pretty trick, there's 3 different kind!

I liked that refresher, Thank you. Also, --- to all else who have jumped in here, it has been helpful... Thank-you.

Selmsli, R.Greenway, turp77, sunil8463, 67skylark27, and speters, thank you all for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate it!

and the mirror locked up... :-) thanks!!

Thanks for the quick answers. I shot about 30 photos last night trying to capture some lights over the river. My approach went like ISO 400, f2.8, shutter 1/2 sec, then shutter 1 sec, then 1.5, then 2.0 sec. After that I raised the ISO to 800, and repeated the process. Then raised the ISO again and again till i got to 1600. Trying to learn the performance of the camera. Your answers here tell me I am sort of on the right track, and I dont need to chase that anymore. So now its on to white balance settings across ISO settings this evening... :-)

When shooting after dark with your ISO in the edges of grainy, does a longer shutter speed help fight the grainy at all? For example, If I get something noticably grainy at ISO 1600, and f2.8, shutter speed at 1 second, then change ONLY the shutter speed to 1.5 or 2 seconds, does the grainy effect improve? thanks...

Received my refurbished 7D2 from the big brown truck today (direct from Canon). It came with-12 month warranty, battery, charger, new strap, paper manual, dvd manual, and the 2 cds for digital pro... (Just to clear up what comes with refurbished, from Canon). These are pretty much straight off the camera, no worthwhile edits, 100mm EF-L f2.8 lens, -- and crawling on my hands and knees- TV mode set at 1-1000th ... Still have a long way to go to learn this new rig... and yes, the focus is ... something . I don't think I had enough focus squares lit up in the view finder. I was working on that, then the bees flew off. Hahahaha!

munch munch sniff sniff BBzzz bbzzzz

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what human? I am Busy

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do you think they sing or whistle while they work?

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if it were a 15 or 20,000 dollar hassey or mamaya complete ready to use? (for 5 grand) I would do a lot of blinking...... hahahaha

via the lens said "I am amazed, often, at these comments as I view the photo posted as of a very poor quality, often bad composition, sometimes bad editing, often without any redeeming quality."
and went on to justify all the years of hard work, classes, etc... It's all good.

How many folks here are at your level? Life is a journey. How good were you in your first year of this? Your 3rd?

Just how long have you been at it, versus some of us amateurs and hobbyists? We try to emulate some of your work and others. Experience is key, equipment is 2nd. Sometimes we have never. Some of us don't even know what back-lit means. We might even still be stuck on the Automatic switch.

I am 62. I have spent my life being real good at something else entirely. It made a living, but it makes a lousy hobby. Only recently I picked up a camera. I will never be as good as you. I know it. Facebook is as close to a website as I will ever get.
But every now and then, I get a photo that gives me great pleasure. I don't really care if it's blown out, over edited, under edited, or never edited. You don't know that I was hanging upside down from a thorn tree to even get it, unless you read what I write about it. Just take into consideration you have not always been as good as you are. And some of us are 30 years behind... literally... but its a great hobby... :-)

Standing over an old stump. Who knew?

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The biggest part of what you just said refers to constructive criticism and positive re-enforcement.
It's hard for an amateur/hobbyist who absolutely does this for fun, like me, to take much negativity or brow beating over something that is sort of an experiment to me in the first place.

Critique? ok I don't mind. Sometimes those are just an opinion. Sometimes there's a chance to learn. Great.
Brow beat or hammer or otherwise insult or berate? I have heard it on some of my stuff. That is not fun. Go wank it. You lost me.

That kind of defeats the purpose to learn, chase bugs, animals, a good sunset, and have fun, don't you think?

show off!! --- don't think I have ever seen 2 of them close enough to get in the same frame. Nice catch!

I had a T5i, when I traveled solo, single lens single camera, I carried the sigma 18 x 250 HSM macro. You can buy them direct from sigma $349.00. Last week, I horse traded/purchased new 7DmkII and 2 new lenses. The Canon 18 x 135 lens was one I cut. The Sigma is still in the bag. These 2 should demonstrate the potential. Rebel T5i and the $349.00 sigma...

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thank you all! Its nice to know that playing around with this stuff, sometimes, makes someone else smile also!

the 5th one down looks like an Angel leading the choir almost... great set!

yessir!!