AJRitz congrats on the win this week in FFL. We tried to bring the world together in song, but in the end, Reed's 53 yard bomb blew up in our faces.
Enjoy your bye week!![]()
they are going to need it week come down to see Vick and company![]()
We will be staying at the Contemporary from Dec 7th - 17th.
Afternoon gentleman. Was told to stop by and visit by a DIS Dad new friend. Just joined DIS boards a few months ago to do research for our DCL trip. needless to say I am hooked on DCL and plan on sticking around for a long time...I have nothing better to do than plan our next DCL trip.
One of these years we may actually make it down to Disneyworld for the family, but right now only 588 days until our next trip.![]()
Leaving for WDW in 6 days, cleaned the gutters and started putting the Christmas lights on the house. I loose the next 2 weekends at WDW, then Thanksgiving weekend I'm selling Goodfellow Newspapers for my Lions Club, followed with lots of busy weekends so I had to take advantage of the nice weather today here in S.E. MI plus it gets me in the Holiday Spirit since we're going to MVMCP twice while we're there, Osborne Lights, etc. Gotta go finish packing.....
Howdy All,
Just checking in. Been another busy weekend, but things should really calm down for a bit now. Ive got 40 days to finish getting prepped for our trip to The World and were all getting pretty antsy. Im starting my monthly 6 to 3 tomorrow, so Im actually grateful for the extra hour of sleep.
One more thing (and I swear this is the last Band Geek Post that Ill put up for a while (unless any of yall are foolish enough to comment on this one). As I said near the close of the last thread, our little HS Band went out and won themselves a second consecutive state championship. As is the rule around here: Pictures or it didnt happen., and a couple of you asked for a video. Well you did ask. Several folks have actually posted their version of the show and the link below goes to one of the best ones (When I get a copy of the official recording I may rip and post that, but this is good for now).
Like I said were all really proud of these kids and they were really smokin that night, but see what you think (note: the sound kicks in at about the 16 second mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edFuByxgmyM
I knew I was forgetting something...
Taaaa Daaah........I'm the ugly guy on the right
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I'm the one who should have a paper bag on...not you![]()
Yeah, ya gotta' watch what you let your two year old eat when you're holding him **rolls eyes**
edited:
Looked again...well, that my friends is sweat..![]()
Congrats! Glad to here that the business is starting to take off and that the folks were able to work with your schedule.
Id like to follow your example and see if I could make my hobbies pay for themselves, but first I need to figure out just what I want to be when I actually grow up (grow up... yah like thats gona happen).
You guys should be wearing your "Federal Agent" jacket and "Elected Official" badge. Those things are like FastPass Gold mines.I knew I was forgetting something...
Taaaa Daaah........I'm the ugly guy on the right
![]()
I'm the one who should have a paper bag on...not you![]()
I can't stop watching this play:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UIdI8khMkw&feature=player_embedded#!
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Don - it's something about it being a dry heat or whatever. Yeah, right. It still looks like BBQ sauce to me!Awesome!Fed - how could that be sweat? I mean... you were used to 130 degree temps... couldn't have been more than 90 that day
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I'm still not there yet. I just figured that I like taking pictures of people and stuff and people like what I shoot so if they want they can buy them off of me.![]()
I've got a camera question for you - and for anyone else that has an opinion. I have a Canon EOS XTi, and I'm looking at getting an external flash for it. I don't do any serious photo stuff - just vacation pictures, pictures of the kids, etc. Is it worth the extra $$ to get the Canon flashes (either the EX270 or the EX430) or will an off-brand work just as well?
You'll need an EX if you want to take advantage of the TTL (through the lens) metering that Canon's do automatically, but you can use other flashes as well. The on-brand flash will allow your camera to talk to the flash and set specific settings like flash power, zoom, timings, etc. Usually with an off-brand flash you need to do the work yourself. With a little practice, however, you will be able to do this in no time. You'll need to be careful with it so that you don't use a high voltage flash which can damage your camera. If you're concerned about a specific kind of flash you can usually ask a reputable dealer in your area. NOT Best Buy/Target/etc. Look for a Ritz camera or some other store that deals in SLR and dSLR cameras.
There are three factors to think about when buying a flash:
1) Guide Number (GN): Essentially how bright it can get and how well it can throw that light. It's found by multiplying the distance by the aperture at an ISO of 100 and still being able to get a perfectly exposed image. A 430EX-II has a "guide number" of 141 ft/43m at ISO 100. See that "43"? See the name "430EX-II"? There is no coincidence here.
2) Features:
Zoom: This is the ability to throw a flash over a long distance and is usually related to a lens zoom (80mm/200mm, etc). It comes into play when you're trying to use your flash to light a subject over a long distance. Motorized zoom features are nice to have.
Bounce: The ability to angle the head of the flash up to the ceiling or to a wall to get more even light distribution on a subject. Straight on (nekkid) flash usually leaves the subject looking bright and washed out. Bouncing the flash gives you something that appears to look more natural while increasing the amount of light in the image. Some flashes have a thing called a "bounce card" that allows you to bounce the flash off of the ceiling but angle some of the light forward for fill flash.
Swivel: Bounce the flash sideways.
3) Refresh time: Muy importante! This is the amount of time between shots when at full power. NIMH rechargable batteries tend to refresh faster than NICD or Alkaline.
There is a fourth thing to consider but that's only if you plan on using off-camera flash. I recommend getting one to start with before you go crazy.
If you want to save some money, you can buy used. Companies like B&H and Adorama have certified used departments, and some companies like KEH focus on certified used equipment.
Finally, a couple quick resources. The Stobist Blog and his lighting 101 series of posts is a must read for anyone who is curious about using flash photography and the many of the important lessons involved in utilizing off-camera flash.
I also strongly recommend this lighting course. It's $40 but I know the guy personally and it's a fantastic course in learning how to handle light and how and when to utilize flashes in a series of videos.
The wiki page on the Canon flash system is a great starter resource.
Anyway, there you go. If you'd like, you can also post this in the DISBoards Photography forum where a lot of people much smarter than I am can chime in as well.
Lastly, understand that some flashes control other flashes. The Canon 580EX-II, for instance, can control a 430EX-II, but not vice versa. They talk to eachother, and the camera, to create the best lit image possible. It's pretty neat in practice - my friend's videos show it with four 430EX-II flashes all controlled by a 580EX-II.
That gets my vote as the best and most complete answer to a question EVER. I may print this out for future reference.
Nicely done.
CLearScreen
You'll need an EX if you want to take advantage of the TTL (through the lens) metering that Canon's do automatically, but you can use other flashes as well. The on-brand flash will allow your camera to talk to the flash and set specific settings like flash power, zoom, timings, etc. Usually with an off-brand flash you need to do the work yourself. With a little practice, however, you will be able to do this in no time. You'll need to be careful with it so that you don't use a high voltage flash which can damage your camera. If you're concerned about a specific kind of flash you can usually ask a reputable dealer in your area. NOT Best Buy/Target/etc. Look for a Ritz camera or some other store that deals in SLR and dSLR cameras.
There are three factors to think about when buying a flash:
1) Guide Number (GN): Essentially how bright it can get and how well it can throw that light. It's found by multiplying the distance by the aperture at an ISO of 100 and still being able to get a perfectly exposed image. A 430EX-II has a "guide number" of 141 ft/43m at ISO 100. See that "43"? See the name "430EX-II"? There is no coincidence here.
2) Features:
Zoom: This is the ability to throw a flash over a long distance and is usually related to a lens zoom (80mm/200mm, etc). It comes into play when you're trying to use your flash to light a subject over a long distance. Motorized zoom features are nice to have.
Bounce: The ability to angle the head of the flash up to the ceiling or to a wall to get more even light distribution on a subject. Straight on (nekkid) flash usually leaves the subject looking bright and washed out. Bouncing the flash gives you something that appears to look more natural while increasing the amount of light in the image. Some flashes have a thing called a "bounce card" that allows you to bounce the flash off of the ceiling but angle some of the light forward for fill flash.
Swivel: Bounce the flash sideways.
3) Refresh time: Muy importante! This is the amount of time between shots when at full power. NIMH rechargable batteries tend to refresh faster than NICD or Alkaline.
There is a fourth thing to consider but that's only if you plan on using off-camera flash. I recommend getting one to start with before you go crazy.
If you want to save some money, you can buy used. Companies like B&H and Adorama have certified used departments, and some companies like KEH focus on certified used equipment.
Finally, a couple quick resources. The Stobist Blog and his lighting 101 series of posts is a must read for anyone who is curious about using flash photography and the many of the important lessons involved in utilizing off-camera flash.
I also strongly recommend this lighting course. It's a $40 series of videos by a guy I know personally and it's a fantastic course in learning how to handle light and how and when to utilize flashes.
The wiki page on the Canon flash system is a great starter resource.
Anyway, there you go. If you'd like, you can also post this in the DISBoards Photography forum where a lot of people much smarter than I am can chime in as well.
Lastly, understand that some flashes control other flashes. The Canon 580EX-II, for instance, can control a 430EX-II, but not vice versa. They talk to eachother, and the camera, to create the best lit image possible. It's pretty neat in practice - my friend's videos show it with four 430EX-II flashes all controlled by a 580EX-II.
That gets my vote as the best and most complete answer to a question EVER. I may print this out for future reference.
Nicely done.
CLearScreen
By the way, Ian, I wanted to say that your pictures on your website look great!
By the way, Ian, I wanted to say that your pictures on your website look great!
What is the address to Ian's website? I want to see!!! I am always looking for ways to take better pictures and learn.
anyone else put there christmas tree up this afternoon????cant wait for dw to come home from work and see her living room.
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anyone else put there christmas tree up this afternoon????cant wait for dw to come home from work and see her living room.
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