Quote (lithfkn @ 13 Dec 2012 19:43)
Ever tried to talk to people and get "nah nah nah nah" with fingers in the ears... ?
My opinion/advice is only valid because I've made so many mistakes and learned from them in the last ~10 years, I can help and am happy to with people who genuinely gives a shit!
You just need to find a project to shoot. I found when I was much younger I got bored of photography if I would just go out and take pictures of random things. If you have a concept about a series of images you want to create, your photography becomes much more enjoyable.
The problem people have is that they expect to get better by just "taking random pictures" Yeah, technically, but what's the point if the rest of the image is garbage? Flowers and pets are nice, but boring as hell and aren't even worth time acknowledging here. As I said just now, and plenty of times in the past here, there is a concept, a story, a thought process behind every photo and every series one makes.
There are a million that come to mind that anyone here can shoot..
Series on:
Stray animals in your neighborhood/animal shelters/pounds
Abandoned shops and workplaces in your area
Elderly people in the street
LIGHT (sunsets/sunrise/diffracted light from glass/how light reacts in the local streets/shadows)
Do a story on your locally owned pizza shop (not a chain). Go in and ask them if you can do some documentary type shots for a project. Take 6 awesome images. Establishment shot (maybe of the building), portraits of the owners/chefs, details, action, people eating, then an empty restaurant at night. It's easy!
It's winter for all of us.. Go out of your comfort zone, get out in the cold, go for a hike, take the car to the middle of nowhere, hitch a ride, who care.. take your camera and ONE prime lens, a ~50mm and shoot the landscape around you. Distant shots, wide shots, closeups. Keep the same focal length though.
And that's just off the top of my head.. Get creative people. Do visual research. Get off those silly equipment forums. Buy magazines, get visually stimulated. You are all stagnating. Take risks. Try things. If you fuck up, you've learned something. If you kill it, great success but you've still learned something.
thats why i love you, you have inspired me already
(even though the most you mentioned do not exist here in dubai)
Quote (Futurama @ 13 Dec 2012 21:12)
wow and I thought I was crazy enough to order a 6.3k lens. Well I have heard the new 200-400 1.4x is more like 1.1k
but personally prefer those f2.8 super telephotos and for that amount of money you might as well get the 400mm f2.8L IS II
no i always go for versatility in a lens and the 200-560mm is perfectly suited to wildlife
i have used the 400 f2.8, its amazing but doesnt suite me
Quote (Rawesome @ 13 Dec 2012 22:17)
Im glad people are posting! Bringing us back together!
yeah well done
Quote (Rawesome @ 13 Dec 2012 18:58)
I value a lot of people opinions on here. you should value everyones opinions. Just because they are not professionals dosent mean there opinion dosenrt matter.
i respect peoples opinions, doesnt mean i value them
Quote (lithfkn @ 13 Dec 2012 23:13)
With the accuracy of AF systems on cameras these days manual focus is kind of counter productive. I couldn't imagine going back to manual focus, it's just too inaccurate :/
The 85 1.8 is fine. I use it and the results it produces are great. The 1.2 is over rated, like some other Canon L lenses.
I wouldn't get so hung up over bokeh. Plus shooting at 1.2 is hit and miss. The 85L and 50L don't mind missing/hunting
agree, way too many ppl place too much emphasis on bokeh
This post was edited by jayandnix on Dec 13 2012 01:42pm