Zippy's Picture Thread

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Hung out with Casey today to celebrate it. Got some new shots.

More to come.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0144-1.jpg

[Ryans323i]

Chillin, baby gangster style! Love it, great pic.

[mov]

He's probably thinking about taking apart a ZHP and putting it back together again (lol)! Nice photo Boss!

[billschusteriv]

Awesome! Happy birthday Zippy!

[danewilson77]

That's a great pic Boss.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Smilez]

3 months already. I remember that one thread like it was yesterday. :D

[tripod06]

that baby right there is already a super star. the little one is looking amazing!

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Thanks, guys. Only thing I would have done differently is wipe the drool off his chin. Hehe.

[Ryans323i]

That just confirms his ZHP dream'n.

[Alphatek45]

Thanks, guys. Only thing I would have done differently is wipe the drool off his chin. Hehe.

Lol. My daughter is 7 months today. Drool ruins 9/10 photos. seriously.
Great picture.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Good to know, Adam. Maybe he needs a chin bib. Hehe.

Ryan, correct. He's dreaming of ZHPs -- or animal crackers. :biggrin

[billschusteriv]

Lol. My daughter is 7 months today. Drool ruins 9/10 photos. seriously.
Great picture.


Good to know, Adam. Maybe he needs a chin bib. Hehe.

Depending on what you're going for, I've found runny noses may also not be desirable.

http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad185/bill_schuster/imagesCA0J0BZ7.jpg

:biggrin

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Ohh, will definitely try to avoid that, Bill.

And here are the rest of the shots -- except these were done by Casey Withers, photographer in San Diego (who many of you know):


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/ZippyMonth3050.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/ZippyMonth3029.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/ZippyMonth3012.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/ZippyMonth3044.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/ZippyMonth3002.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/ZippyMonth3065.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/ZippyMonth3058.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/ZippyMonth3085.jpg


You should follow Casey Withers (C Withers Media) at his Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/C-Withers-Media/114804655257811

[billschusteriv]

Very nice - all great shots!

The B&W (3029), 3044, 3002, and 3085 all jumped right out at me...

[danewilson77]

No pink polo!!!!!!

Great pics Boss.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Don't think I didn't think about it, DW.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Still busy out there getting to know my camera:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0165.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0171.jpg

[danewilson77]

DId you piss Zippy off in that second one? Priceless!

[Marcus-SanDiego]

No. But it was nice to capture his mood change (even though he didn't really have a mood change). :biggrin

[danewilson77]

No. But it was nice to capture his mood change (even though he didn't really have a mood change). :biggrin

LOL....good stuff.

[static667]

Great photos, Marcus. That's one good looking boy you have there.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Thanks, Kyle. We're happy that he's not an ogre. :biggrin

[Marcus-SanDiego]

I'm just going to use this thread for all of Zippy's pictures.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0234.jpg

[Oli77]

Good times! Thanks for sharing boss. That's one happy looking family.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0229.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0212.jpg

[danewilson77]

^lol....killin me!

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Good times! Thanks for sharing boss. That's one happy looking family.

Thanks, Oli. Just learning how to shoot with my camera, so don't be surprised to see a bunch of these during the next year.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

^lol....killin me!

Hehe.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0273.jpg


Wait for it...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0263.jpg

[C Withers Media]

Mark, you are doing it right. Keep up the great work.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Thanks, Casey. I shoot every day. In the house. Outside. Harsh light conditions. Perfect light conditions.

I shoot in full manual, too, which allows me to get really familiar with my tools.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

My little lamb this morning:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0293.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0289.jpg

[billschusteriv]

Nice work, Marcus. It looks like you are a natural. I think it helps knowing what you like to see and capture. Being a dad, I always recognize those moments... but regrettably I'm not holding a camera most of those times.

I like the shots on the stairs... you've got the background out of focus and the subjects in focus - give you a nice backdrop. I learned at a photo group meeting that you can obtain this effect zoomed in fully with a 70-210mm. How did you do this? What did you use?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

This week I am shooting with nothing but my Nikon 35mm 1.8. The exact stats on those recent pictures is: f/1.8, 800 ISO, shutter of 1/800 (the baby is in a moving swing). Making very minor (really minor) tweaks in Lightroom (just to give me what I'm looking for).

It really helps that I have Casey mentoring me. I pick his brain every night. He'll look at my photos and tell what I can do to improve them. He tells me what's right and what's wrong. He's a great teacher.

[billschusteriv]

Awesome! Thanks for the insight, Marcus.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

As for the stair shots, I just looked at the one where Mark is looking up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/MAM_0273.jpg


That was shot at f/1.8, 640 ISO, 1/2000th.

[danewilson77]

Great pics Boss.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Thanks, dw.


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[johnrando]

Great pics Boss.

+1

[danewilson77]

Thanks, dw.


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De nada

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Definitely my most favorite picture that I've taken so far. Baby was in between feedings. I call this "intermission."

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6183/6098798101_c61b672819_z.jpg

[C Withers Media]

So....I teach you a little bit, and then you put me out of business? Great shot Mark, I know guys who have had superior dSLRs to yours for quite some time and aren't getting that kind of quality. Even more impressive is that when I ask you why used a particular angle or way of lighting, you can explain it to justify your process.

[johnrando]

Knowing that's between feedings, the look on his face is priceless. Made me lol.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

So....I teach you a little bit, and then you put me out of business? Great shot Mark, I know guys who have had superior dSLRs to yours for quite some time and aren't getting that kind of quality. Even more impressive is that when I ask you why used a particular angle or way of lighting, you can explain it to justify your process.

Casey, I appreciate the amount of feedback you give me on a regular basis, pal.

Guys, you have no idea how much Casey helps me. It's almost daily. There are also plenty of quizzes, too. Casey always wants to know why I did a particular thing. Even if I don't have a good reason, he'll tell me why a particular picture is "technically" correct or incorrect.

Yesterday I was at Casey's house, where I got a tutorial based on the work I've done during the first ten days of camera ownership.

I'm looking forward to implementing what I learned yesterday. I shoot every day so I will be working on stuff today.

Thanks again, Casey.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Knowing that's between feedings, the look on his face is priceless. Made me lol.

Hehe. I try.

[danewilson77]

Great pic Boss.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Playing with some more black and whites this morning.

The following two pictures really capture the essence of parenthood during the infant months. Literally from one minute to the next. Pictures taken one minute apart (got lucky with the timing):

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6194/6103222573_81f685aae2_b.jpg



http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6197/6103770064_2e4c233c3a_b.jpg

[danewilson77]

LMAO!!!!!

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Must be some kind of infant thing. In the infant bylaws, there are rules that say you must keep your parents on their toes.

This kid is a real stickler for rules.

[billschusteriv]

Hehe... these are awesome shots Marcus.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

In keeping with my black and white theme, here is another one:


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6203/6103966876_0d849436c0_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57060358@N04/6103966876/)
50mm f/1.4 Nikkor (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57060358@N04/6103966876/) by ZHP_Mafia (http://www.flickr.com/people/57060358@N04/), on Flickr

[wsmeyer]

Wow. That is a great picture

[danewilson77]

In keeping with my black and white theme, here is another one:


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6203/6103966876_0d849436c0_b.jpg

All I can say is, "Casey who....?"

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Haha. That's funny, DW.

The more I learn about photography, the more impressed I become with Casey. There is not a single accidental shot in the man's bag. And his post-processing work is outstanding.

I appreciate the compliments, though (William and Dane, thanks for the comments!). And don't worry about giving me some constructive criticism. I can handle that, too.

I've been shooting for all of two weeks. I know I'm a scrub. LOL.

[johnrando]

That last one is "ooooh"... great shot. Love how close up and intimate it is.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

John, thanks for adding me as a contact on Flickr. You'll be able to follow my progress from there.

I think the progression will go something like this:

scrub>sucky>meh>decent>pretty good>you can haz a camera.

I'll never get to Casey's level. He's a pro. I'll always be a hobbyist.

I appreciate the "ooooh," though. :biggrin

[C Withers Media]

Wow. That is a great picture


All I can say is, "Casey who....?"


That last one is "ooooh"... great shot. Love how close up and intimate it is.

+1

[danewilson77]

+1

Lol....just playing. You still be da king in my book.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Lol....just playing. You still be da king in my book.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

:chuck

On a more serious note, you will not see me doing Anne Geddes ripoffs.

I know someone who does that stuff. It's just funny. The last one I saw included leaves. The baby was on the ground with leaves thrown on top of him. Looked like a Toro or Snapper commercial for lawnmowers that come with bags so the leaves don't go all over the place. The photographer charges something like $200 for that setup.

Sad that people think the "photographer" is worth that much.

Anyhow, that's my rant. Casey hears this rant everyday when I see him. Hehe.


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[C Withers Media]

:chuck



The photographer charges something like $200 for that setup.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


wait....she charges for that crap......OH man....did my rates just go up.

[danewilson77]

wait....she charges for that crap......OH man....did my rates just go up.

:rofl

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Marcus-SanDiego]

wait....she charges for that crap......OH man....did my rates just go up.

No fricken kidding. I've been trying to tell you that. She's unreal.

Here's the one I'm referring to:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/295707_2412355468116_1228158945_32964108_7876939_n .jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/marcussandiego/291943_2373183808849_1228158945_32910588_2497867_n .jpg

It looks like something a Great Dane would leave behind. A couple of turds.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Zippy's cousin:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6181/6105092778_ca588c4d9f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57060358@N04/6105092778/)
Scarlett playing hoops -- 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57060358@N04/6105092778/) by ZHP_Mafia (http://www.flickr.com/people/57060358@N04/), on Flickr

[danewilson77]

Zippy's cousin:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6181/6105092778_ca588c4d9f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57060358@N04/6105092778/)
Scarlett playing hoops -- 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57060358@N04/6105092778/) by ZHP_Mafia (http://www.flickr.com/people/57060358@N04/), on Flickr

Lol...

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[billschusteriv]

Hehehe.... someone get that girl a teether! My daughter would be doing (and does) the exact same thing....


scrub>sucky>meh>decent>pretty good>you can haz a camera.

:rofl

That is hilarious Marcus... I'm still struggling to get into the scrub category. I think there may be a "huh.. What the.. " or similar below that.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Regarding the teether, nice. I didn't even realize she was chewing on the rim when I took that shot. I noticed it during the edit process. I laughed out loud.

The key for me, Bill, is that I learned as much as I could before I ever picked up the camera. Then, when I was ready to shoot, I asked Casey to put some of the things I had learned into practical usage. Casey then revealed some of his secrets to me (stuff that would have kept me behind for a year). Then I just started shooting.

I try to shoot every day. I'm coming up on 1,000 pictures now. There is no substitute for just getting out there and using the camera. Because I shoot in manual, it's been imperative that I shoot each day. I'm getting faster and faster at adjusting my settings on the fly.

My tip of the day, then, is this: practice, practice, practice.

[C Withers Media]

Mark..ISO 640. I see what you did there.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Mark..ISO 640. I see what you did there.

Gee, I wonder where I learned that? Hehe.

[wsmeyer]

Mark..ISO 640. I see what you did there.

I'm curious why you chose that. 1.8/640/2000 seems like an odd choice to me

Please enlighten me!

[C Withers Media]

1.8 keeps a shallow depth of field and keeps the 1.4 lense sharper than if he were shooting wide open, ISO 640 let's more light in, 1/2000th of a second freezes the jerky, unpredictable motions that infants and toddlers can make...

I totally see why he made those choices and based on the outcome of the photo, they look to have been spot on.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Casey, thanks for getting to this.

Yes, the baby was moving around like crazy. I needed more light (sun was setting quickly). And I still wanted to shoot wide open so that I could isolate her.

[wsmeyer]

Your camera has a much higher pixel density than anything I've shot with but 1/2000 seems higher than what I would expect to freeze the motion of a baby. If I were shooting that at 1.8 I'd be worried about missing focus. I used a DOF calculator and guessed the shooting distance of 2 feet and that yields a focus range of 1.2" which means if Zippy moves more than .6" forward or backwards in the time between you camera focusing and taking the picture you'll miss the shot.

If you look closely at the picture that's exactly what happened, your wife's lower lip is where the focus plane is - in front of Zippy's face.

William.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Wait. Which picture are you referring to, William? We might be talking about something else.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

William, I was referring to this one (I'm using a black and white one here; same stats for the color version):

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6085/6105920771_56c96b4f0d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/zhpmafia/6105920771/)
Scarlett Teething on Hoop in B&W -- 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor (http://www.flickr.com/photos/zhpmafia/6105920771/) by ZHP_Mafia (http://www.flickr.com/people/zhpmafia/), on Flickr

But are you referring to another one in my Flickr account?

[wsmeyer]

No, that one's perfect. I thought we were talking about post 36 which is the only one I saw that you posted all the settings.

William.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Ahh, we were just having a little miscommunication, William.

I agree with you on that one. You're exactly right. I think I had been shooting for all of three days when I took that one. Haha. I didn't know geometry from telepathy. :biggrin

It was a bad angle by me. I've learned more since that was taken about 10 days ago.