First ever play with an SLR :D

[unreal]

I mean, I'm paying 3 grand a year for my uni course so might aswell use their facilities as much as I can... so I rented out a Nikon D40 for two days with some standard basic lens, of which I understand is a fairly low end DSLR but a suitable one for a beginner nonetheless.

I had a tough time with a lot of the things but I found auto and non-flash mode were cool to start from. After that I started playing with my own shutter speeds, editing flash, manual focus and all sorts.

I haven't edited these pics in any way, I don't know if it's worth adjusting colours/saturation/sharpness etc so I just leave them as they are straight from the camera.

Any tips will be welcome as it was SO much fun and I plan to do it again







(A couple were actually kissing right in the centre of that completely by chance, it wasn't intentionally captured)





Businessmen deciding who gets to ride on the firetruck first











And while I'm posting up arty shots, I might aswell post a picture of my doodles on my Uni dorm room, which I will probably get in deep doodoo for when we have to move out lol.





Thaaaaaank you for the time and all comments are welcome. I didn't know SLR photography was so fun! I find it's also fun to battle your guts and pull the camera out in public...

[GoNz0]

pass the doobie from the 1st pic

hmm looks like the girl in the 5th pics already smoked it

[IBM]

pass the doobie from the 1st pic

hmm looks like the girl in the 5th pics already smoked it

Seriously, who uses rolling tobacco to make spliffs?

First pic is a bit blah....lower shooting angle and a wider DOF would have made it better, but the subject matter isn't anything special. Saying that, if I'd seen the picture at a higher res, it probably would have had more impact.

Second picture is soooo close to being great. Unfortunately your model isn't engaging enough, mostly because of the hair falling across the face, really closes her off the audience. But the angle you shot from is close to perfect, the distribution of elements within the scene is great, and all those conflicting lines really add to the atmosphere of the shot.

Third pic isn't any good. It's too cluttered, and really off balance. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be looking at Selfridges (thought you were in East London?), the christmas tree, the church, the couple, or that plastic bag bottom right. Not terribly interesting.

Fourth pic is interesting, but doesn't really work. I love the way the base of the cup blends in with the table, but this was probably unintentional. Again, not the best interaction by the model...perhaps if she had been sitting like that, but had been reaching out to hold the cup, you'd have a nice connection between the elements.

Fifth is off colour but a nice shapshot. Are you shooting in RAW? This would allow you to edit your picture's white balance in post editing.

Sixth pic is not bad. It's pretty tricky capturing complex models like that in a photograph without it looking cluttered but you did an okay job. However, as is always the case with pics like that, if you're not level with the central element, or far enough away with a zoom to be able to hide the angles, you're always going to a confusion of angles on the upper levels.

Seven isn't anything special. It's off balance and you've cropped it badly. I'd have taken it from the other side of those guys, so the tall bloke was on the left, and the carousel on the right.

Eight....well, I've seen that shot before, but done better, so it's difficult to comment. Had I not, I would say it was alright, but I would have taken it closer to the main pole, so the distance between the other poles was less obvious.

Nine....terrible picture, incredible illustration. Love that drawing.

Hope that helps.

[GoNz0]

Seriously, who uses rolling tobacco to make spliffs?

me and the poster

[IBM]

You know that for a fact? Or just going on the fact that he has rizla and rolling tobacco on his desk?

....not that I would know, wholesome family man that I am, but using rolling tobacco for splifs? No accounting for taste I guess

[GoNz0]

well i hate the taste of pre rolled cigs with chemicals added for burning purpose as its so dry, but if thats what floats your boat i guess your right

natural baccy, herbs and paper for me

[unreal]

lol thanks for checking the thread out...

Concerning the tobacco and rizla, they're not mine (I've never really smoked ever, everyone who does seems to be like DON'T EVER START) but the dude who uses them does use it for spliffs... I mean a student isn't really going for the highest delicacy of flavour when hes gonna relax I don't think we as students can afford that sort of lifestyle.



Thanks for the photo feedback though! Slightly more to the harsher spectrum than I anticipated but valuable criticism nonetheless. I obviously have a lot to pick up with this whole photography thing, huh?

The third pic with Selfridges I originally shot portrait so it was the couple with the Bullring building as the complete background, with the damp concrete floor reflecting the intense green below them. But since it was a night shot and I'm a newbie I couldn't get a sharp shot, they all came out blurry, and they ended up moving before I could fiddle about with the shutter speed in time . Oh, and I'm at Birmingham Institute of Art & Design studying Illustration, hence why I'm out of London .

I agree I would have taken the pic of the guys standing next to the carousel from a different angle, that was more of a witness shot while passing by than anything.

Thanks for taking the time to review each picture though. I gotta keep in mind a lot more the elements I capture within the frame really, not just the object I'm photographing, I think that's one of my problems. I'll also try to consider aspects like lining parts of the environment up, where I place the DOF etc....




The last picture by the way was simply just a picture of my wall in the most quick and clear fashion to show the fancy crap on my wall - nothing else.

Thanks again!

[IBM]

I think you took my criticism slightly harder than it was intended. For someone's first go with an SLR, when it's easy to get overly concerned with the technicalities, your efforts were admirable.

However, given the standard of photography people regularly display within the forum, you can only expect to be judged in comparrison with them. Saying that, I was impressed by a couple of the pics, and to my standards heaped fair praise on a couple of them. I am a little bit too critical, as people will often tell me, but I judge photo's as I would expect my own to be judged, with the idea of learning as much as possible from my mistakes.

Now hopefully someone else will come along, and perhaps shoot me down, but the only winner would be you, as you're the one gaining experience on how better to improve things next time....

I think that was sufficiently patronising, don't you? Sorry. It's late. I am, at best, an absolute amateur at photography, and wish I had more time to practise it, because it's a wonderful hobby. You've got some good pics there, and a fair eye. With a little practise you could be very good. If you've got the time

[Hans Voralberg]

Man your drawing are awesome, if I could only draw half as good. 2nd is fairly good, 4th has potential, have a look at this page

The ultimate Bokeh thread; pics please - Page 4 - Rangefinderforum.com

Scroll down you will see a pic of a girl reaching out for the hat, which I think is sorta like what you might want to achieve next time in a similar situation.

[Ramedge]

I am really not happy with my D80 a the moment, I am sure its the Kit lens thats the problem.

If I am honest I am not getting any thing much better than what you got with the D40.
I did quite well with a mates d80 - which makes me wonder if mine has some kinda issue

[Hans Voralberg]

Wanna post some comparison ? what sort of problem you're getting. You'd have to be quite unlucky to get a duff lens.

[Million]

I like 2, 3, and 6 especially. I like the wierd scale in 6, it's like the people are too small compared to the escalators. Your addition to Hokusai is impressive too, reminds me of Alfonse Mucha.



Oh, and Golden Virginia is the baccy of choice for doobs where I'm from

[IBM]

cheap ass philistines

[Zak33]

no more doobidge comments pls. Ta


Love this.... love the texture

[Ady168uk]

gr8 pics bro, me looking to get an SLR soon cant wait now