I took 300 pictures this afternoon... and kept 1

[LaFoto]

Bare trees lend themselves willingly to black&white photography, I feel.

And at least you DO delete your test pics and those that turned into bloopers.

I still have DVDs full of old files from back then which make me CRINGE when I look at them, and I DID START WITH FILM, and a Rollei 35, which meant I had to work ALL manually, so much so that for closer-up portrait style shots we needed to use a measuring tape to see if we were as close as the (closest possible) 70cms to the subject, or at 80cms, or at 1 metre, or at 1,2 m, or at 1,5 ... and often, if we only GUESSED in those ranges and didn't measure, we had a blurred pic.

All that in my personal "history" (which was that of a mere snapshotter for years on end I freely admit) has not brought about "only pleasing" digital photos at first, either. A-hem... no! Like they make me CRINGE today (some don't but most do).

 

[Dagwood56]

I REALLY like the opening page of your gallery on your web site. Did you use a special program to do this? If so is it availabe for Windows Vista? I'm still trying to find a free website to use [considering bravenet] and I was just wondering if this was software I could purchase and use to create this look. I'm going for the old fashioned look of the old photo albums with a hand writing font in white against the black background to describe each of my photos. ---Thanks

 

[Samanax]

There is a very good reason for me, it's to see how different settings change the outcome of my shot. You may not see the value in this, but for me it's part of the learning experience. I wasn't in the part to get a killer picture as much as I was to learn exposure. I haven't deleted anything, I only have one of the 300 which I've posted online.

I see nothing wrong with what you've done...if you're new to photography and going through the learning process (which never ends, by the way) then I see no reason not to go out and mess with your exposure settings, take a shot, check it out on the LCD screen and then repeat the process over and over again just to see what you get. I've done that (still do) and I learned a lot while doing so. That's the beauty of shooting with a digital camera...doesn't cost you anything to shoot and see your pictures right after they're shot. So what if you only like 1 shot out of 300...I bet you learned something and had fun while doing so.

In time you'll eventually develop your style and have a clear idea of what you want to capture and will more than likely reduce the number of shots you take and have a much higher keeper rate. But only after you've gone through the learning process that you're going through now. It's very rare to have someone who is just starting out in photography to able to shoot completely awesome photographs right from the start. Most of us go through a period of getting to know our camera (playing with all the features and settings and what not) and then we learn about exposure, understanding light, learning composition and how to compose a good shot, how to manipulate the image to our liking (like using a slow shutter speed to add motion blur or using a wide open aperture and careful positioning to get that photo with the awesome bokeh) and then eventually we start to figure out what we actually want to take pictures of.

So if you're still trying to figure out what you want to do, go ahead and shoot all you want...experiment and play with your camera and pictures. Nothing wrong with that if you're learning and trying to find yourself as a photographer. Do what you want to do.

 

[Samanax]

Here's three more from yesterday.

I really like the railroad track shot and the gazebo framed by the tree branches. I think those work nicely as B&W conversions. The railroad tracks image is very nice compositionally. The gazebo shot works because of the framing...but I wish that thing in the foreground (a sundial?) wasn't there.

The picture of the bench is a snapshot. A few things to try next time that might improve the capture. Don't center your subject..."Dead center is deadly". Get closer. Shoot from a different perspective...get down on a knee or stand on another bench to get the camera higher, anything that makes the shot look like you weren't just standing there. Watch your backgrounds. Maybe reduce the DOF.

 

[inTempus]

I REALLY like the opening page of your gallery on your web site. Did you use a special program to do this? If so is it availabe for Windows Vista? I'm still trying to find a free website to use [considering bravenet] and I was just wondering if this was software I could purchase and use to create this look. I'm going for the old fashioned look of the old photo albums with a hand writing font in white against the black background to describe each of my photos. ---Thanks

The application I'm using is only available on Mac, it's called iWeb. I'm sure there are similar applications out there for Windows users. I know many hosting companies have templates now you can use to create a site via your web browser.

 

[inTempus]

I really like the railroad track shot and the gazebo framed by the tree branches. I think those work nicely as B&W conversions. The railroad tracks image is very nice compositionally. The gazebo shot works because of the framing...but I wish that thing in the foreground (a sundial?) wasn't there.

The picture of the bench is a snapshot. A few things to try next time that might improve the capture. Don't center your subject..."Dead center is deadly". Get closer. Shoot from a different perspective...get down on a knee or stand on another bench to get the camera higher, anything that makes the shot look like you weren't just standing there. Watch your backgrounds. Maybe reduce the DOF.

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.

I'll try to remember the "dead center is deadly" saying. It seems it's a natural thing for our eyes to try and center everything even though I know it's not always desirable.

I have so much to figure out about lighting, framing, settings... it seems a bit overwhelming at times, but it doesn't discourage me.

I just ordered the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson based upon all the feedback here and on Amazon.

I also picked up the book "Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital Photography" and have found it to be VERY helpful in understanding my camera.

I probably should take a course in photography or something at the local college... if only I had the free time.