*OFFICIAL* Snapshot of the Day (one image per post please) #1

[- Paul -]

Had to remove a car and some glare from this one.

[The1]

funny bit of light around the door on the right? was that were the car was?

beautiful street. Makes me think I live in the wrong country

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by - Paul -

Had to remove a car and some glare from this one.

Nice job. Would never have guessed there was a car in the original.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by The1

Makes me think I live in the wrong country

Seriously. I really miss living in Europe.

[- Paul -]

Originally Posted by The1

funny bit of light around the door on the right? was that were the car was?

beautiful street. Makes me think I live in the wrong country

No - don't know what that is tbh - The car was at the top of the street facing in near the 2nd door to the right

[The1]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Seriously. I really miss living in Europe.

at least you'll be there late summer for some R&R

I plan to get out that way, but I can never find people willing to travel with me. Maybe I smell.

[GTHAUS]

Originally Posted by - Paul -

Window to another world.

Nice!

[GTHAUS]

An E60 M5 with our full Meisterschaft GT2 system at MFEST.


E60 BMW M5 w/ Meisterschaft GT2 Exhaust by GTHAUS-Meisterschaft, on Flickr

[MaximusJ]

Originally Posted by dcstep

You hold these no different than any other lens, with your left hand under the lens near the mounting plated. With the Canons we can manage the zoom with our index finger and thumb without moving the other fingers. Balance is important and can vary from body to body. If it's too front heavy, then move you left hand out toward the optics until you find the balance point. This is important and will reduce strain.

Make sure your stabilization is on (I hope you got that feature. Skimping on that feature is a huge mistake that many make). Your shutter speed, particularly while you're learning to hand hold, needs to be at 1/500-second and higher (raise ISO to get there). When you get more experience you'll be able to go as low as 1/100-sec for a stationary subject.

You may need to build some arm strength for holding this lens in position. Thankfully that means simply shooting a lot and paying attention to your results and trying to improve. I didn't get really good at hand holding my 500/f4 until I'd shot maybe 20,000+ shots. A little weight lifting, seriously, might be in order to speed things along.

This is a workhorse lens that you need to invest the time to get very comfortable with. It works for portraits, some landscapes, sports and nature. I'll never be without one in my bag, although I'm very happy with my f/4 version.

Dave

That's what I do. But the difference of this lens vs. any other lens that I have is the lenght; thus making the handling different.

I have the usual stance (with a short lens) where both elbows are tackled against my ribs, but this lens makes it impossible without feeling ackward. So I need to find a stable way to hold it and lower my shutter speed from there. I naturally put my left hand real close to the optics since this lens got some AF-lock buttons at this end. So want it or not, this is pretty much the only way to hold this lens.

I'm pretty sure I got the shape to handle it properly; I just need to find the proper stance. But I couldnt imagine myself handling this beast without my sling.

[DARK_M3]

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by MaximusJ

That's what I do. But the difference of this lens vs. any other lens that I have is the lenght; thus making the handling different.

I have the usual stance (with a short lens) where both elbows are tackled against my ribs, but this lens makes it impossible without feeling ackward. So I need to find a stable way to hold it and lower my shutter speed from there. I naturally put my left hand real close to the optics since this lens got some AF-lock buttons at this end. So want it or not, this is pretty much the only way to hold this lens.

I'm pretty sure I got the shape to handle it properly; I just need to find the proper stance. But I couldnt imagine myself handling this beast without my sling.

Find the balance point by holding it with only your left hand. Use the AF lock button on the back of the camera, not on the lens. Concentrate on using the zoom without effort. Those other buttons can be worked between shots.

It's really not that heavy and you need to think of it that way. I've taught two women to hand hold a 500/f4, so I know that you can gain full and complete control of your lens.

Dave

[- Paul -]

Window by PRotography EU, on Flickr

[dcstep]

Great techinque Paul. I see that you took a horizontal image at a medium focal length and the cropped to fit the window. I was amazed at the lack of barrel distortion until I saw the EXIF and understood what you did.

The colors and details are deep and rich.

Dave

[- Paul -]

Cheers - HDR from 3 exposures - perspective cropped in CS5.

[oneintheory]

Jamie by jsophoto, on Flickr

[tekmoe]

[- Paul -]

^^ Like the framing (using the two cars) but find the background distracting. Great colours too.

[tekmoe]

Forgot to bring my pal, the hulk, to move those big trucks for me. Maybe next time.

[The1]

Originally Posted by tekmoe

Forgot to bring my pal, the hulk, to move those big trucks for me. Maybe next time.

So many things to remember... He just takes up so much room too, can be hard justifying bringing him along...

[- Paul -]

Originally Posted by tekmoe

Forgot to bring my pal, the hulk, to move those big trucks for me. Maybe next time.

Easy fit him in a bag .

[dcstep]

Josh, Jamie really sparkles. Nice shots.

[MaximusJ]

Originally Posted by tekmoe

Forgot to bring my pal, the hulk, to move those big trucks for me. Maybe next time.

LOL

You should have asked to Dave. He pumped so much iron to handle his super tele lenses that he could had moved these in a breeze