When a friend asked me to do this 365project, I thought why not. I would love to learn something new. I like taking photos. I own a camera. I know the basics - or so I thought. I can do simple editing and have several old favorites for software. I need a class in Photoshop.
I figure, the camera and I are in it for the long haul.
In the past few weeks, I've learned to add language to what I already knew from experience: DOF, Sunny16, Rule of Thirds. And thanks to the Internet, with a wink and a nod at the Urban dictionary, I get the $2 project; the cinnamon challenge, and that lol can have an s - lols.
Before this, I shot a Canon film SLR on experience and not on book knowledge. I've taken a lot of memorable photos and was usually happy with the results. The bar is not that high.
But to get better I have cracked open the books. I am so ready to take on the challenge of what I don't know... and evidently that is a long road.
I've always shot in existing light or let the external flash do all the heavy lifting. And that worked for me. I have no studio light experience, but am finally going to take a class to start filling in the blanks.
Given a choice, I would rather shoot at night or in Hawaii where the sunny days are nearly perfect and lighting is magic.
So imagine my surprise when I discovered today while studying a guidebook on my camera, that hated pop-up flash does something other than on and off. Flash. No Flash. Flash. No Flash. Flash. No Flash. Not true. The darn thing is like my windshield wipers. I can control the amount of output.
I will now be sitting in the corner contemplating my lack of knowledge. Good news is, I'm taking my camera and a very small bottle of Grand Marnier with me while I play with this feature that has evidently been there the entire time.
Don't worry, I won't suddenly be posting a month's worth of pop-up flash photos and I own an external flash and a number of defuser toys. But... I can control the amount of output on the pop-up flash. Who knew?
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.
Anyone else care to confess to something obvious that they just learned, or am I on this learning curve alone?
I couldn't sleep the other night and broke out my D90 how to use book. I got it for cheap and it's friendlier to read than the actual owners manual. I found out that my flash can also act as a "remote" and trigger up to 2 off camera flashes...FML I have been lamenting about wanting to do off camera flash work and how I need an expensive remote yadda yadda yadda. Well I haven't experimented with my non Nikon flash yet but it's Nikon compatible so I'm hoping it works...*starts singing "A whole new world"*..............
@mikew Is that a feature on all Nikons? I just tried it on my D5000, but the light didn't seem to flash up when it was focussed. Would be really useful though as two of my lenses only manual focus on this camera.
*EDIT* Just had another play with it, and it works some of the time. Other times I can got from out of focus, through focused and out again the other side, with no light, even when working slowly. Any idea why?
@mikew A light that indicates your manual focus is on target? I wonder if my Canon has such a thing. I am going to go look right now. That would be fabulous!
After taking one long exposure shot I thought I had it all sussed. Oh how wrong!!!
I got to town today and set up my tripod to take a wide, long exposure shot looking down two busy streets. The effect I was after was static buildings (which by the way are magnificent monuments to past architects and builders) and blurred people going about there business in all directions.
I had to drop my lens to 18mm to get everything I wanted in the frame. I measure my settings using the ev meter in the view finder and I just could not get a decent exposure. At 18mm I could only get the aperture to f22 and to get a shot that was exposed this wouldn't allow me to do a long exposure.
At the time I put it down to my stock lens (I'm assuming a better lens would have a wider aperture setting IDK!) but now I am thinking I should try this shot a little closer to sunset when there is still enough light to capture the shot but not enough to stop me taking it.
I wasn't aware where or how high the sun was in the sky at the time as I had got of the metro in an underground tunnel and was in the shade of tall buildings all around. But having just looked it up I was 1 hour 10 minutes ahead of it.. maybe their in lies the answer to the problem. I will try again!
But yes in answer to your question, I just learned not to be so over confident when you have learned a new trick. I was so cocksure that I was coming home with my best photo yet and it wasn't going to be an accident, I even told (Bored!!) people about it at work.
As it happens today's photo is just a happy snap of my boy and the homework project we worked on tonight and nothing at all to do with the theme I had set myself for the week.
And can I just add, without wanting to sound cheeky.
Read your manuals!!
If you had read that, then you would have known about flash settings. It really is the best bit of advice I know.
I listened to it and I'm on my second model of camera in 21 days (My Pentax broke :( )
I didn't need the manual to get started but now I am reading it as much and as often as I can so I can learn all the stuff I can't figure out for myself.
Trouble is it is in PDF format and I don't have a printer so I have to read it on the PC. The Pentax had its own little bible with it that I could open when ever the chance arose and close when the proverbial penny had dropped about something new.
@swilde@lisjam1@wormentude Not sure where I read about it, certainly NOT my camera manual lol. When you have AF who cares about a green light, huh? But yeah it's helpful. Rachael whatever focus point is enabled (I think you can see which one in the viewfinder) will need to have something to focus on, so if you're looking at your cat's whiskers, but the focus point happens to be positioned on a blank wall, it won't be able to see when the wall is in focus (and in fact you're focusing on the cat). So make sure the focus point is on your subject and preferably on an edge/line, something with some contrast or texture
@shadesofgrey The "commander mode" on your D90 will only trigger an SB600, 700, 800 or 900. Won't work with the SB400 and I don't think there are any 3rd party compatible flashes that will work either (possibly the newer Yungnuo ones, but I doubt it).
Wow...I've just learned a ton of things from this Post alone! I'm now running over to pick up my canon instruction book and read up on the flash...Please keep posting things you've learned so I can learn them too! @swguevin great topic!!
@shadesofgrey It's a breeze! You can seriously be up and shooting with remote flashes in a matter or minutes. I had originally bought a sb800 to use as a commander with my D40, then I upgraded to the D90 for the internal focusing motor and the fact that it will act as a commander. There are TONS of videos on youtube, etc. that will show you how to set it up. I had a DVD that was great for explaining and showing the uses of the Nikon wireless flash system, but I'm not sure where it is or what it was called.
@shadesofgrey I picked up a Nikonos V kit with two strobes seriously cheap a few years back, but then stopped shooting film a few months later. The only digital camera I have for underwater photography is my little Canon Powershot G10, which obviously can't be used with Nikonos strobes - or can it? Took me a while, but I eventually figured out you can turn the on-camera flash right down and simply set the strobes to slave mode, and as you say, "a whole new world...!"
We ALWAYS forget the instruction book - every time I look at mine something always pops up at me and I have to stop an go "Hmm, I didn't know that"
As for Canons I can say that yes, even in Manual focus the boxes do flash red if there's something in focus at that point - I've found it handy a few times!
@mikew@joesabino@dieter Thanks so much for the insight....my third party flash did not want to play nice today...will have to find a compatible flash somewhere. I honestly had no idea that it could do that and I feel like a real dunce since Joe decided to buy the same model for that fact. Well once I get a flash that works I will definitely be utilizing it!
@shadesofgrey The Nikon flashes that support "CLS" are expensive, you might do better to just buy an inexpensive radio trigger (Cactus or similar). The advantage of CLS though is that you can change the flash power from the camera, and not have to fiddle with the flashes.
@mikew OK, got you. Perhaps playing late at night when the light isn't so good isn't the best idea either lol. Thanks for a tip that'll make my photography so much easier in the main. :-D
@shadesofgrey Yeah, I had bought two SB-600's to control with the SB-800. Now I can just control all 3 with my D90. I just started playing with remote flashes again the other night because of this thread.
@justeddie...have you tried a neutral density filter for long exposures during the day? I got a pretty inexpensive ND8 which is like sunglasses for your lens...allows for longer exposures...fun to play with...what I really want to try it for is waterfalls, but haven't been anywhere to try it since I got it :(
Ok, something funny happened on the weekend. I took about 500 pictures of some gannets (sea birds) and my SD card filled up. I had bought a cheapo backup, so I popped it in. Wouldn't work. Tried formatting the card, because I don't think it had ever been used. Wouldn't work. Camera had CHA or CHR displayed and who carries their manual around with them. I deleted a few obvious blurry images, and took some more, but soon filled up again and had to head home, not having taking some shots I'd like to have taken.
At hom later I discovered that the card's little switch was in the "lock" position. Switched it off lock, and it works fine!
@mikew Haven't had that happen yet. Hope I will remember this if I'm ever trying to quick format a card and it won't cooperate. Thanks for sharing this.
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Another useful thing many people don't know they have is a DOF preview button.
And if you manually focus, your viewfinder may still indicate when you have sharp focus (little green light in Nikon, not sure about others).
*EDIT* Just had another play with it, and it works some of the time. Other times I can got from out of focus, through focused and out again the other side, with no light, even when working slowly. Any idea why?
I got to town today and set up my tripod to take a wide, long exposure shot looking down two busy streets. The effect I was after was static buildings (which by the way are magnificent monuments to past architects and builders) and blurred people going about there business in all directions.
I had to drop my lens to 18mm to get everything I wanted in the frame. I measure my settings using the ev meter in the view finder and I just could not get a decent exposure. At 18mm I could only get the aperture to f22 and to get a shot that was exposed this wouldn't allow me to do a long exposure.
At the time I put it down to my stock lens (I'm assuming a better lens would have a wider aperture setting IDK!) but now I am thinking I should try this shot a little closer to sunset when there is still enough light to capture the shot but not enough to stop me taking it.
I wasn't aware where or how high the sun was in the sky at the time as I had got of the metro in an underground tunnel and was in the shade of tall buildings all around. But having just looked it up I was 1 hour 10 minutes ahead of it.. maybe their in lies the answer to the problem. I will try again!
But yes in answer to your question, I just learned not to be so over confident when you have learned a new trick. I was so cocksure that I was coming home with my best photo yet and it wasn't going to be an accident, I even told (Bored!!) people about it at work.
As it happens today's photo is just a happy snap of my boy and the homework project we worked on tonight and nothing at all to do with the theme I had set myself for the week.
We live and we learn!
Read your manuals!!
If you had read that, then you would have known about flash settings. It really is the best bit of advice I know.
I listened to it and I'm on my second model of camera in 21 days (My Pentax broke :( )
I didn't need the manual to get started but now I am reading it as much and as often as I can so I can learn all the stuff I can't figure out for myself.
Trouble is it is in PDF format and I don't have a printer so I have to read it on the PC. The Pentax had its own little bible with it that I could open when ever the chance arose and close when the proverbial penny had dropped about something new.
@swguevin great topic!!
As for Canons I can say that yes, even in Manual focus the boxes do flash red if there's something in focus at that point - I've found it handy a few times!
At hom later I discovered that the card's little switch was in the "lock" position. Switched it off lock, and it works fine!