[narlus]

so santa dropped a rebel xt under the tree, and now i need to learn how to use the thing. should be a good challenge, but i think i'm up to it. for NYE, we decided to head into boston for First Night. there is a ton of stuff for kids, and we took in some of it (i lived in boston from '89 to '96 and never went to 1st night. ).

here's a pic of Otis, modelling his face painting:

the old and the new:

we went to the Hynes and caught some bmx/skating action from Maximum Velocity. i didn't bring my flash and the kit lens is pretty slow for indoor, poor-lit environments, but it's a poor man who blames his equipment, right? anyway, here are a few shots which turned out halfway decent:

can't wait to dial this thing in, and get another lens or two.

 

[binary visions]

Nice shots

Might want to think about a 50mm f/1.8 as a really inexpensive foray into the world of low light photography. They can be had for <$100 and are generally razor sharp, with that 2 or more stop light advantage over your average kit lens.

Can't wait to get my grubby paws on a dSLR... Will probably have to wait a couple years, though, education must come first

 

[narlus]

hey BV, that lens looks good (and the price is right). think i'll pick up one of those.

fraser's got me thinking about the L series 70-200mm as well, but that's a pricier piece of glass.

 

[binary visions]

hey BV, that lens looks good (and the price is right). think i'll pick up one of those.

fraser's got me thinking about the L series 70-200mm as well, but that's a pricier piece of glass.

The 70-200 is certainly a superlative piece of glass. Also keep in mind that lenses (especially high end lenses) retain a TON of their value, even for the long haul - so if you buy something, you can usually sell it without taking much of a loss.

Before you make a big investment in a lens like that, you might want to consider picking up an inexpensive big-range lens (like a cheap ~70-300, such as this), and finding out what focal lengths you spend the most time at (in conjunction with your kit lens). No matter how awesome a 70-200 f/2.8 or f/4 is, if your most-shot focal lengths fall under 70mm or in the super telephoto (200+ mm) ranges...

Just something to think about!

 

[MMcG]

I love the way that old church reflects off the new building - a woman I was seeing for a while told me the architect designed the new building to purposely mirror the old church in order to appease folks in Beantown is this accurate?

 

[narlus]

I love the way that old church reflects off the new building - a woman I was seeing for a while told me the architect designed the new building to purposely mirror the old church in order to appease folks in Beantown is this accurate?

good question, MMcG; all i know about those particular buildings is that glass panes were falling out of the Hancock tower because the designers forgot to take into account the lower atmospheric pressure of the top floors, relative to the building pressure (or is that an urban myth? ).

it's funny, i've never been in that church, and i lived within 8 blocks of it for over 5 years.

 

[justsomeguy]

Who needs a flash when you can use somebody else's light?

It's your very first remote flash shot! Timing is everything. Nice grab.

 

[OGRipper]

good question, MMcG; all i know about those particular buildings is that glass panes were falling out of the Hancock tower because the designers forgot to take into account the lower atmospheric pressure of the top floors, relative to the building pressure (or is that an urban myth? ).

it's funny, i've never been in that church, and i lived within 8 blocks of it for over 5 years.

I can't see your pics.

I lived in Boston for 4 years (92-96) and actually made it in that church a couple of times, pretty cool. And glass panes definitely fell out of the Hancock but I never heard the pressure theory, all I ever heard was the "bonehead construction" theory.

 

[narlus]

I can't see your pics.

huh. can everyone else see 'em OK? i hosted them on photobucket today, as imageshack was down for maintenance.

I lived in Boston for 4 years (92-96) and actually made it in that church a couple of times, pretty cool.

yeah, i make it a point to check out cool/old churches when i'm travelling, but why don't i also do it @ home? dunno.

 

[splat]

good question, MMcG; all i know about those particular buildings is that glass panes were falling out of the Hancock tower because the designers forgot to take into account the lower atmospheric pressure of the top floors, relative to the building pressure (or is that an urban myth? ).

it's funny, i've never been in that church, and i lived within 8 blocks of it for over 5 years.

no the glass panes were falling out because the desiners did not take in to account how much the building would flex. and one of the solutions to the problem was that they actually ran the upper floors at lower pressure to keep the windows in. the vaccum pumps are still there and used if they ever see a window pane that looks loose.


funny thing is I llived in Boston from 83-88 and I was never in that churh either , and never made it to first night either.

BV where would you reccomend getting a 50 MM 1.8 lens I could use one also for my Rebel.

 

[mobius]

Remote flash setup and you are set. I got a d70s for xmas and bought a remote setup. if only the weather was nice so i could go shoot some dj action.

 

[BikeGeek]

it's funny, i've never been in that church, and i lived within 8 blocks of it for over 5 years.

Afraid you'd burst into flames?

Nice pics. I need to get myself a nice camera.

 

[narlus]

BV where would you reccomend getting a 50 MM 1.8 lens I could use one also for my Rebel.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search.php?form_keyword=50mm f 1.8&mode=g_us_e_s&skd=1

 

[binary visions]

BV where would you reccomend getting a 50 MM 1.8 lens I could use one also for my Rebel.

The prices on those are so low and so uniform that it's almost not worth doing a serious bargain hunt. www.bhphotovideo.com is a great place to buy lenses, and www.adorama.com is a good place as well. $74.95 from both places.

 

[narlus]

i just ordered mine from adorama (via amazon).

should ship NLT thurs.