yet, and those pictures
have had no editing.

Excellent! *I'll check 'em out when I get home this evening.

Looking forward to it.

Did you get a chance to check them out, Tim?

Sure did. I thought the autumn colors were good. actually a lot of
good pics. Throw some more up. I have one on me meddled around in the
music section over there somewhere.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Cool, I'll look later. John's supposed to post some over there also,
if he'd get off of his butt!

On Oct 27, 6:56*am, Loogypicker wrote:
On Oct 27, 8:50*am, Tim wrote:





On Oct 27, 7:44*am, Loogypicker wrote:

On Oct 26, 4:39*pm, Tim wrote:

On Oct 26, 1:26*pm, Loogypicker wrote:

On Oct 26, 3:23*pm, John H. wrote:

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:45:05 -0700 (PDT), Loogypicker

wrote:
I posted some pictures over somewhere else for those interested, and
those that have enough manners, couth, brains and sense to be allowed
there!

And nice photos they are, too. Thanks!

My pleasure! I'm certainly not at Russ's level yet, and those pictures
have had no editing.

Excellent! *I'll check 'em out when I get home this evening.

Looking forward to it.

Did you get a chance to check them out, Tim?

Sure did. I thought the autumn colors were good. actually a lot of
good pics. Throw some more up. I have one on me meddled around in the
music section over there somewhere.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Cool, I'll look later. John's supposed to post some over there also,
if he'd get off of his butt!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Did you see the bike? WOW!

In article baf75536-acdf-4d9b-8692-
, says...

On Oct 27, 7:44*am, Loogypicker wrote:
On Oct 26, 4:39*pm, Tim wrote:



On Oct 26, 1:26*pm, Loogypicker wrote:

On Oct 26, 3:23*pm, John H. wrote:

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:45:05 -0700 (PDT), Loogypicker

wrote:
I posted some pictures over somewhere else for those interested, and
those that have enough manners, couth, brains and sense to be allowed
there!

And nice photos they are, too. Thanks!

My pleasure! I'm certainly not at Russ's level yet, and those pictures
have had no editing.

Excellent! *I'll check 'em out when I get home this evening.

Looking forward to it.

Did you get a chance to check them out, Tim?


Sure did. I thought the autumn colors were good. actually a lot of
good pics. Throw some more up. I have one on me meddled around in the
music section over there somewhere.

Holy crap man, looks like somebody beat you with a Harry stick! Sorry,
had to do it...

On Oct 27, 8:37*am, Tosk wrote:
In article baf75536-acdf-4d9b-8692-
, says...







On Oct 27, 7:44*am, Loogypicker wrote:
On Oct 26, 4:39*pm, Tim wrote:

On Oct 26, 1:26*pm, Loogypicker wrote:

On Oct 26, 3:23*pm, John H. wrote:

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:45:05 -0700 (PDT), Loogypicker

wrote:
I posted some pictures over somewhere else for those interested, and
those that have enough manners, couth, brains and sense to be allowed
there!

And nice photos they are, too. Thanks!

My pleasure! I'm certainly not at Russ's level yet, and those pictures
have had no editing.

Excellent! *I'll check 'em out when I get home this evening.

Looking forward to it.

Did you get a chance to check them out, Tim?

Sure did. I thought the autumn colors were good. actually a lot of
good pics. Throw some more up. I have one on me meddled around in the
music section over there somewhere.

Holy crap man, looks like somebody beat you with a Harry stick! Sorry,
had to do it...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

LOL! And plenty of it. That bass guitar is more than a handfull!