Hi from Alameda County! - Page 2

Lilikoi the cat · 02-19-2010, 03:15 PM

Joan,
It is easy.
Use the 6 fps and shoot until you hit the buffer. ;-)
Just put the camera on high or medium speed and shoot away but pick your focus point wisely or put the lens on manual focus which is probably the best. Especially if it is a pan shot. Practice panning and focusing on cars driving by on the street. You can keep your finger on the manual focus on the lens and when the camera picks up the bird/car flip the lens to manual and then the lens won't hunt for focus if you take the point off of the bird.

jcambray · 02-19-2010, 03:25 PM

Manual focus while panning...easy for you to say, I'm still working on push the shutter release, don't just let mouth hang open and say"oh wow, look at that!." No really, good tip, I have been using autofocus and often completely lose the bird. I'll try panning on manual focus with cars - they are even bigger than pelicans! But on my street, they're a lot faster too.

Lilikoi the cat · 02-19-2010, 03:31 PM

Not as fast as the Blue Angels from Treasure Island.
Depending on where the switch is on your lens it may just take a flip once the camera grabs the bird in focus. If you can "pinch" the lens focusing mechanism along with a non-moving part of the lens barrel then you can damp your motion so you won't throw it too far out of focus. I have put tape on it also so as not to change my focus point either.

Killjoy · 02-19-2010, 03:35 PM

You can also try shooting with the aperture closed down a little more so you have a bigger depth of field.
Instead of shooting with your lenses wide open, try shooting at f/8 or f/11.

Sure it's nice to get a sharp shot of a bird with all the background blurry, but work on getting the bird sharp, then start backing the aperture open once you get more experience.

jcambray · 02-19-2010, 03:39 PM

Thanks much, Kevin and Alan! I'm really looking forward to going shooting with you guys.

Lilikoi the cat · 02-19-2010, 05:16 PM

I guess you don't know me

lvolkjr · 02-20-2010, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killjoy

That was the idea (volunteering the boat). Gas money would be greatly appreciated.
It is however, still in it's winterized condition.
I break it out around the middle of March, first part of April.

So much for the boat ride.

He puts it out there and then takes it away.

Joan, again I'll let you decide on the time since your coming the farthest away. The earlier, the better we can bad mouth Alan before he gets there.

Killjoy · 02-20-2010, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lvolkjr

So much for the boat ride.

He puts it out there and then takes it away.

The point I was trying to make is that I will be MORE than happy to take you guys out once I get it ready for the boating season.
My insurance only covers certain months for operation.

Quote:

Joan, again I'll let you decide on the time since your coming the farthest away. The earlier, the better we can bad mouth Alan before he gets there.

That's it! I'm having the wife drop off the kid that day. I'll be there first!

jcambray · 02-20-2010, 08:38 AM

Ok then - 8 am it is at Panera on 2/26 but I'll probably be there earlier because I'm not sure how to judge the traffic at that time (as if one ever could...).

So Kevin, I'm confused. With that photo, are you saying you're a drip? A Geni in a bottle? Fixated on the tops of Chinese emperor's hats? Drank too much Nyquil? ....

Killjoy · 02-20-2010, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcambray

Ok then - 8 am it is at Panera on 2/26 but I'll probably be there earlier because I'm not sure how to judge the traffic at that time (as if one ever could...).

At least you'll be going against traffic.

Quote:

So Kevin, I'm confused. With that photo, are you saying you're a drip?

ROFLMAO

Lilikoi the cat · 02-20-2010, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killjoy

...
That's it! I'm having the wife drop off the kid that day. I'll be there first!

Now you can sit there and talk about yourself with your other personality

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcambray

So Kevin, I'm confused. With that photo, are you saying you're a drip? A Geni in a bottle? Fixated on the tops of Chinese emperor's hats? Drank too much Nyquil? ....

Yes

,yes

,no

and it should not take you more than 45 minutes from Ptown. Thirty minutes freeway time should do it.

I will not be at the breakfast and will give one of you a call. It might be fairly windy that day.

Is the plan to go on the bridge? There is no parking on the Martinez side, you would have to cross the bridge and then park on the Benicia side. There is a dedicated parking lot there and it is a shorter walk.
38.049511,-122.129359

I know there is no close place to park on the Martinez end not to mention a 1.5 mile uphill walk.

Ahh! · 02-21-2010, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcambray

Ahh, thanks for the explanation. We have 3 black labs, so that's got to make me some kind of lab rat, right?

Thanks for the lab report, and welcome from Frisco.

Nice bear! Nice bear!

windrivermaiden · 02-21-2010, 05:08 PM

secretly wishing she lived in No cal right now. I want a posse to go and shoot with. :-)

lvolkjr · 02-21-2010, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilikoi the cat

Is the plan to go on the bridge? There is no parking on the Martinez side, you would have to cross the bridge and then park on the Benicia side. There is a dedicated parking lot there and it is a shorter walk.
38.049511,-122.129359

I know there is no close place to park on the Martinez end not to mention a 1.5 mile uphill walk.

Yes, the plan is to walk across the bridge. This is something Alan and I had discussed a while back.

It's not that I don't trust you Kevin, but I'll go scout around this week to get some reconnaissance. No, I take that back, I don't trust you.

Killjoy · 02-21-2010, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lvolkjr

It's not that I don't trust you Kevin, but I'll go scout around this week to get some reconnaissance. No, I take that back, I don't trust you.

You're learning Lowell. You're learning.

Lilikoi the cat · 02-21-2010, 07:06 PM

38.025957,-122.11448
That is the entrance to the walkway on the South end of the bridge which makes it a 3/4 mile walk to get over the water. I was specifically looking for somewhere to park to see if there were birds here, 38.026546,-122.111891
I looked at the walkway and parking situation. On the South end the parking is here, 38.027347,-122.113046 which would be another ~1000' to get to the entrance at the South end.

I'll bring both of your suicide notes for when you fall off the bridge :-P,
Joan and I will split your goodies because you both left a note saying so.

I don't know if you can find it Lowell. It is in Martinez you know. Why don't you investigate the Shell Oil museum too. Oh, that is in Martinez too.

Lilikoi the cat · 02-22-2010, 05:15 PM

Did you see this post? Landscape and night sky seminar 4/1 7:30pm in Walnut Creek.
post27227

jcambray · 02-22-2010, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilikoi the cat

I'll bring both of your suicide notes for when you fall off the bridge :-P,
Joan and I will split your goodies because you both left a note saying so.

Ooooo, maybe we can test just how waterproof the memory card slot is on a Canon!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilikoi the cat

Did you see this post? Landscape and night sky seminar 4/1 7:30pm in Walnut Creek.
post27227

Thanks much for thinking of me. We're going to be in Los Osos 4/1-4, so I can't make it. Maybe they will hold another seminar, in say, Southern Alameda County?!?! Hey, it could happen.

Lilikoi the cat · 02-22-2010, 05:54 PM

Enjoy your trip.

Killjoy · 02-22-2010, 07:12 PM

Well Boys and Girls, the extended weather forcast calls for rain for Friday.

You know what that means, right? Lowell's wife will have the day off because it'll be too wet to shoot.

Stay tuned. We'll keep up with the weather reports and see what happens.

lvolkjr · 02-22-2010, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilikoi the cat

38.025957,-122.11448
That is the entrance to the walkway on the South end of the bridge which makes it a 3/4 mile walk to get over the water. I was specifically looking for somewhere to park to see if there were birds here, 38.026546,-122.111891
I looked at the walkway and parking situation. On the South end the parking is here, 38.027347,-122.113046 which would be another ~1000' to get to the entrance at the South end.

If we are going to do the bridge we are going to need bikes or be up for a long hike. I'm up for anything. Alan, he is actually telling the truth.

I went down there today. Those coordinates are dead on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilikoi the cat

Did you see this post? Landscape and night sky seminar 4/1 7:30pm in Walnut Creek.
post27227

April 1st your not going to get me on that one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcambray

Ooooo, maybe we can test just how waterproof the memory card slot is on a Canon!

Your going to have to pry it out of my cold dead hands.

lvolkjr · 02-22-2010, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killjoy

Well Boys and Girls, the extended weather forcast calls for rain for Friday.

You know what that means, right? Lowell's wife will have the day off because it'll be too wet to shoot.

Stay tuned. We'll keep up with the weather reports and see what happens.

That's just my freaking luck.

Lilikoi the cat · 02-22-2010, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lvolkjr

April 1st your not going to get me on that one.

Your going to have to pry it out of my cold dead hands.

I guess you are not going to that one?
Cold, dead hands? Noooooo problemo. Two in the head and one in the chest,LOL most of us shoot with Canons

Killjoy · 02-23-2010, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilikoi the cat

I guess you are not going to that one?
Cold, dead hands? Noooooo problemo. Two in the head and one in the chest,LOL most of us shoot with Canons

Hey! It's even in my signature.

Lilikoi the cat · 02-23-2010, 08:21 AM

Joan,
since you said something about it being easier to learn visually I had come across Adobe TV and Julianne Kost from Adobe awhile ago. Here are quite a few Lightroom programs, I hope you have a cable modem for internet.

From the Adobe website.
http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html

jcambray · 02-23-2010, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lilikoi the cat

Joan,
since you said something about it being easier to learn visually I had come across Adobe TV and Julianne Kost from Adobe awhile ago. Here are quite a few Lightroom programs, I hope you have a cable modem for internet.

From the Adobe website.
http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html

Wow, that is way cool!!!

And it's free - woohoo! Thanks Kevin!

Well, if we can't shoot Friday, there's always

Lilikoi the cat · 02-23-2010, 11:53 AM

Lush ;-)
Indoor and shiny.
Blackhawk auto museum. $10 10-5pm and a lot closer to you.

Killjoy · 02-23-2010, 12:17 PM

We were already talking about meeting at The Willows, so why not El Torito?
Yeah, no shooting, but shooters!

lvolkjr · 02-23-2010, 10:58 PM

I'm easy, but I'm not cheap. Where have I heard that one?

jcambray · 02-24-2010, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killjoy

We were already talking about meeting at The Willows, so why not El Torito?
Yeah, no shooting, but shooters!

Doesn't have to be either or - we could shoot and shoot!

Assuming the weather is bad and we're on Plan B, we could shoot somewhere indoors and then have lunch at El Torito or somewhere else. Or vice versa - a beer might just improve my photography! Kevin's suggestion of the Blackhawk auto museum works for me. Or there's always the Lindsey Wildlife Museum - unless you guys have worn that one out. Or someplace else?