pj_in_oz's photostream  

A social scientist by trade, I play cricket and baseball in Newcastle, Australia, (for University) to stay out of trouble.

I have also lived in Holland (Rotterdam and Maastricht for 5 years), en praat een beetje nederlands nog steeds.

At present, a lot of my photography involves the sports I play ('attempt to play' is more like it, not a 'true' sportsman). I also like landscapes, nature and snapping anything else interesting pretty much if have a camera around! Who said sea gulls and magpies were the only opportunists!

I started getting back into photography in mid-2006, taking the plunge on a Canon EOS 30D (and EOS 30 film body). Since then, I have become occasionally known as "Joe the Cameraman" and sometimes 'paparazzi pest' around the Uni Seadragons (cricket) and Uni Camels (baseball).

See www.unibaseball.org for more on the Camels.

Over the past year, I have added bits and pieces and now have a suitable weight of back-killing camera gear (see list below).

In June (2007), as a result of the grounded ship here in Newcastle (see Pasha Bulker set), I started exploring greater post-processing of photos. I started by using just what Canon ships with the 30D, but I have now made the PhotoShop (PS) jump. It is amazing what tweaking levels and curves can do, and I now know that a true sado-masochistic relationship lies ahead with PS. These days, I primarily use Adobe Camera Raw to do as much of the editing as I can and only launch Photoshop for further tweaking if required.

I joined Flickr in July 2007 and have been amazed by the all of the great shots and PS work. It is so inspiring to see all of this stuff.

My camera kit includes:

* Canon EOS 30D (the 'Big Boy', heavy but rugged)

* Canon EOS 30 (35mm film body, love the sound-and-feel of the film advancing...digital cannot duplicate that)

* Canon PowerShot A720 IS
(This is my new 8mp compact camera as of Dec 2007. Some might call it big, but at only 6x zoom it is definitely far more portable than the Big Boy and takes a fairly decent photo, with the image stabilising a big help. A good zoomable movie mode and manual mode make it handy.)

* FujiFilm FinePix S5000 (my old camera, but more 'compact', showing its age in 3.1mp resolution, though)

* Canon 17-40mm f4/L (my new everyday lens...fantastic...noticable step up from the Tokina)

* Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS (my second new lens that rounds out my everday kit...very handy indoors and in the back garden plus taking great quality shots)

* Tokina 19-35mm (my old 'everyday' lens, which did quite well when you consider quality and price paid). This is now my backup lens.

* Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
(My new zoom lens. The higher quality glass and lens coatings means more shots are useful without further editing. This is especially so regarding flare and ghosting, which I was getting in my cricket shots with the 75-300 at the long end of the zoom range due to the whites of the uniforms.)

* Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DG
An equivalent to the classic 50mm lens on my 30D (1.6x crop factor). An ebay purchase in April 2008, I am loving its low-light capabilities and the bonus background blurring when wide open. It is a quick focuser and well built, unlike the Canon 50mm f/1.8 mk II.

* Canon 75-300mm IS (image stabilising is gold!).
My old zoom lens, I will probably get rid of it in the near future.

* Canon 35-80mm (A backup lens originally, I should really see about selling this now.)

* Sigma flash

Accessories:

Manfrotto 680B monopod (really need it for the 100-400 lens, which is quite heavy!)
Cokin P filter series mount (with Circular Polariser and Graduated Neutral Density filters)
Manfrotto 190b tripod
A hotshoe 2-way spirit level (great for landscapes)
Lenspen (one of the best $15 I spent...so handy for dusting the lens and removing smudges)
Gorillapod d-SLR (a lightweight tabletop tripod)
Two ball heads to use with the Gorillapod and monopod: a Manfrotto that can handle everything loaded up and a smaller Giotto for just the 30D and small lenses