A few wildflowers.

[Cadd50]

I couldn't have asked for a better day than yesterday the weather was perfect. Saw several different wildflowers while walking yesterday and wanted to share them here. Added a new one to my list while out.

Jack in the Pulpit






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[Jim B]

Great shots! Isn't it a great feeling to open the files from your camera to see exactly what you got and find images like these? Were these taken with the Tamron? Nice shutter speed on the water!

[cwl50?]

Very nice images!! About that water pic. Was it taken in KS. NE.??? Hard to find water that clean as well as that fast! Looks to me that the speed was fast. 1/500??

[Cadd50]

JimB
Thanks I'm glad that you liked them, I'm really satisfied with a couple of them. Some look a little bit soft to me and a shade out of focus. It has me a bit concerned with the camera or the lense. Maybe it's just me though. None were taken with a tripod and I'm going to get a more sturdier one than I have right now. Any suggestions? Yes these were taken with the Tamron, I can't afford a better quality lense right now.

Clyde
Your absoultey correct on the speed it was at 1/500, I'm still in the learning phase with this camera. I haven't fully got the hang of manual settings yet. I tried several different shots of the water, I wanted to get the effect I've seen from others pictures online. The silky look of the water that almost looks like cotton, know what I mean? What is a good setting to get that effect? Provided the lighting is suitable of course, what do I need to do to get that effect from a manual setting on my Rebel XT? I tried several times with no success.

Water specs
Shutter Speed 1/500
F Stop was f/11.0
ISO 100
Focal Length was 70 mm

[Jim B]

Heheheh. I'm just learning too! I've had my 20D for about a month now.

I've been using a Bogen / Manfrotto 3001D Deluxe Tripod Legs (Chrome) with 3126 Micro Fluid Head - Supports 8.80 lb. It was the one I used for my spotting scope for years. It works OK but is a bit light for the100 - 400 mm lens I use most often for birds.

I am slowly upgrading this set-up. I just bought an Arca-Swiss Monoball B1 Ballhead and the Wimberley plate. The price of this stuff is a bit much but I've been told I by a pro who uses it to make a living that it will really last a lifetime. I'm now saving Gitzo Monotripod #1322 which is a tripod that has one leg you can take off to use as a monopod.

On piece of gear I love is Bogen / Manfrotto 243 Car Window Pod with 482 Micro Ball Head.It fits over an open car window and is a joy to use as long as I remember to turn the car engine off before I shoot.

As for the water just slow your shutter speed down to a two seconds or more and the water should blend into what I think you are looking for.

On a totally unrelated note, you want a catera? Mine is driving me nuts!

[Cadd50]

Thanks for the choices on a good tirpod or monopod. I've been considering a good monopod as it is less bulky than a tripod. Never have used one though are they as stable as a tripod? Or would that depend on how stable the person holding the monopod?

As for the catera what seems to be the problem?

[petite]

Gorgeous shots Cadd!

[Jim B]

Personal stability is not a prerequisite but seems to help in many situations...or so I'm told.. The biggest difference, of course, is you have to stay with the mono-pod. You can't go wandering around as I am prone to do and still find it standing where you left it as you can with a tripod.

Lightweight mono-pods are cool because you can just lift them up with the camera and all if it becomes necessary. They are much easier to tote around as well. Mono-pods also allow IS lenses to function. You have to turn the IS function off on a tripod. But then again, you don't need it on a tripod.

Having said all that I think the best solution for me will be a tripod with a quick release plate. The quick release Wimberley plate on the Arca works really well. I can get it off the tripod in under a second. So if I'm shooting a perched bird and it takes off I can pop off the camera and follow it freehand. Most of my photography is done in winter in cold, wind, and so on. That's when Cape Ann has the "best" birds. I like being able to leave the camera on the tripod unattended while waiting on a sea watch for something to fly in. Using a mono-pod and binoculars at the same time might be problematic especially when you can't just lay the camera and mono-pod down in the snow or hope it will stand in the snow while the wind gusts.



I've owned three caddys. The last one was a 90 Fleetwood Brougham that I loved. The catera is one of the worst cars ever made. The Yugo was real bad ( I never owned one) but a whole Yugo cost about the same as the average trip to the dealer for the cat. The list of what has been repaired on my 2000 catera takes 10 pages of dealer's print out. That is just the list, not the details. I don't want burn up bandwidth here going on about this car. See Yahoo> Catera Owners Group. for the ugly details. Right now it is overheating after 650 bucks at the dealer failed to effect the problem at all, The tranny slips in to third about twice a week on the highway. Dealer says the broken part can't be replaced - must replace entire transmission. There are several lesser issues. GM has treated Catera owners as if we bought Lincolns. I'm done with GM after this.

[sweetpea in pa]

Just lovely.