Photography

[lucamacis]

I know im a bit late to the discussion but figured i would offer my experiences also. I personally have a D40 and have found it to be an excellent DSLR but i was ready for an upgrade for a few months. If you did go for a D40 or D60 don't get the 50mm f1.8 unless your happy with manual focusing(i believe that problem is still the case)

I would definitely go for a D90 with an 18-135mm lens. It's a great focal range to start with and you will be happy with the body for a long time and the lens will last you a long time until you know what type of photography you want to do.

[bendrucker]

I'd stay away from big zooms like the 18-135 or 18-200. They tend to be expensive and of poor quality. Their own advantage is that you don't have to switch lenses. Stick to the D40 or D60 and 18-55.

[Yuiichi]

I've put up another picture from that walk that I took, I think this one is better! Take a look: click here!

As always, comments/criticisms are welcome!

[Opus]

Originally Posted by Yuiichi

I've put up another picture from that walk that I took, I think this one is better! Take a look: click here!

As always, comments/criticisms are welcome!

Yuiichi,

I do not know how you guys walk around in all of that. going to be in the low 20's F here tonight and I that is cold for the deep south.

Back to the task at hand. I do not know your light situation and it appears to be overcast. I like the subject of your shot.

If you have the chance to try again under the same light and conditions give this a try. Turn on your flash. Most street signs have a reflective quality and the effect could produce a glowing sign with a bit darker background giving you some pop.

My usual comments apply. I am a rank amateur, that is just something I would have tried.

[Yuiichi]

Thanks again for your comments Opus.

And haha, yes, it was cold! I have gloves that allow you to have the tips of your fingers free, and they actually went numb after 5 minutes of shooting! It took 10 minutes to get feeling back too Such is the life of a Canadian!

You're correct about the light - it was a dark, overcast day. Pop is something that I think I miss a lot of the time. However, I'm not sure I could have got it to pop with my current gear, save from doing something in post. I only have the small, pop-up flash on my camera, and I was across the street from this sign (I love my zoom ). I'll think about that more the next time I go out!

[MarkFleser]

I need to get out on a photowalk soon. I haven't used my D90 enough lately. I was planning on going out last Friday, I had the day off but we got a few inches of snow the night before and wasn't about to go out on such crappy roads. There was an ice sculpture I wanted to take pictures of in downtown Kalamazoo (about 30 minutes from my house), it's still there so if I get some time this weekend I'll go out (hopefully it didn't melt too much Sunday when it got to almost 40 degrees!

[Opus]

Originally Posted by Yuiichi

Thanks again for your comments Opus.

You're correct about the light - it was a dark, overcast day. Pop is something that I think I miss a lot of the time. However, I'm not sure I could have got it to pop with my current gear, save from doing something in post. I only have the small, pop-up flash on my camera, and I was across the street from this sign (I love my zoom ). I'll think about that more the next time I go out!

I Knew you were using a point an shoot. But id not know how much you zoomed. THought that might be an issue with my suggestion, but did not know if you could keep the same prospective a bit closer to the subject.

What ever you do keep shooting. The nice thing about digital is you can shoot a bunch and delete afterwards. the old days you had to shoot and note all your exposures to study later. Now you shoot and read what the camera was set at all on the computer.

So as BBB said in another post, you can certainly learn composition with a point and shoot. Keep on shooting and writing. It is all about the joy of the journey anyway.

[Opus]

Originally Posted by MarkFleser

I need to get out on a photowalk soon. I haven't used my D90 enough lately. I was planning on going out last Friday, I had the day off but we got a few inches of snow the night before and wasn't about to go out on such crappy roads. There was an ice sculpture I wanted to take pictures of in downtown Kalamazoo (about 30 minutes from my house), it's still there so if I get some time this weekend I'll go out (hopefully it didn't melt too much Sunday when it got to almost 40 degrees!

Would love to see it. Post it up when you get it.

Ah a D90! The camera I have set my sights on to get. I hope later this year to have one, but timing right now is an issue.

[Yuiichi]

Originally Posted by Opus

I Knew you were using a point an shoot. But id not know how much you zoomed. THought that might be an issue with my suggestion, but did not know if you could keep the same prospective a bit closer to the subject.

What ever you do keep shooting. The nice thing about digital is you can shoot a bunch and delete afterwards. the old days you had to shoot and note all your exposures to study later. Now you shoot and read what the camera was set at all on the computer.

So as BBB said in another post, you can certainly learn composition with a point and shoot. Keep on shooting and writing. It is all about the joy of the journey anyway.

The good thing about my point and shoot is that it does have manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, program, and auto modes, so I can also have creative freedom with that. The only thing it can't do is swap off lenses (and it has a smaller sensor than a DSLR, I believe) so I'm really happy about it!

It also has a hotshoe, so I can look at getting an external flash for it. It'll be a lot better than the little built in flash it has now!

[notabadname]

On the subject of saturation and warm in regards to my Holiday image that I posted (perhaps a little late. The warm look of the image is the result of lighting. Warm or cool, generally relates to how an image is lit and the resultant effect on overall colors of the image tending toward blue-cool, or red-warm. Quite simply, Colors and light sources from the blue end of the spectrum are referred to as cool, and those toward the red/ orange/yellow side of the spectrum are described as warm. Use of "warm" lighting will however help warm colors to appear more vivid. That is a natural result, as a material that "appears" red to the eye, is simply a good reflector of that part of the color spectrum. If you use a cool (blue) light, it has less light being emitted in the red color spectrum, and therefore, less to be seen by the eye (or camera) when it is reflected off a "Red" object. This particular image had no "saturation" adjustments made, even though my daughter's favorite fluorescent top makes it appear that way.