Just graduated from nursing school and the wife/fam hooked me up with a Canon Rebel XS w/ 18-55mm IS lens, 75-300mm lens, and other accessories. Can't wait to get out on the boat and get some shots. Any tips for a first timer?

Learn your camera and it's settings. Take lots of shots & don't get to frustrated they will get better. For WB shots from the boat try setting the camera on Tv (Shutter Priority) and bump the shutter speed up to stop the action. That's the advice I got and it was a good starting point for me. Have fun & good luck.

Another trick worth trying is to get a stable seat in the boat...autofocus on the rider as they are just cruising behind the boat, and then switch the focus to 'Manual'...and don't touch it! Because the line is a fixed length, as long as you don't move, the rider will stay in focus. This will help avoid some of those slightly blurry shots as the rider goes flying across the wake. Just don't forget to repeat the process with each new rider...in fact, I do it more often than that because invariably I end up needing to move around the boat.

Loren i've used that also, works pretty good. I try and auto focus on the rider sitting still in the water with a tight rope, switch to manual and use a strip of blue painters tape on the focus ring so it wont move.

I'm not a great photographer but with that 75-300 don't get frustrated. It is SUPER slow. You'll get used to it eventually.

Why aren't you guys using AIServo?

Rich I am now, I used that when I was first starting out and did'nt know much, come to think of it I still don't <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/sad.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>I will try and get some shots of Chris this weekend at the PWT in Texas. I hope they don't draw the same heat, that would suck.

Thanks Randy I'd love to see them! <BR> <BR>Chris's wake tricks pass seemed solid in watching him practice this week, we'll see how he does on the obstacles! It's his first PWT event and we both know this is a long painful process, I'm just glad to see him going, he had to try it at some point and starting the process is more important then the results in my mind. <BR> <BR>If he ends up "losing" to someone I hope it's Alex because I like to root for the guys I know!