Is anyone into photography?

[BertieBotts]

Got a surprise DSLR from the in laws this year :) I've been playing around with a point and shoot for a while but I'd really like to learn to use this better. Wondered if anyone was interested in sharing photos and supporting each other? I used to have a film SLR as a teenager but it's been so long I can't remember what I'm doing with it!

[cakesandphotos]

Me! I love it! I got a DSLR last summer and it's the best purchase I've made. I love the art of photography :)
Have you been out with it yet?

[QueenMortifauxcado]

I just got a dslr. It's mainly for product photography though, which is probably less exciting than other things.

[BertieBotts]

Yep! Lovely frost here today and yesterday so I've been trying to capture that. I will post some pics when I'm on my computer.

[cakesandphotos]

I can't wait to see! Do you have Lightroom or some such editing software? What DSLR do you have? We had a frost the other day but I was ill so missed it hopefully I'll get out today

[Borisrules]

A thread sounds like a great idea.
Perhaps we could do a monthly challenge?

Some tips (that I wish I knew at the beginning......)
Start playing around on aperture priority first. It's probably the easiest semi manual setting to have it on.
If you can afford it, a tripod is the single best purchase I made.
Set camera so that it won't take photos without a memory card in.... (bitter voice of experience here!!) both Canon and Nikon should allow you to do this.
A spare battery and a remote control are also worth investing in.
Carry it everywhere. In the boot of the car on the way to work etc etc. The more you have it with you the more photos you will take.
Get a few memory cards... you can get ones that will connect to the wifi at home.
A plastic shower cap is useful to cover the body of a mounted camera in the rain....
Consider doing a photo journal such as Blipfoto - that will improve your skills very quickly!
Lucky you. You have lovely in-laws! Enjoy!

[BertieBotts]

I definitely want a tripod next. I am using Nikon's free raw editing software. I'd done photoshop/gimp for years but haven't got my head around this yet, just playing around really. I do like the massively bigger photo size enabling good crops. I missed that from film developing.

[cakesandphotos]

A monthly challenge sounds great! I do one on Facebook but they're mainly from New Zealand so they have lovely summery photos while I'm stuck with bleak cold days

[BertieBotts]

I've signed up to the reddit photo class 2017, last year's one looks good. That's twice a week, not sure I'll have time to do every single class but I'll try.

Here are two, both the tree outside my window. The yellow one was taken on a foggy evening a couple of weeks ago with my old camera, which is a canon compact with superzoom, and the frosty one is from yesterday with the DSLR.

[buckeejit]

Ooh I like the sound of the reddit class- will look into,it. I love my dslr, mostly take pics of dc with it, but also thinking of getting an iPhone 7 for the awesome camera.....

[BertieBotts]

It's here. You can't use a phone camera for it but any dedicated camera will do, apparently it needs PASM modes.

www.reddit.com/r/photoclass2017/

[Titsalinabumsquash]

Can anyone recommend a good beginners DSLR? I'm keen on taking pictures and I've been told I have a good eye for a good shot, it's something I'd like to have a go at as a hobby. My Dad is a photographer so I'd like to surprise him with my own mini photo album, I think he'd be really pleased.

[marthastew]

Brilliant idea. I also got a DSLR for Christmas and would love to use it properly. I had a film DSLR years ago but it's seems a world away from this new camera. My old one only had about 3 controls and the shutter worked using clockwork!

[Rents]

Ohhh,

Do you mind if I ask what make/model you have.

Just about to purchase one and torn between a few (a lot)

[BertieBotts]

I feel really nostalgic for my old one because I felt like I understood it I am really lost with my new one. I prefer the compact in many ways because I'd got to know it! But I will persevere. One thing I do love is the battery life is much better. DS came along on a shoot with me yesterday and brought my old camera :) But he ran out of battery power after about 15 minutes whereas I can shoot all day. (I did have to explain to him about not looking at the photos you've taken all the time and not zooming in and out constantly).

I miss the zoom lens the most so that will be something I'd like to invest in at some point... though I tend to use the zoom not only to zero in on things which are further away but also to get that shallow depth of field effect which you can do manually with an SLR. When I figure it out

[BertieBotts]

There are loads of videos comparing different beginner DSLRs on youtube, I think that would be a good place to look. I don't know if mine is better or worse than any others because it's the only one I've ever used if that makes sense. They do say that it's the photographer which is important, not the camera necessarily, and any DSLR will produce good pictures, there's no such thing as a bad one. So it's probably down to little details like battery life, whether you already have any lenses you can use with it, features like wifi, video, and then if you see any good deals.

[cakesandphotos]

I have a Nikon D3200 which is classed as an entry level DSLR. I love it. I had a photography lesson to get my head around shutter speed and aperture etc and I got the book Stunning Digital Photography by Tony Northrup. Cannot recommend it enough. If you have an iPad, you can download the book and there's hours of video tutorials embedded so you can just watch as you read. You can also join their Facebook page where people are super helpful and supportive. I think the book is £10 and the stuff you learn is worth so much more

[QueenMortifauxcado]

I have a D3300. Dp suggested it as a good entry level camera. Anyone else surprised how small these new cameras are? I've used older cameras and didn't expect it to be so tiny.

[BertieBotts]

Oh, snap, D3300 here too! I don't know, it seems quite big to me, I suppose I'm comparing to compact cameras and the old basic film SLRs though.

[QueenMortifauxcado]

I suppose it is big compared to those cameras! It is oddly tiny compared to the D50 and dp's DSLR, I think he has a D7200. Dp can't get a grip on it, works for me though

What do you do for camera bags? Mine came with one but it's a bit bulkier than I'd like for carrying about.

[BertieBotts]

Same. So far I've just been using it on the strap and leaving it attached to me when I'm not shooting which is a bit of a pain and probably not very safe. I think I'd probably use the bag it came with inside my rucksack which is what I carry normally instead of a handbag anyway.

[QueenMortifauxcado]

Good plan. I don't trust myself with the strap (really clumsy) but not sure what's light weight and will still offer protection. Might just fashion it some armour out of bubble wrap and be done with it.

I have a velbon tripod and they're not bad, better than I expected and surprisingly sturdy. Not sure how it'd fare on uneven ground but was surprised by it for the price.

[cakesandphotos]

Did anyone take any good New Year photos? Share if you did!

[BertieBotts]

Didn't get any great ones. Couldn't figure out the settings in time. I got about two where you can actually see its a firework

[cakesandphotos]

Fireworks are really hard! You either need to use a fast shutter speed and risk overexposed photos or use a tripod with a slower shutter speed. Tridpods and crowds don't mix well in my experience!

I took this at our Tar Bar'l celebration. It was raining pretty hard and I was trying to keep my camera dry while taking photos and trying not to lose everyone in the masses!

[cakesandphotos]

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