I am. I shoot a Nikon D50. I've got a few lenses and a speed light. I haven't gotten anything into a magazine, but I've sold a few photos and photographed a wedding.

I'd love to be able to do it as a profession eventually, but I'm not counting on it. I still have a lot to learn.

Some of my stuff can be seen at:
www.myspace.com/mathisphotography and
www.jmathis-photography.com

The second link is down right now as I am switching servers, but should be up again soon.

Here are a few of my favorites:

 

I have been shooting a Nikon D70 for several years and also have a couple lenses and nice flash. I tend to do mostly nature photography and bicycling events. I have sold quite a few to fellow cyclist and had one nature photo published in NC Wildlife. It has been a while since I have shot an event so I don't really have any galleries up but here are a couple:

One of ours in a creek:

My lovely wife:

The race in Wake Forest last year:

A nice sunset:

And finally fun shooting with the flash off the camera:

 

100 pictures a month... HA... if i dont take 500+ a week, im sleeping too much...

here are 2 i took at the last gathering i went to...

some i got at the W-S air show last fall

 

I haven't done any photography for several months now, but I normally take about 800-1000 photos per "episode". I've never tried selling or publishing anything. It's all for my pleasure.

 

I've got a Pentax istD. Bought it mainly because I've have Pentax 35mm film cameras and liked them.

Here are some of my favorates


Self explanatory


Coming down Hwy 96 into Westcliffe, CO

L
Lynx walking across the back yard

 

I've got a D40x and D90, w/ a couple of nikkor lenses and a tamron macro lens, been shooting for a few months, don't think I've done anything that great yet though. I did get offered a couple of jobs over the weekend, but of course they are when I'm flying out of town.

 

Photography is another big hobby of mine.

I have stuck with my Canon Xti for some time and it always treats me well.
I usually have my 28-135is mounted, but also have a fifty f/1.8 and th kit lens. A Canon 580ex flash and alot of little toys can be found in my bag too.

I'll post up a few pics.. They are more of a collection of my many hobbies than anything else!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/3214463190_87d8e82557.jpg?v=0

Mtn Bike Brake rotor:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3457/3357694715_2cb671b182.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2825676321_6615fb9794.jpg?v=0

 

don-
any more Co pics?that one is great!!!

 

Cool pics, I don't have any super nice cameras, but I love trying, and taking me pics.

 

@Don- That Lynx in YOUR backyard, here in NC??!!

Hot Damn that's cool if it is. :shock:

 

No fancy SLR here, but I do enjoy taking pictures.

My cat Tux as a kitten:

All grown up:


Taken while paddling to make camp at Lake Jocase

My attempt at gun porn:

 

@Don- That Lynx in YOUR backyard, here in NC??!!

Hot Damn that's cool if it is. :shock:

No. That's at the ranch in Colorado. I've seen it twice now.

 

don-
any more Co pics?that one is great!!!

Just a few.. :wink:

Here's a shot of Bishop's Castle. Mostly a one man project. Jim Bishop has dug the rock, mortared it together
and done all the iron work. He's been working on it since the 60s.



Sunrise looking south from the ranch. The mountains are the Sangre de Cristos.



And the reason they are called the Sangre de Cristos (Blood of Christ). For a few seconds the mountains turn pink
when the sun first comes up over the Wet Mountains across the valley.



Thanksgiving 2003. I fought a snow storm from western Kansas all the way to the ranch. Put the dually into four wheel drive when
I turned off the paved road and made it to the house. THEN got it stuck in the yard trying to turn it and the trailer around. This is the
next morning. Snow blowing on top of Spread Eagle Peak.

 

How about some of you photo guru's putting together a tutorial on how to take quality firearm pictures? I've seen some awesome gun pics here, and I have often wondered how you take such beautiful pictures. Try as I might, I can't replicate them.

 

Don did you get a chance to meet Bishop while at the castle? He seems like a pretty awesome guy from all the stuff I've seen on the castle.

I wish I could write a tutorial on taking great firearm pics, but I can't photo a gun to save my life without using strange angles.

 

How about some of you photo guru's putting together a tutorial on how to take quality firearm pictures? I've seen some awesome gun pics here, and I have often wondered how you take such beautiful pictures. Try as I might, I can't replicate them.

I'm no expert either, but one thing I can tell you is that as in most all photography lighting is extremely important, and in photographing table top objects indoors its importance is raised an order of magnitude. The background the item is placed against is also very important, especially if you are relying on the camera's own exposure control. That's one reason I chose a background close to the subject's brightness in the photos above.

Although I used single source lighting for effect, typically the best photos of objects are made with soft indirect lighting. Professional photographers often use tabletop "tents" made out of white fabric that they place the objects in and shine light on the outside of the tent to give soft all around lighting to the subject. You can do the same with bed sheets, but you have to have bright lights and/or a tripod.

 

Light is def a big big deal with indoor tabletop photography... My gun shots were done just with light through the window, with a sheet over it.. I typically use a very high f number and long long exposures when I shoot inside, which requires a tripod. Closing the aperture makes it the exposure time increase quite a bit, but adds a great depth of field for small, or close up photography.

I'm just learning now how to play with light, and thats a ton of fun... I'm slightly obsessed with bokeh intensive shots and light painting now..

a couple of weird lighting pics

This one was for a female friend of mine away in the AmeriCorps NCCCP program... trying to win brownie points for when she comes home

started playing with panorama's today... this is just an attempt from my office

 

Don did you get a chance to meet Bishop while at the castle? He seems like a pretty awesome guy from all the stuff I've seen on the castle.

I saw him there years ago. Didn't talk to him but stood and listened to him talking to several other folks. My impression was that he's walking that
fine line between genius and crazy. Very anti-government (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) and with reason from what I've seen on the web.
He has evidently been hassled almost from the beginning of the project by the state of Colorado and the Feds (since his land is in a National Forest,
the BLM first told him he couldn't dig rocks in the National Forest; then relented and now lets him buy them for a nominal fee). It took years for
Colorado to acknowledge that the Castle was a legitimate tourist attraction and put up signs. And the local sheriff has gotten involved a
couple of times, but knowing Fred Jobe as I do from talking to him several times, I'd say that there were two sides to the story and I've only heard Bishop's side.

 

^the last time I saw him on tv, i believe he was on discovery's wreckreation nation...seems like he's going a little more toward the crazy side of the scale at this point... or maybe we should say eccentric. Either way I love his ambition and the way he wants everything to be done 100% by him.

 

How about some of you photo guru's putting together a tutorial on how to take quality firearm pictures? I've seen some awesome gun pics here, and I have often wondered how you take such beautiful pictures. Try as I might, I can't replicate them.

If you don't have a camera with manual controls, you can back up and use the zoom to frame the picture. This can help with the depth of field and soften the harshness of the flash if it is going to fire.

Something that I have found that helps is using the self timer with a tripod or whatever you prop the camera up on. Many tripods are not that stable and this will give the vibrations a chance to settle before the shutter releases.

You can search for photography tips where they will talk about the "rule of thirds" and such but the most important thing is to take lots of pictures so you can learn what each setting does and what your camera is good at.

 

a few that I've done over the years:

as you can tell.... I love trains. (last one's kinda grainy, I know)

 

Guys, I shoot video for a livin, but play with stills for fun... and have to say there are some amazing photos here. Some of you have got a serious eye for beauty. I see 500 still guys a week out on the road and some of the pic's here have alot more thought in'em than alot of pic's I see in CUP Scene or any of the industry mags. Some of these could definitely be sold. Thanks for a great topic.

 

a few that I've done over the years:

as you can tell.... I love trains. (last one's kinda grainy, I know)

Those autoracks were taken right behind Industries of the Blind. Must have been 212 on a late day.

 

Those autoracks were taken right behind Industries of the Blind. Must have been 212 on a late day.

Yup! he was defenetly running late.

 

and have to say there are some amazing photos here. Some of you have got a serious eye for beauty. I see 500 still guys a week out on the road and some of the pic's here have alot more thought in'em than alot of pic's I see in CUP Scene or any of the industry mags. Some of these could definitely be sold. Thanks for a great topic.

I think thats true as well... GoldFox's stuff especially is amazing.