Getting used to my camera.

So, Rosie and I went for a walk into Ilfracombe and then onto the South West Coastal Path and then back home to Slade.


Getting used to the zoom lens;

Picture taken with wide zoom (33mm equiv)

Zoom at 'actual' size, approx 50mm (equiv).

At full tele zoom. 396mm (equiv)

At this zoom it was hard keeping the camera still.

I will use the monopod or tripod next time.

Keeping the focus point fixed, but changing the aperature;

200 @ F2.8

200 @ F6.4

200 @ F8

This didn't quite get the effect I was looking for. I would have expected the focus to be different on each photo. I will try this again using a different subject matter.

Different Focus points using the same aperature;

Focus on the bush in the foreground.

200 @ F2.3

All but the foreground is blurred.

Focus on the mid-distance rocks.

200 @ F5

Foreground is blurred and hill is slightly out of focus.

Focus on the distant hill.

200 @ F11

Foreground is blurred.

Using the Panorama option to automatically stitch three pictures together;

I was very impressed with the result of this. You get the depth and curves of the landscape.

Studying Photos in newspapers and magazines

Part of the introduction is to study photos used in advertising and as additions to text in newspapers and magazines. The National Geographic has some lovely pictures of the inside of a Vietnam cavern [January 2011, pp104-111]. The vastness of the cave and the insignificance of the human in the foreground gives a great sense of scale.
The choise of photos in the James Blunt 'on the road' book shows some more original shots. Not the usual 'here I am as a child', 'growing up', etc.
Looking at the current newspapers on-line, while there are some interesting photos, most are just there to show the person/persons that are included in the article. Some of the war/drama stories cover better shots, more dramatic.
So, on to 'getting to know your camera'. As I have previously mentioned I have printed off the full manual for my new camera. I have gone for a 'bridge' digital camera, which is a halfway house between a compact and a digital SLR. The rason for this was mostly cost and me not really knowing what type of SLR to go for. I bought a Pentax 35mm SLR when I first went migrated from a compact 110 camera back in the early 80's. The Pentax was, and I have to say, still is a lovely camera, but it was the Ricoh body I purchased a year later that became my workhorse. It was easier to take manual photos, but still allowed auto, point and click too. I do not know enough about digital SLR's yet to make that jump. One day.
'Getting to know your camera'...

Autofocus and being a control freak

Ok, I know I am a bit of a control freak. Today I saw the squirril upside down outside the window, helping itself to the fat balls. Lovely photo opportunity. So new camera in hand I tried to capture the shot, only to find that the auto focus decided that the marks on the glass would make a better picture.
The photo was lost. I have resigned myself to printing off all 117 pages of the camera manual, annoyingly supplied as a .pdf on a CD, in order to really get to grips with how to get over this sort of problem.
Lesson learned. It was so simple in the old days of 35mm SLR's, with no autofocus, unless like me you wear glasses and forget to have them on when you take a quick shot and can't understand why what looked like a great shot turns out to be blurry when you get the pictures back from the developers.
I start the first main chapter in the course tonight.

1st Assignment

I have heard back from my tutor and have a date for my first assignment from my tutor. It is March. So, here goes. The books arrived today and I have read all through the supplement workbooks, so I can now start the course for real!

Materials, materials...

I have now e-mailed my tutor and read through all the handbooks. The Direct Debit is done, along with the OCA questionaire. Phew.
Tomorrow, I start on the actual course. Very excited.

Starting My Course

It is going to be interesting starting this Open College of the Arts Photography course. I have never studied photography, certainly not at degree level and look forward in expanding my knowledge, priciples and practices, over the coming year.
Having entered photographic competitions, while on the Isle of Wight, and got some good feedback, I found myself taking pictures to win competitions and please judges. Now will be my chance to improve my skills and take pictures that I enjoy.
I am really looking forward to the first session.