Thursday 7 January 2010

CAMERA FUN




I decided to take my camera on my morning walk with Beth. The first three shots were set on automatic.

I had left the house before breakfast because as I was getting up (very late) I noticed the sunrising making the sky so interesting. Because of all the houses sunrise is not so picturesque as it is in the fields. By the time we arrived I had missed the best of it and then struggled a bit with settings as all this is very confusing for my brain.
The following were taken on manual settings with a higher ISO perhaps too high. At least with digital photography you can compare and check settings on the computer.

The sun light on the snow was very interesting and I like to take pictures into the sun to see what effects you can get.
The light reflecting in the following photo rather spoils the shot but still some interesting components.



Having taken too long getting to the fields the clouds started to cover the sun but still two interesting photos I thought.




The last photo was taken of the same image as the first but the first was automatic and the second on manual with higher ISO. What a difference in blueness to the photo not sure what that is due to but I think it looks more alive than the first one.
What do you think?
Photography is something new to me so any constructive criticism will be gratefully received.
Do you think I should just put it on Auto or is there any hope for me on this steep learning curve?

16 comments:

  1. I am an amateur so I cannot give any help. I can just say that I liked ALL of them and you will just keep learning as you go. That's what great about digital, it's pretty much free to experiment.
    r

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  2. Joanne your pictures are breathtaking. Wish I could help but know nothing about settings - they boggle my brain. There was a blue tint in the last one that looked great but then the whiter one looked soooooo good too.
    The other day your post was "Enough Is Enough" so I see you made some good use of the snow you are sick of. LOL I decided after seeing those 2 posts that snow for most of us is a Love Hate relationship. ;-) I know I love seeing it too but then get real sick of it fast.

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  3. Raingardener I had to laugh at your comment yes love hate is true but as I had to walk Beth I couldn't resist taking the camera. In fact this afternoon the sky was so lovely again I took Beth home and went back with the camera. The light is so different in the snow etheral and works so well with the trees too.

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  4. Your pictures turned out great! I like the last one with the blue in it. I think there is something to be said for "natural" picture taking as opposed to "automatic". It's fun to figure out which settings you like the best. Once you figure that out, you will be a spectacular photographer! I love all your pictures!

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  5. Keeping it in Auto is fine but if you want to go further then you'll need to shoot in the manual modes. I'm always learning something new about my camera (a Canon digital SLR). I've found online courses as well as books to be very helpful. I can recommend a few books if you'd like.

    I've been encouraged to shoot in the raw format (rather than jpeg) which would enable me to change the settings (white balance, etc.) without any loss in quality. Does your camera offer that format?

    I like the first one better only because it looks a little warmer (although not literally!) But they all look great to me. It's nice that you take your camera along wherever you go.

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  6. Thanks for all your comments and especially Mary Anne yes I think my camera can do that but there's another challenge changing and editing the photos!
    I have a few books some passed on from my daughter who did photography with her art courses, guess it is just keeping learning but comments from others are appreciated.

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  7. All this snow is a great photo opportunity Joanne. I am still trying to fathom out what ISO is :)

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  8. Hi Joanne,

    What beautiful photos. I love to play with the sunlight too ... and do the same thing by focusing on the sun and then in other places not as bright for the effects. I play with all of the modes on my nikon slr... wish I had a cannon! Shooting in raw is the best way for you get more information when you go to print. You will want to save the originals on a dvd and then store them also on external hard drives. They are pretty large in raw format. Some of my pro friends have given me this advice. I say keep playing and having fun and take notes about what your are doing. Your photos are great! There might be a video you can get that has an introduction to your camera and all it can do.

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  9. Fantastic! We had some snow today, but none of it stuck, so I am still having to live vicariously in other folks' winter wonderlands. Yours is the best. I like all your photos; I have no advice to give there. The first versus the last? I don't think one is better than the other. Each one has its own beauty.

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  10. Hi Joanne
    I too love them all! Lovely that you were able to get out to the fields to see the sunrise!I am sure Beth appreciated your efforts

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  11. Woah..Beautiful Joanne! Super gorgeous shots! I love experimenting too..such fun..! I love how they all have their own unique look and atmopshere to them..you did a fabulous job! Yay..keep creating your marvelous photos!

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  12. Hi Joanne, these are great and you are quite brave to trudge out there! Those are massive amounts of snow! I can only do the auto, so admire your manual setting experiments. I do like the first photo better too.
    Frances

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  13. I think they are all so pretty. I really like the ones with the sun reflecting off the snow, it makes the snow so sparkly.

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