$20: What a bargain!

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03-28-2009, 02:39 AM
Jay Gould

$20: What a bargain!

Hello teachers http://www.digitalslr.com.au/forum/i...es/biggrin.gif

I say that seriously because that is why I am here.

We are full-time travelers in Australia: grey nomads living in a 25' caravan towed by an F250 with no fixed base - no home/no flat/no responsibilities.

In October we are off to South America for six months which includes a week on Easter Island and a one month cruise to Antarctica which includes a month in Antarctica; then we finish the year overseas with five months in Europe and end with a month of SCUBA in Indonesia (use a G9 in a Canon housing).

Current Gear: 40D; EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM; 16-35 2.8L II; EF 24-105mm f/4L IS US; 580 EXII; Manfrotto 055CSPRO3 + 488RC2

Gear to be purchased before October departure: 50D or perhaps 60D; 5DII or perhaps 5DIII; EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM; 180mm Macro f23.5L USM; Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX; perhaps (the jury is out) sell the 100-400 and buy the 400 f/5.6 (thoughts?).

I was introduced to this forum by Artie; I was introduced to Artie - The Bird Man - by a fellow traveler during a cruise last July from Alaska to Russia and back to Alaska. All this fellow did was rave about Artie's bird images and how I had to buy his book and CD.

I want to cram/learn all possible before departure in October; that includes immersion into Lightroom and Photoshop.

Since I truly believe that the only dumb question is the one you didn't ask; I am going to ask lots of questions and spend my $20 over and over and over :D! Images WILL be forthcoming.

Thank you for allowing me to be a member of BPN and participate with this amazing group of photographers.
03-28-2009, 04:47 AM
Arthur Morris

Thanks for your kind words Jay. James Shadle and I often marvel at the fact that so few of our tour clients, folks with $20K worth of gear who spend many $K on travel, opt to take advantage of the virtually free education that we provide here.

Were you referring ot the Zegrahm's Ring of Fire trips?

ps: Nice life you have!
03-28-2009, 05:06 AM
Jay Gould

Hi, Artie, are you asking about the cruise to Russia? That was by CruiseWest (http://www.cruisewest.com/alaska-cruises-beringsea) which runs wonderful small 5* cruises. The Antarctica Cruise we are taking is: http://www.cheesemans.com/antarctica.html#penin and it goes to Antarctica, South Georgia, and Falkland Islands.

We had research Zeamans and preferred the Cheesman package.

Thanks regarding our lifestyle. Having made the decision to own nothing other than a box on wheels and a truck, that allows us to do significantly more travel than someone who has a substantial amount of funds in the ground in their home. It also helps that I am 66, and the kids are grown and on their own.
03-28-2009, 06:04 AM
Arthur Morris

Yes Jay. Zeagrahm's is great for luxury and seeing the wildlife, Cheeseman's is much better for photography so you made a great choice. I did not know that they did that trip.

Did you do well on Whiskered Auklet? Any other great bird species?
03-28-2009, 07:26 PM
Lance Peters

Hi JAY - Nice lifestyle - great trips - what more could you ask for :)
03-28-2009, 08:27 PM
Jay Gould

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance Peters

Hi JAY - Nice lifestyle - great trips - what more could you ask for :)

Absolutely, positively, and to an immoral certainty :D, nothing!

Cheers, Mate (Buddy to our American BPNers)
03-28-2009, 08:33 PM
Jay Gould

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Yes Jay. Zeagrahm's is great for luxury and seeing the wildlife, Cheeseman's is much better for photography so you made a great choice. I did not know that they did that trip.

Did you do well on Whiskered Auklet? Any other great bird species?

"Did you do well on Whiskered Auklet? Any other great bird species?"

Artie, If I understand your questions, I haven't done "well" on any birds YET! That is one of the reasons I have joined BPN.

Last year I was shooting with a G9 at Yosemite and Sequoia alongside my brother who was using a 20D (he now has the 50D), and I was so frustrated that I finally bit the bullet and bought the 40D++ primarily because he is a Canon shooter (I must admit that I would have gone Nikon but for the fact that my #1 mentor shoots Canon). The gear arrived just in time for me to use at Brooks Falls to shoot the Grizzlies. I did get my money shot of a big bear catching a salmon - now I have to figure out how to post here so everyone can tell me how poorly I processed in Lightroom :o.

I really am a newbie!; I have only had all of my gear for less than one year, have thus far only used Lightroom (it is a giant step up from MS Digital Image Pro), and during the next six months I am going to immerse into CS4.
03-28-2009, 08:51 PM
James Shadle

Jay said:
"Thank you for allowing me to be a member of BPN and participate with this amazing group of photographers."
I say:
Thank you for supporting BPN!

You are a man who truly knows a good deal when he sees one.:D

Thanks again,
James