The Digital Camera scene

Geeee its been a month since I last posted anything about digital cameras/photos…..
for me.. yeah Ive been continuing to shoot… but have not much to show for it.. guess its a dry spell or something… though I did WIN a photo contest yesterday… a North Shore one sponsored by the paper in Grand Marais.. I understand my photo will be in the paper (and they printed another of my shots there already to kickoff the contest!)… and it will also be on the front page of some north shore tourism guide for this year….. so thats kind of kewl…..
anyway… thought I would update you guys on digital cameras… heres a couple that I decided to “focus” on because they are either water proof or at least water resistant… something nice to have when your fishing…
Pentax Optio 33WR
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Pentax/pentax_optio33wr.asp
Sony Cybershot DSC-U60 (can survive up to 5′ underwater!)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dscu60.asp
there are of course many more options out there these days… lots of really small compact ones… lots of much larger more powerful ones… some new ones in the digital SLR “wars” including the new Nikon D70 which looks pretty exciting……
well.. even though I dont really have much to show photo wise for the last month.. heres a couple you might like….

been doing the “barn thang” lately…. heres another…

course Ive tried to keep my hand into wildlife as well…

aint this lil guy smug?

then… heres the “frustrating” part of wildlife photography… I should have a blooper gallery… if I hadnt tossed them all I could have quite a list… but this one was particularly frustrating…. talk about camera shy!
(this is one good reason Im very seriously jumping into gear with both feet and getting a full blown pro level camera like the newly announced Canon 1D MkII, which among a huge list of impressive stats can also shoot at 8 frames per second with a 40 shot buffer! If I do that.. Im gonna have to turn “pro” and start earning some money at this)…

A challenge I say. Enough maybe to get me off my lazy ars.
I may accepet your challenge…………We’ll see

sure Suzuki!… can be a “challenge”…
Im currently entered into 2 challenges… and 3 POTD contests, and one regular photo contest…
we just have to decide what the subject of the challenge is…. a photo of the “PUP” cooking sheepies? nope.. guess we CANT do that.. this is a “family” site.. they wouldnt let us post them for voting….. hmmmmmmm what to do….

Im still working hard at getting better… and I know enough not to brag up my abilities much… and thats because daily I see the work of the big name pros and the advanced amatures… Ive still a lot to learn.. though Im learning fast…..
if your interested in a bit of learning… check out this link…
http://www.rmsp.com
check out the john shaw lecture coming here april 3-4… Im going to be attending that, he is a celebrated and exceptional nature photographer.. Im sure I will learn a lot… I also bought these 2 books and they are really great….
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817435425/qid=1079665645/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-2373765-5706323?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817440593/ref=pd_sim_books_3/104-2373765-5706323?v=glance&s=books
you cant go wrong reading these 2 books if your interested in nature photography… and birds specifically as well….

Great shot of the pheasant. These have been my favorite bird of all time. My grandfather used to raise them for a hobby.

Years ago while fishing on the train bridge along Hwy. X on Lake Wissota, my brother, friend of mine and me had our pictures taken by some guy for a tourist magazine. The pictures were great along the summer sun set. I wish I would have found that damn magazine…….

Rivereyes: I have wanted to buy a digital camera for some time to use in the boat and for work related small presentations to a client. Both cameras seem nice to me, but I focus on the price because the technical info means nothing to me. If the Pentex or sony is purchased what else is needed to print pictures at home? Can you get me on track?
George

Hi D man…

the kind of printer you need depends on if you have a computer or not… your life is probably made easier by having a computer… and… geeeee… what am I talking about… logic tells me that you MUST have a computer.. or else how you getting on here? duh….

well… since you have a computer….. Id just run down to best buy or compusa and check out what kind of photo printers they have on hand… there are LOTS of options… and a decent one can be had these days without spending a HUGE amount… but heres the TRICK with printers…. the printer may NOT cost much… but wait till you start buying INK and PAPER….. there are lots of places out there that are willing to process prints for you… even some online ones that Ive done well with…. for example….

http://www.clubphoto.com

they just ran a special for 17 cents a print.. you just upload your stuff, and tell em what you want printed.. and voila… here it comes in the mail as easy as you please…. no printers to buy, no ink… nothing….

on the other hand.. I happen to know the personal satisfaction and excitement of printing my own pix…. so thats what I do… but for SURE its NOT the cheapest option…… just the most fun….

For very cheap ink I have been going to http://www.printpal.com/ for the last year. The ink works just fine for what I print.

Dave Gulczinski

Thanks Guys