I got out and used my camera today...

[LiftLockCouple]

Farm art near Campbellford Ontario, taken today while returning home.

 

 

 

[sparky-elpaso]

Love the "tractor" - that's really clever. :) Nice flowers - we don't have many of those here in the desert.

Edited August 14, 2012 by sparky-elpaso

[LiftLockCouple]

I hope no one minds me posting the story to the pictures today. These shots were taken today at Lock 19 of the Trent-Severn Waterway. The lock is located in Peterborough Ontario.

 

(PETERBOROUGH) Captain KD "Aussie" Bryen says nobody drives the tug Trent, you wrestle her.

"She has a mind of her own. She goes where she wants go to. You're just along for the ride," he explains.

 

Captain Bryen, who was born and raised in Australia, spent many years travelling the world as a deep sea diver. But in 1980 he and his Canada born wife landed in the Peterborough area and along with many other duties he became the Captain the tug Trent

 

Thanks to Funding through Canada's Economic Action Plan, the Trent has been restored to her natural glory.

 

"It's just a big, heavy boat. It reacts very slowly to input," he says.

 

"This is history for us."

 

Purchased in 1948, the Trent was originally used as a working vessel on the Trent-Severn Waterway for towing heavy in-water machinery and materials. It was also used as a platform for hard hat diving and in-water work. She was retired from service in 1970.

 

 

[petitcanard]

I hope no one minds a serious rookie dropping by! :o I'm just so excited, I have a shiny new DSLR (Nikon D3200) and wanted to post two of my very first pictures. I'm seriously a rookie, I've never even held an SLR never mind actually used one... which will be obvious in the pictures... but am impressed so far - since I pretty much just pulled it out of the box, pointed and shot (I am going to be taking courses to learn how to use the camera properly). Clearly it's overly kind to dummies!! I'm very much looking forward to figuring this photography thing out :)

 

Also wanted to add there are some wonderfully talented photographers on this site - I very much enjoy the amazing pictures people post!

 

Zorba, uncharacteristically still for half a minute

 

Birthday orchid from my DH

Edited August 16, 2012 by petitcanard

[shootr]

I sure hope this isn't just for pro's, 'cause I'm far from it. Have fun, post what you want, ask questions- there's so many sharp people on here that they can help you understand anything too technical pretty easily. Great first effort, congrats on the new gear!

[sharod]

I hope no one minds a serious rookie dropping by! :o I'm just so excited, I have a shiny new DSLR (Nikon D3200) and wanted to post two of my very first pictures. I'm seriously a rookie, I've never even held an SLR never mind actually used one... which will be obvious in the pictures... but am impressed so far - since I pretty much just pulled it out of the box, pointed and shot (I am going to be taking courses to learn how to use the camera properly). Clearly it's overly kind to dummies!! I'm very much looking forward to figuring this photography thing out :)

 

Also wanted to add there are some wonderfully talented photographers on this site - I very much enjoy the amazing pictures people post!

 

Zorba, uncharacteristically still for half a minute

 

Birthday orchid from my DH

 

May I just tell you, for just pulling it out of the box and shooting, you did AMAZINGLY well!!!

 

Keep up the great work! And enjoy your camera classes:) Oh, and keep posting pictures!

[Multi-Cruiser]

I hope no one minds a serious rookie dropping by! :o I'm just so excited, I have a shiny new DSLR (Nikon D3200) and wanted to post two of my very first pictures. I'm seriously a rookie, I've never even held an SLR never mind actually used one... which will be obvious in the pictures... but am impressed so far - since I pretty much just pulled it out of the box, pointed and shot (I am going to be taking courses to learn how to use the camera properly). Clearly it's overly kind to dummies!! I'm very much looking forward to figuring this photography thing out :)

 

Also wanted to add there are some wonderfully talented photographers on this site - I very much enjoy the amazing pictures people post!

 

Zorba, uncharacteristically still for half a minute

 

Birthday orchid from my DH

 

May I just tell you, for just pulling it out of the box and shooting, you did AMAZINGLY well!!!

 

Keep up the great work! And enjoy your camera classes:) Oh, and keep posting pictures!

 

I have to agree. For a rookie, those are a couple amazing pictures. Keep posting. You will throughly enjoy your classes!

[petitcanard]

Thank you guys so much!! It's encouraging to get such positive feedback! And - you know - this camera must seriously be geared for rookies when it's in p&s mode, and I am pretty sure I was just really lucky. But I think I'm going to love it :D

 

One day (she says, optimistically) I'd like to focus (haha) on bugs and flowers... they're I think my secret passion (was drooling over dileep's recent post - oh how I love bugs and flowers...). But all these numbers and dials and buttons are pretty scary. I've signed up for a course next month and am anxiously awaiting "Understanding Exposure".. should be here any day - thanks to good advice on this board ;)

 

(edited to add - my husband seems to think it's a good idea for me to take courses and then "teach" him.. oh dear!!)

Edited August 16, 2012 by petitcanard

[johneeo]

Thank you guys so much!! It's encouraging to get such positive feedback! And - you know - this camera must seriously be geared for rookies when it's in p&s mode, and I am pretty sure I was just really lucky. But I think I'm going to love it :D

 

One day (she says, optimistically) I'd like to focus (haha) on bugs and flowers... they're I think my secret passion (was drooling over dileep's recent post - oh how I love bugs and flowers...). But all these numbers and dials and buttons are pretty scary. I've signed up for a course next month and am anxiously awaiting "Understanding Exposure".. should be here any day - thanks to good advice on this board ;)

 

(edited to add - my husband seems to think it's a good idea for me to take courses and then "teach" him.. oh dear!!)

 

Welcome.

 

You can start by doing research on the basic fundamentals of photography.

 

I suggest that you begin by learning the basics of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.

 

Lots of info on the web on this, and I am sure that some of our fellow participants can recommend some good sites to check out.

 

Then, after P & S setting, try some aperture priority, then shutter priority, and see what happens. Great thing about digital, you do not have to pay per pic.

 

Have fun.

[Multi-Cruiser]

Thank you guys so much!! It's encouraging to get such positive feedback! And - you know - this camera must seriously be geared for rookies when it's in p&s mode, and I am pretty sure I was just really lucky. But I think I'm going to love it :D

 

One day (she says, optimistically) I'd like to focus (haha) on bugs and flowers... they're I think my secret passion (was drooling over dileep's recent post - oh how I love bugs and flowers...). But all these numbers and dials and buttons are pretty scary. I've signed up for a course next month and am anxiously awaiting "Understanding Exposure".. should be here any day - thanks to good advice on this board ;)

 

(edited to add - my husband seems to think it's a good idea for me to take courses and then "teach" him.. oh dear!!)

 

For a beginner, Aperture Priority (A) is your friend. Set your aperture according to your ambient light and the camera will decide what the shutter speed should be for each shot. The aperture numbers are counter intuitive. The brighter the ambient light, the larger F-stop number you will want to use. Have fun experimenting! :)

[petitcanard]

Thank you!! My book also came last night so I can start reading too, to help me understand all of the different mechanical functions of the camera and how they interact. I've spent a bunch of time on the internet and I can't believe just how much information is out there. I also spent a lot of time with wrinkled brow trying to understand f/stop and shutter speed, before realizing that while there is I guess one "perfect" amount of light, it can be achieved with a bunch of different combinations of f/stop and shutter speed.. (??) Which I suppose means no cheating - I have to figure it out with education, trial and error. haha.

 

I'm finding the whole "how a camera works" thing fascinating, and I've gained a totally new level of respect for my husband's dad, who has some truly amazing pictures from I think the 50's when he was working for months at a time on the far north coast of Canada. The pictures he has of the day-to-day life of the Eskimos are spectacular in themselves, but now I understand that operating an SLR in adverse conditions including extreme cold and with absolutely everything done manually and an external, hand-held flash... I'm completely blown away :)

 

It helps me realize how spoiled I am! And digital is definitely a blessing when learning, I think I'll be using that trash button a lot :p And as a rookie I do very much appreciate the helpfulness of those on this board!!

Edited August 17, 2012 by petitcanard

[Multi-Cruiser]

Thank you!! My book also came last night so I can start reading too, to help me understand all of the different mechanical functions of the camera and how they interact. I've spent a bunch of time on the internet and I can't believe just how much information is out there. I also spent a lot of time with wrinkled brow trying to understand f/stop and shutter speed, before realizing that while there is I guess one "perfect" amount of light, it can be achieved with a bunch of different combinations of f/stop and shutter speed.. (??) Which I suppose means no cheating - I have to figure it out with education, trial and error. haha.

 

I'm finding the whole "how a camera works" thing fascinating, and I've gained a totally new level of respect for my husband's dad, who has some truly amazing pictures from I think the 50's when he was working for months at a time on the far north coast of Canada. The pictures he has of the day-to-day life of the Eskimos are spectacular in themselves, but now I understand that operating an SLR in adverse conditions including extreme cold and with absolutely everything done manually and an external, hand-held flash... I'm completely blown away :)

 

It helps me realize how spoiled I am! And digital is definitely a blessing when learning, I think I'll be using that trash button a lot :p And as a rookie I do very much appreciate the helpfulness of those on this board!!

 

You will have a lot to learn, as do all of us, but it is a fun process. I learn something new every day. A word of advice I was given when I started out: Don't be too quick to delete pictures from your camera unless it's totally black, blown out white or so blurry it can't be salvaged. Many times a picture will look bad on the camera's screen but look good once you load it on your computer and see it on the larger screen.

[johneeo]

bunch of different combinations of f-stop and shutter speed.. (??) Which I suppose means no cheating - I have to figure it out with education, trial and error. haha.

 

 

Think of it this way, if you have the aperture wide open (a low number Fstop) you are letting in a lot of light .... then you will need a very quick shutter speed. If you use a slow shutter speed, the high amount of light and the time the shutter is open being long will result in overexposure.

 

OTOH, if you have the aperture (the opening) very small, you need to have a slower shutter, IOWs, you need to have the shutter open for a longer period of time.

[johneeo]

You will have a lot to learn, as do all of us, but it is a fun process. I learn something new every day. A word of advice I was given when I started out: Don't be too quick to delete pictures from your camera unless it's totally black, blown out white or so blurry it can't be salvaged. Many times a picture will look bad on the camera's screen but look good once you load it on your computer and see it on the larger screen.

 

I have the Nikon D5000, and I shoot in both RAW and JPG.

 

I have had some pix that were so overexposed you could not make them out. But with the RAW pix, in post processing, I was able to make the adjustments that could bring them back somewhat.

[Multi-Cruiser]

I have the Nikon D5000, and I shoot in both RAW and JPG.

 

I have had some pix that were so overexposed you could not make them out. But with the RAW pix, in post processing, I was able to make the adjustments that could bring them back somewhat.

 

That's true. I didn't want to get into talking about post processing with petitcanard just yet because I think it's best to learn to get it right in the camera first, although post processing can repair many mistakes. :)

[petitcanard]

That all makes total sense, you guys, definitely. And I do tend to hoard pictures (my husband is in constant despair at my refusal to delete, haha) and knowing that post-processing will help just supports my habit. Or my excuse to not delete "yet". I do also appreciate you guys starting me off with baby steps, it is so much to learn and I definitely see that learning will be a never ending process!

 

I stumbled across a website (http://www.uscoles.com/fstop.htm) which really helped me understand the relationship between ISO, f/stop and shutter speed, which means that your advice is making total sense to me. Although I'm sure I'll have to go over it numerous times (and the mental math makes my hands sweat a bit), but probably two of the most helpful things that I took away from this site were that in photography you're usually working with halving and doubling (sweat, sweat), and the "bucket" analogy... IE filling a bucket is like achieving your "perfect" amount of light. You can fill the bucket with a certain amount of water in a certain amount of time. You can also fill the same bucket with twice as much water in half the time and achieve exactly the same effect - the size of the water stream is like f/stop, and the length of time you pour is like shutter speed, and the size of the bucket is like ISO. (that's when the light bulb went on) That seemed to sink into my rookie brain, along with your comments to help me understand that the lower the f/stop, the more light coming in and while it seems backwards, the site helped explain that f/stop is a ratio which is why it is counter intuitive.

 

I do admit my little rookie brain is reeling and more coffee is definitely in order. :D

 

(and you guys know all this!! Thanks for letting me ramble because as I write it down it really helps it sink in)

Edited August 17, 2012 by petitcanard

[Clochette Boréale]

(and you guys know all this!! Thanks for letting me ramble because as I write it down it really helps it sink in)

 

Maybe the experts already know about it, but you just helped ME, a whole lot!:D

 

Thanks!

Poussière de fée!

Edited August 18, 2012 by Clochette Boréale

[dileep]

[dileep]

[boeckli]

 

Awesome! :)

[MDSue]

Love the Alaska shot, Dileep!

[MDSue]

I was testing out my newly repaired P & S camera when this butterfly landed in front of me

 

[dileep]

Love the Alaska shot, Dileep!

 

That is Mt Rainier as seen from an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Phoenix.

[dileep]

I was testing out my newly repaired P & S camera when this butterfly landed in front of me

 

 

Love it! Saw a similar butterfly in VA last year.

 

Different colors though!

Edited August 19, 2012 by dileep

[petitcanard]

MDSue & dileep, gorgeous butterfly shots! And amazing pic of Mt Rainier!

 

Clochette Boréale, de rien! (du rien?? wow my French is rusty)

 

Here is a pic my DH took last night with our new camera, when taking the dog for a swim at Shuswap Lake. I was impressed :)