Why would you post your dog photos on someone else's thread involving boudoir pictures?

I want to thank everyone for all the suggestions, gives me lots to think about and lots to try.
I don't have any filters (hoping Santa brings me some) so wont be able to try that yet, and cant try HDR as the snow geese will be moving(granted, they swim kinda slow, both they are moving)
But will try all the other suggestions and see which ones work out best and post photos of the results.
Hopefully the birds will still be in the same pond next weekend.

You sound like a fan of Steven Wright.
Thanks for making the little gears in my head spin a little faster.

I can only assume it is because you wanted to.

Do we need a reason to offer something to someone else or are we free to do it whenever? We need to be aware every day of what surround us all the time and do something about it, when we can. A hug goes along way when needed, same as a pat in the back or a silent presence under some circumstances like the death of a beloved one.

The next thing you'll be saying is that people should take responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming everybody else for all their problems and short comings.

You are obviously new to this planet and not very familiar with the human species. Be very careful, their sickness can be very contagious.

Still trying to decide which one I prefer, #1 or #3
Love the warm tones and the look of calm, peaceful, contentment in his face.
Will definitely make for a Wonderful Christmas card.

I couldn't agree more.
This is an excellent shot. Someone once told me, In photography, it's all about the light.
This is a perfect example of how true that is.
Well Done!

Frank T, really like the lighting on those headstones
fstop22, well composed shot and such a sad headstone, the family of those men never really knew what happened to them.

Here's the only grave yard pic I have.

To me, the main issue I think you're having is composition.
In the 1st shot, I think a vertical crop would work much better, (crop from the right and left)
the 2nd shot wish there was more space on the left side where the hawk is looking.
3rd shot, would crop down to get rid of wires, & crop a little left and right to bring us closer to the action.
4th shot seems OK, maybe just a small crop off the top.
5th shot just needs a boost in brightness & contrast
6 & 7 the images themselves are a bit disturbing to me, the horses appear stressed and it makes me uncomfortable. Adding to the problem is the crop is too tight, especially on #6, the horse is too confined in the shot, I assume he was being taken out of his stall, I think if you pulled back on the zoom and captured the entire scene, it would have made for a nicer image.
#8 I like, just wish you hadn't cropped off the top of the headstone
#9 I think this would look better converted to B&W.

Please Note: I am by no means a pro, what I like or dislike about any photo is just my personal preference. But I have found that the best way to improve is to shoot lots of images, and experiment with various angles and crops till you find what really appeals to you.

Olympus has many waterproof point & shoot cameras, but as far as I know, no manuf has a waterproof DSLR.
The Olympus Tough series cameras are waterproof, freeze proof, crushproof(up to 220LBS) and can be dropped from a height of 5 or 6 feet without breaking. Crap, I sound like a commercial, sorry.

Swamp gator,
I do shoot manual mode, and usually meter off the white feathers but adjust 2 stops (depending on amount of light in background) as I'm always concerned background will be under exposed.
Will take your advice and not worry about background and see how things look. Thank you.

btw: took a peek at your website and all I can say is, Wow! you've got some really awesome shots.


ckcougar - I checked my camera settings and I also have a mode for snow. I tried it, it worked . . . . we got 3" of snow :-)
Seriously, I will give it a shot, I'm curious to see what settings are modified in camera to adjust for the effect of bright white snow.

I shoot with an Olympus E-520 which if my 1st and only digital camera, prior to that I was shooting with a Nikon 35mm film camera. I went with Olympus for 3 reasons, 1) I liked the way the camera felt in my hands, even when using a 70-300mm zoom lens. 2) Image stabilization is in the camera, not the lens, so ANY lens I attach gets the benefit of image stabilization.
3) Was able to get a fantastic deal

But like everything else in this world there are pros & cons to every camera. Olympus does not do nearly as well as Nikon or Canon in low light situations. This is not that big an issue for me as I usually shoot when there's plenty of light. For others this could be a huge problem.

Yes billyzee, cocaine is a very serious problem in the bird community.
You see, even though they can fly, some just can't get High enough. So sad . . .

[quote=Joyfullee]

I'm a strange bird...I'll stand in as proxy for all of your subjects, so releases won't be a problem and don't think they'd mind.

So get started on that book, ya got a good seller going for ya!


Joyfullee, well if you're willing to risk becoming a "Jailbird" by signing as proxy, maybe I should see if I could put together enough photos to make some kind of picture book. Not sure who would be interested in such a thing and pretty sure the Nat'l Audubon Society will be upset, they really don't want the public knowing the truth about their winged friends.
But Hey, if there's a way I could make a buck, I mean, provide a much needed and valuable product to the American public, who am I to argue.

Is there any way of getting a good photo of a white swan / snow goose, on a sunny day, without blowing out their feathers?
or must I resort to either shooting at sunrise/sunset or during cloudy/overcast days.
I understand that white is very reflective and thus causes all kinds of problem, but is there some trick or camera setting that might improve my odds of getting a decent shot.