WOW! Thanks Mike for that comparison. I have not looked at the D70 before. There are many upgrades from the D100. I would get one too.

I think these SLRs have better picture quality than the new small 8mp cameras because the pixels are so much bigger on the SLRs.

Garth

Welcome aboard
 

Hi Garth,

Very impressive work. It's nice to have you aboard. Philadelphia is my home town although I have been a New Yorker since 1970. I graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art with an illustration degree and no knowledge whatsoever. I always wondered what path my life would have taken had I gone to the Academy instead.

I'm also considering the leap to digital. I'm considering the Canon Powershot Pro 1 as well as the D70 and the Rebel.

On one hand the Pro 1 comes with an "L" quality lens. A zoom lens alone goes for over a thousand. It can shoot at an ISO of 50 which would eliminate noise if one was shooting under good light as opposed to the 200 ISO of the Rebel and the D 70. This coupled with a far superior lens and more features makes it seem very appealing. I too am waiting for the review conclusions to make my final determination. The 8 mp files will blow up to 20 x 30 inches.

On the other hand here is a review of the D70 http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d70.htm that also has my full attention.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum, Garth. Looking forward to seeing more of your beautiful works.

Welcome Garth, your work is beautiful. I have always wanted to try sculpture, but don't have a clue where to start!

Welcome, and congratulations Garth from down under!

With more and more experience coming into this forum, I am getting more eager to understand and comprehend and practice all that is here.

I really enjoy when you guys get typing, those fingers must be red.

Garth,

A graduate of Tyler School of Art at Temple University (BFA, Magna Cum Laude, MFA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Simmie Knox, is in D.C. now.

Thanks Marvin, Josef, Mary, Ngaire, and SB: It is wonderful to be so instantly welcomed. I am not used to such comradery (I've never used this word before so I had to look up the spelling). A studio can be a very solitary place without this forum.

Marvin: I am so impressed with your work! I hope you take it as a compliment that I think your portraits are on par with Ingres. Your sense of design is great; the precision of your eye and hand are razor sharp; and as a technician, you seem unparalleled. These are all areas I need to improve; so your praise feels very high to me. Thankyou.

I checked out the Canon website and the Powershot Pro 1 is very impressive indeed at ISO 50. There are no sample pictures at ISO 400, but I bet they begin to show some noise there. ISO 400 on a D70 will be very negligable if it has the same chracteristics as a D100. This is because of the pixel pitch (or distance between each pixel). The pixel pitch is three times greater on a D70 than on a Powershot Pro 1.

What I would do Marvin, is purchase a Compact Flash storage media card (any capacity will do), since both cameras use the same card. Go to a camera store and take each camera for a comparative test drive in the store with your personal card, then go download the test pictures and see which camera offers the best balance of picture quality for your needs. I tried this myself a few years back.

Josef: Thanks for your welcome. I love your interactive layered portrait on your website. You are also an incredible draftsman. I don't consider myself to be particularly good at draftsmanship. My finished paintings are the result of thousands of drawing corrections. I don't know if I could pull off a before and after overlay as successfully as you have.

Mary: Thanks! This was my first portrait sculpture, and I had to learn everything on the fly, in front of the client. Just get some clay and start playing with it. You will find your way. It is a whole new way of thinking. In 3D, you can't get away with any distortions as easily as you can in paint. This is very challenging and frustrating at first, and it makes you really appreciate that you are an accomplished 2D painter.

Ngaire: Thats why I am here too. There is just so much collective experience to draw upon. There is benefit for everyone. As far as typing goes, I'm about as slow as it gets as I hunt and peck.

SB: Thanks, I need to explore the SOG galleries some more.

Garth

Wow, Garth - that's some beautiful work!

Welcome!

Hi Garth and WELCOME!
Thank you for the comments you left in my guestbook and I must say that this little boy's portrait is fabulous. You even captured the little pout he has on his face and such nice fleshy curves. It must have been a very low fire clay to keep the surface so subtle and rounded without much shrinkage. Your proportions are perfect. If this is your first, I certainly hope that you don't stop there - you obviously have a knack for it. Bravo.

Terri and Heidi, Thankyou so much.

Heidi, here is the truth about the little boy sculpture photo: I shot the picture before it was fired! It changed a little in the firing. There were a couple of troublesome cracks which I filled in and retouched. I really enjoyed playing with the lighting of the sculpture, and I may have shot over 400 photos until I had 6 or 7 shots I really liked.

All these pictures were for just in case the sculpture was lost in the firing. I think it nearly was lost. The clay body shrank 18% and the base cylinder was partly vitrified into glass. While horrified, I did my best to retouch it with acrylics. Fortunately the client accepted it and gave me the final payment. Next time I will fire at cone 06 instead of 6, which will leave this brown clay body in a light pink color with no risk of loss.

Garth

Here is a shot of it after being fired: