Brooks' Photos

[109ROAMING]

Wow ,Cool shots mate!

 

[evangilder]

To be honest, I think stabilization is not all that it's cracked up to be. For my air-to-air work, it is nice to have a stabilized lens to counter aircraft vibration and movement, but I haven;t seen a huge benefit from it when standing stationary. My long lens (50-500) doesn't have stabilization and it still grabs great shots.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Thanks Evan. I have noticed the same thing as far as the image stabilization. I can't see paying another 200 to 500 dollars for it. Most of what I'm posting now has been taken since July when I bought the camera. I'm still learning what I can and can't do with it. There is a lot I don't know about it(the camera) so I'm doing a lot of trial and error. I need to start a notebook to keep track of settings and conditions etc. but the weather is somewhat uncooperative know. Again, thank you for you input. Here are a few more to gander at.

 

[Geedee]

Hey Aaron, love that engine shot...just oozes hidden power (I cant wait till the next time I'm out in the States as I really, really miss that haunting sound of the railroad engines and those looooong mournefull blasts on the klaxons....send shivers down my spine...and back up again, just thinking about them !).

The problem I find with a long lens, is actually holding the ruddy thing still enough, even when panning, and then taking that picture. I have developed a rather unusual method of holding the camera that works very well....even when I unlimber my old 600 telephoto on a Pracktica SLR (the lens is a tad short of 2 feet in length and weighs a ton !). I'll see if I can get a few shots to show you my super secret way of holding a camera steady....now wheres my daughter with her camera ????

 

[evangilder]

For panning and shooting, I tend to tuck my elbows in and rest them against my ribcage. Then you twist as you pan, it seems awkward at first, but it really helps.

Aaron, I really like the way you composed the bridge shot. The leaves in the foreground provide a frame and give the photo some nice depth. You are getting the hang of it.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Hey Aaron, love that engine shot...just oozes hidden power (I cant wait till the next time I'm out in the States as I really, really miss that haunting sound of the railroad engines and those looooong mournefull blasts on the klaxons....send shivers down my spine...and back up again, just thinking about them !).

The problem I find with a long lens, is actually holding the ruddy thing still enough, even when panning, and then taking that picture. I have developed a rather unusual method of holding the camera that works very well....even when I unlimber my old 600 telephoto on a Pracktica SLR (the lens is a tad short of 2 feet in length and weighs a ton !). I'll see if I can get a few shots to show you my super secret way of holding a camera steady....now wheres my daughter with her camera ????

Thanks geedee. I just wish I was around 60 or 70 years ago with this camera so I could shoot the large steam locos. If you like steam there is a video on You Tube you might like, type in Union Pacific Challenger and look for the 42 minute video. It was shot back in October of last year. I didn't think I could watch it for 42 minutes but time flies. Thanks again.Oh, and buy the way, the 40 Willys and the 62 Plymouth Fury are what I do for a liveng. We finished the Fury last summer and are still working on the Willys.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

For panning and shooting, I tend to tuck my elbows in and rest them against my ribcage. Then you twist as you pan, it seems awkward at first, but it really helps.

Aaron, I really like the way you composed the bridge shot. The leaves in the foreground provide a frame and give the photo some nice depth. You are getting the hang of it.

Sometimes I'm a little hasty when I shoot something and forget to look for a better angle but a lot of time like in the King Air shot I had no where else to stand. Most people would probably not taken the picture but I liked it. If I could have though I would have crossed the fence and waited for the fuel truck to leave and taken frontal 3/4 shot. I do somewhat understand about the thirds rule and try to use it as best I can but I still mess up sometimes. Thank you Evan.

 

[Geedee]

Woohoo...am I in luck or what !...found my daughter and her camera is charged....for once !.

You'll have to excuse the grey hair and tracksuit (havent got changed form my run yet...needed a beer !) but anyway, heres the pics showing how I hold a camera with a zoom / telephot. You'll see why I didnt try to describe how I do it.

Doing it this way, the lens is supported entirely on my left arm, leaving my right hand to control the camear and not support it. I find that I can pan high speed shots quite nicely with this method. I am right handed but this hold can be reversed for the 'gifted' few out there who are left handed.

I agree with Eric, you've got a good eye for shots !. Keep em coming. !.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

The sunset over the rails is a different setting from the first that I posted.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Geedee, that looks really awkward and thank you very much. I tend to use the method Evan described. I tried using a tripod for those semi shots, it just doesn't work well. I was sitting rite next to the tracks when I shot that, made the engineer a little nervous.

 

[HoHun]

Hi Eric,

>To be honest, I think stabilization is not all that it's cracked up to be.

Oh well, you live in California I live in wet cloudy foggy Germany - stabilization is just great for me.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

 

[Gnomey]

In low light conditions stabilisation is useful (reportedly can add 1-3 f stops/couple of shutter speeds). Certainly for my wildlife and aircraft shots that I have shot (see link in sig) I have found it useful, although it certainly isn't essential.

Good stuff Aaron, looks like you are getting the hang of it. The first bridge shot is nice, I like the framing.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Thank you Gnomey. I've noticed the same thing about the low light. Appreciate you taking the time to browse. I like to hear peoples reactions and thoughts no matter what they might be. Just viewed some of your photos on flickr. WHAT a collection. WOW!!!!!!! Stupendous!

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Here are some more.

720 horse power canyon carver.View attachment 82308One of the cars that we've restored.

View attachment 82309Same car. 440 Six Pak

View attachment 82310A big block Chevy powered shopping cart. Food City, a local grocery chain, and yes it has a 8-71 blower.

 

[109ROAMING]

Awesome photos mate!

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Gary, these are for you. Hope you enjoy. The sun really hammered me on some of these shots, you do the best you can with what you've got.

 

[RabidAlien]

Any weather can provide great shots, just depends on the mood you're going for. Remember to simplify as much as possible so that the subject stands out! Watch your horizons, make sure they're as level as possible, and generally focus on the eyes of a living subject. (of course, there's exceptions to every rule)

The trick with learning digital is to not try to master the camera within six hours of owning it (I sell the things....you should hear some of the stories!). Keep in mind that with digital, there are NO wasted frames. You're not going to pay to have a roll developed so you can see what you did wrong. Just delete and keep shooting! So....learning is free. Pick a setting, go and see what it does, how it affects your pictures. Experiment with composition and framing. Train yourself to see the shots that the average tourist won't see or won't bother to try to get (keep in mind that good/expensive equipment may be nice, but if you can't make the most out of what you have, you're gonna end up with really expensive touristy shots). Most importantly....have fun!

All that bein said....I really need to get out and shoot some more. Between my wife bein in the hospital so much in '07, and pregnant (thus not wanting to go out and wander around alot AND not wanting to be alone while I wandered) last year, I really miss gettin out and shooting.

Oh, and you might look into NYIP - Home for some great training! I did their distance-learning course a few years back, and its gotta be the best out there. Too bad its not classified as a degree....

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

When I've got time and my subjects not on the move I will shoot on several different settings and delete the bad ones. There is still a lot of things about this camera that I don't know and the two books I have on it are sometimes not clear. If I had a dollar for each photo I've deleted I'd be RICH! Thanks again for the information.

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots Aaron. Yeah the joy of digital is the fact you can throw away any pictures that aren't up to scratch - so make sure you play with every setting. In the year or so I have owned my XTi have I taken upwards of 7000 pictures but I have kept less than half of those.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

A close up and a few cars. I love the orange camaro.