Newbie with pics

[conrail kid]

hey all,

newbie here. been railfanning for about 6 months. from the Pittsburgh area. lucky enough to live close enough to Oakmont, pa, where the f-units are this week, that i have been down there 3 out of the past 4 days. have gotten some tremendous shots.  i have them on my own site if people want to see.

http://www.flickr.com/photos.conrailkid

also this might be my best shot ever.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=189863

if i didnt link them right, im sorry. this is my first post to the group.
ill do better in the future.

Tom

[R Federle]

Welcome aboard Tom,

Look like some pretty nice shots. Nice settings too. Its must be nice to be in the right places at the right time.

If you dont mind my asking, what camera(s) are you using. I,ve been tossing the idea of a new camera around but cant decide. Been leaning toward the Canon Digital EOS or maybe  the 35mm EOS Rebel.

Thanks for sharing your photos, Tom. Have a good night.

Robert Federle

[JCagle]

Nice shots it's always nice to see some variety in locations.

As for the camera stuff we've had lots of debates on camera gear and everyone seems to have their own preferences.  It sounds like you are sold on Canon which in my opinion is a good call even if it costs more than some of the other SLR or DSLR models out there. It sounds like you are entering the debate of digital verses film. That's another area where you'll have as many answers as people you ask. If you want any advice feel free to ask and I'm sure you'll get a lot of response.

[conrail kid]

i use a simple sony dsc-h2. gives me the clarity i want, but i sacrifice a bit on the zoom. woudl like to step up to a dslr, but those cost money. lol.  My camera give me what i want so i cant complain. thank you for the kind words. its been nice having the OCS train 10 miles from my house. i think i have over 200 shots of him. lol. with more to come by the time he leaves. how often do people get the chance to shoot him like that? not too often.

[Wanderer]

Hey Tom!!! Fancy seeing you here. Frankly, I've always been of the opinion that it's not so much the camera as the photographer. Your results speak for themselves. Especially considering the somewhat tight confines you, Tony, Dan, and the others were shooting in.

Matt (MJR)

[R Federle]

Thanks for the info on camera type Tom. I agree with Wanderer that its the photographers skill and technique that make the photograph but I dont think skill can make up for mechanical shortcomings of the camera. The setting the subject is in and the framing of the shots say alot about the photographers skill (and Tom, you have done a great job I think).

Dont take me wrong, those photos are great and Tom has done a great job and is lucky to be in such close proximity. The reason I asked about camera type Is my plans to replace a 7 year old Olympus D-350. It has been a good camera and has been dropped from eye level to hardwood floors at least three times and still functions as good as it did new. Its time to move to a higher pixel rating (the Olympus D-350 is only 1.2). The D-350 images at 1.2 mega pixel does not lend the image well to enlargements.

Again, great work, thanks for sharing the photos and information. Good luck.

Have a great day all.

Robert Federle

[conrail kid]

No offense taken, Robert. i wish i would have waited a little longer and saved more money so i could have stepped right into a dslr. but i still get great shots with mine. just takes a bit of fixing in photshop. MJ, it was odd on sunday. everyone was clamoring over the shot with the welcome to oakmont sign with the train beside it. i took it but it didnt get my fancy. i think i might have been the only one who took a picture from that angle. like i said it was one of those shots that you look and even before you lift the camera you know that it is a special shot. will def. end up in a frame in the house.

[E.M. Bell]

Welcome to the group Tom, glad to have you with us.

Wanderer said it best, its really not the camera, but the person using it. Nothing wrong with not having a DSLR with every bell and whistle on it. Iv seen some folks do some amazing work with a simple P&S, and yours are just fine. Feel free to share all you want here at Jreb.

[nscnotp1]

A wonderful set of pics.

Welcome to the JREB NS Forums.