My first photos

[SteveEllis]

Hi Guys,

I am very new to photography, I've had cameras for years but only used them for the average snap. Recently I was given a Canon EOS 300, I must admit that the myriad of controls is still a little over whelming.

These are my first photos

In this one I was trying to use the bridge as the focus point

This one I wanted to show the path disappearing into the woodland

I walk past these gates a lot but dont stop to look often, more of a general shot.

Again this one was just a general shot.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

I've looked at TonyWorkShop close up water photos and thought they were awesome, I would like to try a few of those, how do you get such a close up?

I'm going to some waterfalls tomorrow, any tips? I would really like to catch the waterfall at a stand still so you can see the beads of water, I've tried a few shots at 1/2000 but they come out black

Cheers Guys,
Steve.

 

[JonMikal]

welcome to TPF Steve!

first off i would maintain a space or two between each pic...it'll be easier for all to view
nice compositions but they all seem a bit stark and overexposed. do you have the settings available to share with us?
looks like a great place to shoot

 

[SteveEllis]

Done Also added a few comments.

How do you mean stark and over exposed? What changes would you make and why?

The lens is a Tamron HOYA 58mm UV(0) with 80x focus

The dial has ISO, A-DEP, M, Av, Tv, P, L(lock), Full Auto, Portrait, Landscape, close, sport and night scene.

 

[Unimaxium]

These are quite nice. Hang around the forum and pick up a good book on photography skills and you'll be shooting like a pro in no time

As for your question about using fast shutter speeds, if you're going to be using a fast shutter speed then you'll either need to use a really wide aperture setting on your lens (small number) or a high ISO setting on your camera (or a combination of the two depending on how dark it is). Adjusting the former will let more light in through the lens onto the camera's sensor, while adjusting the latter makes your camera's sensor more sensitive to light (at the cost of higher image noise and other image quality-degrading factors). These will allow your camera to use a shorter shutter speed, since it will then take less time to capture the correct amount of light needed for a good exposure.

Although you might also want to consider using long shutter speeds with waterfalls as well. Shots can be quite beautiful when they have a smooth, blurred flow of water through them. But too long shutter speeds will require you to use some kind of stabilization like a tripod, or else your images will end up with camera shake blur.

 

[SteveEllis]

So all the ones that failed needed a wider apeture. And when setting the ISO number it covers every other function on the camera.

I've bought a few films, some are 400s and some are 200s, is this the film ISO number?

I had been playing with the shutter speed on bonfire night, I took these few firework shots

Theres a lot to take in I've been browsing the galleries, there are some truely awe inspiring shots on here!

 

[Chiller]

Nice shots Steve. Welcome to the forum. Your gonna dig it here.

 

[NMLeakway]

nice shots, welcome to the forum.

 

[Unimaxium]

Recently I was given a Canon EOS 300

Oops, I just noticed that actually you have a film camera rather than a digital one. I thought before that you had said 300D, which is a digital cam. So my whole post above was aimed at digital cameras. Although most of the information still holds. Just the stuff about the ISO is a little different. You mostly just have to replace the word 'sensor' in my previous post with 'film', and instead of setting the ISO on your camera you just buy different ISO film.

Just wanted to let you know of my confusion to make sure there wouldn't be confusion with what I was talking about before

 

[Unimaxium]

I've bought a few films, some are 400s and some are 200s, is this the film ISO number?

Yep, that's most likely the film ISO number. Usually you'll find most films as either 100, 200, 400, or 800 ISO. There are also some films out there with 25, 50, 1600 and maybe even 3200 ISO numbers.
And also, just FYI in case you ever come across it, the term ASA always refers to the exact same thing as ISO. So 100ASA film is the same as 100ISO film; the usage of the term just varies somewhat geographically.

PS: those shots in your second post are very nice

 

[SteveEllis]

So a 400 ISO is more sensitive to light than a 200 ISO.

My camera ISO setting goes up to 6500

If I were to use a higher ISO setting on the camera than stated on the film what will happen?

What sort of ISO and Apeture settings would I need to capture water at a stand still in normal daylight (If there is such a thing as normal)

Thanks UniMaxium I appreciate this info.

 

[Lensmeister]

Welcome Steve,

Like your opening shot .... very good ...

You'll learn a lot here from seeing the others here .... The people here are great and they give honest opinions ... I have learnt a lot from them and I try to emulate them in many ways ...

Welcome again !