2 Days Til The World! - 2/10 With the snow comes an update!

[WillowBelle]

Just caught up Ann - gorgeous shots! I'm a fan of the Flamingo one as well .....when will we see more?

 

[annnewjerz]

Well?????? Still waiting for the pics!!!

Dave, you're killing me. Unfortunately, I have no pics to share. I have a shot of Fenway and the Cave Man from the Geico commercials and a few shots of the little kids playing hockey, but that's it for a few reasons. 1) We were sitting ground-level and couldn't see the ice, 2) it was FREEZING and 3) my lenses/camera were acting up after being out in below freezing temps for so many hours. Sorry to disappoint! If I find anything post-worthy, I'll let ya know.

Great shots Anne! Of everything, I'm most impressed with your 'eye' and how creative you make the shots! I'm jealous!!


- Robby

Thanks, Robby! I'm guessing you forgot to sign out of your DW's account when you posted this.

Ann, I love your photos! Great job! I hope you post more. Sorry to hear about your family's loss and that you had to cancel the last couple days of your vacation. Can you tell me a little more about the lens baby? Also did you get your 70-200VR from Keh or FM or???
I noticed you joined Flicker even though you have Smugmug. Is there any particular reason why you joined Flicker? Is it more of a 'community' type thing? I noticed that people comment on each others photos there and they also have some groups which have a message board type thing...

Thanks for stopping by! First, the Lensbaby. I don't really know what there is to tell---it was cheap, makes for some creative shots and really small, so I got it. On the other hand, it doesn't meter with the D90 and it does have a bit of a learning curve (that which I'm not sure I've mastered yet). I think it's something fun to have that can definitely inspire you if you're in a rut, but not something everyone will necessarily use much.

I got my 70-200 from a local seller on Nikonians.org. I have used their site for all of my selling so far and have always been happy. I was a little hesitant to buy since I was spending a relatively large amount of money on it, but lucked out and got an offer from someone in my state and was able to arrange a meet. It seems just like e-bay, people list their stuff, you typically pay through PayPal and there's always the chance you'll get ripped off, so I guess it takes a bit of trust.

I have had a Flickr since before I had a SmugMug, but just started using it more. I like the community aspect of it and that you can also see my EXIF for photos relatively easily if I link them to the boards, since I'm too lazy to copy and paste it with my shots. I haven't upgraded to a Pro account yet, but have been pretty happy with the free account so far. It's nice for getting constructive criticism, entering your photos into "groups" so you can share with a bunch of people who use the same gear/travel to the same places and they have Disney photo contest too, which are a lot of fun.

Just caught up Ann - gorgeous shots! I'm a fan of the Flamingo one as well .....when will we see more?

Thanks for popping in. I'll have my next batch of photos done juuuuuust as soon as you finish up your TR. In all seriousness, I have processed some more, just haven't had much motivation to get them posted. Been working crazy hours at the office and have just wanted to sleep once I get home. This is my last crazy week here, so hopefully I'll get some more up in February.

 

[WillowBelle]

Thanks for popping in. I'll have my next batch of photos done juuuuuust as soon as you finish up your TR.

Touche . Point made......does it make it better that I haven't processed a single picture from Christmas and have done ONE photo from an adults-only weekend in Gatlinburg TWO weekends ago?!

 

[annnewjerz]

Alright, everyone. I had a few more pics processed that I hadn't posted yet---so here they are. After this week, things at work should be slowing down a bit so I should have time to process some more. Thanks for lookin!

Clicking will take you to their Flickr.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Ann, I think I missed it earlier; which lensbaby did you get and would you get it again if you had to do it over again? I was looking at Amazon, and they have the Muse, Composer and 2.0. Their website (lensbaby) doesn't show the 2.0 anymore. It doesn't look like you can change the angle on that one??? BUt you can change the angle with the Muse and Composer. The Muse looks like a pain to use, and I don't think I would want to spend that much for the Composer. It sure looks like a fun lens though!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

One more question Ann, if you don't mind...You tried the 80-200 2.8 and bought the 70-200 2.8. I've been doing the dance of which to get. So I was wondering of you could help a gal out by posting your thoughts/opinions/observations on the difference between the 2 lenses and which you prefer. Thanks!

 

[annnewjerz]

Ann, I think I missed it earlier; which lensbaby did you get and would you get it again if you had to do it over again? I was looking at Amazon, and they have the Muse, Composer and 2.0. Their website (lensbaby) doesn't show the 2.0 anymore. It doesn't look like you can change the angle on that one??? BUt you can change the angle with the Muse and Composer. The Muse looks like a pain to use, and I don't think I would want to spend that much for the Composer. It sure looks like a fun lens though!

I got the Lensbaby 2.0 on Amazon for $70. I'm not sure what you mean by "angle"---but with the Lensbaby 2.0 you can pick where you want the focus to be in your frame. For example, if you tilt the lens up and to the left, the left upper corner of your frame will be in focus whereas the rest will be blurred. For the picture above (Flying Fish) the "focus" was on the sign, which is why the rest of the photo looks sort of dreamy. If I was to bend the Lensbaby so the focus was on the string of lights instead, they would be crisp and the rest of the photo would be blurred. Make sense?

For $70, it's hard to go wrong. I didn't want to pay that much for the Composer either---which is why I got the 2.0. If you decide you like the 2.0 and use the Lensbaby a lot, you can always upgrade to the Composer later. One of the main differences between the two is that with the Computer you can sort of lock onto where you want to focus. With the 2.0 you have to hold the Lensbaby just where you want it, because if you bend it to the left or right before you take the picture, your focus may be off.

One more question Ann, if you don't mind...You tried the 80-200 2.8 and bought the 70-200 2.8. I've been doing the dance of which to get. So I was wondering of you could help a gal out by posting your thoughts/opinions/observations on the difference between the 2 lenses and which you prefer. Thanks!

I can't really give you much of an review on both of these yet since I haven't gone out shooting with the 70-200 because of the cruddy weather---I plan to next time we have a nice day here in NJ. A few things of note right off the bat:

1) Obviously the 70-200 is significantly more expensive, especially new, but if you can find a gently used copy on Ebay, Nikonians, Nikon Cafe or Craigs List, I think it's worth paying a few hundred more for. Would I have paid almost $2,000 for the 70-200 over the 80-200 new? No, because I couldn't afford it. I got mine used for $1,200 locally and it's in wonderful condition with the case, tripod collar, caps, etc. If I was going to buy the 80-200, I'd probably buy it new because the used copies don't seem to go for much less, maybe like $200. If I was going to buy the 70-200 again, I'd look for a used copy because you can save uo tp $600-$700 off of the price new.

2) Weight wise, not much difference. The 70-200 weighs something like .75 pounds more but I couldn't even tell, both are big lenses, but not nearly as bad as I was expecting them to be.

3) As far as IQ, the 80-200 did an awesome job when I was shooting with it in Disney. Once I got to the 200 end, it became a little more necessary to stabilize it on something if I wasn't shooting as a fast enough shutter speed, but from the approx. 80-150 range it did great. If you don't think you can afford the 70-200 but are worried about the 80-200's lack of VR, I would get a monopod to use with it.

I hope that helped at least a little for now. Once I have the chance to go out and really shoot with it, I'll give you a more detailed review of what I like, or maybe even don't like about the 70-200.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Thanks for your reviews of the lenses. I saw the video on the lensbaby page that shows the person picking up the lens with their fingers while holding the camera, and changing the direction that the lens would face. I guess like you said, that changes where the in focus sections would be. I was wondering if it was a pain in the rear to do it. It looked uncomfortable in the video. I wondered if movement was a problem when I saw the video. (shaky hands, etc.)
I look forward to your reviews and pictures from the 70-200vr! OMG! $1200 is a steal! I still see people trying to get $1800 for it used!

 

[annnewjerz]

I look forward to your reviews and pictures from the 70-200vr! OMG! $1200 is a steal! I still see people trying to get $1800 for it used!

If you aren't registered at Nikonians.org yet, I would register (it costs like $25 for a year or something). You can find tons of people there in their "I Want to Sell" forum listing their 70-200's used for the $1400 price range, and obviously sometimes lower because that's where I found mine for $1200.

 

[RBennett]

Thanks, Robby! I'm guessing you forgot to sign out of your DW's account when you posted this.

That would be correct! When I am at work I stay logged on under my name, but I forget that when I am at home she posts under hers! It's too much of a pain for us to sign out each time we swap the laptop. But back to my comment, if you have any tips on how to develop someone's "creative" eye I would be all ears!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

If you aren't registered at Nikonians.org yet, I would register (it costs like $25 for a year or something). You can find tons of people there in their "I Want to Sell" forum listing their 70-200's used for the $1400 price range, and obviously sometimes lower because that's where I found mine for $1200.

Thank you Ann, I think I will join Nikonians.

 

[annnewjerz]

Alright everyone, thanks to the MASSIVE amounts of snow we have been getting over the past two weeks, I have found some time to process some more shots from our trip in December. I don't think I've posted any of these yet and if I have, my apologies.

 

[DznyFan]

wonderful, Ann!! I love them!

 

[Suburbanmom]

Nice. Nice. Nice. You have become quite the good photographer. I love the misty stream shooting out of the elephant's truck at the BW pool.

 

[annnewjerz]

wonderful, Ann!! I love them!

Thanks!

Nice. Nice. Nice. You have become quite the good photographer. I love the misty stream shooting out of the elephant's truck at the BW pool.

Well shucks, Amy...thanks! I'd like to think that I'm improving, but with so many people that are just beyond great so it's hard to think of mine as anything but crap.

 

[WillowBelle]

Love the Dory shot! Great capture of the CM's face!

 

[NLD]

Definitely not crap!!!!!!!

Love the BW pool also, and the Finding Nemo shot.

 

[Evad]

Very nice Ann!! Keep them coming.