First of all I'd like to introduce myself. My name is John Calvin Underwood. I am a Canon Shooter. My set up is a 20D with a Manfrotto 3021BPRO tripod and 322RC2 head.
It is my experience that there are many sites that cater to the photographer that already knows what he or she is doing. Most of these sites are great resources. One of my favorites is photo.net. The down side is that, if you are a beginner, it takes a lot of wading through the information to get something that you can understand! I hope to change that.
My intent is to bring you useful information that will change the way you shoot today, and every day that you read my articles. So with out further adieu, here we go.
Being that I use a digital single lens reflex (mostly known as a DSLR), most of my time will be spent addressing those that shoot with one as well. However, don't let that stop all you compact shooters from hanging around. Most of the basics of composition are the same for both classes of cameras.
With the advent of the digital camera, the photography world blew up. There are countless photo enthusiasts that would never have developed a love of photography had it not been for the advent of the digital camera. While I certainly enjoy the thrill that the "purist" film shooter gets from a day behind the lens, I find that there are just too many benefits to shooting with a digital camera to shoot with a film camera these days. This isn't to offend anyone. The argument can certainly be made that film shooting has greater benefits, but for me, the freedom that my 20D delivers makes shooting more enjoyable. Whatever type of camera you shoot makes little difference when you are just out to enjoy yourself.
First things first. Get to know your camera!
Read the owner's manual. Then re read it. While cameras offer many of the same basic features, each company places knobs and buttons in differing locations. The menus on your digital camera will offer features in various formats from company to company. So get to know your owner's manual.
Now, the owner's manual, while needed is quite limited. It will usually tell you "what" and "where". I have yet to read an owner's manual explain "why" on any thing. So it is very helpful to buy further instruction. For my camera, I started out with a "Black Lantern" guide. It was a real help, but it took a lot of reading and re-reading. I don't know about you but I like to see what I should be doing so that I can do it too. this led me to spent another twenty bucks on the "Blue Crane" DVD. I can not stress how much this helped me move along in my learning. (I do not get paid in any way by any of the companies that I mention. I just want to share with you what worked for me.) After spending a little time in front of my T.V. with my camera and this DVD, I was able to shoot with so much more confidence.
Do yourself a favor and get to know your camera. You should get to the point that you could operate your camera in a dark room with out needing the assistance of a light. All the buttons and features should become second nature to you if you wish to capture those "only come once" moments.
The second thing I would like to stress is that you should allow yourself plenty of memory and battery power. With the price of memory coming down, there is no reason to go around shooting with a 256mb flash card. When I bought my first 1 gig compact flash card, it cost me about $125.00. Almost a year and a half later a 1 gig CF card can be found for about $25 bucks. I don't go anywhere with less than two separate 1 gig cards. Neither should you. In fact, I'd recommend a lot more, especially if you are planning on making a career out of photography.
As for the batteries, CARRY A SPARE! Mr. Murphy is looking for a reason to camp out in you camera bag. Don't give him the room. With at least two batteries, you can charge on while you use the other. I suggest that you have at least three.
While the information that I've written is pretty basic, I hope that you can appreciate that I am trying to build from the ground up. I fully plan to write articles that address things like composition, artistic style, getting paid to shoot, digital work flow and such. Hang in there!
If you are reading this and have specific questions, feel free to write me at johncalvinphotography@gmail.com.
Until next time, Happy Shooting!
This photo was taken in Estes Park on the same corner as McDonald's. A whole herd of Elk descended on the town from the mountains. They all seemed quite accustomed to being in town and around people. This lady (what do you call a female elk?) was waiting for the light to change even though there weren't any cars. She started walking just after the signal changed. You can see the red hand on the sign across the street. It may have been coincidence that she started walking after the light change, but it seemed too familiar to the animal.
