A Non Death Chat for Ted.

Ted doesn't like Death Chats, but I still want to talk to him. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I get confused in big giant chats as well - too hard to follow - so here's something a little more low key. Lets put on some Barry Manilow, and have some nice idle chit-chat...

Anyways, the shirts are out - hopefully I'll get mine on Monday.

shipping confirmation received

Will have to wait for the next SYK release before I could get a shirt... or else it'd be US$16.95 for the shirt and US$40.00 for the shipping! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />

I ordered 3 Scrapper 6's and I really hope I get them. One for me and 2 for pops, he has all the money anyway. Putting on some Englebert Humperdink now.

Simple, order 40 shirts and sell them. You'll get a discount on the shipping and maybe even make a buck or two.

Playing "Mad World" by Sacre from "Donnie Darko"

To bad shirts can't be emailed.

I seen Tom Jones in concert once, someone whipped a pair of panties at him and it landed right on his microphone! he had to stop, sigh and remove it, it was kool and wow the house was full of ....ahhh.... nice ...respectable chica's! (cough) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
"you don't have to be cool... to rule my world (slide steps)..kiss!"

I can just see it now... you're listening to Enya, sipping a lukewarm herbal tea by candlelight, putting one of those warming packs over your eyes...

Anyway, sounds like a god idea. Those death chats are too fast for the dyslexic among us to keep up with.

I got a call from Ted, today. Fine fellow. I look forward to meeting him, in a couple weeks.

I would have to do a lot of converting, and besides there ain't as much knife loving folks here as there in the U.S

I'm surprised at that bigO! I thought Aussies luv their toys and outdoorsy stuff?

$40 for shipping! That sucks...

BigO, what are the knife laws out there? I see some folks from Austrailia post a ton of big blades in pics, but then I read in the media that guns and knives are banned etc... What's the real deal?

I wonder what kind of reaction I'd get if I threw my underwear at Jessica Simpson...

Bigocean has an arms stockpile and is in the militia.

Don't tell anyone.


BTW - BigO - do you have any of those Russian Kizlyar knives? I noticed that they seem to be big w/ the Aussies.

probably the same as your getting here; "EWWHOOO!

Just so you guys know...

Chinchillas like Pringles. Cheddar. Mine is devouring one right now.

omg

you have a chinchilla?

does it jump all over the place

Yes.

Cute.

awesome


i dont have one but i was a member on chins& quills till i got banned

Well I'm sure Australians love their big toys, but there are laws here which prohibit us from carrying those big toys with out "reasonable excuse". eg carrying a 10inch DF in the central business district of SYD without a reasonable excuse would get you a fine and probably jail time...

Self Defense is not a reasonable excuse.

Now that we know you have chinchilla, don't keep us guessing: What's your chinchilla's name?

Floyd. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like an interesting story. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Is there any story or reason to how Floyd got his name?

Here are our laws, each state has its own one. I'm residing in NSW. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />
http://www.laventrix.com/Law.php

do you know the website im talking about?

No, I don't know the site.

I don't know why I named him Floyd either, I just did...

Well that's a conversation killer. (I'm trying to get up to 100 posts, tonight.)

just google "chins & quills" & you will find out everything you wanted to know about them....there is a subsection where the people "talk as is if they are the chin..."

thats where i got i trouble <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/loopy.gif" alt="" />

Wow. Some Chinchilla fanatics over there. I'm just a guy that thinks they're funny. Mine gets good treatment, but not like he's a human or anything!

Thanks for the tip - good info there.

You don't knit Floyd little sweaters?

I think he means he doesn't make Floyd into a sweater.

if the sweater was pink it could be (drum roll)a pink floyd sweater..
sorry I will stay away from your thread now

Ted,

Have you used that new 70-200 f/2.8 IS for any extremely slow, long focal length pictures, yet? What'd you think?

Is this your first IS lens?

Thats right. I figure that no matter how bad he has it under my tyranny, at least he isn't a jacket. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

A good attitude.

Thanks. Whatever doesn't kill him, only makes him a stronger Chinchilla.

Nietsche for chinchillas. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

A strong chinchilla is a good chinchilla.

Did this one Wed @81mm @ 1/60 or so.




This one is @ 200mm and 1/60 sec.



Not the best sample as they are high ISO and subjects are moving as well, but I thought the guys might like them.

I also have the 24-105 IS and used to own a 28-135 IS lens. I'm very shaky so they help me a lot.

SO CLOSE on that 1st picture Ted....

Your job must be horrible.

Thought you might like that particular angle. These girls were nice, some of the other girls were literally off the street and kinda funky.

I bet that lens will come in handy for runway shoots.

What's the max aperture on the 24-105IS and on the 28-135IS? What do you think of their optics? How much do they weigh? How fast do they focus?

I've been thinking that a little wider focal range than my 24-70, with IS, could come in handy for wedding work... especially if it was lighter than the 24-70 and lighter than the 70-200IS.

Wow, the one in the first pic is a real babe!

Sweeeeet. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

i can't stand how some of these designers ruin what would otherwise be perfectly hot women for the sake of creativity.

Those gals are pretty, but I just don't get that kind of "fashion".

Lemme guess... the street girls stayed fit through proper diet and exercise. Not malnutrition, right?

I am as far away from a fashion guy as they get. Although I don't wear black socks with shorts, my clothes are wrinkled constantly. I tried to use an iron once and burn myself in 3 places. Those devices are pure evil.

Take the shirt off first. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I too am a wrinkled jeans and t-shirt kind of guy.

I would not want to make all the ladies jealous of my Magnum PI hairy chest there Dice.

I'm non-fashion, too. I didn't know I shouldn't wear black socks with shorts, until you just mentioned it. The thought that I should iron my clothes never crossed my mind.

Stay away from irons, the darn things are evil devices of destruction. I would rather jugle Dumpster Mutts. I never had that idea until Dice turned me on to it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />.

It does come in handy for runway and hockey photos. I finally got to use the focus limiter switch when I shot hockey games earlier this year. It kept the lens from trying to focus on the plexiglass.

The 24-105/4 IS L is an f/4 and the 28-135 IS is a 3.5-5.6

The 24-105($1100) is weather sealed and built like a tank, but still lighter than the 24-70/2.8. The 28-135($400) is not sealed and is pretty light, it makes a good walk about lens. The L lens has the edge in all regards IQ, durability, etc.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/c...mp;fcategoryid=149&modelid=11924

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/c...amp;fcategoryid=149&modelid=7337

Reminds me of when I saw a Penn and Teller show. They explained the secret to safely juggling flaming torches, this way: "If you catch the wrong side, LET GO."

I gave up on trying to own an iron. After the 6th one walked off the set with a model or stylist I said screw it. Now I steam everything.

Only 4 more Mike.

I have a friend who is an amatuer photo guy and he spends as much on lenses as I do on knives and guns combined.

I wish I had a cool story about my iron experiences. You are lucky guy Ted to have models running off with yours. Mine just burned me with reckless abandoned.

Thanks, Ted.

It sounds like the maximum apertures on both are too slow for serious low light situations, and it sounds like I'd struggle to get super shallow DOF with creamy bokeh.

Hmmm, I have WAAAAY more in photo gear than knives/swords and I have a lot of knives and swords. Maybe that's why I never have money. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />


Who knew <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />

Yeah... I've got a lot in knives, but I also have WAAAAAY more in photo gear. My 600 f/4 IS, alone, is more than all my knives, combined. Same goes for my digicam. Strobes, tripods, memory cards... don't even get me started.

Well, I used to think so, but with digital I can usually get that extra stop back by adjusting ISO. The IS really adds extra stops to handholding. I can handhold a real three stops slower than with non IS lenses and still get acceptably sharp shots. It all goes to hell if the subject moves, but I've not had a shoot that would have been better with only 1 extra stop.

If I want creamy bokeh I pull out the 200/1.8 L and it's magic. Only the 85/1.2 has better bokeh and that is debatable. The 24-70 is better than the 24-105 in regards to bokeh, btw.


Bokeh is a japanese term for how smooth the out of focus areas are in a photo. It really does make a difference.

That reminds me - I found Sandisk 2GB Ultra II cards at Staples for $29.95 today. These were several hundred $$$ fairly recently. Crazy.

Thanks for the definition Ted! I follow a bit of photography, but that was over my head! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

This wedding, last Friday, lit by candle light, was pushing the limits of hand holdability, even at ISO 1600, f/2.8, I was shooting a 200mm focal length at 1/30th shutter speed.

Subject movement at 1/30th of a second is a borderline problem with people who are kind of holding still or moving slowly, at a wedding ceremony.

Yes, I know what bokeh is.

I think my 600 f/4 has better bokeh than the 85 f/1.2, but it is hard to be sure, because the DOF is so incredibly shallow that the background is usually completely blurred.

The 24-70 actually has pretty nice looking bokeh. My 50 f/1.4 also has nice bokeh.

There was a time where my slowest lens was a 400/2.8 and my fastest was an 85/1.2 and a 50/1.2 and I didn't even own a zoom. The I got lazy and went to fast zooms and still got stuff out of focus(autofocus is the devil, but still better than my eyes now). Now I'm moving to slower zooms that take the shake out and I'm having sharp pics again. Yes, I can and do use a variety of tripods, but find that I don't vary the camera angles as much with them and it gets kinda boring.

Both my cameras go to ISO 3200 and with a little noise reduction don't look bad. SO it would be a wash on exposure with a tiny bit of extra DOF.

I knew YOU knew what bokeh is, I was just giving a basic definition for the rest of the guys reading. It's actually more complicated than my definition, but that works for general usage.

The 24-105 IS is not bad, but 24-70 has better bokeh.

50/1.4 is nice also.

I'm partial to the 400/2.8 and 200/1.8 for that creamy headshot look, but a lot of the wedding guys swear by the 85/1.2 and don't want to lug the heavy lens to a wedding(not to mention hire someone to watch the $5-10K super tele to make sure it doesn't grow legs and walk away)

This is the 100th post!

You had a 400/2.8? Man that thing's even bigger than the 600, isn't it?

I do most of my nature work in manual focus.

I find the tripod necessary for my nature work. I'm usually better off without the tripod for my wedding stuff and baby stuff.

Congrats on achieving Mutt!

I believe the 400/2.8 has a larger circumference, but is shorter OAL. They both weigh about 12lbs or so.

Nice background with the 600:

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=274802594&size=o

Thanks for helping me get to Mutt in Just under 8 Months.

SWEET!!! I love it. You use a flash to capture or just natural light?

Oh, found info in your comment section.

Glad to help. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Just a touch of flash in that shot.

Well guys, I need to call it a night. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
about 5 hours to get to the airport tomorrow and there is a lot of wildlife out that may require observation! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I should be able to check in next week once in a while!

Cheers,
ColdOne

Have fun, ColdOne.

I love observing wildlife.

Now you've got me surfing Flikr and my internet connection is really spotty tonight.

Ted, Have you ever used the 85/1.2? The glass is great, but the weight, balance, autofocus, ergonomics, etc., leave a lot to be desired.

Okay, I'll stop tempting you away from the yard to flickr.

I had the original FD 85/1.2 L and I loved it. It was a great lens and visually stunning as well. The EF version is ugly and slow in comparison. I opted for the 85/1.8 EF when I went to autofocus.

I've got to go to bed, I have a 6am shoot today.

It was nice to chat with you today Mike. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pics. You are truly a master.

You had the FD 85/1.2? You had great glass back when I was a kid.

I've been thinking I'll choose the 85/1.8 instead of the 85/1.2, as well.

Thank you, Ted. You are very kind. hat means a lot to me, coming from you. I really like your work, too. Sleep well. I look forward to meeting you, in a couple weeks.

I'm signing off, too.

That's a GREAT picture of the Hummingbird! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> Tom

Yeah - that hummingbird picture is as good as they get! I'll bet its one of the more challenging shots out there, since its wings are moving so insanely fast and all!

yeah, and humming birds don't let you get close, they spook easy! a great shot!

Thanks, everyone.

On a difficulty scale from 0-10, 5 being about average, I'd rate hummingbird photography about 6.5-7. Photographing itty bitty creatures hiding in the seaweed, swimming around in the pounding surf is much harder.

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=310028307&size=m&context=set-72157594339112241

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, PK.

That's an opalescent nudibranch, Hermissenda crassicornis. It's one of the most spectacular looking animals you could ever hope to see, and few people notice them because they are very small and elusive.

Holy Cow Mike! You're an amazing talent. You and Ted should put something together for Discovery channel or something - that'd be fun <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Nature Photography Survival Adventures - it could be a 1/2 photo 1/2 survival show - and you guys could be on Survival Fridays on Discovery. That'd be cool. Taking pictures of never before seen species and such.

holy sea creatures batman, that's amazing!

when I see kool nature stuff like that and dice talking about the discovery channel I think of this moon walking bird: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-wtO7pjJKk
it always cracks me up!

WD - thanks bro - that made my day. Awesome link.

it reminds me of all the spectacular work ted and evolut do to show us all the wonderful and kool things out there <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Holy underwater photos, evolute! What kind of rig do you use while diving (scuba incl). I just picked up an a710 and factory housing to get my feet wet with underwater photography and trying to figure out what kind of strobe to pick up on a budget (a sunpak g-flash up on the bay at the moment). The clarity, detail and saturation on your pics are awesome. On my last trip to Curacao I brought a Sealife reefmaster-sportdiver and my closest focusing distance was about 2ft+ which killed a lot of my shots. Taking the new rig out for a test drive in a quarry this weekend (nothing colorful, 20ft vis MAX).

You dive with a knife? I'm thinking a dog father might be fatiguing...

One of my better shots from the reefmaster (with basic mandrake).

That international shippiing is a killer

Dan

Nice work sputnick! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

That is an amazing shot. We have humming birds in our back yard I cannot get over the speed of their wings

Thanks for sharing

Dan

+1

Dan

Great minds think alike Dan! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, again, everybody.

Dice,

I'm not very fond of recognition, but I would love to do a show like that, if it meant big travel, big funds, big adventure. My ex girlfriend (a superb nature photographer) almost landed a gig doing nature photographer adventure shows for the discovery channel. It got nixed, but it would've been cool. Had it gone through, she and the producer wanted me to come along as a consultant.

WD,

That is a cool video clip. I wish she'd told what kind of bird it was.

sputnick,

Sadly, I don't take any pictures underwater, because I don't have the rig. I would love to, and have been meaning to get into it for years, but haven't, yet. When you see pictures by me like this...

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gn...ext=set-72157594339112241&size=o



...they're taken from the surface. (Actually, I did use a disposable point and shoot film camera, last time I went snorkeling.)

If you want to learn about technique and equipment for underwater photography, David Doubilet and Norbert Wu are two of the biggest names in that genre.

Thanks, again, folks. If you ever want to see pictures, just ask; I always have lots of neat nature stuff to share. (Fun baby pictures, too, but I don't know whether you'd want to see that.)

That green anemone was photographed with you and your camera out of the water? Now that is not something I've ever thought of. How much water were you shooting through? I certainly dont have the kind of photo equipment budget you do, and getting into dslr U/W photography is pretty expensive for a hobbyist but with aquatic life pictures like you've got, with some rubber boots you won't even have to get your feet wet!

Yes, this aggregating anemone (not a giant green) was photographed from out of the water. I was shooting at an angle, through perhaps a foot thick of water.

I've been developing a series of techniques for intertidal photography, but it would probably be easiest to just get myself a waterproof housing and waterproof flash.

By the way, I get soaked all over when I do tidepool photography. And I don't wear boots.

Mike, do you know if the photo contest on the Busse forum got 86'd when VTW left in a huff? or did I miss it completely?

That green anemone is especially stunning!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

My sister may want a copy of that. I'll check with her and contact you.

Thanks, Ted. Let me know if your sis is interested.

I love taking portraits of anemones, even though it is very demanding work. (By the way, the picture above is 1.4x life size.)

I have information about the prize in Chris's contest, but I don't know what happened to the contest. I can ask Chris.

If it's still going on, might you have any interest in joining forces to take the picture?

Sure, see what you can find out.

Very cool pics! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

awesome pics

especially the humminbird

I was referring to the giant green in your flickr account which is a very exciting shot. If you have have these sorts of opportunities open to you above the surface of the water imagine what kind of shots you could get immersed in their environment. I've never been in a tide pool that offered much more than a few of the less exciting mollusks and a few barnacles. Underwater photography offers a whole new set of challenges that I am sure you would find both entertaining and rewarding. How often do you get to dive?