Manta's first pics

[Manta]

I'd really appreciate any comments on these - good bad or indifferent.

http://www.pixspot.com/index.php?cat=10031

Thx.
Simon.

[stubbsy]

Manta

Christmas eve and three people have uploaded their first pics. Wonder if that's a record.

Your shot of Lake Gunn blows me away. Awesome composition. Isn't NZ just the most beautiful place to photograph.

Cheers

Stubbsy

[Greg B]

Okey dokey..

The Moon

Not the best I have seen, but about a gazillion times better than my efforts so far. It is slightly fuzzy. Have you seen Killa's with his 500mm mirror lens? I hope to get one as good as yours eventually!

The Punt

Nice shot, interesting, slightly dull, the bit of red on the punter is great in the overall context.

Lake Gunn

Wow, postcard material, nice work.

Mrs Manta

Nothing wrong with the shot or the subjects at all, but the minute you stick the wife in the foreground, you are taking a holiday snap.


These are great shots Manta, nice work

[Manta]

Thanks guys. All points taken on board.

I unsharp-masked the moon shot and played with the levels in PS but the result looked too manufactured. I was more interested in what people thought of the original image anyway as I believe this is where the learning really takes place. Hope Santa brings me something ...ooh... about 500mm long for Christmas?!

I keep telling the wife I don't want her spoiling my shots but she insists on coming with me when I go on holidays. I'll just have to distract her with a clothes shop or just clone her out afterwards!!

What's that? Dinner's ready? Coming dear!!

[Greg B]

I keep telling the wife I don't want her spoiling my shots but she insists on coming with me when I go on holidays.

Don't get me wrong Manta, you have to take those shots, and lots of them, and watch out if the important part of the photo doesn't look better than all that extraneous background scenery

Plus the GLW can be very handy for carrying/holding the camera bag.....

[Geoff]

What's that? Dinner's ready? Coming dear!!

Great shots Manta! Your quote above...'priceless'


Geoff.

[Matt. K]

Manta
You have a good eye for composition. Keep exercising it!
The moon...I suspect your shutter speed was too slow...I'm guessing it was near or below 1/60 sec. Next time try a bigger F/stop...say f/5.6 and a faster shuuter speed. Although it may not look obvious that moon is moving fairly rapidly. Normall the moon will expose well at 1/250th and F/8 using ISO 200. Maybe bracket a couple of shots around this exposure.
Thanks for posting.

[Manta]

Top advice all round folks. Very much appreciated (especially the bit about turning the wife into a sherpa - should've thought of that...)

Matt - I've tried some moon shots since with settings around what you have suggested and they turned out much better. I haven't done more with them as it was only about 3/4 full so I'll wait a few days and pray for a cloudless night. I was just experimenting with the settings and was propped up against a post in my front yard - when the full moon next appears the tripod will definitely be coming out.

"No darling... I'm not on the forum again.... of course I'm coming to bed now!"

[dciscool]

I really loved your pictures of new zealand,
esp Lake Gunn
I found it a bit too symetrical - just has an uncomfortable feel to it

Tell us more about the trip!

[Manta]

Anyone who's been to New Zealand knows what a paradise it is for photographers. Every bend in the road reveals another majestic vista that literally grabs your camera out of the gear bag. The downside is that not all roads lend themselves to pulling up on the verge to snap piccies. In a 6.5m motorhome, you quickly become very aware of the fact that grass usually means moisture which usually means mud which usually means you're going to sink to your axles if you get off the bitumen! Drivers beware!

We did 4500km in 16 days, 4 days on the North Island and 12 on the South. Much preferred the South for scenery and things to do but would love to go back and spend more time in the upper isle - particularly north of Auckland.

I spent the whole trip shooting with my trusty Kodak LS443. We did a jetboat ride at the Agrodome in Rotorua and the staff there shot a series of photos during our ride. The photos were brilliant - they were shot with a Canon 10D. From that moment I was hooked on the idea of upgrading to a DSLR.

The rest of the trip consisted of me dropping lots of hints about how good my photos would be with a swanky bit of new kit. I did as much research as I could and decided the D70 was the way to go. Its major competitor just felt wrong in my hand and the features didn't match what I wanted in a new camera. The Nikon just had it all and most experts I spoke to agreed.

IF only the photographer at the Agrodome had been using a Nikon....