getting into digital photography....

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jkbarnes
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by jkbarnes »

In regards to camera, over the last 10 years I’ve abandoned my Nikon DSLR system in favor of more portable and light mirrorless cameras. And in the last 2 years I’ve more or less abandoned those for my iPhone and two compact add on lenses for it! The best camera is the one you have with you! I brought a single camera body with two lenses on my honeymoon, and wound up pulling it out just ONCE! All my images were shot on my iPhone.

It’s not about the camera to create great images, but the eye behind it.
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by missF »

jkbarnes wrote:... I once saw a guy with what was easily a $3,500 Canon DSLR/lens set-up struggling to get a decent image of his wife on the Eiffel Tower! He had no idea how it worked and was using it as an incredibly expensive (and heavy!) point and shoot!
:D
thanks for all your thoughts - i agree that the image is the thing, and will check out your book recommendations.
your picture of the guy on the eiffel tower made me smile. i see so many tourists around edinburgh who i suspect are doing the same...
i have excruciating memories of my dad with his SLR camera pointed at us for half an hour while he twiddled and fiddled, and we got bored and restless!
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by reggie747 »

jkbarnes wrote:on my honeymoon, and wound up pulling it out just ONCE!
Good going... :lol: :lol:

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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by jkbarnes »

missF wrote:
jkbarnes wrote:... I once saw a guy with what was easily a $3,500 Canon DSLR/lens set-up struggling to get a decent image of his wife on the Eiffel Tower! He had no idea how it worked and was using it as an incredibly expensive (and heavy!) point and shoot!
:D
thanks for all your thoughts - i agree that the image is the thing, and will check out your book recommendations.
your picture of the guy on the eiffel tower made me smile. i see so many tourists around edinburgh who i suspect are doing the same...
i have excruciating memories of my dad with his SLR camera pointed at us for half an hour while he twiddled and fiddled, and we got bored and restless!
It used to be that using a SLR required a certain amount of technical knowledge/expertise. Not so anymore! This is great in how it has empowered so many people to create properly exposed images. The downside however, is also that it’s too easy to get a properly exposed image, requiring no deep knowledge base expertise - great for snapshots but bad if you want to create compelling images.

My recommendation: be constantly creating images, be constantly critiquing your images (and seek critique from those whose images you like!), and only share the good ones!

The strength of digital from a learning stand point is that you can literally take thousands of images without it costing a thing and you get immediate feedback on the view screen. That’s a great way to learn!
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by jkbarnes »

reggie747 wrote:
jkbarnes wrote:on my honeymoon, and wound up pulling it out just ONCE!
Good going... :lol: :lol:

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Well played sir, well played. :clap:
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Re: getting into digital photography....

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Great topic, Lindsey, and so much brilliant advice. I am going to muddy the waters slightly here.

Back in the days of film I had an SLR with loads of lenses and charged around everywhere with a huge box. I did a lot of black and white darkroom work and came up with some pretty good pictures. Since digital cameras started to get better I have become very lazy, and have only ever used a small compact digital such as my 11 year old Canon Ixus. Using this in concert with Photoshop has enabled me to be creative with digital images, sometimes with good results.

Image

The other thing that I have learned over many many years is to use the light and cultivate serendipity. Even on a small camera or iPhone you can get terrific images if you have the best possible light. And sometimes it’s just about moving yards to the left or right to gain a better viewpoint. I still take hundreds and discard about 95% of them, but I believe that what I keep is worthwhile. I fully concur that the very best kit will undoubtedly give you the finest image quality, but sometimes it’s just about being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes you get lucky. These were taken, as I said, with either the Canon or a phone camera and marginally enhanced in Photoshop.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Sorry, a bit presumptuous perhaps, but I do firmly believe that good art is achievable with even humble equipment.
Steve
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getting into digital photography....

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Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:Sorry, a bit presumptuous perhaps, but I do firmly believe that good art is achievable with even humble equipment.
Absolutely, smartphone cameras can deliver great photographs.

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River Alde, Orford Suffolk.
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by jkbarnes »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:Great topic, Lindsey, and so much brilliant advice. I am going to muddy the waters slightly here.

Back in the days of film I had an SLR with loads of lenses and charged around everywhere with a huge box. I did a lot of black and white darkroom work and came up with some pretty good pictures. Since digital cameras started to get better I have become very lazy, and have only ever used a small compact digital such as my 11 year old Canon Ixus. Using this in concert with Photoshop has enabled me to be creative with digital images, sometimes with good results.

Image

The other thing that I have learned over many many years is to use the light and cultivate serendipity. Even on a small camera or iPhone you can get terrific images if you have the best possible light. And sometimes it’s just about moving yards to the left or right to gain a better viewpoint. I still take hundreds and discard about 95% of them, but I believe that what I keep is worthwhile. I fully concur that the very best kit will undoubtedly give you the finest image quality, but sometimes it’s just about being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes you get lucky. These were taken, as I said, with either the Canon or a phone camera and marginally enhanced in Photoshop.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Sorry, a bit presumptuous perhaps, but I do firmly believe that good art is achievable with even humble equipment.
Great post! The art of photography is to be found in the eye behind the equipment. The equipment is just the tool, the means to an end.

You’ve got some great images there, by the way!
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by missF »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:.... I did a lot of black and white darkroom work and came up with some pretty good pictures....
does anyone think there's benefit to be had in only working in B+W for a wee while to start with? i do love black and white photography and i'm sure it's something i'd veer towards naturally?
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by reggie747 »

Another old but wise rule of thumb taking into consideration what AVO says about lighting....

"Never take a photo after 10am and before 4pm". The lights just not right.

Another of my own rules.....if you've trekked half the length of the country to your photo shoot venue of choice and the weather takes the pit ie. (The Lake District ha!) and sun moves to another continent and leaves behind grey skies, look lower for your subject, keep the sky out of the composition and shoot in monochrome.
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by jkbarnes »

missF wrote:
Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:.... I did a lot of black and white darkroom work and came up with some pretty good pictures....
does anyone think there's benefit to be had in only working in B+W for a wee while to start with? i do love black and white photography and i'm sure it's something i'd veer towards naturally?
One of the beauties of digital is that you can shoot in color and convert to B&W. I rarely go out with the intent of shooting B&W. I convert on my computer as the subject dictates. I’ll see if I can find some examples to illustrate...
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by reggie747 »

jkbarnes wrote:
missF wrote:
Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:.... I did a lot of black and white darkroom work and came up with some pretty good pictures....
does anyone think there's benefit to be had in only working in B+W for a wee while to start with? i do love black and white photography and i'm sure it's something i'd veer towards naturally?
One of the beauties of digital is that you can shoot in color and convert to B&W. I rarely go out with the intent of shooting B&W. I convert on my computer as the subject dictates. I’ll see if I can find some examples to illustrate...
Shooting in B & W makes you look and appreciate more for shadow and light forms, I'm crap at it and I'm always drawn to colour in a scene.
Fluffy cuddly kittens and little puppy dogs.......????
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

reggie747 wrote:Another old but wise rule of thumb taking into consideration what AVO says about lighting....

"Never take a photo after 10am and before 4pm". The lights just not right.

Another of my own rules.....if you've trekked half the length of the country to your photo shoot venue of choice and the weather takes the pit ie. (The Lake District ha!) and sun moves to another continent and leaves behind grey skies, look lower for your subject, keep the sky out of the composition and shoot in monochrome.
Great advice!

Here is the story behind the sunset with the aeroplane. I had noticed on the trip to Fuerteventura how the sun set behind those hills from a point on the coastal path. A couple of days later the sirocco wind blew sand in from the Sahara, making the evening sky appear orange. I went out to photograph the sunset which was incredibly dramatic, but I never quite expected that an inbound would cross my path at the right moment – or that funny little triangular cloud!

Again, I never quite expected the play of light I saw briefly on the walls of Bilbao Cathedral or the view down from the foothills of the Pyrenees as I was just about to disappear into cloud. Carpe Diem!
Steve
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by jkbarnes »

reggie747 wrote: Shooting in B & W makes you look and appreciate more for shadow and light forms, I'm crap at it and I'm always drawn to colour in a scene.
I’ve never been able to “see” in B&W. It requires looking beyond color and focusing on contrast. I’ve never gotten good at that
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Re: getting into digital photography....

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Back in the days of film you had to be able to visualise in B/W. I particularly enjoyed using red and yellow lens filters for different effects. You could compensate to some extent with the enlarger and the chemicals, but a good initial negative was unbeatable. I would often take a couple of dozen photos of the same subjects with different filters and aperture/speed combinations. Ilford 100ASA film was cheap in bulk, and I used to load my own cartridges.
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Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time


Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
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