Monday, March 24, 2008

Monday Monday...

Did you have a Happy Easter? I spent some time on the weekend working on my photography skills. When I first got my DSLR last summer (Canon 30D - I saved *forever* for it), I stopped at Barnes & Noble for a copy of Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. I was *so excited* at the thought of everything this new camera could do. Of course I would be a BRILLIANT PHOTOGRAPHER as soon as the battery was charged!

roflol. Ummm...NOT SO MUCH!

I was so overwhelmed - I wasn't prepared for how much I didn't know. A week later, frustrated, I returned the book, and put the camera on Auto mode. BLAH! I was *not* a brilliant photographer, lol. I remember feeling pretty discouraged for awhile...BUT, I hung in there (in Auto mode) and worked at getting used to swapping out lenses, and all the buttons, bells, and whistles. Ultimately, I have now realized, that it all was just too much information all at once. BUT - I was/am determined to get out of "Auto" mode! I recently RE-purchased the Understanding Exposure book, and last week, after doing some reading in my camera manual, as well as the Canon 30D field guide, I ventured into, and started tinkering in some of the creative modes - Program AE, Aperture-priority AE, and Shutter-priority AE.
Yesterday - I practiced in Manual, and these were a few of my favorites...I still have *a lot* to learn, but I feel like I am FINALLY on my way! YEA for ME! I am still practicing with my processing in photoshop, too - playing with curves, hue saturation, and contrast. Lots to learn there, too...but it all starts with properly exposed images.



iso 200, 1/250, f/2.2


iso 200; 1/160; f/1.8

iso 200; 1/160; f/1.8

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you are doing FAB with the manual mode!! :)

Ava in Wonderland said...

Great photos! The best way to learn is to play play play! :)

Leigh said...

I took a class at our adult ed center when I first got my Canon SLR..dreaming of Canon digital, now using a Kodak digi..anyhooo. I realized it was all mathematically based and went crazy! I highly recommend it! I love shooting in natural light. Your pics turned out great!

Anonymous said...

Those photos are awesome. I remember when I got my first "real" camera....it was sooo overwelming, so I took a couple of "photo" classes online to learn ISO, Aperture, etc. Checkout www.betterphoto.com...they are awesome! You get assignments and critiques and meet a lot of real nice ppl...just a thought! Ok, have a great day... :)

Barb said...

Good for you Angela! If you're a bit overwhelmed by manual, why not play around with shooting in Aperture priority for a while. That way you won't overwhelm yourself. And practice, practice, practice! The beauty of digital is that you never waste film on mistakes and that's a joy!

Anonymous said...

Ang, I think you took FABULOUS photos! Far better than any I would have taken.

Sarah C. (my4hens) said...

Your pictures are beautiful!! Your doing a fab job! I know how frustrating it can be, I actually have a canon rebel xti and the leap to digital slr def takes some adjustments! Lots of luck with your endeavors in photography. I just know you are going to do wonderfully!!

Petra said...

fab photos and you'll leanr it, just like me! What really helped me was a class I did with Canon, on how to learn my camera and its options from the the in to outside and this really helped me A LOT!!

have a great day!

Anonymous said...

I think those are gorgeous! I'm still learning all my settings on my Nikon. LOL

Unknown said...

Nice!! Great lights! I used to have so much fun with my SLR. Someday I hope to get a DSLR, then I'll have to re-learn everything. Now my method is just to turn off the flash on my Canon easy share whenever possible, and just shoot shoot shoot! If you take enough, some are bound to turn out okay, right??