If You Could Photograph Just One Thing...

[Jeff WX1USN]

I'd want to shoot raptors; birds of prey.
Snowy owls are what really excites me.
Eagles, hawks, falcons. I love to see them.
I just don't have opportunities for doing so without traveling,
which can be costly.

Either that, or with unlimited budget, astrophotography.
Costliness for this, of course, goes WAY up.

It's not affordable for me to dedicate myself to either of these pursuits.

Craig check out my flickr albums for the affordable Seestar scopes, the links are on this post below

I have added more images from both my S50 and S30 to my flickr album and started a separate album for the S30. So far I have done all my imaging from my light polluted home 300 feet from a major mall and 600 feet from a 24 hour factory. It is Bortle 7.5-8. Bortle is a system for telling how much light pollution your area has. My area is what is known as a transition zone, a cross between suburban and city skies. On dark nights I cannot see the milky way and can't see most constellations only the brighter stars.
Both the Seestar scopes do very well in light polluted areas.
There are dozens of youtube videos and several facebook sites for the Seestar scopes.

Here are my two albums

S50/S30 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmpadell/albums/72177720314620443

S30 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmpadell/albums/72177720323580754

As I told Levina my recommendation for you first scope should be the S50 as there are many more smaller targets than there are large targets. almost all galaxies and globular clusters are small even in the S50.

 

[ImageMaker]

you would think. i know a gal who was on the local hockey team's cheer team. i offered $50 for 45 minutes of shooting, just doing digitals (what agencies now call the images they use in their catalogs. MINIMAL make up, hair, plain white shirt and jeans and heels against a plain white background or very very lightly tinted gray background).

i was just wanting to put a couple of those type images in my portfolio so i could start looking for headshot clients (businesses, bankers, realtors etc).

Im so sorry Dave, I dont have any time.

really? over $50 and hour, you cant swing by for a dozen photographs? not on an afternoon after work, not on a saturday morning, not any time. id also asked a couple of other members of the cheer team if they wanted to do something similar or do some 'fashion' downtown at a couple of cool locations... nope. no time. theyve seen my IG stuff. theyve seen my stuff from the hockey games, and they even reach out to me and ask for photos at the games (other than what i normally would shoot of them)

ive not had any luck with Model Mayhem getting prospective models to respond. i dont know if most of them even go back on MM after signing up

I’ve never used MM. Full of flakes I hear. If you ask a young lady for a session, ask her to bring a friend. Make it part of the question. Good for safety - and the friend may want a session for herself too. No problem, but bring a friend… and so on. I never touch a female model. So the friend can help - shift hair or adjust clothing...

I don’t shoot under age folks unless at least one parent comes along.

 

[Levina]

I’ve never used MM. Full of flakes I hear. If you ask a young lady for a session, ask her to bring a friend. Make it part of the question. Good for safety - and the friend may want a session for herself too. No problem, but bring a friend… and so on. I never touch a female model. So the friend can help - shift hair or adjust clothing...

I don’t shoot under age folks unless at least one parent comes along.

Good advice. Sounds very sensible.

 

[Ltdave]

Good advice. Sounds very sensible.

I’ve never used MM. Full of flakes I hear. If you ask a young lady for a session, ask her to bring a friend. Make it part of the question. Good for safety - and the friend may want a session for herself too. No problem, but bring a friend… and so on. I never touch a female model. So the friend can help - shift hair or adjust clothing...

I don’t shoot under age folks unless at least one parent comes along.

yeah, MM certainly seems to be full of flaky models.

and yeah, ive shot enough models to know to never touch, unless i explain way in advance, "before i shoot anymore, can i adjust your hair on the side of your head just a touch, you have a few fly-aways" etc. i ALMOST had a model where i needed to reposition her arm, but i was able to demonstrate.

i shot a model last august who was laying on a bar in a wrap around dress. she had to keep adjusting it so i suggested she 'flip ends' where her feet and head were, so the dress would fall naturally across her legs and thighs and she wouldnt have to keep trying to stay modest.

i wont work with minors unless a parent is there. ive worked with a couple and one was ALMOST a nightmare, the other was working like she'd been modeling for years.

 

[CraigMcM]

How about a Seestar S30 or S50? Jeff talked about how good they are and how he uses them every clear night. His results with them are astonishing. And those Seestars are fairly reasonably priced too.



Here's Jeff's thread on astro equipment: https://focus-on-photography.net/th...y-equipment-and-techniques-and-questions.340/

Maybe an idea?

I'll probably look into those options soon. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[ImageMaker]

yeah, MM certainly seems to be full of flaky models.

and yeah, ive shot enough models to know to never touch, unless i explain way in advance, "before i shoot anymore, can i adjust your hair on the side of your head just a touch, you have a few fly-aways" etc. i ALMOST had a model where i needed to reposition her arm, but i was able to demonstrate.

i shot a model last august who was laying on a bar in a wrap around dress. she had to keep adjusting it so i suggested she 'flip ends' where her feet and head were, so the dress would fall naturally across her legs and thighs and she wouldnt have to keep trying to stay modest.

i wont work with minors unless a parent is there. ive worked with a couple and one was ALMOST a nightmare, the other was working like she'd been modeling for years.

Reminds me.... I gave a class to around 10 photographers on lighting, studio gear, working with and shooting models. Emphasizing never touch a model. Have a female assistant or have model bring a GF along. If the model needs to adjust clothing, for the photographer to turn away or around and check your camera. Anything but stare of the model adjusting clothing. Have the GF help if needed. If an embarrassing moment occurs, as a guy, you simply cannot laugh. The GF can share a laugh and correct. Not you.

I had a model with us (and yes she brought a friend) for the photographers to practice and shoot. We ended up doing years of shoots together. We shot alone sometimes as we knew & trusted each other well. She needed to pin some clothes behind her to tighten up for the shoot. I asked to help and did the pinning. She laughed & joked "Never touch the model". After years, she still remembered that sage advice. Be a pro, you will gain trust and respect of models & clients.

Female photographers simply don't have these challenges. That's the way it is.

"Uncompromising integrity and constant respect for the individual" - You just can't go very wrong with that philosophy.

 

[ImageMaker]

LOL Yes, that's such an annoying habit of them!

I've shot lightning bolts, but I would love to even see the northern lights, let alone shooting it.

A few. Birds for you

 

[Levina]

A few. Birds for you

A few. Birds for you

Thank you!

And they are excellent. I so wish we had hummingbirds here!

 

[ImageMaker]

Thank you!

And they are excellent. I so wish we had hummingbirds here!

We have a large number of Hummingbirds around our home in Arizona. And 10 feeders to keep them happy.

 

[Levina]

We have a large number of Hummingbirds around our home in Arizona. And 10 feeders to keep them happy.

Really? That sounds so nice. From what I read they are tiny birds with an attitude!

 

[ImageMaker]

Really? That sounds so nice. From what I read they are tiny birds with an attitude!

I’ve hand one fly into my home. I held out my finger and he landed on my finger. They are very smart and very social. I’ve hand fed them. Once they know they are not on your menu, they become your friend. I’ve had them come to my window - I’d look up from my desk and they’d wait for me to come out and feed them.

One had me follow them to their nest and showed me their family - two baby hummers. I went back and got my camera. Pics of the mommy feeding her family. I framed the photos up in my home.

Humming birds are a lot of fun. And weightless. You can’t feel their weight at all, just the little claws holding on to your finger.

 

[Levina]

I’ve hand one fly into my home. I held out my finger and he landed on my finger. They are very smart and very social. I’ve hand fed them. Once they know they are not on your menu, they become your friend. I’ve had them come to my window - I’d look up from my desk and they’d wait for me to come out and feed them.

One had me follow them to their nest and showed me their family - two baby hummers. I went back and got my camera. Pics of the mommy feeding her family. I framed the photos up in my home.

Humming birds are a lot of fun. And weightless. You can’t feel their weight at all, just the little claws holding on to your finger.

Sweet.

But I believe they can be very territorial around feeders, chasing away other hummingbirds.

 

[ImageMaker]

Sweet.

But I believe they can be very territorial around feeders, chasing away other hummingbirds.

Seems to me - In times of abundance yes. In times of need and shortage they share. It’s odd. Ive seen both behaviors over the years. Anna hummingbirds mostly where I live.