Exercise - 1

[davidhampshire]

oh ,  i'm glad you didn't grade me on these.   what did i learn?   not sure yet,   i do try to take things from a low angle if i can,   ron told me to do that a while ago ,   and i like that look,   one other thing i'm learning---  also what ron said :   it's all about the light.    what the excercise taught me, or has reminded me i guess , is to remember to not just stand up and shoot but look for different views.  dave

[Pacerr]

One of the ways I judge my own probability of returning with interesting shots is whether the knees and seat of my pants are dirty/wet or when someone tells me to be careful not to fall off that bridge railing or off the fence post onto the barbed wire.

I'm not much for people shots but I've noticed they seem to ignore me much quicker when I'm shooting from unusual positions like down on one knee -- well, except for gals in short skirts anyway.

[Pacerr]

 No more boring eye-level shots . . . shoot from your knees . . .

Walkin' the talk here with an example for your critique:

IMO, if this had been shot from eye-level (well above the top of the grass) rather than kneeling it wouldn't have the same feeling, the suggested ambiance!, of shadowing a wily professional wildlife photographer while 'e stalks a skittish herd of deer across open prairie grassland.

Of course actually havin' a 'wily professional wildlife photographer' would help a lot here: The "camouflage" jacket, cheesy hat and the fully extended mono-pod sort'a defeat the theme of sneakin' up on sumpthun, eh?

I'd also note for the record that it's really hard to find an outdoor model with a decent hat that doesn't look like it's been soaked in a pond an' sat on by a wet dawg too.

[Ron Kruger]

Maybe so, but I got this. Where's your shot of the deer?

[Pacerr]

[quote = Ron Kruger]  Where's your shot of the deer? [/quote]

Jeez, do I gotta do ALL the work 'round here?

By the time I crept (ever so slowly, inch by inch, on hands 'n knees, mind you) to the top of the hill, I could only get the one shot before somebody in a red coat wavin' a camera on the end of a 10' pool cue spooked 'em into the next county.  


[The  DA*300 + K-x + a crop  had a bit of an advantage here.]

[lensoreat]

really like that fallow deer in field shot.      amazing a revolutionary war redcoat re-enacter could get a photo with that odd -looking musket,   like that,   nice low angle shot of the redcoat-- you guys are amazing.     

[lensoreat]

oh,  i just see more fallow deer appear from pacerr,   those are exellent too--   is it a comparison of a da 200 and da300 ?   

[Pacerr]

Dave, Dave, Dave . . . how many times does Ron have to tell ya?

It's not the gear, it's the photographer.  

Seriously though, Ron was definitely handicapped by equipment in that situation. The 200mm lens-on-a-stick vs. the 300mm lens from a braced kneeling position . . . hmmm, on second thought, maybe it WAS that cheesy hat after all.

[lensoreat]

that hat freezes em,  especially the does....  maybe it must be why bcb wears one too

[Pacerr]

I shudder to think what BCB might do with that hat to "freeze the  does" . . .   

[blackcloudbrew]

Hank, you don't want to know.

[Pacerr]

Knee-walkin' the talk here today - nuthin' taken above knee level.

[Ron Kruger]

Who did you have along to help you back up?

[Pacerr]

Who did you have along to help you back up?

Hey, it's not like when you're along. I actually have time to shoot my own stuff 'stead of helpin' the decrepit and tutoring others 'bout photography basics.

[lensoreat]

i like #215 best,  but not sure exactly why.    composition maybe.