Testing my great new CAMERA!!

[Ginger]

Yay, John just got me a great new gift...a Canon Digital SLR camera!! I'm so happy! It's an EOS 20D, apparently it's the best out there in it's class right now. He also got me a great zoom lens to go with it. He figured since I liked to take so many pictures ALL the time, I'd appreciate a good camera. What a great guy!

Now I just have to learn to use it... Think I'm going to take a night course or something to learn properly. We took a short venture into the city today so I took a couple practice photos, but they didn't turn out too great because a) it was really foggy out, and b) I just had it on auto-everything because I don't know how to use it yet.

Here's my little man in Stanley Park:



and here's my bigger man "on the catwalk"... :p



here's my little lady taking a look at the seals in the park:



some trees that will look nice soon when the blossoms come out:



Kelsey and I in front of the City:



and finally the Lion's Gate Bridge coming through the fog:



Anyway, just thought I'd share.

[Irlandesa]

Beautiful pictures - looks like you are having some great weather!

[mckinzie]

Nice pics Ginger. Wait to you learn how to use it. It's time for me to get serious about photography.

[Manitou]

Congrats, Leasa! What a wonderful gift! John is a helluva guy!

You are going to have so much fun with that new Canon. What a wonderful new experience you are about to discover. The world of digital slr photography is so much fun.

Here's a wonderful website for photography I think you might like. Covers a wide variety of photographic interests:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/

Once again, congrats and keep posting new photos!

[Jacko]

Great pics, Ginger! What a beautiful place you live in!

[tommy]

Originally Posted by Ginger

Anyway, just thought I'd share.

loved this one Ginger...Nice Cam!

[Manitou]

BTW, might not want to take the 20D on the Fat Cat, at least if you think it will be returned when left behind.

[Ginger]

Ha ha, Russ, no I don't think I'll be taking this one on the Fat Cat! (or any where else near the water, for that matter).

thanks everyone for your comments, and thanks Russ for the link I will check that out. I really am looking forward to learning how to use it properly and taking some great photos. I have already been talking about some of the other lenses available, and now John's getting worried ("I've created a monster!" he's thinking..$$$)

[cuffedlinks]

Originally Posted by Ginger

Ha ha, Russ, no I don't think I'll be taking this one on the Fat Cat! (or any where else near the water, for that matter).

THAT'S what ebay is for...picking up those good deals on a used digital camera for the beach, etc....
And Leasa, with your eye and talent - you'll be taking posting some AWESOME pics soon enough...Have fun !!

[sctx]

damn, I shoulda kept the old camera huh???????

[Manitou]

Originally Posted by Ginger

I have already been talking about some of the other lenses available, and now John's getting worried ("I've created a monster!" he's thinking..$$$)

Here's a couple that will make John a bit nervous:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

I took this photo with Nikon's 70-200mm f/2.8 lens a week ago in Rocky Mountain National Park:

You really do get what you pay for with glass. Photoshop only does so much to "improve" a photo. Just depends on what you are going to use it for.

My goal is to venture into sports photography after my teaching career is over which just so happens to coincide with Hannah graduating from high school in 3 more years. I've been slowly upgrading my "stuff" and shooting her soccer games as I prefer outside photography to indoor. She now has 4 seasons of high school soccer and 3 seasons of club soccer left before we make a go of it "professionally." In the meantime, I just shoot as much as I can during the day and read at night!

Here's a very nice book about photography that is a nice starting point for helping you understand what results can be achieved given certain camera settings; exposure, white balance, etc:

Reader's Digest Complete Photography Manual: A Practical Guide to Improving Your Photography
by Ailsa McWhinnie, Reader's Digest Assocation

Shoot a ton, Leasa and experiment with all the features of that 20D.

Say, "Hi" to John and tell him I said it's a great gift!!

[traci]

Originally Posted by sun seekers

loved this one Ginger...Nice Cam!

I agree SS...I loved this one, too! They were all great, and BTW John would make a great model! Kelsey is as beautiful as ever, and Jordan looks great(that kid has a bigger than life personality;i think he'll be the Jim Carey of his day!)Thanks for sharing!

PS(gonna miss you in Playa next week! )

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by Manitou

Here's a couple that will make John a bit nervous:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

The one John picked up for me is:
Canon EFS 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM.

Now, I'm not going to pretend to know if that is a good one or not! However, looking at the two you mentioned I see they run a couple hundred bucks more each lens than the one John got me, although this one wasn't cheap either. Wow, how much did my man spend??!!

Russ, that is a beautiful photo. I hope one day to be able to take such great photos!

I wish you all the best in your venture into photography, I'm sure you will do great, and I think its awesome that you are following a dream. I, too, LOVE photography, and have always been held back by the technology of my camera, which is why John bought this for me. He knows how excited I get when I see the potential for a great shot (and how many times I've made him stop the car for one! ).

Thanks for the book idea, I think I'll head out this afternoon and check out Chapters. I'll definately say hi to John for ya'!

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by tntsmith

I agree SS...I loved this one, too! They were all great, and BTW John would make a great model! Kelsey is as beautiful as ever, and Jordan looks great(that kid has a bigger than life personality;i think he'll be the Jim Carey of his day!)Thanks for sharing!

PS(gonna miss you in Playa next week! )

Thanks, Traci! It's funny you say that about Jorden, that is exactly how his teacher describes him at school! She told me to go read about how Jim Carey was as a child and I would be surprised at the similarities between him and my evervescent son! The hardest part about that is that there are always those people that just don't get him, and clash with that big, loud, attention-grabbing personality.

PS: (wish I was gonna be there too, I'm jealous!!)

[MoonDance]

Originally Posted by Ginger

Thanks, Traci! It's funny you say that about Jorden, that is exactly how his teacher describes him at school! She told me to go read about how Jim Carey was as a child and I would be surprised at the similarities between him and my evervescent son! The hardest part about that is that there are always those people that just don't get him, and clash with that big, loud, attention-grabbing personality.

PS: (wish I was gonna be there too, I'm jealous!!)

I just had to respond to your comment that some people just "don't get" your son. I could write volumes & have read volumes about raising a spirited child (& mine happens to be strong willed as well). Those wonderful qualities you see in your child can change the world. Celebrate that he has a personality & will not simply be running with the pack. The qualities in my son that conflict with his rigid teacher will serve him well as an adult - but it's going to make school challenging. Sorry to ramble...

I loved the pic of Lion's Gate bridge too. Fog's burning off again this morning.