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Non Expert Photography
for Non Expert Photographers
Getting Started and an Introduction to Photography
from a common sense perspective. What is the difference
between Photography and Picture Taking? Our focus is
on digital photography. Certainly many of the concepts,
and in fact, from a technique standpoint there is very
little difference between digital and film photography.
There are differences but concepts such as focal length
of lenses, depth of field, exposure, etc. are the same.
We do not touch on any subject which is more specific
to film photography. For example developing and film
chemical use are not touched on. If you are a film photographer
and are interested in entering the world of digital
photography this is a good resource place for you. Consistently
capture the beauty you see
What
kind of camera should I buy?
Don't know anything about cameras and cannot decide
what is best for you? It's a daunting question for the
novice or the newcomer to photography. Some cameras
are simple, requiring you to simply point at the subject
and press the button. Others look like they require
an engineering degree to learn. They really don't, they
just look that way. Which is the right one for you?
I want to upgrade to a digital SLR camera but I am not
sure what to look for This question is
often accompanied by a statement such as, "I'm
new to photography and I don't know much about SLR cameras."
At some point in time, you will discover that the simple,
easy to use camera you are now using is not allowing
you to control your photography and what you now want
to do photographically, you cannot do with your current
camera. Chances are you will be looking at moving to
a digital Single Lens Reflex camera.
Choosing
the Right Lens 
The choice of lens will be determined by the kind of
photography you like to do. The kind of pictures you
want to make will determine the best type of lens to
use. One type of lens will be useful for close-up photos
of flowers. That will not be the same type of lens you
would use for shooting at sporting events or wildlife.
A lens suited for long distance wildlife shots may not
be the best lens for photographing flowers close up.
It certainly would not be the chosen lens to shoot landscape
scenery. What lens should I use to take portraits of
people?
A
Matter of Light and Dark Photography
is a matter of light and dark. Sunlight gives light
and night and shadow gives you dark. Your pictures turn
out too dark or too light. What is this thing called
"exposure"? We talk about exposure and what
we need to do to insure that the camera sensor sees
the proper amount of light for the subject. There is
also that pesky problem of extremes of light and dark
in a scene.
The
Thrill of Speed What do you mean when
you say a lens is fast? It doesn't look fast.
What about this thing called "ISO"?
You
Have Been Exposed You can let the camera
make all the decisions for you, or you can have a say
in how the picture turns out. All modern digital cameras
have a fully automatic mode, but to really release the
artistry in your camera, you have to become it's master.
A Deep Subject Sometimes
you want to see more and sometimes you want to see less.
Depth of Field - How much to see and how much to blur.
You mean some blur is ok? Yes.
Focus, Focus, Focus
There is a time for blur but this is not
it. Don't be a dullard.
Crops No,
I don't mean rows of corn or wheat in the field. Sometimes
we only want a part of the whole picture.
Consistently
capture the beauty you see
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Photo Gallery
A collection of photographs I have enjoyed
making. Coming soon.
| Landscape |
Flowers |
Places |
| Macro |
People |
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| Birds |
Wildlife |
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Camera Lens Comments
and Reviews
This section is not intended to be a technical
review of any of the lenses discussed here but rather
it is intended to offer my thoughts and experience using
these lenses and to explain why I chose these particular
ones for my own use. There are many good lens choices
and what works for one person will not necessarily be
the best for someone else. The choice of any lens must
be made on the basis of what you need the lens to do.
You should not buy any extra lens until you determine
that you have a need for that lens and understand how
that lens is going to meet your photography needs.
You must have at least one lens. That's
so obvious that it hardly warrants mention but I do
so because you have a choice of what that lens will
be. You may have a lens which came with your SLR camera
or you may have bought the lens separate from the camera.
Let me state right now that if you are using a compact
point and shoot camera or any other camera which is
equipped with a non-replaceable lens, this information
will not apply to your camera. Single Lens Reflex cameras
do have replaceable lenses and here is where you have
the choice of what lens to use as well as how many lenses
to use.
Tamron
17-50mm f/2.8 LD XR Di II Lens
Canon
EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens
Canon
EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens
Photo Techniques
Flower Photography 
Close-ups
and Macro Macro photography is a broad
term most often simply meaning close up photography.
When we position the lens of a camera close to a subject
so that a small part of that subject fills the frame
of the viewfinder and thus the whole of the digital
sensor, or else the subject itself is rather small,
we are accomplishing in the broad sense, macro photography.
Nature Photography
People Photography
Animal Photography
Don't Cut Off Your Subject's
Head When you point
your camera at your subject, be sure you know what you're
pointing at. What's in the viewfinder? What's missing?
Don't
Look Down on Your Pet 
Get down on their level for shots which will reveal
their personality and put them in a better light.
Fuzzy
Telephoto Shots I just bought a new telephoto
lens to shoot pictures of birds and other wildlife.
A lot of the pictures turn out looking a little fuzzy.
Could something be wrong with my lens or am I doing
something wrong?
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Photograph Prints
for Sale
Professionally produced and mounted prints
for sale. Coming soon.
Technical Stuff
For those wanting to know more about the
"under the bonnet" technical details. Invest
in yourself - Become a Certified Better Photographer.
Start Today!
Focal Length
Focal Length and Its
Relation to Picture Size
f-stops
Extension
Tubes Increase Macro Magnification Though
dedicated macro lenses allow you to focus very close
to your subject and obtain very close looks at your
subject, sometimes you want to look a little closer.
In other words, you just shot a fine picture of a bug
but now you'd like to zoom in for a fine look at the
bug's eyes.
Kenko Macro Extension Tubes
Aperture
and Lens Sharpness The sharpness of a
lens is not equal at all aperture settings. There is
an optimum aperture (f-stop) setting for any lens.
Diffraction
Limited Aperture (DLA) Because of diffraction,
all lens start to become less sharp as the aperture
is closed down more and more. The aperture size where
this affect starts to occur is dependent on the camera
rather than the lens. That f-stop value is known as
the Diffraction Limited Aperture or DLA. There is much
debate as to whether it is a matter of concern or not.
ISO
Numbers Originally the term was ASA.
Over time it has changed from ASA to ISO. ISO refers
to the sensitivity of the digital sensor. The more sensitive
the sensor is, the "faster" it registers or
"collects" light and thus the more the picture
is exposed.
| Photograph preparating
tips for those who intend to submit product photos
of items listed on Dooley's Treasure Chest
for consignment sales. If you have questions about
how to make your pictures work best for your listed
items, or you want to know what we need regarding
those pictures, Go
Here. The better your pictures are, the
more your items will have appeal to potential buyers. |
| Dooley's
Treasure Chest offers a consignment sales
service for your collectibles and really, anything
you are looking to sell but don't want to go the
eBay route. No, we don't buy items but list them
on behalf of individual sellers. Our speciality
is Collectible dolls.
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