Oh, I understand the expense part, LOL. The most important thing is that you enjoy what you're doing.

 

Chris, I've got the very same camera.

I bought my g/f a 7.0 megapixel Kodak Easyshare for Christmas from Staples for $130.

And my parents gave me a 8.0 Kodak Easyshare which takes a real nice shot.

 

the easy shares do take great shots.
Dont get me wrong. and i was not trying to be a ***** Chris. it is just me i guess i was never sugra coated on my stuff and i know it made me better then what i could be if i wasent told the truth. So i have made it a poitn to explain things to others so they knwo what to look for. and hope they get somethign out of it.

Dusty bird I wish i had a 800MM lens laying aroudn for myself to use LOL
what i do have right nwo that im useing is one of the first gen rebel digitals and one of the older 10 D cannons but it is about dead. it was the one i used all the time at work and has seen better days. But the rebel belive it or not is the same camera with a plastic body on it . as for the first gens go. Also do a serch for the canon hack on the internet. it will open up stuff on your camera that it has in common wth the 10D.
Like Mirror lock up this is great to have for long exp. and also great for protrait stuff where you need to worry about camera shake or tri pod shake from you trying to move it or click and run to ge tin the fram and some other nice things also.

But i will let yall in to a secret place for cheap cameras, lenses., and any other thing you can think of.

there is of course Ebay. and as long as your buying things like bags, filters etc.... things other then the body of a camera or the lenses them self they are a great cheap source.

But for lenses and also bodies etc.. used stuff can be gotten from
http://www.keh.com/onlinestore/home.aspx

this will get you to thier used dept. everythign is tested and also rated on use/abuse of the equipment. they are in Atlanta GA. so for you chris might be like 1-3days for the stuff to get to you. when we were in Montgomery Al. we would order it on monday and if before 3pm. it was there most days by noon on tues.
they are great to work with and as a pro. this was where me and the boss got our stuff.
if we were lookign for lenses etc... or even MEd. format type stuff like hasselblad.

Also for you dusty. there is a camera exchange here in San Antonio.
http://www.camerax.com/
and another one like it
http://www.arlingtoncamera.com/shop/

these are good folks also. i bought both the 10d and the rebel i shoot wit from them . and the bat. pack etc... very easy to work with. They are also the sister company to Andromida.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com

if you are looking for just things like filters etc.. i would say use Ebay tot eh fullest. mos tof the time if you are getting some thing that is Pro. quality and you can talk with them ask for a good photos of it. I bought several filters for like 3.00 from them.
Also if you really want to have fun go get your self a IR70 I think it is might be liek IR72.
It is a hya filter for infared really neat stuff.

Another thing to look in to if you like having fun and just want to have some really neat photos go look up a HOLGA camera. they make the neatest shots and are really cheap. and actually have a cult following with them over the "toy camera" that they are. but they shoot in a MED. format and can make soem really good photos in this format cheap.

If you are a die hard flim person get the 100'rolls of delta film from ilford. great grain quality and also very easy to work with. and good details.
AND you cna do this and get the roller and the reuseabel cans and do your own rolls in your home. in nothing more then a dark bathroom (I MEAN DARK!!!!) But you can save good money this way.
What i do is roll my own rolls of film and then i will do the devloping to make the film in to a negitive then i can scan it in to the putere and if i want a print i will print it or bu

 

Hey Mickey, since you're the official photo critiquer (is that a word?), would you give me your opinion on mine? https://montecarloforum.com/m_85401/mpage_1/key_/tm.htmBear in mind all of mine were taken while hand holding a SLOW 300mm and trying to dodge a happy lab pup that wanted to play.

 

here is a link for alens for ya also if you like sigma. and Eslave. http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-Sigma-APO-...QQcmdZViewItem

sigma are not a bad lens but i tend to stick with Cannon or tamaron lenses.

they have good glass and are rugged enough to carry in your bag etc...

 

ok have to do this in two post i think SO the first one are the org. photos. and please keep in mind im tierd.

But here we go

[IMG]local://upfiles/265/7A7362BC8B4A4D03AE473E47DD3AB808.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/265/C7E1D64D77FD4895B93E10BB70E99530.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/265/C8EBD5E1716147BCA3C527CD2697FC09.jpg[/IMG]

 

here is what i did.
unsharp mask this actually makes them less fuzzy and clears them up some.
also did a adj. on the colors some just enough to make it pop more (I hope LOL )
also croped a diffrent way to see if it would give a good angel also. (mor efor me then any thing LOL )

i havent check the color on this lap top so we are shooting in the dark here. but here are the re posted prints that were run threw photo shop CS2.


[IMG]local://upfiles/265/34B20ACDF5494B60B23E0DC4112BC422.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/265/199606BA4AAE4ADF96DF04151BBA1AE9.jpg[/IMG]

 

ok so i have to do it in three for some reason it dont like taking all three of the deone ones in one post.

[IMG]local://upfiles/265/D2CE313DC42D4159AF862375D6FF2B78.jpg[/IMG]

 

dusty i actually think they are all pretty good. there was one or two that were softer then the others but still a good shot.
The one of the bird on the ****** wire fence is a great shot BUT it has way to much clutter int he background.
in reality it would be the perfect canidate for going in to photo shop and useing the gassian blur on it and blur the backgroudn out even more. and also cutting it in to layers and making it darker in teh background. so that the bird sticks out more but also so you cna still see the nesting materials in the birds mouth also.


the branch comming in from the left was really nice. but some folks would say crop it out.

here is the rules i learnd for this stuff.
if it dont detract from the photo but makes it look nice then leave it in there. IF it is distracting them remove it.

as for the crop the rule of thirds is the one thing that the "tradinal" person looks for. I dont think that way i hate it actually it puts limits on you and the photo and there is no reason for it in most insitances. you can get away with it out of center eand make it more interasting.

below i have posted on of mine tha tyall can pick apart now that i have done it to you LOL
guess turn about is fair play.

this is at Ren lake in Il. i was on my way back to Al. with me and the kids in the New monte carlo and the sun was setting and i was looking for a place to le tthe kids run for a bit before i had to attempt to get them to sleep the rest of the trip so i could get back home.
this was taken with a red and a orange filter on the camera. to give it the right color.
Also thsi was taken with the digital rebel i have. and the stock wide angel lens that comes with the camera.
Enjoy .

 

opps for got the photo. Did i mention i ws tired. ?

[IMG]local://upfiles/265/24F092885A0F4C9EB47E037827688007.jpg[/IMG]