Eventually...

A famous photographer once said to me; "Never give up". Well after umteen visits, many sat in the cold draughty hide, a bittern flew past and I managed to get a shot off. Hurray!

Photo gear.

Try to keep it to a minimum otherwise you'll end up with a bad back. Over time you'll collect cameras and lenses, tripods, bags, flashes and filters, books and then there's the computer side. It all costs a fortune and some you'll hardly ever use.

Tripods and bags.

There are no one size fits all solution. A heavy tripod is needed for big lenses with an expensive head, yet a small one will do for a compact camera for an eBay photo. Current web forums favourite is a Gitzo GT3541LS, Markins M20 head and Really right stuff quick release B2 LLR II clamp. Also popular head choice is the Wimberley WH200 Version2 gimbal mount.

Deciding on a camera bag is a nightmare. Hundreds of choices and variations.
Check http://www.cambags.com/ to start.

Photo Budget

In January prices usually come down in the sales but because of the weakness of the pound against the Yen and Euro, prices this year have gone up. Now is not the time to be buying unless you can make money on your purchases.

Photo forums

What can you believe on internet photo forums? There are people posting dozens of times a day and people who post to sell their products, some are confident but wrong and some are just downright clueless.

Future trends

This is the end of the 'digital photography for beginners' section. Soon there will be posts on all kinds of photo topics.

Not so long ago, a digital SLR cost over £30,000 and was big, heavy and awkward to use. A better product can be had now for less than £500. Memory cards have seen an even more dramatic change.

Video has just been introduced onto a high end DSLR and others will follow. I expect a levelling off on the megapixel front as the current ones can manage 20x30" prints. I think 18MP is a good compromise. Memory cards could be set for a giant increase, up to 2TB - Terabytes!

Mini fuel cells could solve the power problems of constantly recharging batteries and carry adapters for chargers. Hopefully we we see some new lens designs. I wish the camera companies would work on getting autofocus to work on lenses with effective apertures less than f5.6, so that teleconverters could work down to say f11, now that ISO is good enough at 3200.

So now that bit of my blog is done, not comprehensive and a little bit random but if you have never considered digital photography before you may have learned something.

Internet

So how can you use the internet for your digital photography? Research, purchasing, education, communication, repairs and photo sharing - posting examples of your photographs for all to see (and critique), to name a few.

The big difference between internet and print photos is the file size, the colours may differ slightly but all else should be the same. If you invite comments on your work be prepared to receive negative as well as positive. If you have only previously shown your photos to friends and family, it can come as quite a shock to hear criticism. Some of it will be nonsense and can be safely ignored, however if some comments become a theme, check your work. For example, it was pointed out that my subjects were too near the centre of the frame. I looked and indeed the images that I'd posted did show this. What had happened that I was using the autofocus and allowed myself to concentrate on the focus and subject too much. After a small amount of cropping, order was restored.

These days, it is now possible to not only show your photos but have people buy prints from the internet as well. Providing you uploaded a sufficiently large file size from which to print, the printers will be able to make a good print which will satisfy your customers. Anything from a 6MB camera upwards should be OK if you use jpg format. Your upload file size will be much less. A broadband connection will be required. Some companies can sell digital downloads (no printing involved) directly for use by publications such as magazines.

Photo Links 2

Studying great contemporary photos made by others is a good way to learn and even if you don't like some of them, make a conscious note of why that is.

http://photo.net/

Photo Software

Your computer could come with bundled photo software but soon you may find you want more. There is a program called Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program) which is free and will suit many users. There are also programs such as Photoshop Elements and Corel Paint Shop Pro and more expensive ones. Avoid buying these off internet auction sites because they could well be illegal copies. The expensive ones will require much time spent learning the program and maybe even additional books, videos and training courses.

These days photo software can take your photos off the memory card, transfer it to your computer, organise, browse, select, edit, manipulate, colour correct, resize and export to different formats. It may also do slide shows and web pages and automate many repetitive tasks. Check photo forums for particular software and recommendations.

Editing

Editing seems to be a dying art. Recently I posted a question about how people edited their photographs and almost no-one did! Everybody seemed to save every shot they ever made. Editing is crucial if you want to progress. Maybe the ability to shoot at 10+ fps and the relative cheapness of storage is to blame.

When I was shooting slides about 90%+ ended up in the bin. Be your own worst critic, discard those that are out of focus, badly framed, poorly composed, blurred and anything else that someone else would criticise.

Learn from your mistakes, don't rely on just one other persons opinion. Check at 100% zoom for sharpness and obviously if it's a once in a lifetime shot or evokes a special response, keep it.

Street Photography

Street Photography is probably my favourite kind of photography. Moments that are usually lost can be captured forever. It takes a certain kind of skill and awareness that take years of practice but still requires some luck. Prepare by having your camera pre-set to the conditions around you. Autofocus can help and have your zoom at slightly wide angle. In cities where the big buildings block out sunlight, expose for the highlights and let the shadows go to black.

Be confident and know you are allowed to photograph in public spaces. http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page17959 Don't be intimidated but be aware of danger, you'll soon find out what you can and can't do. You don't have to be covert or secretive, trip the shutter when you think certain elements are working together.

Check out this site and give it a go. http://www.in-public.com/

Intermission

OK, about half way through the basics. If you want to try out new gear you got at Christmas, try the local duck pond. :)





Pochard duck.

Logistics

Logistics as applied to photography means getting you and your gear to where you want to shoot on time. Preparation is key to success, which involves such things as recharging batteries, formatting memory cards ready for use and packing everything safely in the camera bags. Allow extra time for traffic problems, fuelling and maybe even parking.

Colour

I like colour in a photograph, it doesn't have to be 100% saturated. It conveys warmth or coolness, time of day and emotion. There's a special time of day called the golden hour, when the low directional light of the sun has a softer and more dramatic effect than the harsh midday sunlight.

Colour theory is based on painting history but can be applied to photographs as well. Some lucky people know instinctively which colours go with others, most though have to learn. There are colour harmonies, opposites, complementaries etc and it takes time to sort out what colours are suitable for foregrounds and backgrounds, so they they do not jar and distort the perception for the viewer.

Travel

Travel is the main reason I took up photography. It is challenging in every way. Careful planning and selection of gear is essential, it's impossible to 'pop' back for something you have forgotten. Travel is difficult, from the cost of travel, arranging your trip, and everything relies on timing. These days, security will make it all the more difficult. Once you've got a few decent pictures, it makes you feel as if you really accomplished something.

The weather can make or break your trip so take this into account. Learn to control stressful situations, difficult officials and language barriers. Try to be as fit as you can be in order to cope with the physical problems, running to reach the next transport, the heat, the humidity, the altitude, the cold and other people. You will learn something about yourself as well. It's worth it.

Subjects

"You have got a reason for taking a photograph, haven't you?", this quote can help you define your photography. If you can say why you want to take a photo, you can attain photo satisfaction more quickly. Maybe you want to record an event in your life, a holiday, friends or just something that makes you say "Hey look!".

Choice of lenses

Depending on what you want to photograph, will determine your next lens purchase. Some other things to consider besides cost are, weight - will it be too heavy to take with you? Will it mean buying more filters if the filter threads are a different size? Size - will it fit in your camera bag? Does it have VR/IS? Is it compatible with your older cameras - does it miss an aperture ring? Will it need another tripod foot? (Usually only big telephoto lenses). Zoom range - too much/too little?
Do you need a very large aperture lens - today's digital cameras are pretty good at higher ISO.

Having a heavy lens on a lightweight DSLR will affect the balance, which in turn will affect your picture taking experience, and whether you bother to take the picture at all. Consider the overall effect on your system as well. If you plan to travel a lot, or carry your gear a long way, heavy lenses may mean leaving some of them behind. The higher priced zoom lenses are as good as prime lenses and have been for a long time.

Equipment choice is an ongoing process so don't think you can get it perfectly right in one go. "Don't burden yourself with too much gear" if one of my favourite photo sayings.

Photo links

In order to make this blog more interesting I'll include links from time to time to other great internet web sites;

http://www.judywaterman.com ~ Judy Waterman- Photographer & Artist; based in central Florida, USA.

Building a system

After a while, once you have chosen your starter camera, you may want to add lenses and accessories. Depending on your needs, a wider lens and a longer lens can be used to expand your photography. This doesn't have to be rushed and if you started with a kit lens or superzoom, you'll be all set for a long time. There are a few lenses for some systems that aren't available in others but these are usually specialist lenses and very expensive, for example an Ultra Violet (UV) lens.

Many people go for a telephoto zoom or a wide angle zoom. On a personal note, I stay with the makers lenses as third party ones just don't last as long. In general, go longer for wildlife or sports, wider for landscapes or interiors.

Tripods are a tricky choice and just one doesn't fit all purposes. A fairly heavy one from a well known brand would be a good start unless you do a lot of walking, then look at carbon fibre ones. Others, such as table tripods have their uses and suit very lightweight compact cameras.

Camera bags are a similar problem and you may eventually end up with several depending on what you are photographing. My main bag is now a backpack style as I prefer to share the weight over two shoulders instead of one. It's impossible to suggest just one bag in this blog but don't buy the biggest because once they are full of photo gear, they're too heavy to lift. A plain one is less conspicuous to thieves.

Carry a camera

By the way, it's always useful to carry a camera with you. One of the wind turbines near me was damaged and the current rumour is that it could have been hit by a UFO!

Digital photography

The early days of digital photography gave less than satisfying results. Low pixel count, strange colours and high cost. That wasn't that long ago, now however cameras are available that can be used easily and produce high quality pictures.

If you haven't got a digital camera yet, do you really need one? If you do slide shows for friends and family about your holidays or hobbies - probably not. You may end up sitting at your computer for thousands of hours - not too bad in winter but sometimes it feels like you should be out taking photos. If you have a collection of full frame or film type lenses (24mmx36mm), cameras are now on sale that are more reasonably priced. Still not cheap though.

What else would you need besides the camera? Memory cards, a 4GB card is a good start. Although you can have prints made directly from the camera or card, sooner or later you will need a computer to deal with your digital pictures. The buzz word for this is DAM, digital asset management. This just means how you deal with your pictures - downloading, editing, post processing, printing and archiving.

So now you need to make a choice, decide on how much you want to spend. If you have a very limited budget, photography may not be for you. It is easy to get swept up with this and spend far too much too quickly. Most photographers change equipment from their original purchase, so my advise would be to look at the popular mid priced cameras. If you check the internet photo shops, many have an option to show which are the best selling ones in your price range. These will be best supported and accessories and lenses more easily available.

All of this is very general of course, don't rush to buy, ask friends and research. When you have made your choice, buy at sales time and on special offers.

Welcome to my new 2009 John P A Carter photo blog.

After fourteen years on the net, this is my first blog. There will be random thoughts about photography in general, initially about getting started in digital photography, but could wander anywhere. I'm a photographer based in Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire. Specialising in location photography, which means non studio work, have a large 100,000+ picture base featuring photographs from around the USA and elsewhere.

My regular photo web site is www.johnpacarter.co.uk or http://johnpacarter.zenfolio.com/

Hopefully this will be the start of something which will grow as time goes on. Forthcoming topics include;

Digital photography, Building a system, Choice of lenses, Subjects, Travel, Colour, Logistics, Street Photography, Editing, Photo Software, Internet, Future trends...

Enjoy your photography. :)