PossumCorner

Some pony clubs are a bit (very) protective/precious about photography of children at pony club. It's best to introduce yourself to the secretary or someone on the committee first. It is difficult for them, they want good photos of the ponies/children, but are caught up in the regulations like any junior sports club these days. The 400 might be over-kill, you have the 70-200 don't you? And an 18-50 or thereabouts for some group shots, you need wider capacity for the line-ups of the littlies. They'd probably like something for their Newsletter. We expects a few of your shots here next week.

We'll go in on the Saturday afternoon. Looking forward to seeing the new stuff sort of hands-on, and making a wish-list for the next year or so. It is good to see it all, wouldn't miss being there again for anything.

We'll do a couple of squares, I've got some doggy theme fat quarters from the Craft Expo put away somewhere. Think you are right about having it quilted professionally, once it has been sewn together. What about the borders? Will the person doing the sewing squares together look after that - just plain in a best-matching fabric? The signed squares sound good, will they stand up to life-time washing though? Imagine it will be on Jed's bed at some stage, with dogs lying on it, so will have to be re-washable or dry-cleanable in the longer term?

Metallic is "fun" - I find it a bit trial and error. Digital Works can be a bit strong. Camera House call it "Platinum", not metallic and it seems softer. But they only run it one day a week, so no same-day turnaround. It is great for a palomino or buckskin horses, and for landscapes with Autumn colour or rocky cliffs. Interesting the fellow's comment with looking for something white in the image. As you said for weddings gowns it is not so good: it is the same with a good skewball or piebald horse - the glow on the dark colour looks great but the white can have an almost yellow glow cast. Not always. But it is a fair cost having metallic or platinum prints done 'on spec', For macro people, a pin-sharp bee shot is great for big prints in metallic, the black and gold and the wing get the best out of it.

Lucky boy that you came across him. Note to self: keep small packet of salt/vinegar chips in glove box for puppy catching emergencies.

Cargo barriers in a station wagon. Of course they don't stop blown hair, but it saves dirty paws and natural coat-oil etc. grinding into the upholstery. The rear barriers are great too, so you can have the back open for full ventilation when you park but dogs are secure.

Really nice results. I think I most like the second one because the three levels of the hills at the back give it even more depth.

Well done getting the Spyder, they are great. We are plain lucky being only a few minutes' drive from Digital Works, so do the usual order on-line, then can pick up next day in person if in a hurry. Often use Camera House too, (the one in Croydon, Victoria) their calibration is also good for us. They'll also do a quick turnaround for on-line orders, as well as good counter service. One of the reasons to join a camera club (Photographic Society) is that clubs will generally invite the owners/managers of the better processors to come and give a talk on what happens at their end. It is good to get their points of view and needs explained. And a guided tour of Digital Works is an eye-opener, it is huge and complex and spotless, really impressive.

Animoto. (Google). Short shows free. Longer shows cost about $5.00. Pro memberships available. Recommended.

No help from me, just tons of sympathy for the situation and fingers crossed something works out to improve it. I have two dogs that live to escape and run: it's cost a fortune in fences, fines and stress. It seems to be a self-rewarding behaviour, the pure joy of running. They always romp home after a few hours unless someone 'rescues' them and call the Ranger. Rheneas (avatar) would never join them, he rushes to find me if they get away and tells on them. Is 8 getting old for a Shiba? Our neighbour's Great Dane went through a huge personality change when it reached 8 or 9. Savagely attacked my small dog and became very unreliable with their human visitors. Then developed mild dementia and some nasty cancers and had to be pts fairly recently. It did help me realise that as our dogs get older, if they do have personality changes, it just has to be worked around - you can't turn the tide. Did the blood tests show anything or are you waiting on results? Crate training sounds a good option to me - the security of a crate might settle him down once it becomes a habit for bed-time. And there's nothing to lose, it's a good 'skill' for him to learn for emergencies in any case. Hope someone who maybe knows the breed can help.

Steve thank you for this post. I for one was quite shocked at the anti-RSPCA comments earlier, the wilful mis-interpretation of process and the total lack of acknowledgement that they were there, right there, when they were needed doing a fabulous job in harrowing circumstances. And to criticise a fellow for smiling with two that were safe was quite off. I grieve for those that were lost, but rejoice for those saved. Thanks again for the acknowledgement and the balance.

Yes people were missing my point. It's not content-aware that is a mine-field, it's puppet-warp: not just sensibly removing a background fence-post that grows out of a head and so on. It means an animal's conformation and movement can be enhanced (to put it mildly). And yes of course this has always been done, but it is usually done clumsily and badly and obviously by people not more expert or more aware - as Ashanali said - of bad photoshopping. The point now is that the misrepresentation stuff can be done very easily and more seamlessly by anyone who cares to, with minimal skill. Wonderful for digital artists, but a Pandora's box all the same.

Good examples Ravyk - yes I liked the "just a shadow of his former self" one (as they used to describe rather unwell people). Love your car shot - nice job of rust removal - always garaged and driven to church by little old lady. But yes, the whole thing is a bit scary eh: not that dodgy 'photographs' are anything new, but truth in advertising is going to take a battering now that the ability to doctor images is so easily accessible. What the horse and dog community is affected by is the magic instant method of changing gait, extending the trot, lifting or dropping tail carriage, improving flexion. Some of the examples on-line are a worry - tutorials in subterfuge for the unethical.

Sol it's not advanced stuff I'm burbling about, you can do it all on auto. 1. Square format is in your mind's eye. Look at the scene as if your shot is going to be square-shaped, not oblong. Think of rule of thirds like Ashanali's recent monthly challenge, so the main 'bit' you'd like people to look at is in from a corner: one third down and one third across (usually an eye if it's a portrait). And horizontal or diagonal lines in the shot also cutting across at one-thirds, not dead centre. There's no "rules" just what you think looks right - but composition based on rule-of-thirds appeals to the eye. Then crop the image to suit how you planned it to make it square. So you've planned the image, not just cropped a chunk off one side to square it off. 2. re: Shoot in Raw. Your camera menu will give you choices something like jpeg fine, jpeg, Raw or Raw and jpeg. Choose Raw, you won't lose pixels in the image as it is closed and opened in the computer, you won't lose the original, and it gives you more scope to work with the image. It's not something everyone agrees on, but it does give you an edge with landscape shots doing stuff like Persephone did in Photoshop or whatever: and you don't damage the original when you make copies to work on. (JPEG images don't 'keep' as well as Raw, they lose quality over time). 3. Bracketing. I'm a Nikon girl but I know the 1000D does bracketing so it should be in your handbook. It's just a button to set telling the camera to take three instant shots instead of just one. One will be the 'correct' exposure, one slightly over-exposed, one slightly under. And at the same speed as rapid-fire, I think you get three or four to a second. But you still need a tripod so they will be identical, no movement blur etc. Then you have them to keep stored safely til you want to mess with layers in photoshop, or HDR etc. And for prints on canvas, any of the good pro labs will do that for you (so will the not so good ones, so get a local recommendation). You can order on line and get them mailed to you if they are outside of personal shopping area. Expensive, but.

That link is scary, particularly the separate article included at the side about the deaths attributed. I was about to put Frontline on the three dogs tonight, just bought it yesterday. Now I'm thinking twice. But what else do you do? It's a fierce chemical if it has that effect. No wonder some dogs hate having it applied.

It's looks like a pretty spot. And a nice shot - can you go back and shoot for square format, use a tripod for absolute sharp (if you weren't already). Because it reminded me at first glance of the Streeton painting (1896) "The Purple Noon's Transparent Might" . We had our little noses rubbed in it at art classes as to what "real art" was all about, and I don't disagree, I love his paintings. Google finds it, and these words are lifted I think from some National Gallery notes. " .... Streeton discovered the view of the Hawkesbury River that became the subject of a series of large-scale works, including ‘The purple noon’s transparent might’, 1896. In his ‘Notes for memoirs’, written many years later, he recalled his sense of discovering ‘the great hidden poetry’ of the Australian landscape in the ‘glory of river and plain spread before me.’ In keeping with his pattern of unusual formats for his canvases, Streeton chose a square canvas that gave a sense of being on the spot even though the view is panoramic. ...." P'seph I like your treatment, makes it pop more as a photograph. I like the original too, but probably more because it reminded me straight off of the Streeton painting. That's why I'd like to see it shot again for square, not just cropped. Oh and shoot it in Raw, and bracket (so you can fiddle with HDR - look at Trey Radcliff work google him or "Stuck in Customs" - sacrelige but totally awsome).

Jeeze GayleK it looks fantastic, worth all that down-time that waiting to sell and move on caused you. Shade trees, good fences and a fenced vege garden, love it all.

He said right, and you done good.

There's only one meaningful difference really, in that the D5000 body does not have a focussing motor. That's the only reason it is budget-priced. All it means is that auto-focussing is done by the motor in the lens. So ipso facto as they say, you are limited to using AF-S lenses which just means they have their own focussing motor. It's no big deal, there are tons of Nikon AF-S lenses to choose from. Plus good non-Nikon brands, as Sigma etc increased their range when the Nikon D40 and D60 turned out to be so popular, they put out new lenses for them. The very worst thing that can happen is when you have a non-AFS lens in the camera bag that you just HAVE to use and it's funny but the world doesn't actually crash and burn if you have to manual focus. And it makes no difference if you are doing macro shots with a non-AFS macro lens, as you would use manual focus in any case.

DWI have the same outfit (less the teleconverter/wide converter) for $870 new. It's personal choice, but I wouldn't pay the extra for a couple of no-brand converters. Be different if they were Nikon but I don't think those are. The D5000 is ver' nice, but as someone else said earlier, you'd probably be happier with a D90 in the longer term. The extra features are still there when the price is forgotten.

It's a huge question and problem. Look at the 'old' photos we treasure now, great grandparents weddings, their dogs in family portraits and so on. Nothing we are doing will 'last the same' for future generations unless they are stored carefully as good quality prints. Doesn't much happen though. Cheap quality prints have already proved a disaster, CDs and DVDs degrade within 20 years. Plus with new technology they will go the way of super-8 film - only retrievable by specialists, and at a high cost, so no-one bothers. As with recorded sound, new systems will always leave old storage methods behind and un-useable, even if the images stored on them have remained fairly okay. I think it is a sad and massive reality that so much good and meaningful photography will be lost. That's on a family scale, and possibly even more on the broader scale (like the 'street' stuff that JS looks at) - and present-day photography will be the only record in a hundred or so years of 'how it was'. What do we responsibly do: don't know. I think external hard drives are a better, safer storage than DVDs. Professional photographers could have better systems, but what happens when they retire and the business folds? I know I have no way of finding who my parent's wedding photographer was back in 1937, war-time, There does seem to be some responsibility on "all of us" to safeguard at least family and local community photography but no-one seems to have a clear idea of what to do that is simple, fool-proof and will last forever. Just for a mini examples, our flyball photos only go back six years. Already we have enquiries for 'old' photos of dogs that have passed, because the owners can't recover their shots of them. And I know people with children who have 'lost' all their baby and toddler photos in computer crashes and the like, how sad is that!! So - good question Earthdog, Short-term answers easy, long-term scary. .

It's a bull-ant - they have a mean bite (with the tail sting, not the pincers). This one was walking across the Puffing Billy line.

Er yes - that's what I said - I think I called them reinforced seat-belt slots.

Why not take the camera to ShutterBox when you are next in the city or close? Won't cost anything for a quick opinion: or only a little for a full service and quote. Is there a chance it might not be as severe as you think?

If you take your (accurate: 'measure twice, cut once' applies) measurements to a horse-rug maker or repairer in your area, they will quote to do a made-to-measure for you from light horse-rug fabric. Waterproof, polar-fleece lined, washable, reinforced seat-belt slots in the right place (your measurements).