Hello everyone; Not sure exactly when I joined Ugly HedgeHog, but have been a member for a little bit and have been wanting to post some pictures but I can't seem to get those jitters and camera shakes under control---especially when its cold out---but, yesterday, and for the first time ever since visiting the nearby Wild-Life Sanctuary, I came across this Snowy Owl and couldn't resist.
I should probably explain the quality of the photographs first and I'm sure many of you will obviously see how bad the quality is...
I'm fairly new to digital photography...my Canon T6 is my first digital camera and have only had it for about a year and still can't get used to many of the functions so I go with what I've always done with my 35mm film Camera....Manual Everything! Except lately I've been relying solely on auto-focusing...
Anyways.., the quality: not too used to having to physically drop the camera from my face to set the film speed or the aperture and now with the T6, the light setting...although I am pretty familiar with that little function and have a custom setting for all my outdoor pictures that has been very reliable....yesterday however, I forgot to switch it over from incandescent lighting from shooting indoors to my custom setting....not even sure where I was when I realized I hadn't reset it, but I was definitely not here taking pictures of the Snowy Owl.
Please Enjoy as I Enjoyed taking the pictures and posting them for you all!!
Camera: Canon T6
Lens: Canon 75-300 zoom lens
Speed: 400
Aperture: variable between 13 and 20
Shutter: 250

First one, A dragon with its wings outspread, his head and neck in an arch looking down at it claws that had just dropped 'something'.....the second, a man in a kayak caught in the middle of two opposing waterfalls. I have always had a big imagination and can just about see anything in clouds. :)

Don't search just for collector's looking for memorabilia...try searching out magazines that use these pictures....such as: Rolling Stone, Guitar.., music magazines....You can usually find the addresses you need right inside the cover pages....it could take some leg-work, but it will be worth it....also check the library for a book called "Photographer's Market"....this book (even out of date books) should have addresses for most magazines relating to this field (Music, Rock-n-Roll, ect.). It will also tell you how and to which department you should send a letter to offering your pictures....

First thing I noticed about the entire images was how beautiful your point-and-shoot camera captured these chickens, which I believe was your whole intent....I applaud you for that. I'm not entirely sure how many digital point-and-shoot camera's I've used, but I vowed never to pick one up again!!! LOL!!! I'm old school and to use a digital point-and-shoot, was the worst experience I've ever had in my picture taking hobby....no matter what I took pictures of, even plastic model airplanes.., seemed like I would take over 2 hundred and have only 10 perfect pictures because of camera shake. Don't get me ranting on trying to take a picture of a bug or an aquarium fish with one.....

I'm using the Canon T6; in order for me to change the aperture, I have to take the camera from my face, press a button to select through the shutter, the aperture and sometimes the film speed...once I select the aperture, then I can use the small dial next to my 'trigger finger' to skim through the aperture...I don't want to have to move my camera from my face or use my trigger finger to rotate a dial when I'm trying to take a picture...I'm not proficient at selecting the best aperture just by looking at it---and even if I were, I still have to take the camera from my face to select the opening---so I have to rely on the light meter....If the aperture ring were on the lens like they used to be, I would have one hand on the ring at all times and one on the trigger....a quick turn of the aperture ring would 'instantly' give me pretty much near the correct opening...or right on it and a great picture like I used to do when the ring was on the lens.

Maybe a bit old school here.., but the Aperture ring needs to go back onto the lens where it used to be....or put the Aperture ring on the camera itself....I walk everywhere; on unpaved roads in the middle of nowhere, trails in the middle of the forest, or sometimes just take off into the middle of the forest. Lighting changes just by turning left or to the right or sometimes just by turning back into the direction you came....my hands are on my camera at all times and waiting to draw it up to my face. Walking in the woods especially, you sometimes have to be able to readjust the aperture quickly and an aperture ring on the lens will allow this....having to pull it from your face, looking down at the camera screen and having to push a menu button and then adjusting the aperture by a small dial can lead to a lost shot., or if you don't readjust and shoot spontaneously.., the image can be very low quality....

I too have been stumped when it comes to digital photography; a few of the things I have to keep in mind is the ISO, and the white balance. I'm really a fan of the white balance custom button; I usually try to take a shot of something grey or my hand and use that as my custom white balance. I also have to remember that I have to switch this from time to time depending on the light. Once I thought I had that all set to mind, I found a book at the library that turned it all around...although I can still use the custom white balance when I have the time to set it up....the book I found is wonderful. Its called 'Understanding Exposure', by Bryan Peterson(he also has a few other books that I'm looking to get). If you're like me, this book will be a great tool for taking better pictures.

Lots of fine responses and I thank you all. I most definately will be getting the Tamron Lens. As I stated in my original post, I was more leary about the camera being able to handle it. I also made some replies to individual people but realised I may have done something wrong after I saw the 'quick reply' tab and thought uh-oh..., was I suppose to use that to reply?? LOL Again Thank You All!! You all are a bunch of wonderful people and I can't wait to post some pictures.

LOL!! I actually did look for the Sigma after I had read about the Tamron, but because the first Tamron model is still available and a bit cheaper, I'm 'focusing' on it.

Yes I am referring to the T6. Right now, I'm not too keen on lots of features and the T6 seemed like a good choice because it was (besides being Digital and now the Film Speed dial now being called 'Light Sensitivity), similiar to my 35mm and being quite easy to operate. I hate anything with touch-screen including all smart-phones(which I do not own).
I won't go and say that I'm Adequate with my Digital Camera, I'm still learning the ropes especially with the White Balance feature. I'm getting used to the Auto-Focus, but still switch it to manual and so to most of the other features that I can control(ISO settings, Arpeture, Shutter Speed).
With my 35mm, I was pretty proficient; I knew photo-composition very well and I was photographing many subjects that people had doubts about my ability to do so.
I'm not expecting the same results as most of the other photographers here, I know my Camera is a bit limited by its sensor, but as long as I can bring images closer, I can see my faults and fix them and like I said, maybe upgrade and only need a body instead of lenses.

I'm not looking at the G2; I don't think I need the extra that is put into it for that much more money.

After 30 years of photography with the same 35mm Film camera, my wife finally got through to me to catch up with technology and get a digital camera.
The photography I've done in those last 30years ranged from my military service in Germany(shooting mostly the landscape to my job working on attack helicopters that allowed me close-up views of helicopters and field-shots of them flying), to air-shows, hydro-plane races, friend and family portraits, kids basketball and soccer games, aquarium photography, and nature photography.
So.., a little bit of everything, all using the same camera and the two lenses that I also originally bought with the camera. A Kiron 70-210mm telephoto zoom lense and an Albinar 28-70mm lense.
With those lenses, obviously, I was limited to distance and always wanted to purchase something that I could use for longer distances and never could.
My photography most recently has significantly dropped to only being able to photograph my family pets, some family, my aquarium and nature.
Nature now the most precident for me since I've discovered an Eagle's nest 5 minutes from my home and a wild-life refuge 30 minutes in the opposite direction and I am surrounded by the Saginaw Bay and the Saginaw river which allows me many opportunities for Herons, Egrets, many other sorts of Birds-of-Prey, and deer; so far.
I couldn't afford any high-end camera's or lenses so I bought what I could, something I thought I could learn from for a while: A Canon T6 with a 18-55mm lens and the 75-300mm lens. Again, I limited myself to the distance that I could take a decent picture. I have no problem with the deer, they seem to appear no further than 15yards from me where-ever I decide to sit....its the Herons and Egrets and all the other birds I like to get pictures of that I can't seem to get close enough to and when I take a picture, they are just ordinary-looking snap-shots with absolutely no detail. Lucky sometimes if I can actually identify them once the pictures are downloaded.
I'm very interested in the Tamron 150-600mm lens. I've read wonderful reviews and have seen beautiful pictures from many members here that have specified that they used this lens. I want this to be my next purchase and already have permission from my Beloved.
My Question: With the Canon T6 that I've already purchased, would the camera be capable of handling that lens and produce pictures well enough to place next to all of yours? I know sometime in the future I may upgrade to another Canon but not real soon.
Thanks for your replies.