Playing around with my new camera

[Terry]

hi terry. Lovely pen, photos taken on a lovely camera. i'm no expert with a camera so am in no position to pass judgment. they look fine to me. my father was most particular when it came to taking photos. the first time he took me out he made me take two 36 exposure films of the same subject using a set of different apertures and exposures every 2 hours from daybreak to sunset. i learn't a lot from those pictures -one thing that suprised me was the variation in light quality (day light) through the day with the best light being in the early morning and the late afternoon (as a general rule - weather constant). he also made me take another set in doors in different rooms to investigate the light from different light sources florescent, normal light bulbs of vairying wattages etc. the results of these were also intresting and most pictures appeared lifeless and tinted to a greater or lesser degree yellow. if i remember his explanation correctly, it was to do with the temperature of the light source and the different wavelengths of light given off. by far the best pictures taken were in natural light. if i can, i try and take my photos in daylight even now (some forty years after this advice was given). if this isn't possible i'm never happy with the results..i take my hat off to those that can produce good results inside using flash photography. even with a diffuser and bouncing flash of ceilings and walls my results are inconsistant. i've often wondered about buying a slave unit to supplement my standard flash but never taken this further. the other item of kit i was advised to buy was a light tent. this again is still on my wish list. i think others in the forum have experience in these areas and i look forward to their input on this subject. In the meantime good luck with the camera and experiment to find out what suits your subject best. at least now you dont have to pay for the film to be developed and the results are instantaneous. cheers andrew
nce

Thanks Andrew. I think there is an analogy between singing live and photography. In the old days a singer got on stage and had to sing in key and a photographer had to know his art.
Nowadays a singer just has to look good and auto tuning does the rest and in photography you use a bit of software like photoshop and that does it for you. Except for me of course. I am sure Peter (Penpal) being an old time photographer could relate to this. LOL

 

[paulm]

I've had a look to see what is available and easy to use for free so that everyone can edit their photos. I've downloaded and tried Photopad Image Editor and with Terry's photo I simply pressed auto Levels and then saved it. You can download it for free from Free Photo Editor Software - Image, Picture and Photo Resizing & Editing
Here are the before and after shots which literally took seconds to change. Of course you can control this yourself but for the purpose of this I took the auto levels option.

 

[paulm]

If wanted, I would give a demo of how to download/install it and/or give a demo on how to use it for the bits that are needed to display our pens.

 

[Grump]

At the risk of getting myself in trouble again.
Have you been bombarded with adverts since installing that software Paul?
If not yet you will be.

It is only good for MS windows users Which may rule out some people as it does me.
I think the idea is to improve Camera technique rather than computer skills.
Slap me down now sorry to be orrible init?

 

[paulm]

At the risk of getting myself in trouble again.
Have you been bombarded with adverts since installing that software Paul?
If not yet you will be.
View attachment 3587
It is only good for MS windows users Which may rule out some people as it does me.
I think the idea is to improve Camera technique rather than computer skills.
Slap me down now sorry to be orrible init?

Hi Brian,

Its good to get all perspectives on this and one of the downsides is the advertising. I haven't been bombarded with adverts as yet but I'm very careful to always untick anything that might cause me to get them. Having said that, it doesn't mean I won't

It is good to improve camera technique I agree 100% but it is not always that easy and some people including me will probably find it easier to just take a shot and edit it. The photo I edited above literally took seconds but getting the contrast and brightness right on the camera might just take a lot of extra lighting and camera setup.

I was lucky enough to have the RSPB photographer teach me some techniques and this is exactly what he does... point and click and then on the computer, crop, histogram (contrast) and sharpen. I haven't bothered sharpening any of my photos but I always crop and contrast. And that's it.


Another option apart from the free downloads is perhaps to buy Adobe elements which can be downloaded for trial from here Adobe - Download free trial version Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 | Adobe and if you like it, it costs £63.49 to buy which is for PC's or Mac.

 

[Grump]

Not wishing to change the thread of Terry's post here, I use and promote gimp as a free download and extremely powerful editor without the bloatware.
I also point and shoot and simply crop no more on software.
Ensuring the light is as good as I can get it before taking my snap.

 

[paulm]

Not wishing to change the thread of Terry's post here, I use and promote gimp as a free download and extremely powerful editor without the bloatware.
I also point and shoot and simply crop no more on software.
Ensuring the light is as good as I can get it before taking my snap.

I understand fully Brian, just trying to give options.

 

[johnny5]

This is a Roman Harvest pen that I made a short while back and as I am learning how to use my new camera I thought that I would take a photo to see what it came out like. The wood is Thuya finished in CA

Excellent looking pen, really special , photo looks good too.
Did you get the blank from TB Terry ?

 

[Terry]

Excellent looking pen, really special , photo looks good too.
Did you get the blank from TB Terry ?

Thanks Johnny. I get my Thuya blanks from Snainton as they generally have a good stock and I spend a bit of time picking out the best ones.