Hello All !!!
This is my first post here. I was waiting to join the forums but couldn't resist a photography thread.
A lil background about myself . . . I'm a Minnesotan that loves to rock collect, metal detect & pan for them yeller rocks. I take my kids to SD for collecting / prospecting fun. Been to Alaska "without kids" with friends and done some panning there as well. Background in photography . . . I have a part time biz as a photographer and use pretty high end canon digital slr's. Have had a-couple articles published on digital photography.
Photos . . . In reading the above listed posts, there is talk about AOL cam's and concerns with connecting. I do agree with Michelle, dump the AOL cam. Chances are that it is not connecting as it may not be XP compatible. I ran across a similar problem when I got my kids a new pc. Went to load the software for their webcam and it was not compatible.
Macrophotography. . . Unless your willing to spend around $1700 on a quality camerita and another $1200+ on a lens, macrophotography will make you pull your hair out by the roots. Even at that price range, lens choice will make or break ya. However, there are some tricks that can help you obtain quality photos. Firstly, cam choice. Most end users will chose a pretty basic point and shoot digi cam having a cost of between 150 - 200. My best suggestion would be a canon or fuji. My 8 y/o uses a fuji fine pix and takes some great photos with it. Canon has adapted it's I/S "image stabilization" into their lower end models which will help allot on the contrast of the subject matter "other models have an image shake feature but it does not compare with canons tech. Always use a tripod ! To further avoid cam shake while taking a photo, set it to take a timer photo. Lighting. . . many will shoot a subject with allot of light so they are sure to see the subject. When mac-ing a small object "any object for that matter", improper lighting will create a glare. With photoing rocks and such "thinking home end user in mind", put a brighter light bulb at a further distance "10ft", then use 2 softer bulbs closer "3-6ft". Set your lighting up so shadows fall AWAY from the cam position but do not put them directly behind the cam as you don't want the cam shadow across the subject. Contrast the background against the item being photoed. ex. . if you have a brown rock or penny, you wouldn't want to place it on a wood floor to photo. Keep you cam at a 30 - 45 degree from the subject, it'll help take away glare, flash back, and will also help contrast. Here's a kicker that many don't think of . . . wet the subject down and take the photo while it's still wet "not standing water wet". A few in the rock collecting world do that as it sometimes helps see patterns in agates that are under the surface. Apart from that, for some reason the wetness will make small features in the subject have more contrast. I think it may be due to a small magnification that the water property holds.
You are more then willing to give me a shout if you may have other questions.
Have a great 1 !
The Col.
