South Southwest...

I have put my album at Shoot & Tell Group on hold. This means I cannot upload any photos until I return to "active duty".

Still, the November theme - Light - can be so interesting and funny I can't resist to share a shot I took last Saturday, November 12th. It is a pity I can't participate on November Theme, but "on hold" is "on hold".

So, here it is my last shot for a while.

See you!

... and your ears... and your eyes...

Read more...

At last rain has left us... for now!
These are a few shots form Spring.
I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed taking the photos.

I'll be seeing you!
Orlando

Over the years I've been changing my photo gear, trying to improve my photographic skills.
Soon I found out that, regardless the camera you're shooting with, how good the photo will be depends on you, not on the camera. It needs talent. Either you've got it, or you don't. Very few times I think I've got it. Most of the time, I know I don't. But it really doesn't matter; the most important thing is to have fun while shooting.

Meet a few friends of mine...

Minolta Dynax 3xi.
My fist SLR camera. I thought it was excellent. It had Manual Mode and Program Mode. Of course I used it always in Program, like a compact camera... I sold it because of that! And I sold it to buy a ...







...Minolta X300 S
A full Manual camera. I bought a grip, and it got heavier, but had a 2,8 fps! It was superb... when I could figure out the correct exposure AND focus properly! But it was this one that made me addicted to photography. When I decided that was time to move on, I sold it to buy a...






... Nikon F50
It could have been a Canon. Or a Pentax. Or an Olympus. But no, it was a Nikon F50, because it was the only thing decent and available on the shop.
It was pretty. It was fast. It had the excellent metering system from Nikon. And it had the most horrible menu and buttons to press to choose settings, so I eventually sold it to buy a...





... Nikon F70
What can I say ? 3D Matrix metering, a fast motordrive of 3,2 fps (I think), sturdy, overall good quality, a lot of options to play with, fast and accurate AF, excellent shots...
But it was the end of an era, digital photography was coming, so I... kept this camera. I still got it! Maybe one day I'll try a few rolls again. And I bought a...







... Nikon D40
My first DSLR. A pleasure to use, even in Manual Mode. For a 6 mb it delivered excellent photos, and that's quite important when you're a amateur like me. It wasn't much different from the F70, except it was much, very much cheaper to play with. You see, no rolls of film being wasted... I sold it to a friend, so I could get a special promotion. And I bought a...








... Nikon D60
My current camera. So far, it fills all my photographic needs, and I still have a lot to learn from it. And I mean a lot! Together with 2 Sandisk 4 gb SD cards on a 2 weeks vacation, means 2000-2500 shots. Most of them are rubbish, but usually I got a couple of shots I'm happy with.
But I can't help to wonder, and I keep dreaming of...









... Nikon D3X
Yeah, yeah, keep dreaming on...










I'll be seeing you!
Orlando

I had to go to Lisbon, and I had a few hours to spare. What to do ?
I grab my camera and I took a few shots.
I hope you like it...



I'll be seeing you!
Orlando

All my friends know that photography is my favourite way to spend some time.
As I am starting to learn and I am at the very beginning of this adventure that is photography, sometime ago I decided to save some money and buy an inexpensive digital gear, keeping my old lenses from my analog gear.

The day I become a good photographer I will buy a proper camera, with one or two decent lenses.

But I keep wondering what would be like to shoot with this.


This costs as much as my car...
It is also a lot faster then my car!!! So it is a dream. Maybe one day...


And although I'm perfectly aware that the camera doesn't make the photographer, I keep wondering... and I felt I had to do something.

There! It is done! I shot my own camera and now I don't feel so bad... They are almost similar, don't you think?


This is my reality. I'm happy with it. And I'm also learning a lot with it.

For now, this will do. Maybe one day...


I'll be seeing you!
Orlando

A few days ago I was talking with a friend about photography.
At a certain point, my friend told me that our cameras lie. We look for the beautiful, and we don't see what's wrong. Well, he's right. Bot not totally. Sure, we look for the beautiful. But we see what's wrong. And I care. We care.

This is one of my favourite spots. How I see it. And how other people see it.














I'll be seeing you.
Orlando

A few days ago, in a comment to a beautiful post made by Follherbe, I told her something like "there is no such thing as bad weather". We've been having here a bit of rain. And wind. So, do I have the guts to take my camera into this bad weather ? Well, I got out. And these are just a few of the shots I took, it's a sample of the day. Tell me if it is worth to go into the rain and wind. I'm expecting your comments. Please, be gentle... The show is about to begin. We're waiting... Catching the wave Getting up Riding the wave Falling Gone Looking for waves Waves are getting stronger One last ride I've had enough Tomorrow is another day I'll be seeing you ! Orlando

Mud. Mud everywhere.


What the heck am I doing here, I wonder ? And the smell, can you imagine ?





The tide it's changing, and if I don't want to get my feet wet I better hurry, because I'm far away from my car, and the river rises in no time.





It seems I have a natural talent to scare away all animals I could possible want to photograph. But... this little fellow didn't fly away ! Either it's very brave, or totally deaf !!!





And these two ? I think they are just ignoring me... Hmmm...





Well, the sun is setting already. No luck today, not a decent photo was taken. Another day will come... I better go home !




I'll be seeing you !
Orlando

Hi!

Today I have no photos. I have a thought!
For me, photography is about feelings. Feelings concerning what we see, either good or bad, and that we try to share.
I would like to share this with you.
First, I saw the movie. I was amazed and fell in love with the story. Then, I got the music. Absolutely brilliant ! An now, this !

It's one of the best live concerts ever recorded. Look it up !
I'll be seeing you !
Orlando