# Introducing myself to Photo area



## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

Hey everyone.

I am new member here. I actually joined because a friend of mine on here thought I could be helpful and answer some questions in other areas.... but I am delighted to see there is an area for photographers!

I hope the following is not considered "Spam" but I would like to share some of my work.

My personal website is Marty Falada | there are some images on the start page that rotate through some of my favorite shots. But there is also a "Full Gallery" page that show cases some more of my work, as well as an "About Me" page that lists out my gear.

I am also a member on 500px, which if you are in to Photography is kind of like Flickr but much better for Photographers as you don't get "junk" on there of blurry cell phone picks from people at parties etc....

Anyway. Happy to be here, as well as answer questions on Photography. It is my most favorite hobby, so I love to talk about it!

Thanks,
Marty


----------



## yustr (Sep 27, 2004)

Marty, Welcome to TSF and particularly to the Photo section. :wave:

Your photos are superb. Thanks for sharing. The web site is well done and very easy to navigate - another :thumb: You're certainly going to make Buccaneer envious with the zoo shots. :grin: 

We are a group of mostly amateur shooters always looking to improve. Our equipment ranges from top of the line (though your kit is raising the bar) to long-in-the-tooth point and shoot. All are welcome. 

We ask that any critiques be kept positive and offered only if requested. (Most of us made a blanket request so generally it's OK to offer suggestions.)

Again, welcome the the Corner. Have a look around and enjoy. Hope to see you here often.

yustr


----------



## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

Thank you for the compliments. I am an amateur myself, I just have really worked at my hobby. I have been using DSLR's since about 2007. I started with a Canon Rebel XTi and the kit lens, and moved to a Canon 40D and now finally have a Canon 5D-3.

I currently have about 13,000 images in my library... many of them are Zoo pictures ;-)

While I do admit to having nice equipment, I do not think that it is required to capture great shots. I have collected it over the years because I like having the utility of options and some styles of shots you just need the right equipment to do it.

My Favorite Photography Quote is "The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it." ~ Ansel Adams. You don't really need to have great equipment to take good shots.

But I think a lot of it is being in the right place at the right time and taking something meaningful, even if it only means something to you. You can take great shots with a old point an shoot, as long as you are willing to put the effort in.

Also, thank you for the comments on my Website. It is actually built on the Wordpress Platform, and the Full Gallery is a program I purchased that is quite nice. I love using Wordpress and have built many sites on that platform. It is really awesome for Photographers, and the best part is the Code is FREE, you just have to have place to host it.

I am happy to answer any questions that anyone here has! I enjoy helping people, especially when it comes to camera stuff!

Marty


----------



## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

Welcome to TSF & in particular Photographer's Corner Marty - your work is very nice and, like a few of us here, I am jealous of your gear list - I shoot with a Canon 60D with a couple of nice lenses and a couple of average lenses.

Your help and comments here will be greatly appreciated - the aim of this section is to aid interested people in achieving the best they can with the equipment they currently own.

My camera time is spent almost 50/50 between stills and video - stills work can be seen here and video here

Look forward to seeing you around here in the near future :smile:


----------



## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

Zuluclayman

I love this one: Zenfolio | John Cliff | Landscapes | Wallis Lake - shoreline reflections

How do you like that 60D? I had been considering picking up that body as a backup body, and donating my 40D to a family/friend or something.

I love having my list of lenses to choose from, but I have found myself mostly using the 24-70mm and maybe bringing the 100-400mm with me incase I need some range. I just picked up the 70-200mm so that may replace the 100-400mm though.

I need to get out and shoot more, but weather is resisting me.

I am glad to be here and if anyone has questions I am happy to answer them. Especially in the "off" season when I am stuck indoors haha


----------



## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

That one was shot on my old Olympus E500 (my first DSLR - still have it tucked away somewhere)

The 60D is OK for stills - not nearly as good as the 5D of course - it's a crop sensor so lenses have very different FoV than the full frame of the 5D.

I bought it partly because it has quite good video capabilities (again, not as good as the 5D) and does reasonably good stills. The main reason for not going up to the 5D was, and still is, $$$$ - I didn't have enough $$$ for the more expensive body and still have enough for some quality lenses and other gear I wanted/needed.

I have these lenses:
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II - nifty fifty
Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM - standard quality, would love the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM but again not enough $$$
Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM - my favourite portrait lens
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM - good landscape lens, it is L series quality but is an EF-S lens so won't fit full frame cameras so can't be called L series


----------



## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

Zuluclayman,

Yes the 5D3 was a leap for me to go to, but I will never look back. I waited for it since about 6 months after they released the 5D2... so it was a long wait... I preordered it the night they announced it. I am very pleased with it. They are coming down in price, and if you can find a 5D-2 they were getting really cheap for a while there.

I have that 15-85mm lens. It is a spectacular lens. I bought it for my 40D and was sad to put it to pasture when I got the 5D3, but my wife happily uses it when she uses my 40D. 

I do have a hot tip for you. Watch out for a new 100-400mm from Canon. There are rumors of it coming in 2013. In the event that happens, the previous edition of it will drop in price while they liquidate stock. You should be able to pick one up for a decent price. I love my 100-400mm. It was my first L series and is extremely solid and well built and has lasted with no issues for many years now.

I admit I have been blessed in the fact that my day job gives me the ability to purchase L lenses... but like I said before the equipment doesn't make the photographer. Your photo's look just as great as mine do. My wife has taken some great pictures with a $100 pocket camera... but don't tell her I said that! ;-)


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Hi Marty and welcome to the Photographers Corner :wave:

WOW! You've got some stunning photos there, on your link; Similar tastes here too, landscapes+wildlife+odd stuff that catches my eye :grin: 

A lot of my pics are dotted around the Photo-corner here and I've also got a load on Panoramio (Google-Earth photos), they're all 'catalogued' on Photobucket *here*, if you fancy a browse :wink:


----------



## buccaneer (Mar 3, 2005)

Hello sir, Welcome 
OMG! I am watching the zoo pics and they are sooo lubly! I am insanely jealous of your skill sir! (Hmmm how did Yustr know I'd be jealous?hehe). I just have a poor little Nikon D40 sir, and I am a terrible photographer. The others will tell you I am the resident pest, asking silly questions and posting horrible pics! 
If you wouldnt mind it sir, could I ask a question right here? Do you use the 'in-focus dot' while shooting in manual mode sir? 

When I post pics sir, please do comment on them, you can even say they are terrible (which they usually are!), but please also say what I could have done to make the pic better. 

Again, a warm welcome to you sir, and hope you will be around here a lot.


----------



## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

WereBo,

I like the ones that are the close up of the pink flower. Very nice, and my style ;-)

Buccaneer,

When you say in "Manual" mode, do you mean Manual Focus (Instead of Auto Focus)? or do you mean Manual Mode as in having to manually set Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO individually?

There is nothing wrong with a D40! I do intend to be around here a lot! ;-)

Marty


----------



## buccaneer (Mar 3, 2005)

Oh sorry, I meant the manual focusing sir. There is a dot in the view finder that lights up when the focus is spot on right? Do you use that sir? I was just wondering whether it is meant just for newbies, with the experienced shooters just depending on their own eyesight. (Rather silly question, I know.)

Edit: I just thought of another question- The pic of the Meerkat was taken at iso 1600 it says, how did you manage not to have any noise in there sir? When I take any pic at higher iso numbers, I get too much noise, what could I be doing wrong?


----------



## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

Not a silly question at all.

I do not do a lot of manual focusing in general. This is because what looks "in focus" to me in the tiny little viewfinder, might not look so "in focus" when I pull the file on to my computer and put it on a big screen. I think maybe 0.5% of my pictures were manually focused. Modern Cameras do a fantastic job of getting focus correct. My eyeballs on the other hand have to see the Eye Dr once a year to get my prescription updated. 

Your cameras processing chip and autofocus system uses intelligent programming to determine if you are in focus based on evaluating contrast points (amongst other things...) and in some newer cameras something called "phase shifting". The camera is indifferent to what you are taking a picture of, it simply uses math to evaluate the pixels being captured by the focus sensor to judge the area you want in focus and makes adjustments. I have found that 9/10 times the Autofocus does a 1000x better job than I do.

So with that said, when in Manual Focus mode.... since the Focus Points light up based on what the Autofocus sensor is thinking, they should be a good guide that you are in the right focus area. I would never turn them off, they are certainly not just for "beginners." I am constantly adjusting my focus points and modes. My camera has 61 Focus points in it to play with.

I hate to knock anybody, but... any person who says "a Professional would never use XYZ feature" is just padding their own Ego and showboating or being a "Bully" because they feel good putting down others. 

There is no such thing as being a "hardcore" photographer. Do what works best for you. The results are what matter, not how you went about getting them.


----------



## sjb007 (Dec 10, 2007)

Hi Marty, Welcome to the Photographer's Corner!

Some great looking shots you have there, loving the Zoo shots. Hope to see you around more often :grin:


----------



## buccaneer (Mar 3, 2005)

@ MartyF81 : Thank you sir, for replying and do forgive my late reply. My own eyes are not too good so the dot that comes up when the pic is in focus is a big help. Yes sir, I understand about what you said about it being the results that count and not the method used to achieve it. But I myself usually focuses manually hehe. Sort of challenging myself to focus correctly to come up with a decent pic I mean. Thank you sir, for giving me heart by saying that the camera is less important than the person using it. It is indeed encouraging to know that even with my tiny little camera there is a possibility of coming up with a nice pic. 

If I may, could I ask why so many of you folks here use Canon? I read somewhere that Canon's long range lenses are better than Nikon's, is that the reason? (Just asking, dont mean to start a Nikon v/s Canon war ). I have a Nikon myself which was given to me as a gift, but atleast on here, Canon seems to have an upper hand. Is there a reason to that?


----------



## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

I use Canon because when I first started dating my wife and met my future in-laws.... we would go over to their house for dinner and my father in-law has been a hobbiest photographer for 30+ years. So we would look at his latest pictures.

Once I saw how awesome his pictures were, I knew I needed to get a DSLR. He was shooting with the original Canon 5D at the time, and my mother in-law was (and still is) using a Rebel XTi.

So after a while, I went out and bought myself an Rebel XTi. I bought a Canon because he was using a Canon. It served me well to get something he was familiar with because he could give me tips and help. It also was nice to be able to try his lenses on my camera before I bought my own.

So over the years I built up a collection of Canon lenses.... Which is quite an investment. So once you "pick a side" it is hard to switch over because my Canon Lenses will not work on a Nikon. It would be costly to switch.

I really don't feel like one is better than the other. They have their differences, but I think they are both equals. Every model they "one up" each other. Which I think is good because it means innovation for us end users. If Canon was the "Clear best", then they probably wouldn't spend a lot on coming out with improvements.


----------



## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

My choice of Canon was mostly based on the video capabilities with stills as a secondary consideration - Nikon didn't compete much with Canon in their mid range DSLR's in terms of video quality and function and my original DSLR brand (Olympus) didn't offer good (or any on some models) video.
As Marty said too, once you start investing in good quality lenses to suit one brand it would be a very expensive exercise to swap over.


----------



## buccaneer (Mar 3, 2005)

Thank you, both of you for replying. I guess now that I have a Nikon, I'll stick with Nikon  Even though I havent invested much in lenses, I only have two 'el cheapo' lenses. I just realized I have hijacked this thread, my sincere apologies to MartyF81,sir. I'll post the next question in the thread I created, do kindly have a look and reply,everyone.


----------

