You asked for it, so here it is...

[D-Frag]

As many of you know I recently purchased a Canon 40D, well I have done a lot of shooting, and most of it is utter crap because I have a cheapo lens and I am still trying to understand the functions on this camera.

Anyways, so last month I got booked to play a DJ gig up in Sedona AZ, well the next day we all went hiking, I took this shot standing on Bell Rock looking North towards the city of Sedona.

The panorama is 6 consecutive shots, merged using Photomerge in PS. This wicked storm was rollin in and the clouds broke just enough to shed some light on the beautiful red rocks. Hope you enjoy! Ill be back to post more pics as I get them touched up.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9990/krisjonsonsedonapanoramqx6.jpg

Original image is 40"x13" @ 200dpi

[Eraser Nubbin]

Awesome panorama. I dream of one day owning a wide angle lens and avoiding stitching together seams.

[D-Frag]

no stitching, PS did the whole merge in about 2 minutes ;)

[Zerk]

Huba huba, good shot. Great mountain

[Tea]

I am in love with this photo. Now if you don't take natures color color palette for your next project from that...well..I will. Those slate blues and rusts. One of my favorite color combos anyway.

What a beautiful view too. I bet that was an enjoyable day.

[Mynock]

I want one of these also. Nice shots bro.

[Craig B]

Nice one D. Some additional playing with dodging and burning on that could really add to it. Cool shot though.

[D-Frag]

thanks everyone. yeah it looks like crap on the web, looks stunning on my monitor in PS though.

[Red Kittie Kat]

oh man what a great pan ..... really nice DF :)

[Chicomoralessxm]

Lovely pan shot? tripod used? oh what kinda camera and lens?

[D-Frag]

no tripod, i shot this one by hand. camera is a canon 40d and the lens is a EF 50mm

[Pointyhat]

Beautiful, very Ansel Adams

[garricks]

Sweet shot, D-frag!!

[Drazan]

Very Nice!!

[Tyger]

Finally D! What an awesome shot...love the lighting on this and thhe contrast of colours.

Be patient with you gear bro, the camera rocks and the lens may be cheap but for the price its optics are good. What are you having problems with?

[CkretAjint]

Wow, this is so cool... makes me feel like a crap photographer! :p

[D-Frag]

Finally D! What an awesome shot...love the lighting on this and thhe contrast of colours.

Be patient with you gear bro, the camera rocks and the lens may be cheap but for the price its optics are good. What are you having problems with?

mainly having issues with focus, especially in really really low light. it just cannot find focus points in low light. im planning on getting another lens soon though, so ill probably go with something with a zoom, and I want the LS function I think it is, the anti-shake in the lens cuz a lot of my shots are coming out blurry.

[NTLemon]

Great Shot D-Frag.

I'm rolling around with the model below yours (Xti/400D) as for a lens the IS can certainly help as will some of the better quality lenses but if your still getting used to your camera there are lots of shooting techniques to help get stable low light shots.

Checkout Photography-on-the.net's Lens forum (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=33) they have some good info and lens archives.

[WannaBrie]

Awesome shot, D-Frag! Love it! Arent' new toys great? :)

[Tyger]

mainly having issues with focus, especially in really really low light. it just cannot find focus points in low light. im planning on getting another lens soon though, so ill probably go with something with a zoom, and I want the LS function I think it is, the anti-shake in the lens cuz a lot of my shots are coming out blurry.

That lens can perform in low light, but you are right it's lack of focus accuracy is a pain. If you can try to focus on high contrast colours, that will help a ton. You may want to consider getting an external flash like a 430EX. You can find them used for just over $200 and sometimes under. IF you shoot alot indoor the flash would be a godsend...bouncing flash gives a natural look.
If you are looking for a lens with IS they are expenssive but well worth it, you'll be able to hand hold shots easier.

IT also sounds like your setting could be off, usually indoor your shutter speeds have to be rather low...try cranking you ISO to at least 800 or 1600 and deal with the noise using noise ninja or neat image.

Link me an email, pm or chat anytime bro.

[tuliptree]

Beautiful, very Ansel Adams

Yes, or David Muench, one of my favorite photographers of the west.

Really beautiful photo D-Frag. I've been to that area. I'm in love with the southwest and slick rock canyons. That whole swatch from Sedona up through northern Arizona and into southern Utah is an obsession of mine.

[D-Frag]

Hell yeah Tulip, I love the north as well, Utah has some just amazing colors as well.

And thanks for the info Tyger, I have a flash that I bounce with, I had it left over from my Sony so I have been using that. I need about another $2k to get all the stuff I want though, photography is a VERY expensive hobby haha!

Anyways, here is another shot, this time looking East from basically the same position as the first picture, you can tell it was a very dramatic day with the clouds and lighting....

http://a582.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/62/l_1c23b3d0f927c1e4785f11ec23285bc5.jpg

[tuliptree]

Yeah, amazingly beautiful colors . . . you've done a great job capturing them!

Wow, another nice shot. Thanks for sharing these!

[Red Kittie Kat]

omgosh those colors are breathtaking DF :)

[urstwile]

I'm late getting to this. Beautiful shots, D-Frag! :)

[Virgo Nightingale]

The contrast in the colors and saturation almost makes that second shot look like a photoshop union of two separate photos!

Beautiful shots!!

[Typically]

just seeing this now mr dfrag.... that first shot is sweet dude! is that rain on the right side of the pic??? i need to get my ass of the couch over the next month or so when the leaves start changing colors. good stuff dude looking forward to more pics.

[D-Frag]

yeah thats rain on the right side of the photo, we had to scamper down the mountain pretty quick because it swept in fast on us.

thanks for all the compliments peeps :)

[sppe123]

awesome shots :)

[WannaBrie]

Wow, those colors are so brilliant they don't look real! Fantastic shot D-Frag!

[tuliptree]

Thanks for sharing those! Please post more if you ever get a chance, you capture the essence of the area so well.

[D-Frag]

K got another one I have been working on. Found this cactus in Sedona as well, im also including a 100% crop shot so that you can see just how freaking amazing this camera is....

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/5941/heartwebux3.jpg

and the 100% crop...

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/6599/heart100percentcropou9.jpg

[D-Frag]

and....this will be my last shot I will post from beautiful Sedona....

7 shot panorama shot by hand. final size is 79"x48" @100dpi
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/3502/7shotpanoramawebhk7.jpg

[Jackimalyn]

Amazing D-Frag!

[tuliptree]

*Sigh* those are lovely! Thank you, D-Frag!

The cactus shots are amazing, the color of the rock is just insanely beautiful!

[CkretAjint]

Are you trying to tell us that your heart is cold, gooey and p-r-i-c-k-ly? That's what it looks like based on the cactus image! :p


*****ly is a bad word? Seriously? :rolleyes:

[Red Kittie Kat]

lol the first part is ;)

Those are wonderful DF ... love the little details :)

[D-Frag]

thanks everyone! :)

[garricks]

Late to the party, sorry. Totally awesome!

Thank you for posting, D-Frag, you've shown me part of the world I'll probably never see in person. :)

[urstwile]

Beautiful! That panorama is awesome!