Southeast Texan joins in!

[Armymom]

My name is Melanie and while originally from Arkansas, my home for the last 20 years has been southeast Texas. I've been a lover of photography since before I bought my first camera, a Canon AE1, in 1980, my second, a Canon Rebel in 2004. After a few years of research and refusing to let go of the film cameras, I finally bought my Canon 60d (my first digital SLR) a little over a month ago and I love it! There are so many electronic bells and whistles compared to my other SLRs and their buttons and dials that I was a bit overwhelmed at first. My husband is an avid "forumer" in other venues and has been telling me to join a forum because that is where I will learn the most. Well, I've been on here less than an hour and have had LOTS of "Aha" moments already.

Until now I was only familiar with the basics of photography (aperture, f-stop, depth of field, etc...) but am starting to experiment with things like ISO. I had my ISO set high for my son's indoor Army Basic Training graduation but failed to lower it for an outdoor shoot with friends. Well, the pics are a little grainy and lack color. After research (and a little embarrassment I admit) I found out that my high ISO created noise and was probably the reason for the lack of sharpness. One lesson down...:cheer:

I am a mom of a high school band senior and a new Army soldier and have been married for 25 years. Because of the activities I'm involved in with my kids, I have seen and missed many photo opportunities which have created a new drive in me. I love candid, real-life photography but will be setting up a small studio in our Real Estate office in hopes of reaching a larger demographic. I have already found gobs of information on setting up a small, in-home studio here on this forum so I can't wait to dig around some more. My husband and I already do videos (shooting and editing) of our high school band and our home listings so hopefully we can get ideas for videography as well. My main profession is Interpreter for the Deaf/Substance Abuse Counselor and I work in a prison interpreting for, and counseling, deaf inmates in a substance abuse facility. My secondary profession is as a licensed Texas Real Estate Sales Agent working with my husband/Broker.

Well, that's me in a nutshell...a very small nutshell...:thumbsup:

Thanks in advance for the info, ideas, and help I know I will get from this forum.

Oh, by the way, I love life. :heart:

 

[cgipson1]

welcome!

 

[rexbobcat]

Welcome from Lubbock

 

[gazzzie]

Welcome along

 

[jbhaferkamp]

From a Texan, welcome to the forum! There are many great teachers out there, but experience is the best. Get the info, decide what you want to make the camera do, and then go and do it. Rely upon yourself and not your equipment. Make your camera keep up with you. I wish you luck in your photo journey. If you're looking for some inspiration, check out the Photoblog Alliance, an international group photo blog open to photographers with photo blogs.

Big what's up to @Rexbobcat, too. Went to college in Plainview. Guns up!

 

[Joey_Ricard]

Welcome Melanie!