Introduce Yourself & Welcome Other Members (archive)

Hi. My name is Andrew. I'm 44, living in Salisbury in the UK. I have always enjoyed photography but have found that, since going digital, I have spent more time on 'auto' than has been good for me and my pictures have become very literal - just stating the obvious. I used to get a real buzz from a good picture but now I find that happens less often. I use a Nikon D70s which is taking me a long time to get my head around.

Just recently I bought the book 'Right brain left brain photography' by Kathryn Marx, 1994 Amphoto, New York, in a charity shop, and I have felt reinvigorated. The book makes you consider your motivation as well as your technique. I think I had got stuck on technique which itself had been dulled by the 'auto' setting.

I look forward to sharing some thoughts and photos with you and seeing if I can develop my skills and creativity with your help and support.

Best wishes

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Welcome to CiC, I used my camera on Auto way too much in the early days - it'll wear off.
I generally go for shutter or aperture priority these days, whatever suits the subject.

In terms of motivation to take pictures, I too found that lacking last year, so I found some people that could use my pictures and made myself useful, in my case to a couple of cycle clubs. This year I've found plenty of inspiration here, so dive in, wallow around for a bit and if you've got any questions, ask away.

Also, if you have any pictures to show us, or for critique if you can't figure what's wrong with them, we do a good line on those too, just post into the appropriate forum.

Regards,

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Originally Posted by lcsads

Just recently I bought the book 'Right brain left brain photography' by Kathryn Marx, 1994 Amphoto, New York, in a charity shop, and I have felt reinvigorated.

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Hi Andrew,

Great to have you with us :)

I had a similar epiphany a few months ago when I grabbed a copy of "The Moment it Clicks" by Joe McNally - also very inspiring.

Hi everyone,

Alan here, new to the site but not really new to forums etc. I am from sunny South Arfica and am looking to posting on CIC. :)

Hi Alan,

What sort of photography do you enjoy and what camera are you shooting with?

don't worry, I'm nosey like this with all the new arrivals :)

Anyway, it's great to have you join us, feel free to ask questions, start threads, post pictures for constructive comment, just generally make the most of us.

So, to wrap for now, welcome to CiC from,

Hi,
I've been lurking around here for some time but not had the time to post anything until now.

I started being serious about photography about 3 years ago, starting with a Canon 350D and now use a 5D Mk2 and 10D converted to IR. Main interests are landscape, architecture, people and Lensbaby captures.

I am 58 and live in Essex, England. Sorry this short but writing at work while waiting for a program to compile!

Peter

Hi Peter, glad to hear that you'll be involved! We look forward to hearing more from you. If you have any input/questions on infrared techniques I think a lot of members would find that interesting to discuss. Welcome to the forums!

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Originally Posted by Chelseablue

I think we need a welcome thread so new people can say hello and tell us a bit about themselves.

Mark

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Aloha, all! I'm so grateful to be included in this forum, as I am digitally ignorant. I just tossed my Canon Pelix (that's right, non-digital, from the 70's, weighed a ton) and have been forced into the digital age, kicking & screaming.

I'm a painter (of paintings, not buildings) and am looking for a GOOD camera - preferably under $1,000. I'll read the tutorials and facts pages. However, in the mean time, anyone have any suggestions? Open to any & all discussions.

Thank you and be well.

- Perspectives

Welcome perspectives,

Good to have you join us.

Before we can start suggesting cameras, I think it would help us to know what sort of things you want to photograph and what you were intending to do with the results; web or print (if so, how big).

I also assume for that budget you were thinking DSLR rather than point and shoot, although for a GOOD DSLR, and the inevitable lens(es), that's not a huge budget. I'm not familiar with "Pelix", but assume no lenses are going to be any good to re-use on a DSLR, so we're not limited to Canon?

Any chance of a real first name?
It'll make replies much easier to write (don't ask me why - it just does).

Thanks,

Good and under $1000 is a bit of a tough one; although if you are working in $ you are probably better off than being with £ at the moment.

Much depends on exactly what you want to photograph but you could start off with a Canon 400D or 40D (last year's models) or the Nikon equivalent and gradually increase your stock of lenses as finances permit. Also consider alternative brands like Olympus etc.

Alternatively you could get a decent 'point & shoot' camera for that money and the best of them can now produce excellent work although you will lose the interchangeable lens option.

Anyhow, perferably take a bit of time to think before purchase. And welcome here.

Hi Peter,

Welcome to Essex man from Berkshire man!

Have you got a web gallery of your pics?
To tell the truth, although I've looked up Lensbabys and know they come colour coded, I'm still not absolutely sure what they're for. Is it a kind of tilt/shift lens? - That's why I was thinking if you had a gallery, I could sneak a look and find out, but now everyone knows :(

Great to have you join, welcome from,

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Originally Posted by Perspectives

... am looking for a GOOD camera - preferably under $1,000. I'll read the tutorials and facts pages. However, in the mean time, anyone have any suggestions? Open to any & all discussions.

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@ Perspectives ...

Hi from me too :)

Regarding a good camera choice - why not just start a new thread and we'll all get our collective brains working together for you :)

Hey Everyone,

My name is Alex, and I got seriously started with photography at the beginning of 2009. I purchased my first dSLR, a canon xsi + 18-55 IS and have read a great deal about photography since then. I feel like I have developed as a photographer both artistically and technically. In the near future i'd like to become more technically sound.

My photography interests are mainly in portrait and landscape photography, though Sean's galleries have enticed me to experiment with some low light.

I joined this forum because of the high level of technical knowledge associated with this site. I would like to develop my technique and get more involved in the photography community.

I look forward to speaking to all of you.

p.s. I already posted a thread titled "Which flavour of canon 70-200?" in the dSLR section. Feel free to post on that thread if you have any experience with that line of lenses.

Hi, I am Anikh, 24, just about to graduate with Civil Engineering as my major from Indian Institute of Kharagpur, India.
I was always interested in photography, but was stuck with a PnS camera. However I got myself a Panasonic FZ28 in October 2008, and am planning to get a DSLR soon ( as soon as I join my job :) )
I am here to learn from more experienced people, to know those little nitty-gritties, i couldn't find just by googling ;) so most of the time i would be reading older posts.
I love Macro and Landscape photography.

I like capturing my world as it is ( srry, i but i hate setting up scenes and too much PP )

As of now I am totally stuck on whether to buy Nikon or Canon ! If some body can give a straight answer please do right away....I really dont want to clutter the forum with a seperate thread for this;)

my requirements :
a macro lens is essential - Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM or Nikorr 105mm VRII AF - the nikorr is double if not triple the price of Canon:(
a general purpose fast wide angle - 18-55mm zoom lens

I would like a fast burst mode camera, I later plan to get a telephoto and go bird shooting ;)
am I asking too much ?
Budget : 3 to 3.5K USD

Gallery : http://tinyurl.com/hellfragger

Hi Dave,

Here is a link to my studio space on the Lensbaby forum http://www.lensbaby.com/forum/profile.php?10,941

The Lensbaby is a selective focus lens, i.e. it has a sweet spot of focus with the rest of the capture progressively blurred. It's a fun lens to use and in the right hands can produce some beatiful effects.

Peter

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Originally Posted by hellfragger

Hi, I am Anikh

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Hi Anikh - welcome to CiC :)

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As of now I am totally stuck on whether to buy Nikon or Canon ! If some body can give a straight answer please do right away....I really dont want to clutter the forum with a seperate thread for this;)

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The bottom line really is "toss a coin"; outside of the 200% zoomed "lab shots", both brands have pretty much identical features and performance across their respective segments of the market. Some suggest visiting a store and handling both - which isn't a bad idea - but having just said that I still maintain it's a case of learning to like whatever you get used to.

I'm a Canon man -- so it's probably rather unsurprising that I find Nikon ergonomics quite weird; Nikon shooters will say the same about Canon. There's no "wrong" choice, just two variations on the same theme with a BIG overlap in features and functions.

I can only think of a couple of reasons why Canon might get an edge right at this moment (1) as you say, Nikon seem to be pricing some segments of their market quite strangely (eg NZD around $18,000 for the Nikon D3x -v-NZD around $12,000 for the Canon 1Ds3), and (2) it's probably fair to say that Canon have the wider choice of lenses - especially more specialty lenses (keeping in mind that once you make a significant lens investment then changing brands is a VERY costly exercise.)

Hope this helps!

We've also had a thread or two on this in the past - could probably search them out for you if you think it might help?

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I would like a fast burst mode camera, I later plan to get a telephoto and go bird shooting ;)
am I asking too much ?
Budget : 3 to 3.5K USD

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At a guess I'd think that a Canon 50D with EF 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS USM would come close? Or the 10 fps 1D Mk.3 and the EF100-400 if you stretch the budget a little?

First of all I would like to acknowledge the incredible compositional quality of the Cambridge work. These pieces are what have drawn me, over the last couple of years, into photography. I finally got a ½ way decent camera – but there is so much more to it than the camera!!!

What I have is a NIKON D700 – but no lenses for it yet (I have spent most of the last couple of years cutting my teeth on an inexpensive LUMIX camera). I wanted to see if someone could at least perhaps put me in the right direction. I would like to learn how to do work like the Bodley’s Court piece on the Cambridge site. We have some historic architecture around here where I live that is lighted in such a way as to be able lend itself to some nice work at night (properly conceived and executed of course!!) How is that light captured or created. What sort of lens should I start with? I don’t know if these photos have been manipulated manipulated to any extent? Any info here would be greatly appreciated. I am fairly fascile with CS3. What time of the day (or night) was this (or these) photo(s) shot ? Were close up and distance shots from a tripod and superimposed to get the focus across the the depth of the photo? What settings were used? How long is(were) the exposure(s)? I purchased the D700 due to the fact that there is a lot of commentary out there that it is a good camera for night work. Any help from any of you would be grealy appreciated.

Thnx a lot Colin, I must admit, that I've been reading other posts by you, and found them extremely informative !
Money issues aside, I am a fan of the MP-E65 macro lens from Canon ( but it has to wait for now... i have read about inverting a wide angle and stacking over a telephoto, but i'd prefer company made and certified lenses for sharpness )

As of now i want to concentrate on macro/potraits and landscape - so i think the EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM will suit me well ( I have read excellent reviews about its sharpness on more than 7-8 sites )

I have a very clear point that I would prefer good glass over camera body, yet I am stuck with the choice of Canon body - 5D MkII or 50D - there are sweet and sour reviews of these everywhere, like Diffraction limit Aperture of 50D (f/7.6) is less than 40D (f/9.3). Also 50D has smaller cells (5um) than 40D (6um ). When reviewing the 5D MkII they always compare to 1DsMkIII which is roughly 3 times costlier. A [COLOR="Red"]certain reviewer says that you need better glass to actually say what picture quality the 5DMkII is capable of. the 5dMkII is a FF body, but only 3.9fps !! Why do these manufacturers cripple their products ( I have Panasonic FZ28 with excellent Leica lens and a crappy noisy - ISO 100 is noisy - sensor )

@Colin: Can you point out the better one between 5DMkII and 50D ? i read with full frame I can get creamier bokeh and really good wide angles, but the extended reach of the cropped sensors lure as well.
Being an idealist I like detail - i have an obsession for detail. Kindly advise accordingly.

and Thanks a million again !

Hi Peter, welcome to the forums! Perhaps the best way to learn is by just getting out there and experimenting a bit. Try posting some shots here with a description that gives a little insight into why they were taken and what the camera settings were. I'm sure this will stimulate some interesting discussion.

You have quite a lot of questions! :) That's good. Glad you're interested in the gallery and thank you for the kind words. The Bodley's Court photograph had virtually no post-processing except for a slight white balance adjustment due to having so much artificial lighting. For more information on the Cambridge gallery on this website, including EXIF information, please check out the PBase gallery at www.pbase.com/compuminus/cambridge. Beyond that, I think you'll learn the most about general photographic technique by reading and participating in some of the interesting discussions we have going on here.

Look forward to hearing from you more...

Hi,

My name is Jaime, I just turned 40 :confused: and I live in Portugal. I teach Math and Programming at the Technical University of Lisbon. I'm married and a father of two (a boy and a girl).

I've been using a digital camera (on auto) for three years. Last year, I got a great book that sparkled my curiosity for going a step further: Digital photography for dummies.

At that time, I was the proud owner of a Nikon D50, which I loved. Unfortunately it got stolen and I had to put my digital self-education on hold. This year, I'm back in business. I bought a Nikon D60 which I'm still getting used to (my photos are still a bit pale :o). But starting reading again and shooting a lot.

Going through to web I came across the tutorials on this site. Only after a few days I realized that there was a forum. And usual, I'm not very keen on forums. But this on was different. Everybody is nice and really try to help. I was amazed that oyu always get an answer (almost on real time).

So, I guess that I will be spending a lot of time here. And maybe, who knows, even ask some questions. For now, I'm still trying to learn enough to know what questions to ask.:)

Jaime