Digital Photography - presents to support DH's new hobby

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

DH and I bought a new camera just before DS was born in 2007 specifically to take better pictures of our PFB.

He spent many, many hours researching cameras and we have been very pleased with the Canon G7 we bought.

In the 2 and a half years since, DH has gotten more and more into taking pictures with it and recently, he's joined a group at his work who do a monthly photo competition and has been getting very excited about taking the picture for his first entry.

I've bought him little camera related gifts in the past (a gorillapod and lens cleaning kit etc) and I wanted to get him something else this year. I was considering something like a subscription to Digital Photo Magazine...

Thing is, I know very little about photography and have no idea if this would be any good or not or if there are better magazines out there and I was wondering if anyone on here had any advice?

The only thing I have discounted so far is a photography course as he works very long hours, sometimes Sundays too and doesn't have a lot of time for courses after work. Plus, he is very shy and probably wouldn't enjoy going on his own. We have a new baby due in December too and I'm going to need him!

Thanks for your help...

[mumblecrumble]

We got my dad a subscription to a digi photos magazine... He loved it. Maybe you could buy a couple of different magazines and say he could subscribe to his favourite.

Does he have some good software?

[MitchyInge]

what about some extra lenses for the camera, a tripod, carrying cases for all the bits and pieces?

[moodlum]

if you want to get him cheap memory cards etc a good place to go is www.7dayshop.com - its based in guernsey so is much cheaper than buying through jessops or something.

[CaptainNancy]

Wow- those gorillapods look great! Where do you get one? (short of shipping it from joby in US)

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

I love the magazine idea mumble I'd panic that I'd chosen the wrong one so getting a few and promising him a subscription to his favourite is a fab idea. Takes the pressure off me

He already has a little tripod as I got him the Gorillapod (in fact, I've brought him 2 as he lost the first one in Wales!) It's only little but has bendable legs so you can stand the camera on uneven ground or even wrap it round a tree or lamp post for a different view.

He has a case and I wouldn't even know where to start with lenses!! We have loads of memory cards too. He bought extra's when we got the camera and we have smaller, emergency ones that we've gotten with old cameras, PDA's, even phones etc. Will remember that web address for the future though Moodlum, thank you.

I'm not sure how far he wants to take the photography. I don't think we'll ever get to backdrops, reflectors and posed shots, he's more of a natural shots of DS/wonders of nature type photographer...

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

I Want One Of Those - here

They are fab. I was very proud of myself the year I found that

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

The small one is more than big enough for our camera.

Following on from Mumbles idea...Any suggestions on a few magazines that I could get for him?

[sparklycherrybomb]

how about a printer to g with the camera, spare ink, really good quality photo paper in various sizes?

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

Good idea Sparkly but we have one.

He's also a computer nerd!

We also have a scanner with a negatives slot so we can scan in and print old photo negatives that his Mum finds in her cupboards.

And an external hard drive to back all the photos onto.

We have Photoshop (I was a graphic designer before I had DS) and Picassa to view them all with.

I should probably have put all this in the first post!

[CaptainNancy]

Marvellous. Thanks blairsnitch!

[HappyBump]

Thank you for this thread! I've been onto Amazon and ordered the Gorrillapod for my Dad for Christmas! I've been wondering what to get him as we clubbed together and bought him a digital camera for his birthday.

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

You are both welcome

Just had a look at Amazon, they're cheaper than IWOOT and they do colours as well!!

Yey, my thread helped others too

[ksld]

I love taking photos but wouldn't want a magazine tbh. If I want to look at other people's photos I go on-line or to an exhibition. Not really sure what would be in a magazine, but have never felt the need to look - your DH may be different of course - has he ever bought himself a photography magazine or book?
Personally I like printing out my best photos so I would appreciate photo frames or albums, or Truprint vouchers most. I would love someone to print out my photos and frame them for me, as they would be saying they thought the photo was good enough to warrant that ifyswim?

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

He may well say "but I could look up all that stuff online" but I'm hoping they'll be a few things that will pique his interest that he might not have thought of before and that will encourage him that it's a good idea.

We've had one of his pictures printed onto a box framed canvas as a present for his Mum one year but DH himself isn't really a photo's on the wall kind of guy. He'd rather use them as wallpapers for his PC desktop and change them regularly.

[HappyBump]

sorry, I haven't helped you ... but you'll also be pleased to know my sister is going to buy one for her husband now too! (I'd called her to see if she thought it would be a good idea seeing she is the camera buff in our family ... she thought it was a grrreeat idea).

[cassell]

does he have a good book? I have the early edition of this and it is great for beginners, if he wants something a bit more advanced, how about this by the same guy? Actually I'm quite tempted to order that one now!

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

Glad I could help

What I need is another Gorrillpod-esque idea. Something he's never heard of that he'll actually use.

He's such a pain to buy for though. If you ask him what he wants he says "nothing" and he is a computer addict so he tends to have any software he wants and can look up anything he needs to online. I love the magazine or book ideas but I am a little scared that he'll just say he'd rather look it all up online...

We all (me, his mum, sisters etc) tend to get to the point near birthdays and christmas of threatening not to buy him anything at all as he is so bloody difficult! I ended up buying him rechargeable batteries on our wedding anniversary as it was all he wanted - the only thing on his Amazon wishlist in fact!!

[GrungeBlobPrimpants]

Must admit I'm looking at this thread for ideas as he sounds exactly like my DH and I LOVE the gorillapod!!!

@ rechargeable batteries on anniversary

I don't think my dh would go for a mag sub either (though he reads computer magazines) - just looks it all up online as you say

If you've got the money I'd consider a lens. We have a canon telephoto which is brilliant and is actually good for portrait shots too. May be worth looking up on a few nerd photo sites for recommendations.

Does he have an account with Flickr? DH is addicted to that

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

I think I should mail a link to this thread to Joby - the amount of extra Gorillapods I've helped them sell this year I think I'm entitled to a share of the profits!!

In my defense with the anniversary present, It was our 4th which is apparently, according to some lists I found, an 'electrical appliances' anniversary and you can't get more electrical appliance than batteries can you! They are of course wrong and discharge too fast so I must have bought dodgy ones apparently

I'm not sure I dare attempt to choose a lens!!

A Flickr account is the sort of thing he'd have by now if he wanted one. We even have our own web domain so he'd just post pics there if he wanted to share them.

I so hate buying him presents

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

He mostly takes pics of our son, or the moon, weird insects he finds in the garden, rainbows, real close ups of everyday objects so you can't tell what they are...

This club he's joined at work have a theme each month and everyone takes a photo based on the theme. This months was "Flash, Bang Whallop" and he's taken a close up picture of a lighters spark. It looks quite cool, a bit like a sparkler.

They tend to be nature or architecture or landscapes and natural photo's of people. He doesn't do posed portraits unless I ask for one. He's done a pic of me every month throughout my pregnancies for example so we can watch my bump grow.

[Inghouls2]

Dh and I are both editorial photographers.
If you are using photoshop I presume you are on a mac?
In which case how about
icreate
or
macuser
neither are about photography per se but all things creative on the mac. Dh reads both.
or how about
a lacie rugged hardrive to store his pics. we use these and they're great!
I can come up with more if you want....

[TheBlairSnitchProject]

No Mac sorry. we have it on the PC.

I can use both having been a designer but DH is an IBM z/os systems programmer and needs a PC.

[Inghouls2]

ah...
buy him a macbook then...