Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

I just had an inquiry about one of my photos on Etsy -- and I think I just sold one! (So even though I read all day, I might have made a sale....) :)

(My Etsy shop is at http://emeraldbluestudio.etsy.com if you're interested.)

Yes -- sold -- she just completed the order!!

Very cool!

What type of camera do you use, those are amazing images :)

Awww -- thanks Tricia!

I have a Digital SLR (DSLR) -- it's a Canon Digital Rebel XTi.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/con...

Nice :D I love the detail you have captured, especially the pollen on the bee hehe

Thank you! That's what I like doing -- capturing details that you might not see in your day-to-day, but if you take the time to look they're there. I spend a lot of time sitting and watching insects now -- crazy!! :)

I have some listings that expired recently, so I'll have some more (re)listed on Etsy soon. (Actually, I have them on my website -- the gallery is here: http://www.emeraldbluestudio.com/gall... if you want to see.)

Congratulations, and those are some gorgeous images, Bonnie. I have a Rebel xsi, and I'm madly in love with it. However did we survive before digital SLRs?

Oh, wait, I remember. Hand developing. [groan:]

;)

Thanks x2 TDF! Before my DSLR, I used my point and shoot and daydreamed about my old film SLR. :)

That's great news! I've been wondering about how to sell my photos. I need to buy a new camera because mine got swiped. I also used a Canon XTi. So I'm looking at the XSi. I'm halfway there and just need to find a way to get the rest of the way.

Congrats!!!!!

Thanks Lady Ozma!

Good luck with selling yours! What type of photos do you like to take?

I do a little of everything. Landscapes, portraits, macro, whatever. :) If you'd like to see some check this out:

portraits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladyozma...

Oh rats, I don't have a set for my other stuff... try this:

Landscapes: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=lands...

Think I'll work on a landscape set now. ROFL

Nice! I really like this one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladyozma...

Thanks. :)

I won a people's choice award for this one last fall:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladyozma...

Nice!!

My first published one (in Life Images magazine) was this one:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?...

I didn't realize it was a stinkbug until AFTER it was published. Lovely -- my first one is a STINKBUG?! :)

That's pretty cool! :) And kind of funny at the same time. :)

My camera was stolen last spring. Bummer. THose things are expensive. Right before i flew cross country to shoot this wedding:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladyozma...

Anyway, I got a lot of people who supported me during my grief and encouraged me. I'd been wanting to submit my photos somewhere for a while but always chickened out at the last minute. As it was, I entered this contest the day before deadline. I then had to race around printing it up and prepping it. I also entered two others.

This one got hung in a huge photo exhibit in DC for six weeks. The other two were shown in a slideshow at the exhibit along with other entries.

I didn't win a judge's choice, but I did win a people's choice. And while I told everyone I knew to go, no one made it till after the people's choice voting ended.

It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Pretty cool. :)

So what settings do you guys shoot in? I am curious of the specifics :D

Tricia -- what specific settings do you want to know about? (There are quite a few ways to answer that question.) :)

well I am interested in close up of animals and things you normally cant get close to without scaring away...

So I am curious how you pull that off and still get a great clear looking picture.

And admitedly I know nothing of photography but I have always wanted to learn and actually do it some day.. And now that I have the money for a camera worthy of doing it.. I thought to ask you guys since you seem to actually do well at it :)

Congrats, Bonnie! I'll get tips from you guys if I end up having to photograph at our honors society induction in April. We have no money to hire anyone, so it's left to me and I'm definitely no photographer, LOL.

Well, the close up part of it depends on the camera and actually, depends on what you're wanting to get close to. (I get close up to flowers and bugs that are nearby -- you might want to be far away and get a close up photo of a deer, for instance -- different kind of thing.)

In general, for some people it might be done by using the zoom function on the camera, for others it might be by using a zoom or telephoto lens, and for others it might be done by using a particular prime lens.

For my close up work with flowers/insects/etc., I do it with a prime lens -- I have a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens -- see:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/con...

I'd recommend you check out an online class or a local community college class (or if you like doing things with books, that's an option, too) and just start playing with things. That's the best way to learn, I think.

Online classes:
http://www.betterphoto.com/online-pho... (I haven't taken any classes from them but they look good.)

http://www.ed2go.com/ (If you search around, you can find classes from this place offered through different community colleges around the country for less money than at other places -- but it's the same class -- I found a cheap one in NC.)

Hope that helps! :)

Thanks new_user! :) Just give a yell.

Oh thank you! Those classes sound very cool :D I think I might try one.

I'm always around for advice. And if you are local to the DC area, I just enjoy taking photos. There's a reason I can't afford to replace my stolen camera ;) HAHA I'm always just taking photos for people for the pleasure of it all!

When I do closeups if it is a still object like a flower, I like to use macro features. You can get impressive details. That doesn't work so well with animals, so I usually go long lens (AKA ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM) I've taken squirrels in the top of trees and turkeys across my FILs lawn that way.

I had a lens (which I fully plan to replace when I purchase my new gear this spring) that is beautiful. It's a 70-300mm lens with macro built in. I love the fact I can do macro without being right on top of an object. It's a sweet lens by Quantaray. You can get it for the Canon and the Nikon. I think you can also get it for the Sony.

If you guys really want some good ideas, I highly recommend the podcast Tips from the Top Floor with Chris Marquardt from Germany. (No fear, it's in English and he's got hardly any accent.) He's a professional photographer and his podcast is a fantastic way to learn about photography. Best of all, it is FREE!

I shoot completely in manual so I'm a lost cause if you want all those whizz bang settings. It's from my days of shooting film. I also shoot sans flash. I stick my cameras into "M" and then fix everything myself. I'm a nerd.

Very cool Lady Ozama! Now I know what lenses to look for! Thanks a ton for the info :)

No prob. :) I love that lens. I've taken great shots with it. So as soon as I can replace it, I will!

Unfortunately, we're in the Chicago area, but thanks for the offer, Ozma! :)

I am all about "have camera will travel" but... HAHA :)

I shot a wedding in Arizona last year, but they paid for my travel. It gets costly. :)

Good luck! What are you going to shoot with?

I havent decided about the camera yet, though the one Bonnie linked is the one I been eyeballing :)

I have been comparing a bit, between Nikon and Canon, though with all of the specifications it gets confusing! lol

Tricia -- you're probably going to find many many people who will say Nikon, and many many people who will say Canon. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

What helped me a lot in choosing was to actually hold the cameras -- I went to Best Buy and just held each of the ones I was looking at. (I have small hands, and the Canon Digital Rebel XTi was the most comfortable for me -- some of the others were kind of big/heavy.)

And in choosing both camera and lenses, I've found it helpful to look through Flickr groups for the individual items. For instance -- the Digital Rebel XTi group:
http://www.flickr.com/cameras/canon/e... and for the 100mm Macro: http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon100mm/

Another things some people do (if they're really stuck choosing) is rent the possible candidates for a week each -- most local camera shops do rentals, and there are online places now for that kind of thing, too.

I second Bonnie all the way.

Canon and Nikon are both the best of the best. Either way you go, you have an awesome camera. They have their release dates staggered so really the "better" camera is the one that came out last. But it's not that much better. OK the D90 is sweet with it's ability to take video. Drrooool. Almost enough to make me go Nikon. LOL But only almost.

When you hold a camera, you will know which one is right. I happen to love Canon for many reasons. I think the learning curve is far better on Canon. It's very intuitive. Also, they were the first to embrace the digital technology and they make a really great product, no matter what type of camera you are buying. The real thing for me is that I have small hands. I mean really small. The Nikon's are bulkier. I have to stretch my hands in order to reach things. Which is fine if you are just taking a one off of your kid doing something cute. Quite another when you are shooting on location for an event. A 10 hour wedding day would be grueling. That convention I shot for over 3 days and 2500 photos? I'd have been crippled. Thank goodness i have the nice Xti which fits nicely in my small hand.

SO go in. Several times even. Hold all the cameras. Try them all out. Shoot some test photos. See what feels natural, what you do well with. Swing the settings around, adjust the lens. :)

Ask the clerk to help you change the lens. Learn about the camera. :)

I'd recommend going to a camera shop over Best Buy just because the staff is more knowledgeable and will allow you to really test things out as I said.

If you want to go a little cheaper, I'd recommend the Sony SLR. It's also a good one. So is the Olympus. They aren't the power horses of the Nikon or the Canon but they don't carry the price tag and both take AMAZING photos. :) I used to hold a grudge against Sony but I recently got to play with a Sony DSLR and was surprised by how awesome it was! And at a couple hundred less in price? NICE!

Definitely if you want info/assistance, I agree -- local camera shop (or some of the great online forums, or local camera clubs). I knew I was going to purchase from B&H online, so I didn't go into a local camera shop because it didn't feel right to me to use up their time and info and play with their toys if I wasn't spending my money there. At Best Buy, I was able to just play with everything without interruption.

Great advice ladies! Thank you very much :)
/hugs

At least you knew what you wanted. To someone who is only just thinking about jumping into this, having the knowhow is nice. :)

I <3 B&H. If I could afford it, I'd go into NYC fo rmy next camera purchase. ROFL Go to B&H itself!

Ok ladies more questions!

Whats the difference between:

Cannon Rebel XSi

Cannon Rebel XS

Cannon XTi?

I see they are all similarly priced with similar or same specs..

The Xti is the old model from a couple of years ago. You can still find it, but it's on the way out. The Xs is basically the Xti repackaged.

The XSi is the newbie. Basically the diff is Live View (IE you can look on the LCD screen and see how your picture will look before you take it as opposed to through the viewfinder.) and some more megapixels in quality. There's a few other things, but not anything you would probably be affected by. Like the menu seems to have changed and things like that. Since you are getting your first, that's not really an issue for you. :)

Ok so XSi is what I want to look for since its newest right? :)

Ok this is the one I am looking at getting:

Click Me!

Okay Tricia -- here's something to consider. Check out reviews on the lens that comes with the camera and see if you really want/need the accessories that are bundled with it. I decided NOT to get the kit lens, and bought things separately. I know a lot of others did that, too. (I'm not saying what they have bundled together is a bad choice -- I haven't checked into it -- just that you should check into it. The kit lens might not be the best option.)

Ya thts what I was wondering.

What I want is a macro lense.. and then a good lense to shoot from a far distance.

When I first got the camera, I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted/needed, so what I did was get a relatively cheap lens to start with. (It was under $80 at that point.) I wanted to explore using prime lenses, so I that's what I got first (Canon 50mm f/1.8 II EF). Not long after, I knew I wanted to get the macro, so I got that. Next I want a distance one, too, but I think I'll get a zoom this time (not sure what range yet).

Tricia, then get yourself the Quantaray 70-300 with macro. It gives you distance and it gives you macro. I love that lens. It's so awesome. And it's all for 150 bucks. I can fish out sample photos if you want. I love love love love that lens.

When I got my camera I got the kit lens and the Quantaray. I was VERY happy. :) I had something for regular shots and then I had a macro as well as distance lens. I highly recommend it.