CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Up the contrast on it and it'll look better I'm sure, it's a bit bland on the eye as it is (although it's a nice enough shot). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Off to have a looksy at the Martin Parr Exhibition tomorrow morning. The Wife and kid have no interest at all so I'm going on my own. First time I've ever been to an exhibition so haven't got a clue what to expect! I'll probably walk through it in 15 mins, bored out my mind! I saw him on that crap photography show with the bird off the Gadget show presenting it and quite liked him so fingers crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I've booked my two day course (weekend after next) and have enrolled at Blipfoto, so I'll show you the results after I've been on the course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Whats your username on Blip? My journal is stoppauserewindplay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Not sure if it's wall special myself. But it shows that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that one persons gem can be another persons meh. I imagine you might have to yield and to be fair the image could be a a whole lot worse. I'd rather the thing had open eyes then maybe it'd do it for me I'm starting to play with macro again... but just testing a simple add on called a raynox 250 which has produced marvellous results elsewhere. I've only had one blast with it so far. So.. obligatory flower shot... again for some and me this lacks something i'd imagine but still.. it's pretty (if you're a girl) Actually it's quite pretty even if you're not a girl. The colours work in harmony (you could sell it to the coalition as a new logo). Did you try the shot with the stamen in focus and the rest blurred? I think that might be a better shot. Even if you lose some of the veins on the petals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Whats your username on Blip? My journal is stoppauserewindplay. Manx Villa. My head is spinning with all the speed, aperture and ISO settings. Having difficulty getting my head round depth of field at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I was like that mate until I did the course! I read book after book and they may as well of been written in Spanish. Then I did the course and it all clicked. Basically, the S mode means you control the shutter speed and the camera will control the aperture and ISO, A mode means the opposite, you control the aperture and ISO, the camera takes care of the shutter speed. If your taking photos of something moving quick that you want to freeze use S mode If you not taking a picture of something moving use A mode. (This is what I use most of the time) Your ISO helps in low light situations but you lose quality the higher the ISO. In bright light use 100/200 In low light use 1600+ For DOF use A mode. For a shallow DOF(blurry background) you need a large aperture (which is confusing because these are the lower numbers try f5 or lower if your lens can). Focus on what you want sharp by half clicking until it beeps, then keeping your finger on the button half down, recompose your shot to how you want it and then squeeze down to take the shot. For landscapes or pictures where you want as much as possible in focus you use a small aperture (large number - try f11) then focus about a 1/3 of the way into your shot by half clicking, then compose and shoot. Best way to understand it is line something like chess pieces up in a row and take a few shots changing your aperture as you go and compare them. I'm no expert by a country mile but I hope this explanation helps??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briggaman Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Mine won't be very arty as they are on auto settings and I am only really a beginner. Anyway, please let me know what you think but take it easy on me. This picture shows the sun in Florida with a type of ring around it. I have never seen this before so thought it was worth a shot. Possible Christmas card for next year(obviously saying Merry Christmas on the left). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I was like that mate until I did the course! I read book after book and they may as well of been written in Spanish. Then I did the course and it all clicked. Basically, the S mode means you control the shutter speed and the camera will control the aperture and ISO, A mode means the opposite, you control the aperture and ISO, the camera takes care of the shutter speed. If your taking photos of something moving quick that you want to freeze use S mode If you not taking a picture of something moving use A mode. (This is what I use most of the time) Your ISO helps in low light situations but you lose quality the higher the ISO. In bright light use 100/200 In low light use 1600+ For DOF use A mode. For a shallow DOF(blurry background) you need a large aperture (which is confusing because these are the lower numbers try f5 or lower if your lens can). Focus on what you want sharp by half clicking until it beeps, then keeping your finger on the button half down, recompose your shot to how you want it and then squeeze down to take the shot. For landscapes or pictures where you want as much as possible in focus you use a small aperture (large number - try f11) then focus about a 1/3 of the way into your shot by half clicking, then compose and shoot. Best way to understand it is line something like chess pieces up in a row and take a few shots changing your aperture as you go and compare them. I'm no expert by a country mile but I hope this explanation helps??? It does, thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Oh yeah the other things that massively improved my pictures is try not to use the crappy pop up flash unless you need fill light. Always try to use natural light even at low levels. Just up your ISO. Learn the rule of thirds for composition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Do you have a tripod Bromsgrove? I was messing around with slow shutter speeds last night, and you're right, much better than using the flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 No I haven't. I keep toying with the idea as I know I could get better pictures but I just would feel really anal about taking one out with me. My biggest challenge since I have took it up is confidence with the camera. I have had so much piss ripped out of me from mates for getting into it atripod would push them over the edge! Even around strangers I have ruined shots by rushing them just because I'm not confident enough to take my time and just take the shot without worrying what other people think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan. Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 A few taken on a walk near me, this afternoon. ] Sorry for the late post but the color in that photo is stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Whats your username on Blip? My journal is stoppauserewindplay. Been having a flick through your entries on Blip mate, some very good stuff indeed. Is it all straight from thw camera, of do you use Photoshop at all? Oh and get that tripod and don't worry about your mates, you've got a talent there fella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Cheers mate! The early stuff is straight out the camera pretty much but the later stuff I use picassa which is a brilliant piece of google software. Very easy to use and free to download here: http://picasa.google.com I've also recently 'acquired' a copy of adobe lightroom 3 which is a bit more complicated but a fantastic piece of software for improving photos! With the low light/no flash situation just up your ISO when in A mode. This will make your shutter speed faster. For family shots like your first blip your camera should handle an ISO of 1600/2000/2500 easy without much noise and will make your picture sharper. If you read a lot my data on blip I shoot loads in the house at 3200! Also read up on the rule of 3rds for composition here - . This is a basic rule that can be broken but for starters it improved my photography loads once I started using it! http://www.digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I tried a few at ISO 3000 but the "noise" (is that right?) made the pictures quite grainy. Thanks for the link on the rule of thirds, been after something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted January 17, 2011 Moderator Share Posted January 17, 2011 Cool pix blandy. Atmospheric! A few taken on a walk near me, this afternoon. Sorry for the late post but the color in that photo is stunning. Thanks chaps. No camera tricks, it's just the scenery meant whatever was in focus would be gorgeous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I tried a few at ISO 3000 but the "noise" (is that right?) made the pictures quite grainy. Thanks for the link on the rule of thirds, been after something like that. Mart Noise is the right term - I found at first what looked OK in the screen on the back of the camera looked shitty when you looked at it on screen, but its fun to play Are you on Linkedin? If so link to me as a friend etc - there is a good forum on there for Nikon users that I use - lots of great tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 blandy, due to those photos ive been having a look at lytham st annes on google maps, is it as lovely as it appears? an expensive area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted January 17, 2011 Moderator Share Posted January 17, 2011 It's a nice place, Ingram85. It's actually 3 places, Lytham - which is a quite well off Victorian Town and quite expensive (for the North), Ansdell which is a bit nondescript and St Annes on sea which is a faded seaside town with massive sandy beaches. So you've got the lot, really. It's all pretty much on the coast, so there's some really nice scenery and things to take snaps of when the weather is right - when there's big skies and the good light you get by the coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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