Newbie photographer from South Africa

[MandyZa]

Hi all!
I'm from Cape Town and I have a Canon 1300D DSLR with two lenses. Brand new and being handled with kid gloves.

I live close to the beach and am trying my hand at surf photography - a lot harder than I thought it would be - here I was thinking, telephoto lens, point and shoot. Um no, not quite!
I'm lost but I've found myself here so time to learn.

 

[snowbear]

Welcome aboard.

 

[benhasajeep]

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy your new gear.

 

[JoeW]

Welcome. I was in Johannesburg in July (and then Botswana and Namibia).

Here is a resource you might find useful: Six Tips to Improve Your Surf Photography

 

[MandyZa]

Thanks all.

Joe, Cape Town is the place to be, no Joburg! Thanks for the link. I have a lot to learn - ISO, aperture, exposure and - don't laugh - Jpeg vs Raw.

 

[JoeW]

Thanks all.

Joe, Cape Town is the place to be, no Joburg! Thanks for the link. I have a lot to learn - ISO, aperture, exposure and - don't laugh - Jpeg vs Raw.

I've heard that about Cape Town (and I've seen the photos to prove it!). I hope to go there some day.

And this is a great place to learn. Occasionally you'll get a snarky response but that is just someone being silly. The more you participate, the more feedback you'll get. When you post photos, don't just post a photo and say "how could this be better?"....share info about what you were trying to do, what you thought it would look like, what settings or equipment you used, what disappointed you (or made you happy) about the shot and remind people "hey, I'm a newbie, explain your responses" and you'll get a lot of useful detail.

 

[MandyZa]

I've driven through Virginia at night on my way to Washington DC. We may even have spent a night there but I can't remember!

I'm already just reading and not saying anything yet. I'm extremely new to photography and am likely to make a fool of myself

 

[zombiesniper]

Welcome to TPF!

 

[terri]

I've driven through Virginia at night on my way to Washington DC. We may even have spent a night there but I can't remember!

I'm already just reading and not saying anything yet. I'm extremely new to photography and am likely to make a fool of myself

You don't worry about that - we were all new to photography at some point.

Welcome! Keep posting and have fun!

 

[ronlane]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Designer]

I'm already just reading and not saying anything yet. I'm extremely new to photography and am likely to make a fool of myself

Please don't be concerned about that. Speaking as a perpetual fool myself, you eventually get used to it.

We have seen people grow in the hobby; beginning as green newbies, and eventually becoming pretty good. The key is to keep learning. It's not the dumb questions that define us, it's what you do with the answers that makes the difference.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of info and many helpful folks here. Enjoy your new gear!

 

[goooner]

Hi Mandy, welcome aboard. You will learn allot on this site. I was born and raised in Jo burg, been living in Germany for he past 15 years though.

 

[jcdeboever]

I've driven through Virginia at night on my way to Washington DC. We may even have spent a night there but I can't remember!

I'm already just reading and not saying anything yet. I'm extremely new to photography and am likely to make a fool of myself

Welcome.