Well, I told myself I would try a new setting on my camera everyday and since I'm chomping on the bit to take even closer macros, I thought today was the day to tackle the manual setting. I had a beautifully sliced lemon, some seeds, a great white plate as a background, read my manual, proceeded to set the camera to the appropriate settings (or so I thought!), took 30 minutes to shoot a bunch of pictures at different settings, uploaded them to the computer and... NOTHING. 30 shots of nothing but black. Hmmmm... it's me; I know it's me! So I went back to the "Scenes" mode, set it on macro, and shot silly stuff on or in my desk. They're not the stellar shots I was looking for, but it's all in a day's learning. I'll try it again tomorrow. But honestly, I do feel a bit like Larry the Cucumber right now. He's that green fellow in frame #4!
@brittarnhild Thank you so much Britt! I'm glad you enjoyed my silliness! @httpgeffed I want to shop with Madame Blueberry at Stuffmart. (o: @karenann Well, it's not exactly what I set out to do, but I hope I can figure out what I didn't do right tomorrow. Thanks for cheering me on Karenann! @kerristephens Thanks Kerri! @nicolecampbell Thank you Nicole. I wish my first batch had come out, but I actually like the colors of the pencils and pens; and Larry's not too bad. I think if the lighting had been just a little warmer, his picture would have been even better. @digitalrn Thanks Rick! You're right!
Haha, I've been there! I occasionally forget the focus is on manual and wipe out a bunch of really great shots because they are blurry. Keep exploring and remember to have fun!
@twinsplusone Thank you Sharon! I do have fun with my limitations! @jeancarl Thanks Jean-Carl. The first batch wasn't blurry- they just weren't there. Totally black. Not sure what I did wrong, but I'll fuss with it some more tomorrow. I have a feeling it was the settings in the camera. @daveanajao Thank you Dave- and blessings to you in 2012! I'm sure you'll catch up- but don't get stressed over it! And thank you so much for the fav! You're too kind! @pandorasecho Thanks Dixie- he's from the series called VeggieTales. Very entertaining and very creative! @sarasdadandmom Thanks Terry- yes he's actually designed to go on the antenna of your car, but I'd much rather have him sitting on a pencil staring at me while I work on the computer!
Well I know you will succeed. Love this collage and especially Larry. Melody and I used to use Veggie Tales all the time when we used to work with children in some churches we have helped at. Silly song with Larry still ring through my head from time to time
@bkbinthecity Thanks Brian! Believe or not, VeggieTales were some of the most requested videos of my high schoolers when they earned a video day. I'd say "Are you sure you want to watch Veggie Tales?" They just loved them!
I understand. I still have bad picture days! One thing that my instructor taught me was to read the meter. I think that's the best advice. Still, I don't know if the meter is always "right" as it depends on your taste for photos too. Keep practicing. OH, and I also went to the bookstore and got a book that had a DVD with it. It was fabulous. It was for the particular Nikon that I have, but they may have some for Canon. It's part of a series called "Magic Lantern Guide." I used to watch it over and over again and then practice something. I'm confident that you'll figure it all out.
@mrssmith Thanks Carla- I'm writing myself a note with that info. I think an "instructor" even one on a DVD would be very helpful. This camera is definitely a step up from my Canon, but it's not one you can change the lens on, so I don't know how "fancy" I can get- but yes, I'm figuring by June I should be doing well with it! I'm going to look into that DVD series when I have some spending money!
Wonderful shots there, Anne! You obviously keep the fun in your photography and that, my friend, is exceedingly important. Don't ever lose that. Your approach to learning you camera settings falls right in line with my own philosophy of learning new tech--play with it to learn it.
@dbjohnson Thanks Dean- absolutely appreciate the encouragement! Fun-yes. I have to be able to laugh at my struggle with comprehending this camera otherwise frustration will take over and I will want to give up! And I do want to have fun with this and not get hung up with the pp page or favs. As great as they are, being consumed by getting them saps the creative drive out of you.
and i am your opposite. i get frazzled when things don't turn out as expected. the poor flower i was practicing on almost got thrown away (cheaper to throw away the flower than the camera, you know). i like that cucumber guy, he's gorgeous! but alas, he's probably taken.
@cortens Thanks Julie- I usually shoot in manual on my Canon, so I think it's really just that I didn't understand what I was doing with some of the settings. We'll see tomorrow!
@alia_801 Thanks Alia! Someone told me about a DVD tutorial which I'm going to look into once I have some spending money. Perhaps a voice and step by step visual instruction will make more sense.
You can do it! :) my fav of the bunch in your college is the spiral bound notebook! Maybe this appeals to me from my previous employment in libaries. There is nothing more comforting than a good book, and a clean desk!
Well it turned out quite nice and colorful..and of course very organized looking too. my desk is usually a big mess and when I clean it up I like it much better but it only last a few days..back to the same/
@adobewaters Thank you Adobe- yes, I have to have fun because if I don't my head will explode from all the information I am trying to absorb about this camera! (o: @steeler I confess Howard- I do tend to be organized, but I really need to be otherwise I'd never get anything done and I wouldn't be able to find anything either. However, I did spill out all the paper clips and made a BIG mess with them while I was photographing them! @geertje Thanks Geertje. I still don't know. I was trying to duplicate it today and couldn't! Go figure. Well, this isn't the whole desk, but it's a pretty good representation. (o: @potsbypam I would love to work in a library again!! Thanks Pam! @bruni Thanks Bruni! It's organized but quite small- so a bit cluttered- but I make it work! @albqshutterbug Thank you Tammy!
You'll get better and learn it all soon enough. Have you looked on youtube for videos on how to operate it? I did that for some setting on my camera. The little bug? worm? is cute!
Thanks for the suggestions Alia and Samantha- I will definitely do that! Good idea. The little green guy is Larry the Cucumber. He's a character in VeggieTales which is popular here in the US, but I'm not sure they're international. However- you can probably find them on YouTube too!
@allie912 Thanks Allison. I never did figure out what I had set wrong even when I went back and tried to reset the camera incorrectly! I'm going to take the advice of Samantha and Alia and see if I can find a tutorial on YouTube for the manual setting. It's been so long since I had a camera in which I could control the aperature and shutter speed, I hardly remember how it works! I've got my camera books around somewhere too- I think by the end of next week, I'll feel more compitent with that setting but for now, I'm sticking with the pre-set macro setting in "scenes" and it seems to be working quite well.
@inertie Thanks so much Inertia! I'm just trying out a lot of things on my "new to me" camera right now, so all sorts of things have become subjects. It's fun to experiment.
You must be very patient. I'd be so stressed out after just a couple times....doesn't take much for me ....LOL! This is a cute and creative collage that you composed.
@cimes1 Thank you Carole. Today was more frustrating. I have things showing up on my screen now that I don't know how they got there! And I can't seem to figure out how to get them off. It's time to track down an on-line tutorial recommended by another 365er. @flydragon Thanks Flydragon! Seems as long as I stay on this setting I'm fine- once I try to figure out the others, not so fine! But I'll keep trying until I get it!
These are just great Ann! I have a personal preference for your pencil shot. I know just how you feel, sometimes you can spend ages setting up a shot and it just fall flat! Other times you can whip something up in a jiffy and it works out beautifully! Ce la vie!
I find the Macro setting quite tricky. Can never really judge whether something's in focus or not until I upload it! You did very well here!
@kloud Thanks Bonnie! That is so true. I try to press the shutter down half way to let the camera know where I want to focus the shot. Sometimes it gives me the little box and even then when I upload, it's not focused on what I wanted it too. That's what I miss most about my 35mm SLR- being able to adjust everything right from the lens. It really was so much easier. But the other thing with digital is that I can take 20 or 30 shots until I get what I want in focus and then with a click of a button get rid of the ones I don't want and it doesn't cost me a cent. So...that's the give and take of it all!
@httpgeffed I want to shop with Madame Blueberry at Stuffmart. (o:
@karenann Well, it's not exactly what I set out to do, but I hope I can figure out what I didn't do right tomorrow. Thanks for cheering me on Karenann!
@kerristephens Thanks Kerri!
@nicolecampbell Thank you Nicole. I wish my first batch had come out, but I actually like the colors of the pencils and pens; and Larry's not too bad. I think if the lighting had been just a little warmer, his picture would have been even better.
@digitalrn Thanks Rick! You're right!
@jeancarl Thanks Jean-Carl. The first batch wasn't blurry- they just weren't there. Totally black. Not sure what I did wrong, but I'll fuss with it some more tomorrow. I have a feeling it was the settings in the camera.
@daveanajao Thank you Dave- and blessings to you in 2012! I'm sure you'll catch up- but don't get stressed over it! And thank you so much for the fav! You're too kind!
@pandorasecho Thanks Dixie- he's from the series called VeggieTales. Very entertaining and very creative!
@sarasdadandmom Thanks Terry- yes he's actually designed to go on the antenna of your car, but I'd much rather have him sitting on a pencil staring at me while I work on the computer!
Keep up the great work and happy new year!
@steeler I confess Howard- I do tend to be organized, but I really need to be otherwise I'd never get anything done and I wouldn't be able to find anything either. However, I did spill out all the paper clips and made a BIG mess with them while I was photographing them!
@geertje Thanks Geertje. I still don't know. I was trying to duplicate it today and couldn't! Go figure. Well, this isn't the whole desk, but it's a pretty good representation. (o:
@potsbypam I would love to work in a library again!! Thanks Pam!
@bruni Thanks Bruni! It's organized but quite small- so a bit cluttered- but I make it work!
@albqshutterbug Thank you Tammy!
Thanks for the suggestions Alia and Samantha- I will definitely do that! Good idea. The little green guy is Larry the Cucumber. He's a character in VeggieTales which is popular here in the US, but I'm not sure they're international. However- you can probably find them on YouTube too!
@flydragon Thanks Flydragon! Seems as long as I stay on this setting I'm fine- once I try to figure out the others, not so fine! But I'll keep trying until I get it!
I find the Macro setting quite tricky. Can never really judge whether something's in focus or not until I upload it! You did very well here!