Test shots

[Wingutcg]

I have recently started to learn about photography and how to get the most out of my new digital camera. I have spent hours reading about exposure and settings, and just as many hours experimenting with my digital camera. Then I found my wifes old Ricoh KR5 camera that she had in a box in the storage room. So I took this completely manual film camera out and tried to apply what I have learned over the last few months. Here is the best picture I took. Tell me what you think.

 

[ann]

off to a good start, watch the backgrounds so they don't get cluttered. use an fstop with less DOF, i.e. 2.8 and move them so they aren't so close to the door, that way it helps the background become blurrier

 

[stephen]

I like the image because from a historical or documentary point of view you can't go wrong if the exposure is good and you capture the moment. But from an Artistic view there is probably always room for improvement and things to learn.

It seems pretty sharp were you hand holding or did you use a tripod? Very yellow looking on this screen, was it early morning or late afternoon light? I don't see the light as a negative thing, I'm just commenting on it.

I'm just getting back into photography and into film. Using medium format and 35mm cameras.

I'm struggling with the entire Art vs Documentary thing as far as what I want out of my photography. I find that I'll often shoot a roll and have nothing on it I like from an artistic point of view. And I'm still struggling to learn more about Art and how to make it on film.

Below is a link to an image I made about two weeks back and just got the film. I was using an old Pentax K1000 someone gave me. It has a nice zoom lens on it that has "macro" features as well. This was my first macro shot with that camera. This old camera is all manual and has an old needle you can see in the viewfinder which is the light meter needle. This was in fact a modest sized limb that came down in a dark woods.

If I got one image each roll that I liked this much, I'd be a happy man. But I'm finding that it takes time and effort if you are trying to make Art out of photography. And there is much disappointment along the way. So much to learn and so little time!

http://home.comcast.net/~disposable12/macrolimb.jpg

Good luck with your efforts. Buy a few books, I've got a dozen of them now.