Who's into photography?

Hey guys/girls.

After reading through the jobs/goals thread i saw numerous people stating that they are photographers for a living. This made me wonder who on here is interested in photography as a hobby or a job.

What equipment and camera do you use?
Prefered subject to photography?
How long have you been doing photography?
Feel free to post some of your favorite photos or links to your online albums.
And anything else photography related !

I'm onto my 3rd camera and it is a Fujifilm S7000Z using 4 different Tamron and Skylite Digital lenses. I generally prefer to take photos of anything macro, reptiles/and most wildlife, cars, motorbikes, BMX, mountainbikes and Jet Ski's.

I've been interested in photography for about 3 years but have only taken it seriously for about a year and a half.

I'll post some photos later.


Cheers,

-Matty J

[big_pete]

im kinda into photography, i just have nothing to take photo's of!

ive recently just bought a new camera a Fuji S5000, so im learning to use that at the moment.

[-AL-]

I used to like playing round with my old 35mm Pentax SP500 and assorted lenses. We havent really gotten right into Digi cams yet(Own a low end Kodak snapshot digi cam)
Big pete how are you finding the Fuji? Been looking at them lately, they seem like a nice camera.
I'm very much an amatuer but if I had the time I'd love to get right into Photography.

[wulos]

Ive been playing around with photography for quite a number of years(deacades??? lol) & shoot just about anything. I DO have a preference for automotive stuff, with aim in real near future of setting up business doing shoots for owners of custom cars & track cars(specialising in LARGE format prints - no value in the small stuff as everyone claims they can get same quality images from basic throwaway type cameras & print at home printer)
I have quite a large range of different cameras varying from oldschool Canon T50 SLR(can't seem to find it in heart to get rid of it - prob the amount of lens I got for this). To a Sony 828 that Ive had for almost 12 months now (16k of photos in that time & still counting). And the latest purchse was Tuesday of this week, a Canon 20D, fitted with a Tamron 18-200 (I DO realise the lens is the weakpoint in this setup - tis basically a replacement for the 'kit' lens it came with til I have the time/money to get better glass.
In the short-term I intend upon keeping the 828 as I can obtain MUCH sharper images with it, it's more flexible, & allows different(read) shooting techniques to be used then with the 20D. Need to remember Ive only had the latter for 3 days or so.
For image storage in the field I use a Vosonic X-Drive. Nice little toy has built in memory card slots on the side& is QUICK (1.0gb transfer in 3 minutes off CF2 card), has a small lcd for instant review of photos (& it DOES support a number of RAW formats). It uses a 9.5mm laptop hard drive - means easily upgradable later too, though with 80gb in it atm I dont think Ill need that for a while. One handy little ability it has is it can also play back mp3's & mpg video.
*enough ramblings for the moment*

Basic here. Sony Cyber-shot with a Carl Zeiss lens.

[Feathers]

I did black & white photography in Yr 12. My school had a darkroom.
I guess I always liked it, but never really did much.
I was given my grandmother's old Pentax K1000, which I use for black & white shots.
I have had a few of the Kodak Advantix cameras, but found the film status indicators moved around, and used films appeared to be new, so I popped one in the camera, and it got jammed. Sent it back to Kodak, and they lost it.
Then they gave me a faulty one as replacement, and their agent lost it when I sent it back too. Neither of them would admit fault for it and I fought for MONTHS to get a refund for the $200. I refuse to shop in the place now.
Went to a camera shop, bought a Canon SureShot 115u. It's been great, and I use it for general photos.

I have a deviantART account *HERE*
Have more pics lying around, but haven't bothered to put them up.

[BAUTE]

the list is long, mostly done motorcycle track days but have been known to do still life and landscapes. last time I delved in to the bag the following looked back at me. (all gear is canon). 10D, 580EX, 70-200F2.8, 1x4x mkII extender, 28-135IS and a big bloody crumpler camera bag, 2 heads, 1 tripod and 1 monopod. I have been published in street machine (december last year or jan this year), the pictures were at a hobart car show and included a full page shot of Gary Myers silver bullet. now Im up here I am hoping to get some more work of some sort

[Paris Hilton]

I would love to get into video photography, and I will once I have enough money to buy a camera :(

At the moment I am experimenting with regular photography, and I use a el cheapo HP Photosmart M407. Not trying to be an artist or anything, I just like to take photos to inspire my 3D work

[b2tf]

Im another one who would really like to be good at it. I love taking pics of the car etc etc, but always get so disappointed when i see the results. Ive been meaning to do a photography course, but if anybody can point me in the direction of some good online tutorials on taking basic (but good) digital pics, that's be really handy.

[XA-Coupe]

I have been into this for a little while ... long enough to start to find the limitations of my current Canon G5. It'll always be a hobby but unllike modified cars, it's a socially acceptable one
The biggest lesson I have learned ... have a camera with you as often as possible. The best opportunity is worthless if your camera is at home.

[Danny]

I try to be creative with most of my shots (one bad example being my avatar), but i'd love to get into the photography thing more.

I'd love a digital Slr camera, but i dont know much about them

[Timmeh]

I do love photography and get a kick out of it.

I have a Fuji S5500 that I bought for its 10x optical zoom and control for motorsport days out, like when I was fortunate enough to tag along with Wulos at Eastern Creek.

Good fun!

Tim

[wulos]

Originally Posted by Timmeh

I do love photography and get a kick out of it.

I have a Fuji S5500 that I bought for its 10x optical zoom and control for motorsport days out, like when I was fortunate enough to tag along with Wulos at Eastern Creek.

Good fun!

Tim

fortunate to tag along (rofl - I was the fortunate one!!!) Tim is quite a reasonable hand with a camera.
/me wonders where the bridge photo is? lol

Wulos i envy you for your Canon 20D! I plan on buying a Canon 20D within the next 3 months. How do you find it? Post some photos you've taken with it if you could. How much did you pay for it and what package did you get it as?

[MITCHAY]

I did B&W photography for 2 years in high school. Was quite fun. Now where i work i develop film aswell, lol must more easier in contrast. Mate if you can afford the expense stick to film. Digital doesnt look anywhere as good as film. I see it day in and day out with digital pictures.

[EDManual]

i do like it very much, and have only recently started to have fun with digitals on my recent Canada France trip.

Most I have got for a single picture was $1250

next best was $400ish.

But thats all, lol. Wish I could make it a regular thing.
How do people make a living? What are your pictures worth?

[jzab]

Like most people it seems, I also got a taste for photography in high school where I shot and developed black and white film.

The first camera I bought was a Kodak disk film camera (can anyone remember those?) I gave that to my sister and she lost it on a school camp :( . My first real camera is a Canon A-1 with a Tamron 70 - 300 zoom lens (I think that's the zoom) in addition to the 50mm lens it originally came with. I also added a motor-winder to the camera - it's a beauty, takes 12 AA batteries to run it! I've taken heaps of photos with this set up on my travels and I think I'll never part with it. A friend of mine who worked in a self-storage place grabbed me an old 600mm lens from some equipment left behind in one of the storage units, so I made up an adapter for in on another friend's lathe and that takes good photos too.

My first foray into digital was a few years agon with a Pentax 550. A great little consumer camera that I've been very happy with. Well until now as I've just bought a Canon 20D (with the 18-55 lens until I can afford a better one) and a 2Gb compact flash card. This thing is great, I can't believe how quick it operates.

I mostly like to take photos of landscapes, inparticular waterfalls, though I've also got a real affinity for bridges of all sizes and shapes. I also am the newletter editor for my local motorsport club and take photos of our khanacross and autocross events.

[wulos]

Originally Posted by MattyJ

Wulos i envy you for your Canon 20D! I plan on buying a Canon 20D within the next 3 months. How do you find it? Post some photos you've taken with it if you could. How much did you pay for it and what package did you get it as?

I have only had the camera for 2-3 days, so Im still learning about the camera. The cycle speed for burst shots are AWESOME.(8 f.p.s. in a 9 shot burst in RAW, or up to 23 continuous in hiqual jpeg with longer bursts available with higher speed cf cards is mindblowing) The onboard buffer that enables simultaneous shooting & writing is great feature, & after giving the camera a good look over it appears to be an extremely capable camera.
BUT
I have been struggling with a few issues in the short term(/me points to that 2-3 day thingo & lack of time - will get there soon enough) The biggest concern is the image sharpness is nowhere near as high as I am used to. I strive for absolute razor sharpness in my shots & with the kit lens 18-55 & the Tamron 18-200 lens I purchased as a walkaround lens the shots are quite soft(would HATE to imagine what theyd be like in a 20x30" print) Im assuming atm that the lens' Im using atm is the weak point(f3.5-5.6 lens in use-could possibly be a focus issue with the camera too - havent had enough experience with it to really know) Usind the 20D involves a dramatically different approach to what Ive been using with the 828(what works GREAT with the 828 doesnt seem to work with the 20D) so I will have to relearn things..
Heres a coupla of images Ive done during last couple of days - nothing real special - but should give you an idea of what Im talking about (these are the sharpest of lot, as captured - only resized / cropped etc)

[EDManual]

here is an example of my pictures : nice and sharp. look at that slime!! i like that, lol :-D

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by jzab

The first camera I bought was a Kodak disk film camera (can anyone remember those?) I gave that to my sister and she lost it on a school camp :( . .............

Still got mine at home, also got a film in it that I can't get processed.

[Captain Stubing]

I've been interested in photography since high school, but since it's been part of my work for over a decade, I don't get around to doing much at home. At work I use a Nikon F4, and a Nikon F100. Have a couple of digital cameras (Canon and Olympus) but I don't put much faith in them, and very rarely use them!
I've got an old Nikon 501 that I use at home, I took it camping last weekend... flat batteries!

[EDManual]

yeah, waterfalls are nice to play with!

[EDManual]

Matty J : can we see what you have done in Macros? They are interesting arent they! Living things are best I think, slugs, lizards, bees, apples, tomatoes...

I have in fact started taking super macros! That is, I recently got a microscope and take pics through the eyepiece :-) I am happy it can be done.

[Falcon Girl]

I've only just decided to take up photography, but going to specialise in motorsport. I can't wait - should be a blast!

I have my heart set on a Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom with 10x optical zoom. Being a student - it's now just a matter of finding the best price!

All you experienced photographers are probably familiar with this website, but I've been told this is a great place to visit if you are on the market for a new camera www.dpreview.com

By the way, nice forum guys and girls! This place is a great find! :

http://i.pbase.com/u12/matthewj/uplo...errariF430.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/u12/matthewj/uplo...errariScag.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/u12/matthewj/uplo...nzSLK55AMG.jpg

http://i.pbase.com/u13/matthewj/uplo...nMartinDB9.jpg















http://www.pbase.com/matthewj/melbou...ow_2005&page=1


Cheers,

-Matty J

[russellw]

Have been a keen amateur for about 30 years now and like most the interest started at school being fortunate enough to have an art teacher who was a renowned photographer and cinematographer.

I started with a couple of Canon AE-1 bodies (which I still have) and they are still my preferred weapon for motosport photography. The kit is trimmed these days to the motor drive body, 28-70; 70-210; 100-300; 2x extender and a Speedlite 170. Still not light but it covers most things.

The last few years I've played around with a number of digitals from Olympus including the C5050 (which I loved) and the C8080 (which I didn't) and have now bitten the bullet and opted for their e300 DSLR with (in 35mm equivalent) 28-80mm f2.8; 80-300mm f3.5; 100-400mm f2.8; a 1.4 extender and the FL36 flash.

So far it's done everything I've asked of it and done it well. I originally opted for the FL20 flash but it just doesn't have the range I require so it was upgraded to the FL36. I've yet to confirm that it is good enough either but the next Heathcote will confirm that one way or the other. Shot to shot sppeds are good with a near motor drive capability of 6fps and with the faster CF cards it is possible to almost maintain that frame rate continuously until the card fills up. Picture sharpness is excellent but there can be some inconsistencies in lighting between two supposedly identical shots - I've yet to track down why this is but I suspect it relates to metering.

Cheers
Russ

Originally Posted by MattyJ

Hey guys/girls.

After reading through the jobs/goals thread i saw numerous people stating that they are photographers for a living. This made me wonder who on here is interested in photography as a hobby or a job.

What equipment and camera do you use?
Prefered subject to photography?
How long have you been doing photography?
Feel free to post some of your favorite photos or links to your online albums.
And anything else photography related !

I'm onto my 3rd camera and it is a Fujifilm S7000Z using 4 different Tamron and Skylite Digital lenses. I generally prefer to take photos of anything macro, reptiles/and most wildlife, cars, motorbikes, BMX, mountainbikes and Jet Ski's.

I've been interested in photography for about 3 years but have only taken it seriously for about a year and a half.

I'll post some photos later.


Cheers,

-Matty J

yeah Ido a fair bit i take phot of baseball football cars bikes just about anything i have a wide angle len for cars and bikes the camera is a fuji s5000 witch is not for sale any more i find the camera great i have had it for 2 years now and its great i work as an eletrical sales person and have used most of the digi camera's and I think fuji is up there with the best the next swtep im taking is slr digi camera. Its a great idea if u want to get into it do a night class at tafe there fun and u learn how to take good pic's. the camera doesn't make the photo U DO!!

[seano14]

Yeah i quite like photography
but i just do it for fun, i am only a beginner.

i have a deviantart account with some pics i've taken on it
http://macster6.deviantart.com/gallery/

[Aussie Falcon]

Been interested in photography for awhile now. First started with my parents Agfa rangefinder camera when I was about 10. After that I had various p&s cameras from Canon and Minolta till I eventually got a Canon film SLR. About three years ago I went digital with a Sony F717 and 5 months ago I bought a Canon 20D. My lenses so far are a 10-22 EF-S, the 18-50 EF-S Kit, 50mm F1.4 and 200mm F2.8.

This website has some of my photos http://photosbychris.smugmug.com/

[Amber]

I've been a hobby Photographer for around 8 years now, after finding a passion for it in highschool.

My camera is nearly 3 years old. I got it for my 21st.



Its my baby. I love it so much. I got a macro lens and heaps of special effects lens's aswell. I mainly use black and white film on the kids, and colour film for anything else. I won't go digital SLR, and don't own a digital camera. I ove that my camera can be operated manually and auto, its makes playtime so much more fun!

My 2 most favourite subjects are my kids and my car.

3 favourites of the car are:




(Apologies for the watermark!)


(that damn watermark!!)

Would love to see some more pics people have taken!!