F-Stop Junkie

I'd still suggest film. I think Rob has grown up as a child of digital - apologies if this is wrong Rob - so doesn't appreciate what shooting with film can do to your thought processes. I remember when I used to shoot trials events with film, and I'd get a box of slides back from Fuji, and I'd go through them. The elation of a great shot tempered by disappointment of the shot that was out of focus or wrongly exposed. The thought that it could have been great, enhanced by 3 or 4 days of waiting for the postman to bring the slides back. Heck, I nearly cried when a roll from Koxxdays had a scratch in the emulsion through every single frame More of my thoughts on this here. In a way, it's good to slow down the process of taking photos. It gives more time for thought, and knowing that you can't see the result means you have to get it right. You bracket, you try different angles. You don't just fire off a dozen shots and see which one looks best in Photoshop. As a I said before though, the cost of old film cameras is next to nothing. Look on eBay and you can find a bargain!

Never done any formal photography courses, but I'd certainly suggest film, and something as manual as possible. Olympus OM-10 for example. This will force you to really consider what you're doing. Working with film as well will reinforce this. I think with digital, it's way too easy to go <click> nope <click> nope <click> nope.... If you take enough shots of anything, you'll end up with a couple of decent ones. Going out with 36 frames and no way of checking what you've got straight away will really make you think about what you're doing and ensure you understand it. Plus bits and lenses for them are dead cheap, they have a retro cool, and much less likely to get nicked. Also, if you buy a cheap Canon dSLR and lenses, then decide you want to go Nikon once you've finished, you've got a lot of expensive kit to junk. If you want to try a Canon 50mm lens, it'll probably cost you £40-£50 used for the F1.8. One for an OM-10 will probably be about £5 with another body thrown in

As per my previous post, yes you can! I've been on my parents insurance since I passed my test, and now that Direct Line offer no claims for named drivers (kind of) I can get discounted insurance even though I've never had a policy of my own.

One thing to add for those learning to drive, I've been insured on my parents car since I passed my test, even though I don't really use it any more. They're insured with Direct Line, and as a result I'm now eligeable for a discount because I've been a named driver for 7 years without a claim. Best bit is that after a year of having a policy in my own name, the discount gets converted into full no claims, so I'll have 8 years no claims! So even with no no-claims of my own, I'm being quoted £275 fully comp on a 1.8 Focus! And £625 fully comp on a BMW 328i

It's a bloody hard way to make a living. Not only do you have to fight for work, you have to keep producing good results. Even if you work for a magazine or newspaper, there will always be a hundred people wanting your job. Then you have issues of copyright, usage, chasing payment, all the legal requirements if you're freelance... Take photos, work on improving yourself as a photographer. Post your images up here. If you want to do it above all else and are willing to work bloody hard, then go for it. If you fancy taking a few snaps and making an easy pay cheque each month, then you're looking at the wrong career.

Not many frames are 'ripped off'. Each version, where ever it comes from, has a tweak here, a tweak there... At the end of the day there are only so many variations on how you design a bike. Once the axles, BB shell and head tube are set, almost everything else is window dressing. Joining two bits of tube with CNC plates differently is still two bits of tube joined by a CNC plate. To me, the land marks in frame geometry (for 26" anyway) in my eleven years of riding are: 1) Proper trials frames. Hawyes Giant, Pashley 26MHz, Orange Zero, Pace RC-250T, etc... 2) The original Koxx Levelboss - long bikes arrive 3) The Koxx Vinco - BB's head skywards. Now Leeson have some phenomenal engineering and design touches on their bikes, Zoo/Echo/whatever have produced great evolutions on current design philosophies, but these arn't quantum leaps. This also doesn't take into account the great work Onza has done producing frames that would have £700 in the Crescent days for £300, and they're trying things. No doubt Deng is banging out prototypes too which we never see. Kris and Clive have reaffirmed my faith in their work with the 2win. A gorgeous, true custom bike. I'm sure there are all kinds of designs floating around which will keep us salivating for many years to come. No doubt Deng will roll out more CNC goodies, Charge will hopefully bring their all-round bike to market, and there will be something for everyone. So, in conclusion, we've never had it so good.

The YMSAs are the nearest, based around Matlock and Derbyshire

I started Sept 95 on a 19" Kona Lavadome when I was 15. Martyn stole my 'I'm old' thunder

Ummm, I'd disagree. I see what you mean that you'll get worse images from a great body and an awful lens than you will from a awful body with a great lens, but I'd say that image quality these days is sufficiently high that there is no bad bodies. Pair it with good glass, and you'll get good images out of a D50 or 350D. That said, the AF performance (and hence sharpness) of a 1D will outperform any cheaper body, as will the colour handling of a 1Ds or 5D. The same image taken with a 350D and 1D Mk2 and the same lens of something moving - say sports - will produce a sharper image with the 1D, probably better colour handling too due to the different image processors and sensors involved. Of course, you're paying seven times as much for the body... Smaller zoom range is better than a larger zoom range. True, but the 18-125 has a smaller zoom range than the 55-200, so should be somewhere equal in performance to the 55-200

Where is the D80 available with a kit lens?

I'd expect shipping to begin end of September on past experiences. Canon tend to build up stocks and release quickly instead of announcing well in advance... I'd expect the price initally to be similar to what the 350D came in at. £650? If you're travelling, and especially if you're changing lenses, then the dust cleaning functions of the 400D will be worth their weight in gold. If you just have the one lens, then getting a 350D on clear out may well be a bit of a bargain! Edit: £549 I've seen quoted here - at the bottom of the page. Warehouseexpress.com are listing the 350D for £399. Is the difference worth £150? Upto you really... EISA awards are pretty meaningless IMHO. The rule with zoom lenses is that the bigger the focal length range, the more distortion and colour problems you'll have. F6.3 is also incredibly slow and you would struggle to shoot in anything other than bright daylight. Taking into account you'll need a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second ( or 1/320th if your camera does half or third stop adjustments) to stop camera shake at 200mm, you'll also have AF problems. I believe Canon list AF functions occuring down to F5.6, after that the body with either stop AFing, or have problems. If you're after 'one lens to rule them all' then I'd suggest the Sigma 18-125 DC, you'll lose a bit on the long end, but with 8 or 10 megapixels you'll have plenty of ability to crop the image later, and still be left with a good image.

I'd certainly agree with this. It depends how much you generally you're used to carrying. The only restriction will be that you'll need a tripod for any evening or night photography. Don't forget too that you've got to have enough memory card space to ensure you can store all your photos, or find somewhere you can download them!

The 400D is the replacement, so it'll be around 350D prices anyway - or so I believe Yup, it's outclassing the 30D on megapixels, but lacks features like spot metering, magnesium body, dial on the back and so on... The 30D WILL be replaced come February. The question is will it be full-frame being driven to a lower price point, or a further developments of a semi-pro 1.6 crop body. The 5D is following quite a similar path to the D60 and 10D, so it's not inconceivable that full frame will soon become a viable option...

And it'll be blown into the weeds tomorrow

I'd say neither. If you can hang on a month or two, take the Canon 400D. 10.1 megapixel sensor, in camera dust removal, improved AF system taken from the 30D... You heard it here first.

Ah, the naiviety of youth. I realised many years ago that the Daily Mail is just a right wing, conservative shit rag that has nothing to do with real life. It's just for people who sit in their mansions after 30 years on the board of multinational banks and oil companies wondering when the Government will stop giving people an easy ride, stop benefits (because the unemployed just don't want to work), deport everyone who can't trace their ancestry back to the 13th century, and kill all single mothers since they're the cause of global warming. All throughout history adults have be sceptical or worried of youth movements they don't understand. In the 70s it was long hair, 45 minute prog rock concept albums and soft drugs. In the 50s it was the 'rock and roll' kids, with young girls screaming at the Beatles. Heck, go back far enough and I'm sure parents were worried about how the young people were starting to follow this 'Moses' chap who had a boat or something to going to sea...

Impressive riding - for a unicycle - but rubbish photos. Quantity is no subsitute for quality. Better to post a couple of the best shots here, with a link to a gallery.

I think some of these are getting away from trials... "VALIDATED"

I know this sounds obvious, but you need to work out an end point. What do you currently do which you enjoy? What would you like to make a career out of? No need to be specific, but say you enjoy physics at school, then you can look into your options in that area - medical physics, engineering physics, pure physics - both in terms of future study and eventual work. Remember though, you don't need to be specific at your point in life, you just need an area to focus on, and you'll find out more about your options as you progress. If you decide though that you want to do something more vocational, then it can be more advantageous to start working as soon as possible, and build up experience. To learn website design at uni is great, but some people will argue when you try to get work that someone with a degree will be in a worse position than someone who has a dozen live websites already running. Also, don't make assumptions about future jobs. It may look glamorous to be a video guy, working at big concerts or whatever, but I'm sure other people will tell you that for 1 hour of glamour there are months of deadlines, hard work, late nights and competition for jobs in a market with more applicants than jobs. Some people are lucky that they fall into jobs that give them satisfaction, other people focus on careers early and work through a field of interest, realise they've made a mistake and retrain. Ultimately, find something in life that gives you some satisfaction, and be prepared to do some crap work initally to build upto better stuff later on...

You think these are massive works of literature? I'd avoid books then... I think this is part of the problem. A lot of trials riders are so used to having stuff handed to them, that cheap frames are available, tutorials easy to come by, videos provided ad nauseum. Trials used to be about adapting what you could to fit the purpose of trials, scrounging around for any odd article about it in magazines, and subscribing to obscure mailing lists on the 'net to learn about what team ORB are upto, or how the next Monty X-Lite was different from the last. Trials is fundamentally about analysis and thought. What makes this frame better than that? How can I get through this section? How can I ride this differently? Maybe it's a TGS thing, that people don't look or think beyond the apparent or obvious. That's what separates the good from the great...

You have to be media, otherwise the ramp would be overrun!

With a damn scary, shakey ladder. However, seeing the inline skaters going up it, I figured it couldn't be that bad.... On a serious note, I had a media pass for the LG arena so I could get full access around and onto the ramp. However, they did shoo everyone off the ramp during the competitions, but not the demos. That's why I could get shots like this... Or

Yeah, incredibly dark, but with the extra lighting in the LG arena it wasn't too bad. The dark crowd helps isolate the riders I think. My Mat Hoffman and Tony Hawk pics are better I think If it had been the same ramp and same riders in blazing sun, it would really have made a difference! Heheheh, nope. All of these are pretty much untouched! If I had the time, I'd have certainly cleaned, cropped and polished a bit more!

Errr, yeah. The good ones have gone to print, but I'll sort through the others and see what good ones I can get. I hate shooting inside the NEC, it's so dark for photography...

Ah well, if it's wrong, please move to chit-chat... A few shots taken at NASS last weekend... Most, if not all, are full frame and quickly edited to post up. One of the Yamamotos I think? The unknown flair artist Some Author rider World's best off-camera flash Tabron? Again? The exception to the arse rule. Eyes beat arses. Mahoosive ramp with rickety, scary ladders Finally, the great man...