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A couple of shots.

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The next two shots were taken in May of last year. Unfortunately I ran into a financial issue and had to sell my gear. I miss photography and am about to come into some extra cash and most likely will get another Canon 50D.

This first shot is of a stuffed puppy in a homemade softbox with a black sheet. Equipment used was a Canon 50D and the Nifty Fifty. ISO was at 200, f/11 and the exposure was 5 seconds. The lighting was only what creeped through the curtain. Post processing was done with Microsoft Digital Image software and the effect I used was a filter called "Colored Pencil".
 

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This shot was probably a once in a lifetime chance. A storm came, I grabbed my 50D and shot. Lens was the nifty fifty, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens, ISO was 400, f/13 and exposure was 2 seconds.

I'm wondering if I'm close to being good enough to get into photography again and spend, well yall what it cost's$$$. And maybe some "L" glass.

Or stick with a good P&S?
 

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ok, 3 shots.

This was taken in a Home Depot parking lot at the gardening center. Canon 50D, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, f/6.3, iso 100 and 1/320th of a second exposure.

And a bunch of post processing. :rofl:
 

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Gary,

Please don't take this the wrong way, but buy the gear because you want what it will do for you (or not). IMHO, gear really doesn't make you a photographer. Photography--it's a meld of technology and art. You can have all the technology in the world and still not have art.

Amazing, quality images can be captured with a cell phone camera. Really crappy images can be captured with a high end Canon/Nikon/<fill in the blank> with super expensive lenses. Putting a Hasselblad or Mimaya in my hands probably wouldn't make me a better photographer. Knowing the capabilities of my equipment, be it a cell phone camera or a Nikon D90 can make me a better photog if I also understand the impact composition, lighting, negative space, point of view, etc. make on the images I can capture with any particular equipment.

Check out the previous photo challenge here for P&S and cell cameras.

As far as your images,
#1 is ok. The processing almost makes it look out of focus
#2 doesn't really grab me. It's sorta interesting because of the subject, but it doesn't tell a story. If it was over bikers gearing up for the storm or wheat farmers trying to bring in the crop, it would be more interesting.
#3 I like a lot. nice processing and lighting.
 
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I'll echo what Gary said on the gear... What are YOUR requirements for gear then go match that in the marketplace.

As for the shots,
#1 - I'm more intrigued by the super black background. I haven't been able to get that yet on my lightbox shots.
#2 - Has no context for me. Yeah, it's a great capture of lightning, but it stops there.
#3 - I really like. Again, the jet black background and post do this justice.
 
Thanks guys.

Number two just happened. I live on the 3rd floor with a light overhead, standing in the rain and took the shot. The dots seen are actual raindrops on my lens.
 
+1 with all the comments...

#1, the effect is flat over the image. why add the effect to the eyes & nose? mask those out.
#2, nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing out of the ordinary.
#3, good pp. can you show us the original to see what you started with?

I wouldn't buy any new gear until your current equipment is limiting your ability. L glass? Not unless you are shooting extremely fast action, which it seems like you are not based on your samples.
 
+1 with all the comments...

#1, the effect is flat over the image. why add the effect to the eyes & nose? mask those out.
#2, nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing out of the ordinary.
#3, good pp. can you show us the original to see what you started with?

I wouldn't buy any new gear until your current equipment is limiting your ability. L glass? Not unless you are shooting extremely fast action, which it seems like you are not based on your samples.

I had a computer crash and lost all my original shots and currently, I don't have a any gear except the P&S I use at work. I'm shopping.

And you would be the first guy I ever heard to say not to get the best glass you can get. Never heard that before. But you might be right. :clap:

The reason I posted these pics here is not for suggestions on what gear to get, but if I have enough potential to spend the money on decent gear or not. To be honest, I am a sort of a noob to photography compared to most of yall. I have maybe 10,000 clicks at most and maybe 3,000 in M mode and maybe a couple of hundred shooting RaW.

Just wondering if I should move forward and buy some new gear.

Thanks.
 
Do you have a port somewhere? I would not want to judge your potential based on these three photos. What type of photography are you interested in? What is your target? How will you market yourself? Is this just a hobby? Any formal training?
 
Do you have a port somewhere? I would not want to judge your potential based on these three photos. What type of photography are you interested in? What is your target? How will you market yourself? Is this just a hobby? Any formal training?


No training, just a hobby.
 
XoZe is steering you in the right direction.... Until you know what you want to shoot, it's sort of hard to recommend certain gear. For example, I can only speak from the Nikon side of the house, but finding used D90 bodies is pretty easy and I'm sure they would meet just about every need you might have. However, the next body up (D300 still a crop sensor) has everything the D90 has, but more focus points and a faster frame/sec mode which bodes well for action/sports photography. Not so much of a necessity for say.... landscapes. But that jump alone is about $650. Then there's full frame like the D700 which takes away all the speciality modes like portrait, landscape, backlight, sports etc. but gives you a sealed case, full frame goodness and better low light ISO capabilities.

Hope that helps some...
 
OK then. No, based on what you have shown us you are not good enough to get into photography.
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XoZe is steering you in the right direction.... Until you know what you want to shoot, it's sort of hard to recommend certain gear. For example, I can only speak from the Nikon side of the house, but finding used D90 bodies is pretty easy and I'm sure they would meet just about every need you might have. However, the next body up (D300 still a crop sensor) has everything the D90 has, but more focus points and a faster frame/sec mode which bodes well for action/sports photography. Not so much of a necessity for say.... landscapes. But that jump alone is about $650. Then there's full frame like the D700 which takes away all the speciality modes like portrait, landscape, backlight, sports etc. but gives you a sealed case, full frame goodness and better low light ISO capabilities.

Hope that helps some...

Sounds like somebody wants a D700 :-P :lol2:
 
Most likely a 7D. A couple of shots of my bud flying a RC helicopter while is he is in 3D mode on my 50D.

Very hard to capture btw.
 

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You know, Einstein was not good enough at math in school to be a mathematician.

Shoot; you don't need to be 'good enough'. That's an absurd idea; anyone who thinks so is either insecure about your talent or a true tool. You'll figure out what you need and want along the way. ;)
 
The pics look great to me.

I disagree with XOZE saying your not good enough to get into photography.

****, you're already into photography.

Keep after it and maybe take a community college course to help on technique and composition.
 
Here's a thought: few riders really have a need for more than a 250cc standard motorcycle, but none of them stop and ask 'do I have the potential to really use the full capacity of more of a bike to be a worthwhile investment?' The reason is simply that riders enjoy riding and find bikes that help them to pursue that goal of enjoyable riding. Cameras, to a person who likes to shoot, are no different. If you enjoy shooting then there isn't a reason in the world not to get a nice camera and start snapping photos with it, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

As with anything else, if you enjoy it and are dedicated, you will continue to grow and improve. I absolutely believe you have the single most important quality of a photographer: yoou want to capture and share your vision of the world. There are plenty of 'pros' who see their camera as nothing more than a paycheck and have no inward desire to shoot & share. Those folks seldom become truly good. Folks that love to shoot purely for the sake of shooting are usually the ones that brush greatness.

Shoot much, be great ;)
 
Man, that really stings. What would qualify someone to get into photography?
:popcorn:

What I took from his comments was that he wants us to cheer him on and buy new equipment, regardless of what it is.

I made several suggestions and recommendations. I also asked to see more of his work to properly critique, but apparently that is not what he wanted to hear. So I gave honest critique based on the samples provided.

For instance, compare the pp on photo 1 (dog) to that of photo 3 (flower). Can you explain how someone who went through that much trouble to pp the flower to that extreme, failed to do something as simple as mask the effect from the dog's eyes?

I'm no pro, but c'mon. I'd probably change my opinion after seeing more of his work.

To answer his original question: "Just wondering if I should move forward and buy some new gear."

The answer would be no. For the time being learn to use what you have until you have reached its maximum potential, and the equipment is limiting you. Clearly, it is not.

I'm off to our Thursday Night Irregular bike night. G'night. Come one, come all. You know where to find us!
 
To answer his original question: "Just wondering if I should move forward and buy some new gear."

The answer would be no. For the time being learn to use what you have until you have reached its maximum potential, and the equipment is limiting you. Clearly, it is not.

That's one of the most motivational posts I have ever read. Ill be back! :coffee:
 
What I took from his comments was that he wants us to cheer him on and buy new equipment...

He said repeatedly that he wasn't gear shopping. Couldn't be any more clear than that. He just wanted the opinion of folks who he obviously respected in this field. That opinion would aid in his determination of whether or not he would get some replacement gear. So, the advice you kept stuffing down his throat was EXACTLY what he was trying to avoid and the antithesis of his post.

I made several suggestions and recommendations. I also asked to see more of his work to properly critique, but apparently that is not what he wanted to hear.

Which he repeatedly said he wasn't looking for. You weren't comprehending the words he was typing that stated he wasn't looking for gear and he wasn't interested in getting gear recommendations.

So I gave honest critique based on the samples provided.

You gave a childish response because he didn't want to hear what you wanted to keep pushing at him since he'd already said he wasn't interested in buying gear quite yet, and you insisted on recommending it.

For instance, compare the pp on photo 1 (dog) to that of photo 3 (flower). Can you explain how someone who went through that much trouble to pp the flower to that extreme, failed to do something as simple as mask the effect from the dog's eyes?

Yup; he said his computer crashed and he just had a few photos left; who knows what state they were in. Frankly, photography (at least the art of CAPTURING the image) has nothing to do with how well you work in photoshop. In fact, if you require that much photoshop skill to MAKE a decent image, you're probably not a very good photographer. Might be time to take a little self-evaluation here.

I'm no pro, but c'mon. I'd probably change my opinion after seeing more of his work.

Why? If you think you'd probably change your opinion after seeing more, then you shouldn't have made such a sweeping and negative statement earlier. Statements like the one you made are careless and hurtful without any foundation. It doesn't speak very well of your character. Sure, it's more difficult to encourage people, but I suppose that's kind of the point, isn't it? Feel free to take the easy way at other people's feelings; sabotaging their ambitions is a nice side-bonus, eh?

To answer his original question: "Just wondering if I should move forward and buy some new gear."

The answer would be no. For the time being learn to use what you have until you have reached its maximum potential, and the equipment is limiting you. Clearly, it is not.

*sigh* again, he said he sold his gear and was thinking about getting replacement gear. Using what he has got means a good dose of imagination. How about you evaluate the images in his head? Of course, they'd probably be unworthy images to you too. BTW, what exactly qualifies you to determine a good image? I'm curious. Published? Taken some art classes? Taught any art classes? Given any photography classes? I'm curious.

To the OP: You know what you paid for the advice you solicited; I would submit that at least some of it is worth exactly that ;)
 
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