Angus attacks water video

Angus attacks water video

Originally uploaded by RackingSaint

Angus, The biggest little dog in the South, tries to “catch” the water. Then gets angry and ‘fusses’ at it when he is unsuccessful.

I love this little scottie so much!

Going to the dogs (hopefully!)

On Monday night, we were guests at a friends house for Monday night football. Well, I don’t enjoy watching professional football at all. So, I took my camera and played around with the two Dachshund’s who also live there.
Rebel

Lucy

I also reworked a couple of photos of our cat, Seal. I’ve got a trial of a new photo editor and am in the process of evaluating it. Too soon to tell how I feel about it over all, but I wanted to share these:

Seal

I really love pet portraits. Hopefully, it is something I can expand on in the near future.

horn worms

I was so happy in the summer that the horses “planted” three tomato plants for me.
I took care and transferred them to a container. Put em up on the porch so they would be safe.
Imagine my chagrin when I went out to check them (as I did every evening) and they were covered with these little bastards! Ruined!

On the road again with one of the best.

Yesterday morning, Tricia and I had decided to meet up and go on a little mission to capture some shots. She was the navigator while I was the driver and she took me to a part of Buck’s Pocket Park which is also a part of the Lake Guntersville properties. The place is called “High Falls”. I would estimate that it is about 25 to 35 feet in height. But it is width and girth of violently rushing water that creates the roar of rapids which greets anyone who visits. As soon as I opened my truck door…there it was! No, I couldn’t see it, but I sure could hear it!!

Following are a few of my favorites so far:

This is taken from the ‘near side’ or side from which you enter.


My good buddy Tricia:


From the offside approach you have this view and open access.

A great mind at work here:

I liked the contrast of the yellow flower against this moss

Tricia, who is forever discovering new things in her corner of the world, excitedly told me about a very unusual plant she had found down in a hollow back behind her house. So, when we got back to her house, we hiked down to see it and I got this shot. Neither of us had a clue as to what it was known as so I spent a great deal of time last night to finally find that it is known by several names. For example: Indian Pipe, Ghost pipe, Ghost Plant, Corpse plant/flower. Something about this plant that I find so super interesting is that it has NO chlorophyl nor does it perform photosynthesis. hmmmmmm.

ein playing possum

ein playing possum

Originally uploaded by RackingSaint

This nut did me the favor of posing for some photos last night. He’s pretending to be asleep in this one. He makes me laugh every day. I never thought I would ever be really attached to him. He was a gift to my daughter from a horse trainer. I have developed a pretty strong bond with him, though. He’s a sweet boy….just a little too good at his job of herding. The horses don’t care for him too much….go figure.

falls soft

falls soft

Originally uploaded by RackingSaint

falls soft

falls soft

Originally uploaded by RackingSaint

Noccallula Falls drop off

Noccallula Falls drop off

Originally uploaded by RackingSaint

Ok. I’ve made the decision.

I am going with Canon. The 40D or 50D.

I don’t know how long it will take, but I WILL have this camera.

Meanwhile, my Panasonic FZ50 is doing its job. However, I do still feel somewhat limited with the non-removable lens.

My nifty 5 in 1 reflector arrived yesterday. This is going to be a very handy tool! I still prefer to shoot with natural light…but the 5n1 will be a huge help there as well.
I’ve got the book Light: Science and Magic, but I am holding off on starting it. Strangely, I feel intimidated by it. I suppose I’m afraid that, once I start reading it and understanding artificial light more, I will then have a new obsession: lighting equipment. Great. Something else for me to salivate over. God help me!

I have not shot anything in about 4 or 5 days…..the rain has been almost non-stop. I don’t mind, though. The horses are ecstatic with all the new tender grass. They woke me two nights ago …well, THEY didn’t wake me. The dogs did. 230am and all hell broke loose. I was startled awake by ALL three dogs barking their heads off….then I heard the hooves beating into the ground all around the house. I got up and looked outside and there they were- running and playing in the world the rain had washed for them. At first I had been irritated to have been awakened so rudely, but all I could do then was smile. The boys were having fun and happy.

Our dear friend Clays dad passed away unexpectedly on Monday. It came as such a shock. I think he must have had a heart attack. It tore my heart. All the sadness, though, turned into a celebration of his life. Roger was a loved man. I have never seen such an outpouring of mourners.
I hope I can help Clay get through this more easily. I plan to be there and help him in any way I can. I hope to photograph him along with his little wiener dog, Rebel, soon. I’ve got some shots in mind and I think they’ll be great.

Daniella took control of the shutter and snapped some pictures of her dad and me. She has a very artistic outlook on the world. I’m so proud of her.

DSLR research to the point of obsession

For the past year, I’ve been researching DSLRs. It is maddening! I have to take several factors into account, but I’ll get to that in a bit.
If money were no object….then the easy answer is the Canon EOS 5D MkII. period.
And, maybe one day I will be able to afford such a smooth and more-than-capable piece of equipment. But not now and not any time soon.

So.
I’m compiling a short list of realistic possibilities for “near future” consideration.

and these are in no particular order.
______________________________________________________________________________________
1. Pentax K20D
COST: with DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II kit Lens…………750-800.00

Conclusion – Pros

* Excellent image quality at low ISO settings
* Image quality still good as ISO 1600
* Ergonomics up with the best of the best
* Large and bright Pentaprism viewfinder (0.95x magnification)
* Robust body with dust and weather seals, high build quality
* Accurate, reliable auto-focus
* Sharpening modes give better image control
* Unique exposure modes; sensitivity, shutter/aperture priority, hyper program
* Selectable program lines; Normal, Hi speed, Depth and MTF (lens sharpness)
* Good level of user control over high ISO noise reduction
* User definable Auto ISO (set in 1/3EV if desired)
* Good built-in flash metering
* In-camera Shake Reduction system offers some advantage in low light
* Dust reduction by anti-static coating and optional sensor ’shake’
* Dust alert makes sensor cleaning simpler
* Mirror lock-up implemented as part of the self-timer
* Function menu for quick access to important settings (although hard buttons are better)
* First color-adjustable LCD monitor
* Proper hinged doors covering the connectors (not the cheap rubber bungs)
* In-camera RAW development with parameter control and batch conversion
* Interesting modes, such as Interval shooting and multiple exposures
* Value for money

Conclusion – Cons

* Continuous shooting rate slow by modern standards
* Hot pixels can occur and can’t be automatically removed
* Noise reduction cannot be raised as high as the competition
* Live view mode adds very little to the camera (it is neither seamless nor able to usefully magnify)
* Autofocus not as fast or consistent in low light as the more expensive competition
* Menu navigation a little clunky and won’t revert to last-used location
* Would have been nice to have hard buttons for White Balance
* Average automatic white balance performance, still very poor under incandescent light
* Flash must be raised for AF assist (although AF works even in very low light)
These points are from and their in-depth review of the camera.

___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Pentax K-x 12.4 MP Digital SLR with 2.7-inch LCD and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL and 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED Lenses (Black)—Just released and no full review available, however, the previews are pretty damn good!

Cost: (on Amazon) with BOTH kit lenses is 750.00

This little camera comes in a range of colors that would make Willy Wonka drool. I’m not really interested in having a crazy colored camera, but it is interesting to see the possible combinations available (in Japan, anyway)

I will keep this camera in mind and follow the reviews that will surely come out over the next week.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Canon EOS 50D with with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Cost (Adorama) : 1279.00

Pros

* Detailed and clean image output (but not as detailed as we would have expected from a 15 megapixels sensor)
* Chroma and luminance noise well controlled at higher sensitivities
* Wide range of image parameter adjustment (-4 to +4 for most)
* Effective Highlight tone priority option delivers smooth highlight roll-off
* Four levels of high ISO noise reduction (including Off)
* Effective vignetting control feature
* No noticeable hot pixels with long exposures and NR off
* Nine point auto focus system accurate, even in low light
* Large, clear and bright high-res screen
* Well-built magnesium body, weather-sealed
* Good viewfinder, optional focusing screens
* Excellent ergonomics and refined user-interface
* Quick control menu allows direct access to many important settings
* Attractive refreshed menu design
* Fully customizable MyMenu
* Programmable FUNC button
* Two user memories via ‘C1/C2′ on mode dial
* 10x magnification in live view allows reliable manual focusing
* Instant power on, camera feels snappy and responsive at all times
* Fast continuous shooting (6.3 fps)
* Excellent data throughput and processing speeds (with fast CF cards)
* Very fast PTP transfer speed
* AF-Micro-Adjustment
* Comprehensive Software package
* Very quiet mirror mechanism (plus 2 silent shooting options in live view)
* Any combination between RAW and JPEG image sizes possible
* Dust reduction from Canon’s ‘Integrated Cleaning’
* Good battery life
* Optional WFT-E3 wireless transmitter (802.11 b/g) / vertical grip
* HDMI output

Conclusion – Cons

* High ISO performance worse than 40D
* Reduced dynamic range in the shadow areas compared to EOS 40D
* Per-pixel detail not as good as on good 10 or 12 megapixel cameras
* High-end lenses required to get the most out of the camera
* Poor white balance performance under artificial light
* Flash must be up for AF assist lamp (although AF is good even in low light)
* Live view not as accurate as on 40D (framing very slightly off-center, in contrast detect AF mode not possible to magnify right out to the extreme corners)

I REALLY like this camera. My friend Rhonda has one and it feels nice in my hand. I have “man hands” so the Canon Rebels are completely out of the question as they are just too small. The Rebel feels VERY awkward in my hand.

Duck, our Paint horse gelding who thinks he is a human, will help with the decision in exchange for extra scratches. His face helps with white balance more than you could know!!