Went to a Celtic Festival yesterday....took both the digital and the Nikon, took over 60 shots with the digital and a roll of film..... Caledonia (a forum member) was playing there and we had hoped to meet....unfortunately I couldn't find her!! I took my kids and we had a great time....Fish & Chips ... Yum.... and some really cool stuff to see. I'm not to happy with the results of the digital shots...the sun was bright and I'm finding the harsh shadows are a real b*tch to correct... I kept a polarizer on the SLR so hopefully those will be better?.... I did find it easier to photograph people this way. None of these are great but I did want to share the one's I thought were semi-decent....

and number 2......

hubba hubba....must say I thought he was quite sexy in his kilt.....

Interesting, I have a sister who used to love going to things like this, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself as much as you seem to have .)

and the final one..... I'll be taking my film in tomorrow....so we'll see how those come out....if any are decent I'll post them....

It seems I caught ya mid post eh? Sorry about that

Somebody needs to tell Mr. Shades that Spiderman does not wear a skirt. Sheesh. And shave your legs, Wilma!! hehehe I can't help myself ... too many Scottish and Irish friends that I love saying stuff like that too. :) I think the first one can be really good if you correct it. Bring the shaded part up a bit while maintaining the strong highlight area so it doesn't blow out. Hmmm...I think #3 needs the guy put into context. Is he doing highland games? Would be great if you could have got him in motion. Glad to see you're shooting more strangers. Going back to the first one, she has a lot of character in her face. I like her. I probably would have snapped off 5 or 6 of her from different angles while she worked. Especially with the non-distracting background she's in front of. Can't wait to see your film shots. -=>Donald

I've read that a flash does well in correcting the harsh shadows from bright sun. I've never tried it on my digital, haven't figured out how to force a flash in bright light yet. Your pictures are great and looks like you weren't too shy, especially with your men shots. #1 is great.

Good for you getting out there again, you're gonna be over any apprehensions in no time. They are all great, seem like a fun thing to attend. I have to say number three is definitely my favorite...good timing ;p

#1 is really nice. Lady seems really part of her work, and you've caught this well. Must have been in at least partial shade. As for the little Catholic schoolgirl skirt... no wait, that is another thread. I suspect the polarizer will not be much help with this kind of high contrast situation. Miserable light for shooting people, and I don't do it enough myself to have real good answers. Cloudy days are best. Some shade, or even backlight (sort of like #3), will get rid of the harsh shadows. When the subject is then lit by a broad expanse of blue sky, sometimes need a "skylight" warming filter helps. In theory, this is what flash on camera should be good for. I've not had much experience using it.

Doca - Correct you are. You would use the flash for fill. It's the type of thing you use when shooting portraits outdoors. Would be nice if you could put the sun to your back and get all that wonderful light on the subjects face, but then they end up squinting and looking mad, so you turn them so the sun isn't in their eyes and add fill flash to bring light to the shadows, evening it all out and making it look more natural. You can also do this when someone is wearing hat and you want to get good, even exposure on their face. Another option is a reflector. -=>Donald

First of all let me say that #3 has got it all wrong. That is NOT what your supposed to wear under your kilt! Now the only thing I heard of that was passable under the kilt is a bow to let yee know you won first prize! I think thes are good shots! The ones with the polorizing filter may be better if it was dark enough to double as an ND filter. The first shot is by far the best. That is an award winner if you ask me. Maybe in B&W it may be even better. And we all hope you had a wee bit of fun shootin' them too! Magick O'Michael

First and second shots are my favorites. Good job. Did you try any meat pies? Or catch any of the solo piping? Really glad you and your kids had a good time.

good to see you out there working the events... #2 works for me because it seems to have some sort of context. so that's what they wear under their kilts :-P