February 2010 Photo of the Month Contest - post entries here

[jpdenk]

Originally Posted by dapjwy

Hedgerowe,

Thank you for such high praise!

The quality of the digital pics that I've been taking is not what I'd like it to be. Being that these are photo *contests* I try to just share my pics... there are so many professional looking photos here on Wildlife Gardeners, I kind of feel like the people they put on American Idol 'for laughs'.

David,

Your Dove photo is a beautiful photo, really attractive, excellent composition, and that's more important than technical capabilities of your camera. There are tons of photographers who can't compose a shot well, but they have the latest and greatest photo equipment, and they equate good photography with throwing as much money at it as they can. That's just crazy.

That said, photography becomes much more enjoyable when you have a camera that doesn't get in the way of what you want to do. My first digital camera was a Kodak DC260, a 1.6 megapixel camera that didn't really do manual focus (you could pre-set it at fixed distances, but the live-LCD screen was awful, so you couldn't tell if you were in focus or not). It was decent for snapshots of people, but when it came to nature photography, it was often very frustrating to use, as it would focus on stuff that I didn't want it to focus on when there was a lot of other stuff surrounding my subject, and after 5 years of frustration using it, I was able to afford an SLR which makes the act of taking photos much more enjoyable, but the camera is just a tool, and the person behind the camera is more important than the price of the camera. Most of my published photos were made with the Kodak DC260.

John

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by jpdenk

David,

Your Dove photo is a beautiful photo, really attractive, excellent composition, and that's more important than technical capabilities of your camera. There are tons of photographers who can't compose a shot well, but they have the latest and greatest photo equipment, and they equate good photography with throwing as much money at it as they can. That's just crazy.

That said, photography becomes much more enjoyable when you have a camera that doesn't get in the way of what you want to do. My first digital camera was a Kodak DC260, a 1.6 megapixel camera that didn't really do manual focus (you could pre-set it at fixed distances, but the live-LCD screen was awful, so you couldn't tell if you were in focus or not). It was decent for snapshots of people, but when it came to nature photography, it was often very frustrating to use, as it would focus on stuff that I didn't want it to focus on when there was a lot of other stuff surrounding my subject, and after 5 years of frustration using it, I was able to afford an SLR which makes the act of taking photos much more enjoyable, but the camera is just a tool, and the person behind the camera is more important than the price of the camera. Most of my published photos were made with the Kodak DC260.

John

John,

I think you hit the nail on the head. My camera is getting in the way. The tool doesn't do what I want it to. When digital cameras first became popular (and we were still renting--no mortgage) we bought an expensive camera that used floppy disks to store the photos...I loved it, but we spent way too much on it! The next year they came out with memory cards!

I may pull that camera out, but I need to find a floppy disk port so I can upload them!

Thanks for the pep talk!
~smile~

David

[havalotta]

Originally Posted by dapjwy

Being that these are photo *contests* I try to just share my pics... there are so many professional looking photos here on Wildlife Gardeners, I kind of feel like the people they put on American Idol 'for laughs'.

Photo contests are for everyone to enjoy no matter what their experience or what type of camera they use......
I think most of us here, are still in the learning process. I love viewing each and every submission, the subjects, the colors, the layout and most of all just seeing lots of various things I would never have seen in the first pace! No snickers coming from me!

I'm new to this digital photography as of January of 2009, joined the sight in April, and even learned how to use a computer through many W.G. members. Ask anyone here and they will tell you.....Once I learned how to upload those photos there was no stopping me. I flooded them with my (new found instant gratification) photos. Guess my addiction showed up a bit in the sight. No...Rephrasing things..... A LOT!

I took my first, First place in October after rolling the camera over THREE times. Well they always say take lots and hope for a few good ones..... Guess I've been very fortunate at being at the right place at the right time lately.

I forgot to tell the group this........ I have donated last months prize back to the sight for a future contest winner.....
and you never know..... YOU could be their next winner. so keep them coming!

[Equilibrium]

Stop being so good you're winning so much and you won't have that problem!!!!

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by havalotta

Photo contests are for everyone to enjoy no matter what their experience or what type of camera they use......
I think most of us here, are still in the learning process. I love viewing each and every submission, the subjects, the colors, the layout and most of all just seeing lots of various things I would never have seen in the first pace! No snickers coming from me!

I'm new to this digital photography as of January of 2009, joined the sight in April, and even learned how to use a computer through many W.G. members. Ask anyone here and they will tell you.....Once I learned how to upload those photos there was no stopping me. I flooded them with my (new found instant gratification) photos. Guess my addiction showed up a bit in the sight. No...Rephrasing things..... A LOT!

I took my first, First place in October after rolling the camera over THREE times. Well they always say take lots and hope for a few good ones..... Guess I've been very fortunate at being at the right place at the right time lately.

I forgot to tell the group this........ I have donated last months prize back to the sight for a future contest winner.....
and you never know..... YOU could be their next winner.

havalotta,

I was happy to share the few photos I've added to the various threads. I agree with you that the point is sharing the images. I guess the word "contest" is what hit me... I was sharing to share and I just wanted to recognize the outstanding skill of some of the posters.

I agree that it is a lot of luck/being at the right place at the right time, taking multiple shots, and having the judgement to select only the best.

I'm glad that you have learned how to get more out of your computer so that you can share more with us! Great job. Congratulations on winning!

Prizes!?! I didn't realize there were prizes--I thought it was just pride or certificates. You are very generous to have donated the prize back. What was it?

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by equilibrium

stop being so good you're winning so much and you won't have that problem!!!!

lol!

[havalotta]

This is a copy of the prize I had won

and donated back to W.G.
A very nice book, Signed too!

[jpdenk]

Originally Posted by Bulucanagria

And then there are those of us whose bellies are larger than their butts, and whose belts, therefor, are largely ornamental. Refusal to acknowledge this fact and resort to suspenders results in frequent instances of "hitching up the pants" and the ocassional accidental exposure of too much, uh, cleavage.

Or so I've heard.

Yeah, that's me currently, guilty. I have GOT to lose some weight! It was so easy back when I was young, I could eat whatever I wanted and didn't gain, but not now.

John

[Bulucanagria]

Oh, I lose weight every year. I lose at least 5 lbs every summer...and gain at least 10 lbs every winter. Do the math and you get, (let's see, carry the 6, divide by pi to the 6th power, subtract the coefficient of the speed of light), a fairly big fellow!

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by havalotta

This is a copy of the prize I had won
Attachment 14753
and donated back to W.G.
A very nice book, Signed too!

Cool!