Gf and i bought an SLR at christmas and i can’t put it down. i feel weird if i leave the house without it and find myself looking at everything and everyone as a potential photo. is this normal*? what happens next, should i seek help?

flickr here slightly worrying how dark most of my recent stuff is…

*as normal as anyone on a bike forum at bedtime can be

Yeah, completley with you on this- I got a DSLR for christmas and still trying to gt to grips with it..

Really, really like some of the photos that keep getting posted up on here,–Sheldona and the likes.. and would really like to be able to take some of me own..

If I’m completly honest, I’m still struggling with all the different Apperture/ Fstop settings etc, etc..

Anyone know of some “DSLR for Dummies” type books/ courses???

search the net and a bit of practice should see you right, talkphotography.co.uk is a good forum. im using an old manual lens and its hard work (no light meter) but feel im starting to get an idea of what aperture and shutter speed to use now-but i worked out ive probably taken a few thousand pictures since christmas

for a second there I though you’d said pr0nography……

do a bit of wildlife/bird photography

can get expensive if you start hankering for quality glass

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robd12/

mrchrispy – me too !

I got into photography 5 years ago, now finishing a 3 years degree at uni and currently writing about changing compositional standards in recent photography.

Tom Ang makes some good beginner and intermediatery books on photography. I was like you guys, til you start learning about narrative, contextual meaning and compositional rules and the passion changes from machine-gunning loads of images off to composing shots carefully.

I jumped on the SLR bandwagon just over a year ago, tried to take the time to learn it but it takes a lot of work and experimenting with and to be honest found the thing too much of a pain in the ass to take anywhere so most of the time it never got used. Bought a Nikon P5100 which has most of the manual controls so I can still play with things a bit and for me its better having a small camera I actually use, even if the quality is slightly lower.

mav12, lovely images in there. What glass do you use? Ive also got a 40D, love it.Most pleased with my 24-70mm F2.8 L series recently, but have built up to several lenses including 17-40mm F4, Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 50mm F2.8 Macro, 50mm mkII F1.8 and 35mm F2. Also, just got a 430EX mkII to complement my 580EX mkII but havent had a proper chance to test them out together yet.

been at it for 34 years now 🙂

mav12, lovely images in there. What glass do you use

mainly 400l and 100-400l really pleased with the 40d
just looking for a good compact at the moment

not sure i’m obsessed, but glad i live in a digital world…

I used to be obsessed, when I had a lovely darkroom to play in.

It is fun. I must take it up again propply.

I blame dijical.

Oh, and Fatcha, of course…

I had two Contax 139 Quartz slr’s, but stopped using them because it got too expensive to experiment. Bought a Nikon Coolpix 5700 a few years ago, and that’s got me back into photography again. More recently bought a Lumix TZ3, which is a fantastic little camera, especially for gigs; security frown on anything that looks semi-pro. Would love a Nikon D700, but that’ll have to wait. Funnily enough, despite being slagged off by all the no-it-alls, I’ve been having fun with my iPhone’s camera. The pixel count isn’t that high, but if you think of it like a Polaroid or Instamatic, and with a number of apps like Photogenie, it takes great snapshots, one, Genius, even has a grid for composing pics! I’ve got around 200 photos on mine at the mo’. You really have to think about composition and lighting with such a simple camera, but good results are possible, even at gigs. I use b+w a lot, too.

even has a grid for composing pics!

that’s a feature I can happily do without 🙂

I wanted to like the Pansonic LX3 but anything past 400 ISO and its like looking at pictures made from Lego! Its not as bad as earlier Nikon noise, but its no way near as pretty as traditional film grain. Im surprised as I thought Leica had input into that camera and not just in the lens area?

Id love a DSLR but as yet its out of my price range. I have very nice compact that’s taken over my life, to the point of going for a romantic bottle of wine up an Alp with the other half, a rug and a camera, and coming down freezing but with a massive succession of 64 second exposures and a very grumpy and bored missus!

I take a camera everywhere. Im an addict !

its not the composition thats led to the amount of clicks dooge just taking several dif types of pics every day. are you flickr’d? im always keen to see other people’s work

…must …stop …buying …or …collecting …old …cameras!

Some of those are very good Dave. They are very dark though. I do like dark pictures but when some people complained they couldn’t even see mine I realised my screen at home was set to be quite bright so although I could see the pictures when I edited them, other people couldn’t once they were up on flickr. I’d say some of yours are so dark nothing interesting can be seen. But don;t let that stop you, if they’re good for you, cool.

Some very good pictures there, it is very addictive and yes once you start you do spend looking at things around thinking “oooh that looks good with the light coming from there”.

i’m not. i’m a photographer who doesn’t take pictures very often. i have no interest in mixing business with pleasure, i enjoy being a working photographer but enjoy things more without carrying a camera around so never take any riding shots or if going to any kind of event i never take a camera with me.
never really understood why people take a camera with them everywhere and insist on taking shots of literally everything.
i do like ‘recreational’ photography where i will go and shoot some landscapes, but i do this without distractions so don’t do a bit of photography then a pub lunch, so i’ll go on my own for as long as i want so i can think about what i’m doing and not be distracted.
I don’t understand the gear obsession either. well i like stuff that’s easy to use and performs well but much like mountainbiking it’s all about having the latest ti/carbon for a lot of people.

cheers samuri and drac, you’re right some look fine on my screen but are pitch black on others’ screens-im in the process of changing exposure levels and replacing some of them. its also the fact i dont have a light meter on my camera that will work with my e series lenses (another good reason to get a d200/300) and end up under exposing.

mr smith i may fire you an email if thats ok? im interested in hearing from a working photographer that sees it as a job rather than their passion. sadly i am someone who fires off pics everywhere. im sorry but im seeking help. im with you on the gear freaks though, same as cycling some folk like bits more than using them.

btw i like your landscape shots mr smith

I’d never used a DSLR until SITS last year.

Now I have all this.

Obsessed no, but it’s nice to make money out of something you really enjoy.

Not obsessed but certainly interested by it. Always took a camera out on rides, usually too busy riding to make the most of it up until recently.

Had lots published in Singletrack, a couple of pics in a photo mag a while ago (one of those “Readers Shots” things, nothing amazing) and I’ve sold a few here and there.

Currently looking at upgrading my existing DSLR.

Went to Focus on Imaging at the NEC yesterday….still have a lot to learn.

Wish I could spend more time on my photgraphy really and also wish I could afford a couple of extra bits of kit. Just a nice flash and a macro lens. That is all…..

Went to Focus on Imaging at the NEC yesterday….still have a lot to learn.

I was there too. 🙂
Good show, lots of demo things and seminars going on.

What else did you get James?

ok amended some of the darker photos, i need to use someone elses comp to see how they look but hopefully theyre more visible but still dark enough to be dark. or something.

You need something like Spyder2 for calibrating your monitor properly.

Yeah Mr Smith’s collection is really nice.

I went to the Focus On Imaging Show on Sunday..

I bought my first “proper” camera, no its not a dSLR, its a Canon Powershot G10, got it at the Focus show.

So far I’ve taken well over 300 photo’s, I’m becoming an addict!

Couple of photos taken with my G10.

I don’t understand the gear obsession either

I’m with MrSmith on this, it’s the results that interest me, not the means. Having said that, I do always carry a camera, and am always on the lookout for an interesting shot – I find it informs my awareness.

Had an EOS 40D for about 14 months now, and loving it 🙂 Take it out on rides when weather looks to be OK but still forgetting to set up/compose properly :-(. Been having a play with landscape type stuff which I’m enjoying

my Flickr

not really tried street/portrait/motorsport stuff but would like to try it.

Andy, thats the problem I found when I had the DSLR, I was doing things just to try and get the photo of them rather than just doing them and enjoying it, I found I was getting to tied up in getting the picture rather than just having fun. Obviously for some it is fun and i’m not having a go at the people who enjoy it but for me it was taking away the fun and i was pissed off if i didn’t get the picture i wanted. I’m never going to sell my photos, they are just for memories and for me a quick snap with the compact is good enough, still got plenty of what I would call good pics this way and maybe the bit of time playing with the SLR has helped in this respect.

Been having great fun with my compact (Canon A720) since I started messing with aperture and shutter speeds
Was very chuffed to get a picture of a 125 train going at full pelt that was clear and not a blurred mess

Sure a DSLR would give better pics and more adjustment, but not sure whether lugging all the gear would be put me off
Looked at more expensive compacts like a Canon G9 or 10, but didn’t see a discernible difference to my own much cheaper camera

Think this could get to be an expensive hobby and sort of telling myself I don’t need a DSLR, but that could be as pointless an argument as I don’t need another bike

I got my first DSLR at Christmas, and have had fun so far bringing it out on rides and on walks and occasionally when out with mates. I’m right at the start of the learning curve, and keen to carry on up that hill. I’ve found that I look at my environment in terms of how could I make a good photo with it now, something I didn’t do before

I can see how it could become too much, missing out on life coz you’re snapping away. I’m not going to force myself to keep learning until it becomes a chore. It’s a hobby I’m enjoying, and long may that continue.

My Flickr
The first two pages are dSLR pics. I’d welcome any tips or thoughts.

SfB, you may not have a need for a grid on the viewing screen, but I find having one that corresponds to the ‘law of thirds’, the accepted way of positioning objects in a photo or painting to be very handy, particularly with horizons and verticals. Not all of us are as perfect a photographer as you are, although, from what I’ve seen of your pics, good as they are, you’re no Ansel Adams. I would guess you don’t lower yourself to use such crude equipment as my Lumix or an iPhone, but then, Henri Cartier-Bresson never used a fancy SLR, and his photo’s are as good as anything you’re likely to turn out. The grid is an aid, one I’m more than glad of, in the same way as filters, monopods, beanbags, etc, are to achieving a photo that’s level and sharp.