I'm just curious as to where most of you guys primarily shoot. When I get time, I need to get a good shot of the town I live in just to give a little perspective (quite a small town less than 10,000 people; but the college has around 3,000 students). Photography definately comes down to how you use it. Unfortunate for me, it's extremely boring and repetitive out in western Oklahoma; keeps me thinking of how to capture the small details that make a place great.

I just want to know what everyone has to work with.

Thanks,

Michael

I'm pretty much in the same situation, small town, less than 8,000 people, and a college down the road. I go for walks in the forest, or my backyard even. I shoot still lifes, in my studio better known as my kitchen. And I make sure I take my camera with me when I go on weekend getaways.... But I have to admit I live in a state that is very small.... comparing size you could probably fit 10 of them into Oaklahoma. I can get to NYC or Boston in under 3 hours and the state captiol of Providence is under 45 minutes away, so finding subject matter isn't quite so hard.

I primarily shoot everywhere. I have my digital camera with me all the time. My wife used to accuse me of even taking it to the bathroom! Well it wasn't true... until I did a few hundred shots of dripping water... Today I will be shooting in the woods near a local college. The area is very rustic and there is an old reflecting pond and a stone mini ampatheater (sp?). The shoot has to be somewhat stealthful though. Though its not illegal to be there (its just off a walking path) the customer wants some nude shots done. This is where I envy you in Oklahoma, to have so much wide open space not so very far away would be great. Also remember even on the brightest night you will see zillions more stars than we will see on the darkest! I remember being in the middle of a range in southern OK and just looking up, beautiful! Magick Michael

I do tend to go TO some place to find photo opportunities. It may only be to a park or the shopping mall, but the series is often defined by the place. Others work differently, as with finding new forms and textures while chopping up vegetables. In either case, it is the viewpoint and imagination more than the actual location which is important. Why not do a series showing us all what western Oklahoma is like? If your imagination interprets it as "boring and repetitive," than show us that!

Yeah, on a clear night, you can easily see the stars inside town, but once you get out where it's darker and your eyes can adjust, there's just so much more to see. Once I find some good nights when I'm free, I'm going to experiment with star trail pictures. Not quite sure how to get the best results from them, so if you guys have any tips on them, they'd be welcome. The current set of equipment that I use is as follows: EOS 10D, EF 50mm 1.4, EF 100mm 2.8, TC-80N3 timer controller. Both lenses have the exact same light gathering area (35.4mm openings), so both should produce the same results, right?

Again, I'll try to find time to get basic pictures of my town, but also find time to get out and find some other places to get pictures (I've been meaning to get to the Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City, but I haven't found a good spot inbetween my school and work schedule)

I hope to learn a lot from communication and receiving feedback from you guys. Remember that I'm just a beginner, so feedback, both positive and negative, is definately appreciated.

Thank you all for your support,

Michael