Canon 20D

“Ok...upgraded to the Canon 20D and bought a new lens Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS "L"...so had to test it out.

1/8000 of a second..woooohooooo!

”

“I see you like it :-D That lens is an awesome lens as well!

that first shot is awesome, humming birds are fun little animals

yes, that 1/8000 sec feature is nice..you can even catch bullets with ease.
”

“I never wanted to catch a bullet...LOL! :p”

“Damn you Michael...j/k! Congrats on the new gear!”

“Hey WW - how you finding the IS on that lens? I hear it's a little hefty to handhold anyway.”

“nice shot ww! Very clear and sharp! Thanks”

“Y2...it is heavier than my 300mm f/4!
But the IS...works great and it is an extremely sharp lens. Canon did a great job with the upgrades to the sensor in the 20D...I was shooting indoors on ISO 1600 at 1/30 of a second (70mm) and the photos came out nice and crisp. ISO 1600 looked like a snow storm on my D-Reb.”

“hehe.. how you like digic2 ww.. instant on!”

“I love that!!!”

“Phil's son, that looks like a 1911 you're shooting in that photo. Am I correct? how do you like it? Who made it? How is it's accuracy?

My first real handgun was a Para Ordnance 1911, but I had a hard time controlling it. I finally settled on the SIG P229, in 9mm, which I can control much better, and seems to be a lot better built and more accurate gun. (in my hands anyway).

Wind Walker, I'm tickled for you in regards to your new camera and lens combination. I'm excited to see what images you make next. It's always fun to get new toys. I sometimes find myself just wanting to get back to basics, taking out the Mamiya 645 (manual) and a spot meter, loaded up with Velvia, just to rely on my wits for a bit to stay sharp. It also reminds me how much I love the look of a print made from a larger negative. Perhaps one day I'll have a digital camera body that measures up to the 20D, and I'll forget all about my old film cameras.”

“After the arts and crafts fair in Squaw Valley I headed up to Kings Canyon since I was three fourths of the way there and hung around til sunset. :)”

“Man, I love the silhouettes in front of the clouds, you got some great texture in that photo.”

“Ok, now you're just show'n off!! : )”

“yeah he is!! Show-off!!! ;)”

“That's a great shot WW..... I rarely hang someone else's stuff on my own walls, but that one I'd make an exception with.”

“I can just visualize the grin on your face when you were shooting that!!!

Nice work!”

“From ear to ear Phil!”

“hobbit:

its a colt 1991a1 basically a 1911 but with a firing pin block safety. It is a great handgun always works, goes where I point it.

you cant go wrong with sigs. and in truth, guns are like cars, a whole lot of personal preference.”

“Wind Walker, have you done any portrait work with your new toy? How does it handle skin tones? One of my biggest fears of switching to digital is the moire effect and pasty looking skin tones that I've seen in some people's work. We used the D70S for the first time this weekend for some portraits, and so far I think I'm going to be happy with the results.”

“Hobbit I haven't used the 20D for any people portraits yet. I did some with the Digital Rebel though...


My daughter Kasia wanted me to do some casual Senior portraits.



My wife Leslie.





Kasia and Nathan- two of my three kids

You can tell I like to play with the soft focus filters ;)”

“Great stuff, as usual, WW. Ever thought about publishing a book of photos. Man, you've already posted enough quality pics to put one together just from what I've seen on TT...
last edited: 10/03/05 8:07:39 AM”

“hey WW...where are the soft focus filter? In Photoshop???

BTW: Nice Pictures!
Your daugther got a polish name?! [My friend is polish...and her name is Kasia]
last edited: 10/03/05 8:43:08 AM”

“Gem....oops I got caught looking under your costume. ;)
The soft focus filters are a photoshop plug-in. I bought the plug-in at Fred Miranda's site for $8.50

Not sure if Kasia is a Polish name...we were just looking for something different...found it in a baby name book.
last edited: 10/03/05 9:03:43 AM”

“$8.50 huh? great price for such a great filter...must download. Thanks for the link! I know that site, but I guess I have never looked for a filter like that. Now that I have my camera...well it's a different story.

Kasia..I always liked that name.”

“Nice family pics!

Now you have to come down for a visit to get some pics of Josh with your 20D! If you do get down here we will have to give you the grand tour of the school!!”

“Great stuff Wind Walker. I usually screw on a warm black pro-mist #1 for formal portrait stuff. I've been looking for a digital equivalent. Thanks for the link.”

“Congrats on the new camera! I whine every few days 'cause the 20D costs less than I paid for the 10D, but then I get over it. Not much fun sittin' around saying 'poor me.'

And great photos. I love the hummingbird caught in flight.”