Yes, I understand that, Bill, but according to the brackets on my camera when the photo was snapped, the foot was what the camera focused on. The OLY is quite strange when in auto mode focusing on the oddest things. I was snapping this on the fly, and it was late with a low light setting, so things weren't at the optimum for the photo. According to the specs, shutter speed was 1/10th ... dang you're good!!

Thanks for the feedback.

Cher

A few sunset shots I got while downtown last weekend:

but focus is simply a function/measurement of distance, nothing else. the bracket only confirms that it has locked in on a figure a certain distance away. you don't focus on a "shoe," you focus on a "thing" that is (example) 6'6" away from the plane that the image is captured on and everything in the shot 6'6" from will also be in focus.

with "depth of field/depth of focus" factored in, if you are using a smaller aperture/lens opening/f-stop and a normal focal length lens, you might have say (example only) between 6'3" and 7'0" "in focus" (if you are focused on that shoe 6'6" away), depth of field is slightly "back heavy." the larger the aperture setting (the smaller the number, say f3.5), the smaller "depth of field/depth of focus." the smaller the opening (say f11) the larger the area is in focus. the focal length of the lens also influences "depth of field/depth of focus" the longer the focal legnth the shallower the depth of field (ie: you will have a larger area in focus w/an 8mm lens @ f4.0 than you will have w/a 20mm lens at the same setting).

hope that helps...

Here are some photos I took of a very interesting building I came across---





















I have many more photos of this place--nary an inch of the exterior of three sides of the building were without something tacked up on them----I had to come back later and add a comment--the thought just occured to me regarding the photo of the "Slow...Children" sign that was shot up--I guess those kids were too darn slow!!!!

Bill, please continue posting. That's the main reason I post photos. I like that folks enjoy looking at them, but I'm always looking to learn from others who know so much more than me. I'm still very new at this photography thing and have lots to learn. Now that I have an SLR, I need to spend more time with it learning the ins and outs of manual settings. It's just that I love the "instant gratification" of digital. Plus I don't worry about wasting money on film, and I'm lazy at times as well.

I'd say one of the best things I've learned from my digi is to NOT trash anything until I get home and get them uploaded. I never know what I'll like or not like. Some things that I think are great end up being disappointments while others that I think won't be worth keeping end up being just that ... keepers.

Thanks again for the crits/help.

Oh, and here's what a poster on the CJ forum interpreted from this photo:

"Those are two of the hottest stocks going, CROX and AAPL. Both are the ultimate consumer products at the moment. Very interesting juxtoposition of the blurred figure w/ the hand-made sign. Somehow I suspect he's oblivious to it."

That's when I know a photo's pretty good ... when it is not only pleasing to look at but tells a good story as well.

Cher

I LOVE stumbling across buildings like that!! Great photos ... did you do any post processing on them? I like the 'antiquy' look to them.

What is it? Can you guess?



It looked familiar when I snapped it. I had it figured out before I uploaded last night's shots.

Thanks for looking,
Cher

the rail/bracket from a theatre or stadium type seat?

Good guess ... but nope. However, Linford might recognize what it is.

Okay - it's the inside of a grand piano ... hence the Linford clue.

Cher

A tribute to Tippi:

Taken with the OLY SP-550UZ:


Hitchcock3

Thanks for looking!

Cher

Cher--I am glad you like the photos of the buidling--I did do some editing on them--using Picasa--I have gotten Photoshop Elements but have not done a thing with it yet----here are a few more pics from recent days---the ones of the moth---I have this very old neon beer sign for a long gone beer called "Old Dutch" --it has an interesting story to it---the man who owned my parent's lake house was an electrician and he made neon signs---there were some of the ghosts of them hanging in the attic---this was the only one to work and I have two transformers running it. He made it and it used to hang in a beer hall in a long gone amusement park located at Indian Lake called "Sandy Beach Amusement Park" long before King's Island was around--I figure the sign has to be around 60 years old--it's at least 50 years old anyway--It is kind of fun to have given it new life!!! (The park closed in the 1970s and was torn down in 1980)

---I had the sign going in the front window and the moth must have been attracted to the light--it was there all day--when I finally turned the neon sign off in the wee hours of the morning-it took off---

I also have some pics of the fireworks out over the lake on Saturday night---as I feared---thanks to being on a boat--it was rocking and rolling---so I could not zoom in very tightly---there was simply too much movement and blurring-----

I like them anyway though---























This last pic is of a hot air balloon that went over on Saturday afternoon

Cher asked to see what I am doing with my lake house--in these pics--first of the front of it-then inside--I show the walls I have done in the "living room" of a decorative technique called "Elephant Skin" which is a high quality tissue paper applied to the walls and worked out to push out air bubbles and such but leaving the folds of the crinkled paper--color is added--in this case a deep gold from Sherwin-Williams, then a mix of black and brown Aqua Color paint mixed with extenders and such (these are specialty products) to give the wall an aged appearance then coated over with a protective final coat.

The other pic is of my kitchen that I painted with two colors of glazing that are ragged on and off-- I am going to do one last wall in the kitchen in that technique and the rest of the main area done in the elephant skin---the cottage is small--only 900 sq feet--but its a nice little place to spend time in the summer----

I have gone through this entire thread from beginning to end---in just over the year that this has been in existence--so many have posted some really incredible photos---

I really think that we ought to put together a little book featuring some of the many examples of those photos---we certainly do have some very talented photographers on this site----

Thanks to everyone who posted up their great pics---and let's keep them coming---I just hope my contributions compare to those of the rest of you---

You'll LOVE Australia Trudes!!

Thanks for sharing your before and afters!

Taken with the OLY SP-550UZ:


Alley Songs - Snack Cakes
This is as is out of the camera. No PSing this lens flare.

My tribute to Tippi:


Hitchcock3


721-3

Thanks, for looking!
Cher

Here are a few shots from my most recent trip to India. It's been a while since I've posted any pics on here, so apologies in advance if I screw it up!

And a few more now since I eventually got that previous group posted correctly...

Michael, I have saved some of those long distance fireworks shots for my desktop wallpaper folder, as I have done for several of the beautiful photos displayed in this and other threads.
BTW...I really love that elephant skin wall treatment. Nice job.
Thanks again all.
Not only can I view fabulous art, here, I get to see scenery from places I've never been.
The best of what's around.

Very, very nice! I LOVE this thread. It is great to see what others are photographing for sure.

Cher

cool photos, steve. one thing i love about photography is you get to see things you generally wouldn't. i guess that's pretty simple.
and mike, you've got some good ones in there too!!

Great photos from India--that is a place I hope to see one of these days--and I would love to get to Oz too!!!!

Keep the great photos coming Apples!!!!!!

My 1st Holga shot

Okay, so it's not the best; it's not even all that good, but I like it. The neat thing with Holga's seems to be that you're never sure just what/how the photo will turn out. Each one is different due to the amount of light that seeps in, if the camera's been modified and so on. This is a photo of the photo after I had matted and framed it. I opted to shoot 12 6"x6" photos rather than the 6"x4" format.


Wagon

I have lots of getting used to when it comes to the Holga, but hey, a gal's gotta start someplace!

It is B&W and was taken with a Holga 120N; 120 B&W film. Looks like I'll be investing in a decent scanner soon as well.

Thanks for looking!

Cher

I saw Michael's house of signs and stuff, and remembered a similar one I came across last month in Missouri:




This is an outtake from the blog on my Myspace about my trip

I bought a Canon 30D last week. It is basically the 20D with racing stripes and a spoiler, but it does have a couple new features I wanted to check out.

To test it's mirror lock-up and noise reduction I did a number of long-exposure tests down at the river. This is a 10 second exposure at 9:30 at night.

I hope the good state of Misery treated you fine! Next time you're in our neck of the woods swing on by...

I must say, I thoroughly enjoy your photography.

That is a great photo Jeffrey--I need to take some time and start playing around with the manual settings on my camera--but I guess I am spoiled by the "simple" mode thus far!!!

I have to say to Cher---I don't know what a Holga is--I guess that is a kind of camera---you are definitely serious about taking photos Cher---it looks like I am getting the photo bug too--and will have to follow in your footsteps and those of everyone else on here---the photo you took with the camera was great Cher--

Some from today:

Taken with the OLY SP-550UZ:


Telephone2


Vino2


Midsummer Day6


Memorial Bridge2


George Rogers Clark Memorial2

Thanks for looking!

Cher

Some B&W from today.

Taken with the OLY SP-550UZ:


Co-op2


Flip Flops2


Jones3


Jones4


Launderama3

My nephew's hunting dog, Pete who's been around for quite a while.

Taken with the OLY SP-550UZ:







Thanks for looking!
Cher

Thanks for the good words, man. Yes, Missouri treated me just fine. I had a very enjoyable trip. I was in Columbia shooting a book for the University of Missouri. In addition to the usual shots of student activities and such, I got to go up on some rooftops for some scenic campus shots and also up in the big bell tower on top of the student union building.



Occasionally I get to see some of these hidden behind-the-scene things. I really enjoy it because I know it is such a rare treat. Some people can work at this university for decades and not see the things I did.

Of course, I did have to lug all my gear up these steps



Whew!

Just as long as there was no gun amongst your gear!

Great photos, Jeffrey.

Cher

Ha! Yeah, great. Now when somebody types 'campus' 'shots' 'student' and 'bell tower' in a search engine they are going to get dropped right here. Nice. Didn't think of that.

And I really like your black & white stuff, Cher! I hope the search-engine weirdos like them too

i was walking lilly tonight and we took a shortcut behind a shopping center near my house. what is kind of interesting about these pics is that they were taken about a hundred feet from each other, just across the alley behind the shopping center...

Cher, I love the close-ups of the dog.

Taken with the OLY SP-550UZ:


Alley Songs - Heartache1

Thanks for looking!
Cher

Thanks, Trudes!

From Weds. evening:

Taken with the OLY SP-550UZ set on sunset mode:


Sunset7

This is downtown Vincennes near the George Rogers Clark Memorial and Memorial Bridge which crosses over the Wabash River to IL.

Taken with the OLY in auto mode:


Night Lights2

Thanks for looking!
Cher

Been busy the last week or so--so I have not been taking many photos--but here are some of my latest taken today (Saturday, July 21) at Indian Lake. There was an annual gathering of classic boats, mostly wood ones. The event gets larger each year--glad to see so many wonderful old watercraft still in operation--

First-I headed out on the lake over to where the event was being held--





Some of the more "modern boats"

And for one of the more classic boats---I voted for "Jack" as best boat in show--this is an incredible 1929 Chris-Craft--

To conclude this tour of nostalgia lane--a few random shots:











This is a rather recently constructed canoe---very lovely too













One of the bigger boats underway after the show had ended

Well-I forgot that I took the following set of photos on Thursday night as the front came through that broke the back, for now, of the heat and humidity for many parts of the Eastern US---we had some dramatic skies and I thought sure as heck it was going to storm--but it soon passed:

First looking at the clouds out over the water





Then out over the soybean fields







Close ups of the "beauty of soybeans!"





Some more sky scenes over both the fields and water











Sunset and our neighbors (the Turkey Vultures) who nest on an island over on the other side of the pond get ready to return to the roost

Thanx to Socal for the marvvy pix of India!

On the way to Indy for the Cowboy Junkies concert, I stopped to pick up a few melons for them. This little roadside stand was also selling honey that was made by the bees that pollinate their melon fields. Since tomorrow is my dad's birthday, and he loves comb honey, I picked up a jar for him. Better than any old WalMart gift card.


Watermelon Honey4


Watermelon Honey9


Watermelon Honey7

Thanks for looking!

Cher

Walk with me?


Infinity

Taken with the OLY SP-550UZ.

Stand by Me...

I got some nice shots of the July full moon over west central Ohio:

Cher--I love the photos of the honey jar--it looks like it is alive or something--- certainly a golden elixir!! and I also love the photo of the desolate train tracks!!!

There are SO many great photos here. Thanks to EVERYONE for posting and sharing.

From today:















All taken with the OLY SP-550UZ.

Thanks for looking.

Cher

Cher-after reading all about the Olympus SP-550UZ in the August 07 edition of DIGITAL Photographer Magazine--I am jealous!!!! LOL

As usual--I love your photos--here are some of my latest ones taken in recent days---