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Novice photography info http://fugitiverecovery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=11462	Page 1 of 2

Author:	DMARTZ [ Tue 23 Nov 2010 18:47 ]
Post subject:	Novice photography info
I have been asked over and over how i get long distance photos. It use to be your 300mm lens was all that was needed but with more and more open ground or farmlands the 300mm isn't enough. Now if you happened to have unlimited funds like Bill & Scott you can just go buy a $20000 lens but for those of us that haven't made it to the top yet your answer would be a Telescope or Spotting scope with a camera adapter on a tri pod. you won't beleve how long you can stay at one place with a hard hat and vest and never be questioned. I use this set up alot and it has never failrd to produce the long range photos that i get for workmans comp cases. I have used this set up at the lake out of my boat several times. I am giving out way to much information this week i am going to be out of a job

Author:	speezack [ Sun 19 Dec 2010 10:32 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
DMARTZ wrote: Now if you happened to have unlimited funds like Bill & Scott<<deleted>> I just happened to read this older post... allow me to respond to the smart azz Dave..................... Oh sure...................... I am on Medicare, get SS and a small pittance of a retirement from UPS... I write probably 5 bonds a month and they're all under $2500... nothing I have is paid for, including my dogs, my boat, my house, my wife, my motorcycles, my computers, my cars, my clothes, my guns, my fax machines... all is financed with Billy Bob's Loan Sharkin' in Dundas, I have to charge my meals at Mildreds and she is calling me daily to see when I get my check... and when is she going to get her check... I have to shoot pool on the weekends to try and win enough money to pay the oil bill... and if I don't make my payments on time Billy Bob and Mildred will come by and shoot out my windows or put sugar in my gas tanks... I had to sell Gails Christmas tree and get a small one from Walmart cause I couldn't pay the extra electricity for the lights on the larger tree... my dogs are skin and bone because I feed them sawdust and foam rubber... I used to have two parrots but we had to eat them... my camera is a cardboard box with a pin hole in the front... my cell phone is a $5 throw away that only works in Richmond... and I live 60 miles from there... the reason I sit in front of this dilapidated old worn out computer that I have had since 1976... is because it puts out more heat than my furnace... which is out of wood now... and you think I am rolling in green.... nope... rolling in debt... and Scott is in worse shape than me.... I send him my socks after they get worn out... have you ever noticed that he does not wear a coat and tie........... he doesn't own one.... and if he could find the wheels to put back on his house... he would probably disappear... come on Dave.... unlimited funds.... sheeeezzzzz. The only thing I have that is unlimited is my stomach. ..................... but I do have a Nikon and a 300mm lens..... actually I have several lenses and camera bodies and they do attach well to the Nikon Scopes and can be fastened to the car window also... check out this site for decent equipment... http://www.opticsplanet.net/spotting-sc ... ories.html I'm not sure why I wrote all this junk.... but I decided not to delete it................ so I'll send it anyway........................... maybe it will make you smile today............. Ya know I have a lot of time on my hands since I am unemployeeeeeeddddd.... besides, I have to keep up my reputation... don't want to get toooo serious.............

Author:	DMARTZ [ Sun 19 Dec 2010 13:42 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
I thought i finally got one over on you & Scott but you found it

Author:	speezack [ Mon 20 Dec 2010 08:20 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
Ok... now... here's a bit of info that may be helpful... maybe... I am into photography... just as a novice with many cameras over the years, lenses and too damn much money spent on crap... With the high resolution cameras on the market today... almost any high quality digital will suffice... Example... I was in Yosemite National Park several years ago... there were some 'climbers' on the side of El Capitan... the 4000' granite cliff that is in the center of the park... I was sitting in my pickup with a set of 10X50 binoculars watching these idiots scale the sheer cliff face... they were about half way up the side... say 2000' and I was about 1/2 mile from the base of the cliff so they were at least a mile from me in distance... (1/2 mile=about 2000+2000 up the cliff) please note that you can barely see a human body with the naked eye at that distance and even with good optics it is still quite difficult to see face recognition... Anyway... I got out my Nikon D70, which at the time was one of the first Nikon digitals and has a top resolution of 3008x2000 and if you shoot with the setting at 'JPEG fine'... your picture will be huge in size... like almost 3 megs... Image size is measured in pixels... small size produce small files... the larger the image, the larger the size that can be printed or copied without becoming noticeably "grainy" and that is the deal when trying to take clear long distance shots... I had my 300mm Nikor lens attached and I took a series of pictures at over a mile... here's the point... I took the pictures at the highest resolution... then I downloaded the pictures to my laptop and 'tweaked', 'cropped' and enhance these pictures enlarging in size till I got some closeups. Current models of medium priced cameras are capable of taking some really sharp and clear images... you would be surprised what some of the medium priced software products can do to a digital picture...l YOU DO NOT NEED TO SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON CAMERAS OR SOFTWARE.... learn a little about how to enhance and tweak your digital pictures and you can probably come out with pictures very, very close to what you would gain with all that money spent on lenses.... unless of course you happen to have access to some of the sophisticated stuff that is available through some of the more.............. uh................. secretive organizations... but if your like me... a nice Nikon Coolpix, that is available for under $300 will do nicely and a software program that does the rest. I do have a couple of cameras and the Nikon D70 was the most expensive at around $900 for the body and the lenses are a couple hundred... depending on what you get... usually one good quality telephoto and a general lens like a Nikor AF-S 18-70 1:35-4.5 G ED for a few hundred is all you will probably need... Let me regress a bit... my little Nikon Coolpix S51 and a good software product would probably be all you would need... it is all I use for defendant pictures and most all general work... I only pull out the D70 when my lovely wife Gail wants a really good picture of our dogs......................... and IMHO the results are probably no better... (but she thinks so and that is what is important) Here are a few pictures with explanations ... hope I do not bore you with this stuff... photography has always facitated me although I have never risen to a level other than novice... I learn daily however... This one was shot with a standard lense... about 50mm. This one was shot with the 300mm telephono... This one is the same original picture enhanced even further with the same software.... are ya starting to get the Picture??? another of the guys up on the cliff... shot with a standard 50mm lens... shot with a 70mm partial telephoto shot with the 300mm lens from a closer distance... I drove a bit closer but was still a good mile away from the base... look in the very center and you can just make them out... Now this is the same picture as the other but again,,,, enhanced and cropped... you should be able to make out two standing on the ledge and another "hanging" below on a rope... are these people crazy of what.... gheeeeezzzzzz.... Even though the last picture is a bit grainy... the point is compare the first cliff picture and the last and it was done with software... I know most of you can obtain better quality software than I... Here again is the bottom line... with a good modern digital camera capable of taking high resolution pictures all you need is a medium priced telephoto and a good quality software program and you can simulate and obtain good quality pictures... now if you absolutely need "face recognition" then you may still be able to use this stuff... you are probably gonna be a lot closer than I was to the person... I just don't think you need all that high tech stuff unless you just want to spend the money... Here is one more picture I took with my little Nikon Cool-pix and enhanced it from a very long distance... this little camera has no telephoto and the turkey was at least 500yds away.... I rest my case. BTW... for all you turkey hunters... nice beard on that one, huh??? and you all should know how hard it is to get good pictures of turkeys... although I do have several of Scott.... uh...... yeah... Please send your questions and tech help to Scott, he knows a lot more about this than I...... and so does Dave and Marshall.......

Author:	speezack [ Mon 20 Dec 2010 08:27 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
One of my "buddies" just called me and told me to stop posting pictures that I got off the internet... well, kiss my rossieee red.... This should prove I wuz there ya'll............... Me and my camper above Lake Mead.... outside of LV.... (I was also about 30lbs. lighter)... don't I have pretty legs ??:oops: ... and if you think it was hot where you were that summer... this thermometer was stuck to my camper window... IN THE SHADE... it is reading 112 in case you can't make it out..................... !!! Now go back to whatever you were doing before I rudely interrupted your train of thought... BTW... LuVonda, if you want to move these two posts to the "Open Discussion" it's ok with me... it may help some of the newbies with questions concerning photography.... if you think it is worth it.... your call. You could call it "Novice photography info" ... or something like that??

Author:	DMARTZ [ Mon 20 Dec 2010 08:47 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
Digital is good but there is still alot of Courts & Lawyers & Insurance Companies that still want old school manual as it is to easy to manipulate digital with software. This is from a Private investigations stand point always make it a point to ask. You don't want to sit for hours taking snapshots just to have them thrown out. Now , i have different Judges and Lawyers right here in town that will except digital. The point is ask it is not unprofessional. I know alot of my post deal with the PI Industry and the courts. I do own a 800mm lens with an adapter for our digital camera. On a side note i can but Bill on the cliffs climbing you know that would be a truthful photo I had to come back and edit this post: Thank you Bill & Scott for the Loan to buy the 800mm lens. i will get that back to you ASAP. It's nice to have money connections , I was told to always use someone elses money never use your own

Author:	Mdbtyhtr [ Mon 20 Dec 2010 09:17 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
Contrary to popular opinion... I refer all of my photographic questions, to include types of lenses and optics, to L. Scott Harrell. All that I know about this topic, I learned from his courses available on line at www.pieducation.com I am not rich, wealthy or even a loan shark. I am "Comfortable" and that is all that I have to say about that! Scott (Going back to the country, can't pay the rent, I ain't broke, but I'm badly bent! H. Payne, recorded by everybody)

Author:	speezack [ Mon 20 Dec 2010 14:06 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
Dave, you make a very good point about digital vs. negatives and prints... I have not run into that but then I am not a PI and photo's are... for the most part... for my own records... I can see where PI work would involve prints and negatives. Thanks for the heads up... hope I didn't bore you all with all those pics and stuff... just my take on the subject.

Author:	DMARTZ [ Mon 20 Dec 2010 14:14 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
I enjoy the pictures from all over the US as there are some pretty place here in the US. Did you are were you able to vacation while you were working or is most of your trips after retiring. I could kick myself now for not going instead of working all the time i always thought i would have time when i slowed down or retired.

Author:	Mdbtyhtr [ Mon 20 Dec 2010 18:43 ]
Post subject:	Re: Photos
My wife and I are planning to visit my son who is statione in El Paso, but Belinda does not like to fly. She gets panic attacks, very similar to the ones that occur when I ask her for some romance! We are looking into taking the train, to spend some time away from everything and to see the country at a pace different from driving for 2 days straight to pick up a skip in Iowa and driving straight back. We are looking into possibly a northern route out, through Chicago, and the southern route back, through New Orleans and NC. Let you know how it goes, and I will be taking pictures along the way. I am smart enough to not stand near any ravines, cliffs or canyons. Insurance policies tend to make my wife salivate! Scott

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