My first day shooting with the 30D

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

04/22/2006 06:16:19 AM · #1

It looks like things are definitely looking UP for me!

I have been doing this substitution teaching job in a place called Lin Kou (Mouth of the Forest). I had taught there before for a couple of weeks around 2.5 years ago and my sister came and taught there for about 9 months as her first job. It was kind of amazing that these kids remembered me.

And wow, did they remember me!

The school has about 120-140 kids and when I stepped one foot in the door, the kids started SWARMING the lobby shouting 'Teacher Keiran, Teacher Keiran!'. At first there were only around 20-30, but the numbers quickly reached 50-60 as kids in the classrooms on the first floor heard the chanting. Kids upstairs started to trickle downwards and before you know it, I had - no joking - about 100 little 'anklebiters' gathering around, wrapping their arms and legs around my legs, reaching out to touch my hands, my arms, my pants, my pockets, anything they could. It took 15 minutes for them to calm down. They were actually in serious danger of pushing me over because I actually could not move. This actually happens each time I go to that school and the staff does indicate that this is outside of the normal reaction...

How to feel like a rock star, that's for sure!

Oh the daily grind is a tough one isn't it? ;)

Anyways, that was 3 weeks ago. Last Friday, I brought my new camera out to play. It was my first time taking it out of home and my first time spending more than a few minutes with it. I took 100-150 shots that day, and am only about 1/2 finished editing. I learned a LOT about my camera.

A good number of these pics don't look so hot to me straight out of camera. It was VERY difficult to get good focus as light was low and the kids were hyperactive... They got a bit nuts when they see me. They think my 'golden' hair on my arms is more exciting than a fluffy cat. They go BANANAS over my silly bee slippers... and their idea of posing for a photograph is sticking their hands on the lens, their face as close as possible to it and jumping up and down like popcorn on fire shouting ME ME ME! It was further made difficult because it was nap time and the lights were shut off. You will see a few flash shots because it was just too difficult to make it work at 0.3"

They are all portrait type pics because of the light and I had a chance to really make the most of it with an 85mm f/1.8 I am borrowing. One heck of a lens. I hope to buy the 50mm tomorrow.

One note on the lens is that I did shoot wide open for the most part, or pretty close to it and I got some CA, even near the center of the pictures.

I hope you enjoy these!

Message edited by author 2006-04-22 06:18:44.

missinseattle

Nikon D200

04/22/2006 07:28:54 AM · #2

I love all of them! I love spontaneous shots of children. They're the best!

suemack

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/22/2006 07:30:45 AM · #3

They're delightful!!

nova

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM

04/22/2006 07:42:53 AM · #4

What a great story Keiran. I can't imagine how happy that greeting made you! And the photos are wonderful, the color saturation from the 30D looks very vibrant especially for "straight from the camera" shots. That little angel at the center of the top row is my fav of them all, what a cutie! Keep 'em coming!

ragamuffingirl

Sony Alpha NEX-5N

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

04/22/2006 08:00:08 AM · #5

What cuties!!!

Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra

04/22/2006 12:00:59 PM · #6

Thanks all. This was my first day properly shooting this type of pics with a DSLR ever.

Up until now, 95% of all the shots I have taken with a DSLR have been with store cameras and demos.

Any technical tips or perhaps some flaws/faults that you saw? There are some focusing issues and DOF issues that I already know about, but what is visible to the viewer?

I have been asked to do two specific series of photographs by the owner of the school.

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

04/22/2006 02:11:35 PM · #7

I am "grinning out loud" imagining the "giant" Keiran in all his Celtic splendor (he looks large and Celtic to me in his profile shot) surrounded by lilliputian Asian children bouncing up and down and chanting.

Call him the "Pied Piper of Lin Kou" :-) Keiran, be sure you take the superhero oath and swear to all that is holy only to use your powers for the good of all kidkind!

Robt.

Message edited by author 2006-04-22 14:12:16.

04/22/2006 10:11:32 PM · #8

ROFL. It kinda feels like that sometimes. They go a little nuts.

It's amazing how when someone is looked up to (uhh is that a pun? ;), how relevant their opinions become. They want to show me EVERYTHING they do! Some kids open their book and they get all excited and call me over to look. Other's will draw circles and get all excited and call me over to look. Some will put a couple of stickes on a page and call me over to look.

I find that the best thing that a teacher can be, beyond accurate and informative, is genuine and attentive, positive and supportive. They take the time AND use it wisely. The best teachers I have ever seen are this. The best parents I have ever seen are this. The best parents also happen to be the best teachers. Parents will teach a child far more than anyone else ever will.

Sadly, there are plenty of teachers here who only have one half of that equation down. Some are willing to take the time, but don't use it wisely (perhaps sometimes I skirt that frontier a bit myself :), while others use the time efficiently, but forget the importance of using time to give effective individual attention.

Of course I always use my powers for the good of kidkind! I can even make them FLY!!!!! *makes airplane noises*

(PS, no children were harmed in the making of them flying, and they are always held securely)
;)

Incidentally, I got one comment on an individual picture regarding the black border. I was wondering if anyone had comments on my usage of borders in the collection as a whole?

If you like them, I will probably have more in this series before too long.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

04/24/2006 12:39:57 AM · #9

Just a little bump to see if anyone is willing to give me some comments on two specific areas.

Are the borders effective where used? (or ineffective in some shots?)

Do the pictures look appropriately sharp?

I have been asked to do a lot more pictures for this school and I would like to get things right before submitting my CD.

I am not a pro, but I would like to provide good results.

Might be neat if I got some money for it too..... I'm not holding my breath...

IndigoButterfly

Nikon D7100

04/24/2006 12:59:12 AM · #10

They are so adorable! The black border works for me. :)

Beetle

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/24/2006 01:23:51 AM · #11

I'd prefer a smaller border.
I love your models, the light looks good, the shallow DOF takes care of distractions in the background.... nearly all is good.

Only thing I don't like is that they are all looking UP (except the sleeping girl). Perhaps you could at times get down to exactly eyelevel with them, perhaps even lower every once in a while.

04/24/2006 01:50:08 AM · #12

Thanks. This is largely to do with a vast height difference and the fact that their first response to seeing a camera pointed at them is usually to run towards the camera and see if they can stick their hands on the lens. I don't know why this is.

If the camera is out of their reach, they are more inclined to stay where they are.

They can get pretty rowdy in a bunch.

I will see what I can do for the next bunch.

05/11/2006 01:39:34 AM · #13

A link to another couple shots...

So I finally finished my BIG post processing project.

It seems that I am getting better as I get more used to the camera medium.

Some different types of pictures started to show up on the second day of shooting and the third.

These pictures represent the first 3 days shooting with my new camera.

Please note as mentioned before, some of these pics are subject to faulty focus which has also introduced a little more noise than I liked.

The culprit was a faulty lens. It has been replaced and I'm pretty sure that it works ok now.

Only problem is that I have even MORE pictures to edit from other shoots... Probably 250 more pictures to sort which will result in maybe 10-20 worthy shots...

This is sooo much fun...

My biggest issue though at this point is, fun aside, how good are these pictures? What am I missing in my PP steps? What decisions am I making wrong?

As for decisions, I mean mostly about composition and shooting angle. Lighting is also a critical aspect here.

I would love to have some serious hack-downs on any of these pictures, especially the ones that I think are good. :)

Oh and a small note on the teeth. I don't know why, but Taiwanese teeth are really frighteningly bad. I see the kids brushing their teeth all the time (maybe 5 times a day in kindergartens here), as it is required by the school, but seriously! YIKES!

Maybe all that fluoride in the water in Canada really does make a difference!

Anyways, I left the teeth unaltered for purity's sake. I am taking these pics out to the school where I took them in the next couple of days, and I am guessing that the pics will be given to their parents. I don't want them going "why are my kids teeth so different? is there a problem?" and getting all embarrassed...

So here are the ones that I felt were pretty durned good:

and some more that I realize that aren't soooo amazing:

I will do my best to return comments, but some of you have been really kind and already commented on a lot of my pics already, so I may just have to give ya a great big happy smile of thanks!!!!

I'm pretty blown away that in 10 minutes after posting these photos, without even having finished the thread, I've picked up 10 comments... Quite a bit considering that's around 8% of all the comments I've received since I started here over a year ago....

Message edited by author 2006-05-11 02:02:48.

05/11/2006 03:05:58 AM · #14

Bump.

Finished organizing the photos and writing details.

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

05/11/2006 12:37:19 PM · #15

Some more thanks to melethia, jutilda, pineapple, goodman, and hey librodo too for a fave! W00t!

librodo

Nikon D3s

05/13/2006 12:11:23 AM · #16

They are beautiful pictures...and very good models. Keep on shooting...and keep on sharing.