TPB Monthly Round Up #1

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New monthly feature

Today I am starting a new monthly feature. During the past month I have found some really good sites to visit, but instead of posting about them all over the place I thought I would create a monthly round up feature, on the last day of the month to keep them all together.

So TPB (the photographer blog) Monthly Round Up is starting today. Once a month I will share the good sites and information I have come across in that month, and they will be in the News and Updates category for easy reference in the future. So here is January’s:

Digital Photography School by Darren Rowse, a really helpful blog for tips on any kind of digital photography. There is also a Digital Photography School Forum that is a great place to meet other photographers, I have just joined!

DSLRBlog by Chis G, another good place to hear people’s opinions and share some of your own, also good for news about digital photography.

The Online Photographer by Mike Johnston, if you are after something a bit different to the normal photography blogs then this is the place to go.

These were my favourites of the month and I have been spending a fair amount of time reading them and enjoying them this month.

Mandy

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How User Friendly is your Camera?

I am in the process of looking at my camera’s features more closely and getting to know how they work and the best ways in which I can use them. Here’s some previous posts: Shooting in Macro Mode, What is EV Conpensation.

Which is very interesting and I am really enjoying doing it, but it is making me look at how user friendly my camera is. How easy is it to flick between the different settings when changing the shot?

Photography mode

For instance when choosing which photography mode I want to use I have to go into the menu, then capture, then scene, to change it. Most cameras have a photography mode option now and mine has a choice of: auto, sports, night scene, portrait, landscape and backlit modes.

It’s a great mode to have for a point and shoot as there is no manual settings for individual shots. It would be nice if this setting was easier to get at as I use it regularly. But I have to remember this camera is made as a cheap, very small, carry anywhere camera and I am very pleased it has this option at all.

Something to consider when buying a camera

This is something to consider when choosing a new camera to buy, and likely to be one of a growing wish list I seem to be compiling for a new camera.

I think it comes down to prioritizing what is more important and what options would I like to have to hand on a daily basis when taking photographs.

So working out which are my favourite features and which I use the most will help me to make that decision. I am looking at buying another camera this year, but I didn’t realise looking at my exisiting camera would start to build a picture of what I would like my next camera to be.

What’s on your wish list?

Mandy

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Image of the Week #6

This week in image of the week:

This is a picture I took of Spinnaker Tower when visiting Portsmouth a while ago.

The name Spinnaker and the shape of the tower refers to the spinnaker sail on a boat (the small one at the front!).

This tower is very impressive and dominates the skyline in the area.

But I think it looks even more impressive from below giving it even more height. I like the fact the image has some clouds, it makes the picture look more natural rather than a clear blue sky.

It has very strong shapes and patterns that I like and therefore attracts the sunlight well.

I took it with my usual camera and no tripod.

Mandy

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What is EV Compensation?

I’ve started to look at my camera’s settings and get to know them. Yesterday was the first post looking at a digital cameras macro mode.

This is the first time I have looked at all my camera’s features so closely, so they will be introductory posts as I know I will learn more about the features as I go.

EV Compensation

This is the first option I have in my camera’s menu. And an interesting one because by using it you can adjust the automatic settings for exposing the image. And for a simple point and shoot this is quite a cool feature to have.

I haven’t tried it out yet so I don’t pretend to know much about it, but I have found a good description of EV Compensation here.

My camera’s EV Compensation can be adjusted from -2.0 EV to +2.0 EV (0.5 EV step). It also lists effective subjects and set values for positive and negative compensation. This is helpful when first trying out EV Compensation like I am, as it’s a guide for experimenting and giving me a starting point for practice:

Positive (+) Compensation
Backlit portraits
Very bright scenes and highly reflective subjects
Shots made up predominantly of sky

Negative (-) Compensation
Spot lighted subjects, particularly against dark backgrounds
Scenes of low reflectivity, green or dark foliage

And as with Macro mode I will need to remember to set back to auto after using image compensation.

Mandy

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Shooting in Macro Mode

Most digital cameras these days have a macro mode, including point and shoots which is what I use. It’s basically a close up mode and there will be a minimum and maximum distance for optimum use, each camera will be slightly different so it’s best to check the instructions.

On most cameras you just flick from normal shooting mode to macro mode, with preset settings. It may also restrict your flash or not allow it completely.

On my camera the optimal distance from the subject is 0.6m and when in macro mode the flash is disabled. The picture above was taken in macro mode, from above on a sunny day with no tripod.

I’ve been trying the macro mode out for a while in different settings inside and outside. And I have found that it works better for me outside preferably with a tripod to avoid any camera shake. My inside shots have not come out well at all due to lack of light with having no flash, but I haven’t used any external lighting yet so I’ll have to try that next.

Tripod or no Tripod?

I definitely think a tripod is essential for shooting in macro mode because the camera is so sensitive to movement. I have read that to reduce movement even further you can use the self timer so you are not touching the camera at all when the photograph is taken. That sounds like a good idea, I’ll be giving that one a go.

The other thing to remember is to switch back to normal mode after finishing with macro mode or everything will be out of focus, something I regularly forget to do!

Mandy

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Image of the Week #5

This week in image of the week:

Back to trees! I do love taking images of trees, but that also goes for any type of landscape photography. I think it’s their individuality and the depth of detail that trees have that makes them so photogenic. Though I can get a bit carried away sometimes.

This photograph is a little different because while taken in a park it is looking out across a river to an urban landscape. Making it a little unusual, and a nice mix between the two styles.

This was a photo I took over a year ago. I do like to look back at my older photos, it lets me see them with new eyes. I start to see how I could improve on the shot and get ideas of how to do it differently.

I like the overall composition and it’s what I was trying to achieve. But could I have changed my position to avoid the shadow of the tree off camera? I like to do this with my images because next time I’m in that situation, then maybe I’ll notice these things easier and be able to compensate for them and get better results.

Only time will tell if that is true…

Mandy

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How Well Do You Know Your Camera?

For me not very! I’ve concentrated more on the composition of my photographs and enjoying the opportunties around me for taking photographs. I’ve not concentrated on the camera and getting to know and understand the options and features of it. Which is strange as I am quite a technical person and love gadgets.

But I have come to the point where my lack of knowledge is holding me back. I know I am missing out on making my images better because I don’t know exactly what my camera is capable of.

I do like the camera I use at the moment, my Traveler DC-5080, but it is a point and shoot and to be honest I have always fancied having a digital SLR camera.

But before I invest in a DSLR I want to be sure I can make the most of it rather than it being used on automatic, and basically having a very expensive point and shoot. So before I go buying anything, I want to know the camera I have at the moment inside out. Once I feel confident that I have a good grasp of its settings and how to improve my shots to the best of its ability, then I will feel in a better position to move up to a digital SLR that obviously has a lot more features and options to use.

I love looking around for inspiration and finding a shot to take. So I am looking forward to exploring photography more, once I have learned a bit about the camera and how it can help me to get more out of my photographs. And I will share my experiences and what I have learned here on this blog. I want it to become second nature to use my camera to it’s full potential, so that is my challenge for 2008!

Mandy

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Traveler DC-5080 Camera Review

In The Photographer Blog image of the week feature that runs weekly on a Monday I share a photograph I have taken and talk a little about it. So I thought it would be good to take a close look at the camera I am using at the moment to take the photographs.

My Traveler DC-5080 is the camera I use at the moment and was a present from my husband a couple of years ago. As point and shoots go it’s at the cheap end of the range, but it is a 5 million pixel camera and I feel takes really nice photos.

Although it does have limitations because of the model I was pleasantly surprised by the options that it does have. Including different photography modes like macro, sport, night, portrait, landscape and backlight. It also has a movie mode although I don’t use that much.

The features that interest me the most are the settings and how much I can adjust them. On this camera I can adjust the EV compensation, white balance, ISO, colour, sharpness and saturation. And these are the settings that I want to learn more about, I will be looking at them seperately in future posts. But I am very happy that I can adjust these and have a mess around with them to see how they work. This is the part of taking photographs that I want to improve on, adjusting the settings to improve the image that I am taking.

The camera itself is nice and small with an internal rechargeable battery making it ideal to stick in my pocket whenever I go out, because you never know when a photo opportunity may happen. All in all it’s a descent starter digital camera for me, and will let me get to grips with the settings and learn more about digital photography.

Which camera do you use on a daily basis?

Mandy

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Image of the Week #4

This week in image of the week:

I live on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water, so you will start to notice that the sea theme appears often in my photographs.

This picture was shot with my usual camera at sunset with the sun setting behind me and to the left. I think it looks good so close up and fills the frame nicely.

Have you noticed the mistake? I thought I would leave it in to show you, It’s not straight. But somehow the building doesn’t look too bad! This is a constant problem for me and very annoying. I always take photos slightly off to the right no matter how hard I try not too. Good job the solution is simple, just correct it in Photoshop Elements. But it does look like I need to go shopping for a tripod.

I really like this photograph, I know it’s not quite as pretty to look at as the wooden Bay Watch type that you see in California, but it does have it’s own appeal!

Thanks

Mandy

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Would You Put Your Image on a Mouse Mat?

I love having photographs as art and framing my favourite ones to go on my walls. Being able to look at places I’ve been or people close to me is very relaxing and enjoyable. 

More ways to enjoy images 

I have not yet touched on more different ways to show your photos off. Like having a photograph printed on a t-shirt, mug, jigsaw, mouse mat or calendar to name but a few. It seems these days you can print photographs onto just about anything! These are great fun ways to show off images and share them with others, and they are great gift ideas.

My personal favourites are the photo books that you can order from various websites, it saves having to put them into an album anyway! And they look really good, a great way to display your best images. If I wanted to do something special with a favourite image though, I think I would choose to have it put onto canvas. Making it feel more like art, it would be nice to see how it turned out.

What will they think of next?

Mandy

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