Photography

[Lordherrmann]

So exactly a month ago I got a reflex camera for my 18th birthday. I'm still fairly new to this field, but I think I've taken some cool pictures in this month.

I shot those two on the first day just to get some experience for later projcts.

This one was exposed 30 seconds.

A friend of mine borrowed me his telescope.

This was taken last night while I was en route to see the Geminids.

Here's the rest of the album

So now I'd like to know who else has this hobby. What did you do and can you give me some hints on how I can improve my pictures?

Share your work and chat about it.

-Lordherrmann

[Dispatcher]

Nice pics.

You haven't lived until you've shot fully manual on film, developed your own negatives or slides, and printed your images. Special effects? Done in camera and/ or in the dark room.

Oh, and nothing says "texture and lighting" better than black & white.

[Lordherrmann]

Well, I have an on analog cam lying around. My father bought it about 20 years ago and I'm using one of his lenses on my new cam. I doubt though, that I'll have time or a monetary budget for the next couple of months so it's not gonna happen anytime soon. But I have to say it's an appealing idea and when i finally find time (probably this summer, after I finish school) I'll be happy to try it out.

Also: Do you have any cool pictures to share?

[Dispatcher]

Now that's the rub. Physical copies (and originals) tend to suffer from things like natural disasters or getting buried in the garage. If I dig something up, I'll post it or PM you with it. I might also look at my more recent stuff, since its shot digitally. Good luck to ya!

[SolarLiner]

I absolutely love HDR photography. I won't begin a "old vs new" war in photography because I'm an amateur photograph and I didn't lived long enough to know polaroids and other analog cameras well.

Anyway, here is probably my best HDR picture (taken at the beach (you don't say?) near Mont de Marsan, France) :

Click on da pic !

[Dispatcher]

Cool! Oh, I don't think we see this as a photography "tech wars" thread. It happens that when one learns using one methodology, one may apply it to others. As an example, one can still shoot (or output) images in B&W, which is a good way to emphasize texture and light/ shadow. There are infinite ways we can express what we see or imagine through photography.

Still gotta make time to dig through some of my digital work.

[Ravenchant]

Your last one could use some work, but the rest are stunning. Love the red-hot coals!

Oh, and nothing says "texture and lighting" better than black & white.

So true. It looks better on analog ones, but even a digital camera set to black&white mode can produce quite spectacular results.

Also: Do you have any cool pictures to share?

Was that directed towards Dispatcher or in general? Because I might have a few

[Kerbart]

Great! By all means: DON'T BUY ANY GEAR! Unless not until you've gotten some more experience.

1. Take a class. A real one, with people in a room, not online. Half of what you learn is from interacting with your class mates. Photography classes for 6-8 weeks should be offered by continueing education in your area. Sign up; it's worth it (even if you already think you know everything)

2. If you (intend) to take a lot of pictures, get Adobe Lightroom. Or any other software that allows to keyword and organize your images and start tagging them from day 1. Once the size of your image collection starts hitting five digits you'll be grateful for that.

3. Accessories to be bought: (1) Flash, (2) Tripod (but you seem to have one already), (3) "normal" f/1.8 lens. Forcing yourself to shoot with a prime lens is the quickest way to get better as a photographer in my opinion (first of all the optics are better, second of all it will get you into the habit of moving around to get the right viewpoint)

Most of all: enjoy!

[SolarLiner]

I'd recommend Picasa for collection sorting. You can tag photos, sort them in folders, it has a facial recognition feature (which is great when you do portraits), and best of all, it's free ! And you can sync if you want the picture over your Google account to Google Drive.

[Lordherrmann]

Your last one could use some work, but the rest are stunning. Love the red-hot coals!

Was that directed towards Dispatcher or in general? Because I might have a few

Thank you.

It was originally directed towards Dispatcher, but I'd be happy to see pictures from anyone who wants to share them.

Great! By all means: DON'T BUY ANY GEAR! Unless not until you've gotten some more experience.

1. Take a class. A real one, with people in a room, not online. Half of what you learn is from interacting with your class mates. Photography classes for 6-8 weeks should be offered by continueing education in your area. Sign up; it's worth it (even if you already think you know everything)

2. If you (intend) to take a lot of pictures, get Adobe Lightroom. Or any other software that allows to keyword and organize your images and start tagging them from day 1. Once the size of your image collection starts hitting five digits you'll be grateful for that.

3. Accessories to be bought: (1) Flash, (2) Tripod (but you seem to have one already), (3) "normal" f/1.8 lens. Forcing yourself to shoot with a prime lens is the quickest way to get better as a photographer in my opinion (first of all the optics are better, second of all it will get you into the habit of moving around to get the right viewpoint)

Most of all: enjoy!

I'm currently learning alot from a professional photographer I know.

I also intend to get a lens with a fixed focal length (dict.cc tells me it's called prime lens) for christmas.

EDIT: Don't tell anyone this picture was taken 6 days before christmas in a region where it should normally snow around this time:

Edited December 18, 2013 by Lordherrmann

[KvickFlygarn87]

Here's one I took on my way to school. I'm 13, so I wasn't carrying 'round some glorious high quality 5000$ camera, but this had such a nice look to it, I just had to take a pic of it. So I used my semi-lame phone camera with 2MP.

Edited December 19, 2013 by KvickFlygarn87

[Ravenchant]

Well, here's some of mine. I use a Canon SX20IS, with hacked firmware to allow some extra adjustment options. But as it's still not an SLR, most shots require slight editing for contrast, hues and white balance. Nothing too extreme, though.

This one actually wasn't edited at all

Some sepia thrown into the mix:

Feel free to criticize, I'm still far from being an expert

[SolarLiner]

I love the sepia tone and the water reflections !

Here's some with the camera of my Galaxy S3 mini and the "HDR Photos" app:

god rays + HDR = amazing !

Taken in Corsica

Here's the huge benefit: you can see everything here even with the huge change of luminosity caused by the shadow

The next clear night sky I'll do a long-exposure photo of a full moon night sky, if I can.

[astropapi1]

You guys have got some wallpaper material here.

[Lordherrmann]

@Ravenchant: I really like bike chain picture, though all of them are stunning.

@Solargamer: Those HDR pictures are beautiful. It really is something I have to look into.

All of you gave me lots of inspiration and neat new ideas.

[KvickFlygarn87]

What did you think of mine? While it wasn't nearly as awesome as all you guys stuff, I would still like to know what you thought of it.

[Lordherrmann]

Apart from the quality, which obviously isn't your fault, it's a pretty cool picture, KvickFlygarn87.

Considering that it's only a 2 MP camera the quality is actually pretty good.

[Ravenchant]

It's surprisingly clear for having been taken in, I presume, early morning? My phone usually slows down the shutter speed under such circumstances and everything reduces to a blur:)

[KvickFlygarn87]

Thank you guys. Yes, it was taken in early morn', around 8 AM. I had to crouch down a bit to keep the phone still

[Camacha]

You haven't lived until you've shot fully manual on film, developed your own negatives or slides, and printed your images. Special effects? Done in camera and/ or in the dark room.

It is always good to get back to basics when it comes to technology, since it usually deepens your understanding, but stating it like you do? Nah. I think quite some people will get very little out of it.