New to Digital SLR

peepingtom

Hi Guys,

Ive been slulking around here for a while now . I recently bought myself a Nikon D70s because i've always been keen on taking up photography and finally plucked up the courage to splash out a little.

I've had it for around 2 weeks or so, but today was the first decent day i've had the opportunity to get out to take some pictures with a bit of sun.

I really enjoyed just strolling around the salthill area taking a few snaps.

Anyway, here are what i would consider some of my favourites, please let me know what you think, and feel free to offer some constructive criticism if you wish. I reckon i have a decent eye, but do lack the technical knowledge which i hope to pick up from places like this.

Thanks
Matt

Dimy

:eek: you might catch me one day! I live in Monkstown... Nice shots! You've had very bad luck with the recent weather.... not the best of times to buy a new cam :rolleyes:

I'm taking pictures around the same area most of time basicly everywhere between blackrock and dun laoghaire.

Fajitas!

Got some great potential there!

Well, you have an eye for it, picking up the rest is easy enough really!

peepingtom

you might catch me one day! I live in Monkstown... Nice shots! You've had very bad luck with the recent weather.... not the best of times to buy a new cam

I'm taking pictures around the same area most of time basicly everywhere between blackrock and dun laoghaire.


ah no way .... i live just across from the garage next to the purty .... unfortunately i'll be moving to the other side of the city in around a month ... just bought a house in kinsealy .... its a shame i cant afford to live out here, i love this area with the sea and stuff!

If you see someone wondering round looking like they dont know what theyre doing, stop me to say hello.

cheers
matt

peepingtom

Fajitas! wrote:

Got some great potential there!

Well, you have an eye for it, picking up the rest is easy enough really!

thanks very much ..... i'm only shooting in appeture priority at the mo ... cant seem to figure out true manual (always comes out black???), and auto is pants ... the flash keeps popping up and spoiling things ... .... i guess i'll have to have a look at the manual

Dimy

peepingtom wrote:

you might catch me one day! I live in Monkstown... Nice shots! You've had very bad luck with the recent weather.... not the best of times to buy a new cam

I'm taking pictures around the same area most of time basicly everywhere between blackrock and dun laoghaire.


ah no way .... i live just across from the garage next to the purty .... unfortunately i'll be moving to the other side of the city in around a month ... just bought a house in kinsealy .... its a shame i cant afford to live out here, i love this area with the sea and stuff!

If you see someone wondering round looking like they dont know what theyre doing, stop me to say hello.

cheers
matt

Cool, I live on Montpelier Place just behind the "Butler's Pantry". It's actually closer to Blackrock than Monkstown :rolleyes:

I'm only living here because I work in Blackrock and prefer to live close to work, I hate public transport! Can't afford a house here either... I'm lucky enough to have found a small studio apartment with a reasonable rent.

Look for someone with a Canon 350 and a big lens! (although there's plenty of those going around...)

Fajitas!

When you put it on manual, either or all of these could be the problem:

Shutter speed is too high

Iso is too low

The number of your aperture is up too high

Well, at least'd they'd be the most common reasons. You'll figure it out!

Dimy

I don't know about Nikon, I figure they have it as well, but in the Canon you can see the "metering" in your viewfinder and on the display. It shows whether your image is underexposed or overexposed. Simply adjust either your aperture or shuttertime to get a correct exposure reading and shoot. But don't worry... I shot in Aperture and Shuttertime priority too untill 3 weeks ago .

peepingtom

thanks lads, i'll hopefully get another chance to get out tomorrow after work, so i'll get studying the manual, and have a mess around with the aperture etc.

cheers again

Ruu_Old

Some lovely shots there, you wont have any trouble picking up the rest and going to the next level like the others have mentioned. Keep it up and make sure to keep posting

Fajitas!

Out of curiosity, did you use a point and shoot camera before?

You certinally know how to get a different angle in your photos! Especially so if you just took it up.

peepingtom

Fajitas! wrote:

Out of curiosity, did you use a point and shoot camera before?

You certinally know how to get a different angle in your photos! Especially so if you just took it up.

ah yeah, i got a point and shoot digital camera (about 2 megapixel which was quite big at the time) about 5 years ago, and i have always enjoyed using it, even though i really only used it on holiday and the such. Before that i really only used disposables that never got developed...... I've just realised that i havent actually printed any of my photographs since i was a teenager ... oh dear!

peepingtom

Ruu wrote:

Some lovely shots there, you wont have any trouble picking up the rest and going to the next level like the others have mentioned. Keep it up and make sure to keep posting

thanks a mil ruu ... its really nice to get some good feedback

melekalikimaka

great pics, you've a great eye, very artistic i must say, for someone just starting its amazing

dalk

Nice pics, keep up the good work. Prefer the last, but i would have been inclined to get a little bit closer to the subject. The wall leads nicely to the subject.

Also, i generally use Aperatue Priority on my cameras. Matrix metering etc is very good now and when you get to know your camera better (and auto exposure lock which i presume the d70s has), you'll know when it will get it right (about 90% of the time) and when it will get it wrong. These things are there so you can concentrate on getting the picture rather than fretting about technical stuff (most of the time at least).

peepingtom

cheers both,

yeah i think you're right about that last one, i think he may have been a really interesting subject. I wanted to get up closer, and try another shot, but he was starting to stir, and i didnt want to cheese him off

My favourite is the girl chilling next to her bike. I cropped that image by about 50%. Theres something about it that makes me want to keep looking at it. She looks like a cool chick.

and thanks for the tech advice

CoolBoardr

The first one doesn't really do anything for me - it's slightly out of focus and underexposed.

The second one looks like it had the wrong white balance set - was it shot at dusk?

I like the third one - great candid, just a pity about the harsh shadows...

The last one is good too but could do with a bit of a cropping to remove a bit of the distracting white fencing on the right.

Overall I agree that you have a good eye for composition, just keep practicing and shooting!

Also, I use aperture priority about 70% of the time, shutter priority about 25% and manual only when I want a specific 'arty' effect or if I know that the conditions are confusing the camera. Once you understand the basic concepts of why to use each setting, it starts to become second nature and you just know what to use and when.

peepingtom

CoolBoardr wrote:

The first one doesn't really do anything for me - it's slightly out of focus and underexposed.

The second one looks like it had the wrong white balance set - was it shot at dusk?

I like the third one - great candid, just a pity about the harsh shadows...

The last one is good too but could do with a bit of a cropping to remove a bit of the distracting white fencing on the right.

Overall I agree that you have a good eye for composition, just keep practicing and shooting!

Also, I use aperture priority about 70% of the time, shutter priority about 25% and manual only when I want a specific 'arty' effect or if I know that the conditions are confusing the camera. Once you understand the basic concepts of why to use each setting, it starts to become second nature and you just know what to use and when.

yeah thats what i need to get right, knowing what settings to use in what circimstance ... the third one was shot just as the sun was setting, but i was also under a overhanging bush i think .... im not sure how to set the white balance, so i'll have a look at that (maybe the ISO was too low???). The last one isnt a fence, its part of the painted wall, but i agree it is a little distracting, i think if it was taken closer to the subject i would have avoided that. I'm not sure how i could have avoided the shadows ... i did increase the contrast slightly, but i found it brought out the pale wall reallt well. Oh and the firts one, i think seems out of focus because i was caught in two minds whether to have the mother and daughter as the focal point, or the bike ... i think i chose the wrong option.

thanks for contributing

Dimy

Hey Peepingtom were you by any chance taking pictures near Blackrock station today during lunch hour? Or is that impossible? Just curious... was having my lunch there and saw a guy taking pics with what looked to be a Nikon.

peepingtom

Hey Dimy, No mate, unfortunately im locked up in this pay as you earn prison until 5 O'Clock

Dimy

peepingtom wrote:

Hey Dimy, No mate, unfortunately im locked up in this pay as you earn prison until 5 O'Clock

Ah tough luck.... same here, but I'm released between 12 and 1 for lunch ;-). I usually take a walk along the coast or in the park and sometimes take my camera with me.