So....been a while since I darkened these here doors....but I'm still alive and well . I recently bought myself a new camera, a decent camera...a Canon EOS 450d DSLR. The camera came with a stock 18-55mm zoom lens which so far I've managed to just about get used to using and getting some relatively nice shots with it too. Here's a couple from a recent trip I took up to Loch Awe near Oban in Scotland. These are all of Kilchurn Castle which is situated on the lochside. I have to say that if any of you ever get the chance to get out that way then I'd recommend it to anyone, some of the views are spectacular...only wish I'd been a passenger in the car instead of the driver to appreciate them more. Anyway, yet again I find myself rambling so without further ado...here's some pics, I'll be adding to this thread when I get time to go out and take some more

Hi budman Welcome back. :) I love castles and your pics are beautiful. Thanks for sharing them. :)

amazing badman... looks great.. nice to see you again...

Nice shots and a fine choice in camera, same as I'm using....still trying to figure a few things out on it mind you lol not easy and a great deal of patience is needed...

was up at Oban the other week for some shots of the harbour and of The Foley.

Great shots Budman

nice to see you

An would like to congratulate you


HAPPY BIRTHDAY

enjoy the day today......

Amazing shots there, love the first one

Thanks for the encouragement and positive words folks, it's much appreciated . I managed to get a good shot of one of the foxes that visit my garden on a regular basis so I thought I'd let you see him. 2 versions of the shot, the first being the original photo and the 2nd being one that I changed to black and white and added a border to (which I prefer btw, more dramatic, lol). Thanks for looking

Beautiful shots, all of them. I've been using Canon DSLR's since they came out with the very first one, and have upgraded twice. The best one I have now does 16 megapixels but that's because of commercial usage need. Anyway, these cameras have been tough, reliable and have shot literally thousands and thousands of pics and not one has ever had to be sent in for repairs.

Have lots of fun with your new camera!

great shots love the castle and the fox is excellent hope to see more

At last he is sharing these pics. I think they are excellent.

nice work budman

Thanks folks Here's another few of my favourite model, and the wee man was in a posing mood too, lol. All taken with a 50mm prime lens, no zooming required. He was within 2 feet of me at times, almost thought he was wanting a pat on the head at one point, lol

Nice job as always mate , i'm getting a nice collection of you pics now.

great stuff. really nice shots. how you finding your new camera?

Thanks Akasha and HHRC. I'm enjoying the new camera thanks, took me a wee bit to get used to it but I'm getting there. I just need to work on my speed now, can't tell you how many decent shots I've missed or taken at the wrong ISO or exposure, lol. Practice makes perfect as they say though...and I'm certainly getting in a lot of practice. I've got the camera in my hand at every opportunity and I'm learning things every time I'm out and about with it. The 50mm lens I bought might have been cheap (Canon 50mm f1.8..only £80) but I'm impressed with the results so far

Beautiful pics great shots ,and yahave a beautiful model...




FYI: no more than 640px x 480px and 300KB please
and please start your own topic.
faerie

Cheers jdmk3. Took another couple of the fox the other day, caught him sleeping in his 'bed'...used to be a nice pampas grass plant but I suppose it's nice and cosy for the wee guy...anyways, here they are for you. Cropped them, converted them to contrasty black and white.

personally, and i say this from a professional stand point, don't be affraid to walk around with the camera in green mode. if you need a really quick shot, 90% of the time you will get something usable. Just use manual mode when you are setting up a shot. This is what i do, and i sell about 50% more pictures this way.

all the best

Such beautiful animals. Awesome shots you got. Look forward to seeing more. :)

hello budman, stunning pictures im saving for my first 450D with a 18-200mm. just wanted to ask if you used any programs to change the pics in anyway. thanks alot jamie

they are incredible pics. I can not believe the fox, how decent you must be people to let the wild animal to feel at your backyard so safe. He looks like he belong, however it sounds. More of that pics budman. Please.

I love the pics of the Castle, as a historian I'd love to visit that place :)

Thanks everyone for all your comments, they help me to know that I'm going in the right direction. Thanks for the tip HHRC, I've started using more of the modes on the camera now that I've got a semi-decent understanding of manual mode and how to set up a good exposure for the effect I'm after.
@ jamiemac, the only software I used on these shots were abobe camera raw and photoshop. I tend only to shoot in raw now unless I need the bigger burst rate from shooting jpegs, which is rare for me. Raw files are so much better for fixing up things that you might have got wrong when you took the picture like exposure or white balance. I usually add a slight curve and levels adjustment in photoshop and then crop if I need to ( which is almost always, composition needs work, lol) The last step is to give them a wee sharpen using whatever works best for the individual picture.

Here's some more shots for your comments and criticisms...feel free to leave either. As always the thumbnails are clickable

Just beyond the Rest and be Thankful in Scotland, just to prove we get at least one sunny day a year, LOL

Taken in an old abandoned, ruined house I found

Same house, think it's about time the cleaner got the sack

I actually walked up these stairs....to be greeted with a large hole in the floor, nice

The old organ just can't carry a tune no more

I opted against climbing in and trying these stairs for obvious reasons I think

HDR shot in the main door

b&w shot of a chair lying in a pile of rubbish around the back of the building

loved the one's of foxy bud.especially in his little bed.
last one's of the old abandoned house are very atmospheric, the chair one in particular stands out.keep um coming

Thanks crunchytop, comments and criticisms are always appreciated

Got a few more for you to have a gander at, mostly landscapes again taken over the past couple of weeks...taking advantage of the great Scottish sunshine!!! The boat shot was an HDR image, as were the first 2 castle images, tried to get them looking more realistic than surreal. I have more but I'll need to give them the once over before I post them. As always they are all clickable thumbnails. Comments, criticisms or thoughts appreciated, thanks for looking

Nice pics bud..I am going to print a couple and frame them for the lake house. :)

Thanks G, glad I could be of service

Lovely Pics Budman

Nice shots bro,

Thanks crazyfroggy and Jafiliya. Bought myself a new 60mm macro lens last week so I'm playing around with that at the moment, when I get a bit more time I'll add some more shots to the thread. Thanks for looking folks and thanks for the comments

Wauw .. Some very nice pics Mate .. Almost like its unreal ...

Cheers reaper silently, I tend to take multiple bracketed shots and merge them as a psuedo HDR shot, makes for a better exposure . Here's a couple of shots with my new macro lens, the first one ain't so good but I like the 2nd one even though I'm not a fan of arachnids. C + C appreciated as always

nice work m8...you wouldnt catch me so close to those lil beasties even with a camera!

Nice work bud.

Now I know you and spiders, so come on, home long is that lens you used?!

Cheers SatanicRider and dEV, I was close-ish to the beetle and the spider...fortunately the spider was dead though, LOL....the lens was a 60mm macro lens so I was within about 2 inches of both....and the spider still freaked me out, LMAO

Sir, I am impressed!

nice shots
castle looks beautiful.

Great pictures there! There's a fox interested in my back yard. Really great picture in the doorway there overlooking the water.

Thanks for all your comments folks, been a long, long time since I've posted on here (been too busy keeping Akasha entertained, lol ) so I thought I'd share a few pics with you. Let me know what you think of them....they're all clickable thumbnails as usual

I think they are just brilliant. :)