Hi all, first thanks to the site people for providing this great service. My camera is vastly beyond my photography knowledge & takes incredible (to me) pics despite my ignorance & I've had a great time shooting nature, people & the built environment all over the world, often from the sailboat or bicycle I'm seeing it from. Trying to capture images that show the fleeting, un-creatable beauty of nature is my zen. But it's time now to learn how to get sharp images that do justice to the beauty out there. I'm totally new to using a forum (1st time ever) so I don't know how to find info that's no doubt already been posted many times. What info: well, shocking, but I don't know ISO from f stop and when the shot is right in front of you this second and gone the next, finding settings on the camera is challenging, especially when you don't know what to set. So I need to start from scratch. Is there a place on this site rank beginners can get started learning the basics?

UHH, As I attempt to learn more about PP, I keep coming up short of what I envision as a sharp and brilliant picture.. a picture that Pops. What seems easy for the majority of the UHH members, is still beyond my grasp... a picture that Pops.
So I have been practicing on this cute picture of one of our chicks; knowing the brilliant colors in the the individual feathers, I thought it would be an accomplishment if I could get this picture to reflect the beauty.
The picture you see is PP as far as I can take it... I think. I do confess, I use "After Shot Pro 3", which seems to be not so popular within this forum, but it is affordable and I think has the same features as Lightroom. Same features, but maybe not the same standards for quality? I'd love to have Lightroom and Photoshop, but all the hobbies that I desire require some prioritization of funds. And if After Shot can't do the job, maybe I will be forced to use something better.
Anyway, was wondering if any UHH could improve on my attempt. Maybe it is just a poor photo in the first place and the color isn't there, due to the bird being in the shadows. Lesson learned is to shoot cute pictures in the sun light. If you are able to improve the picture, for my learning purposes, can you share with me the settings that you tweaked... more highlight, less of this, etc.
The RAW version is 28 mg, so for you to download it, I've put it on my Nikon Image Space. You can download via this link … http://img.gg/tzfv9zk
Thanks,
Ev

A serious question that deserves a serious answer

I read where there is a caravan of about 40,000 Guatemalans etc. moving towards the US with the intent of crossing the border illegally. Don’t know if it’s true or not but let’s for the moment assume it is. Here’s an open question. How and what do you think we should do to stop them when they get to the border? No smart remarks please just serious answers as illegal crossings are a serious problem. I don’t see how we can continue to help i******s crossing the border while denying many US citizens help that they need.

Love to hear from those that have compared or use both. Assuming 300m on a crop sensor camera or the same 300m on a full frame camera with a 1.4x . Love to hear about image quality pros and cons and any other feedback. I should add that I do have both but before I actually play around with both set ups, I would like to hear from those that have. Do the pros outway the cons? for example using my 300m on a Canon 7dm2 (crop) vs using it on Canon 5dm4 (full) with 1.4x I realize the 1.4 and the 1.6 crop aren't the same but I'm wondering if anyone noticed quality diff, setting diff, speed diff........

So here is my dilemma. Recently a client on my workshop had an issue with her son requiring surgery. She asked me not to cash her check until we returned home because she was uncertain that she could go . Well, surgery went fine and she came in the trip. I get home, deposit the check to find out that she has cancelled payment. Now I am out all of her hotel and transportation costs. What recourse. Do I possibly have?I trusted her and she had every intention of screwing me from the beginning. Small claims maybe? I am at a total loss.. thanks for any input.

I have been asked to take photos for the church's "Photos with Santa" event. The subjects are all minors. Their parents will be with them but not in the photo. The photos will be printed and sold to the parents as a fund raiser. In many cases, the photo file will be sent to the parents for their use. In those cases there will be a charge for the file. I will retain posession of the original files only for the benefit of the parents. My question is this: Do I need parental model releases for their minor children? Am I setting myself up for future problems if I don't get releases? Under these circumstances it is hard for me to believe there is any risk in not using releases (which could adversely affect volume) but I would welcome other opinions. By the way, I have been doing this for the past five years without a problem. But that doesn't make it right.

Responding to orrie_smith's reply:

Check with fujinon, but a hood will not correct your problem, a hood will mostly help with sun flares, which your photo does not have. Your photo is simply overexposed. If your original photo is in the raw format,
adjust your exposure and it will clean up some of the problem, take out some haze, and it should be usable. In the future, if you have time (and I realize we do not always have that time element), wait until the
sun is not so harsh by shooting early morning or later in the evening.

Thanks for the response. I have the RAW + JPEG. I will use the RAW and try correcting this.

I still have one question. If the picture is overexposed, shouldn't the whole frame look the same? Why does it look hazy only on the upper right? What am I missing? (I am new to digital photography)

Peri

All,

Last month I was visiting in Cambodia while taking pictures of Ankgor Wat, and Bayon Temples found out the hard way the need for a lens hood. Most of my pictures were taken in sunlight and I have haze in the top right hand corner. (I have enclosed the Bayon Temple shot with haze on the upper right). I am trying to correct the haze using Lightroom.

Now I realize that I need a lens hood what should I look for in the hood. (The filter thread size is 67 mm).

Thanks for your help

Peri