I'm getting familiar with my new camera. I have a *LOT* to learn! Just even how to turn it on, how to get the images on the viewing screen instead of all the text with all the info, how to turn off the flash.. ad infinitum! Excuse my odd photos.. I have just been going around the house shooting photos to learn how it works. :-) Below is a shot of a bouquet of flowers we got at Costco.. the "star" of the bouquet is a Protea, but it has yet to open fully.
The image below is our leaded and beveled glass window.. but I think I lowered the quality of the photo too much.. eek. The photos from the camera come out at a high file size like 5 megapixels and that is having the camera set at "Normal" file size. The camera I got is a Nikon D5100 with a 16.2 megapixel quality. So much to learn!
This is my first finished Teddy Bear sitting in front of Dayle's childhood teddy. I never even had a teddy bear as a child.. poor me. :-) I have the head, body and nose of the purple teddy bear done..
I am super pleased with the color from this camera! The colors of this blanket and pillow are exactly as they are in real life!
The doll house. The exterior photos came out fine.. but all the interior shots came out *AWFUL*! The focus was at the front of each room and the back of the room was all out of focus. I wonder how I'll figure that out! ::fretting:: (I need to take ALL the stuff off our living room shelves and put them back up nicer. Sheesh!)
After swimming yesterday I swung by the house and got my new camera and took it up to Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint to test drive the camera on my favorite subject.. the Columbia River Gorge! Here is the entrance to the viewpoint.. the "rock" and the "sign" and a wind beaten tree. Do you see the Viewpoint Inn on the far right? There was a fire in the upper story and that poor building has not been repaired and the inside is filling with water. No one is doing a THING about it and I'm heartsick. It was used in the prom scene of the first Twilight movie. ::sigh::
A closer shot of our "rock" that is covered with different bronze plaques. And the sign. :-)
Here is a late in the day shot of the Vista House and the gorge with the sun slanting low.. now I'm fairly pleased with this... but it looks *SO* washed out. What's with that?
This is a fun shot down the throat of an opening leaf on the Bird of Paradise plant my daughter left to me when she moved away.. far far away... to Ohio.. 2000 miles away.. from her mother. ::sigh:: But she's very happy there.. so I am happy for her. I miss my granddaughters. :-(
The camera came with a video on how to operate it.. guess what we'll be watching tonight? Please tell me that the cost of this thing was worth it and that I don't get better photos with my iPhone.. please tell me that. Argh.
Love you!! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
Hooray I am first to comment. Love all the photos and I think you are doing a fantastic job.Hope you are having a great Saturday.
ReplyDeleteMeredith
Bravo! Don't give up! Even if you have more you want to learn [as I do], your photos and life story are being appreciated by others! Thank you for investing in your big girl camera and sharing the interesting and beautiful results! I look forward to viewing more of the profit from your investment! <3
ReplyDeleteIt is worth it!! Just takes a bit of practice. :)
ReplyDeletePractice makes perfect - just think of all the fun you are going to have getting to know your new camera!
ReplyDeleteHelenxx
Oh, it's so worth it. It's so worth it. You will love it. Just keep playing. What till you see your flowers this summer. It's worth every single penny.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing fine Teresa...you're just learning all about aperture, etc. The video that came with your camera will help and there is more information on Nikon's website. I also learned a lot at Pioneer Woman's website on aperture, etc but a lot you learn by using different settings in the same conditions.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a different world but you are doing great!!! Enjoy, relax...I know we will enjoy seeing your part of the world through your lens (we always have).
Blessings,
Aimee
If you're camera has an automatic setting, I would just set it to that in the meantime and point and shoot!Your pics are always worth looking at, Teresa, no matter what the subject. Keep on clicking :)
ReplyDeleteThe camera was definitely worth it! The gorge picture is breathtaking and wow - the colours! I've seen a lot of Stylecraft-project pictures and yours is the first one with a true colour representation! So imagine everything you will be able to do with this camera... enjoy the learning process, and do share it with us! :-) xxxx
ReplyDeleteI saw your blurry photo comment over at Pammy Sue's blog and wanted to come over here and leave you a comment similar to what I left on her blog. If you're getting blurry photos it's probably one of two things. If you have your camera set to Automatic Focus (AF), you need to be certain you aren't just pushing the shutter button like a point and shoot. What I mean is that you need to depress the shutter button ever so slightly, allowing the camera to focus (you should hear a little beep after the focus is achieved) and THEN you push the button all the way down. The other issue could be your focal points. When you point the camera at something, are you seeing little red dots in your viewfinder? If so, those are all focal points and they try to anticipate where you want your focus. Before you shoot your photo, you can actually see what those little points are focusing on. If you're looking through the viewfinder, once you hear the beep to tell you it has auto focused, stop and look at what you're seeing before you click (keep your finger depressed on the shutter button to maintain that auto focus you've just achieved). If what you see isn't exactly what you want, lift your finger, shift the camera ever so slightly and try the slight depression of the button again. See if your results in your viewfinder are different. Sorry for the long dissertation. Hopefully, it helps. Hugs, Annette
ReplyDeleteAnother suggestion...looking at your washed out photo...try a polarizing filter...they're inexpensive and well worth it. Are you changing the settings with the dial that typically has a little picture of a face or a flower or a landscape to show you what setting you're on? While landscape seems the obvious here, the flower setting can increase the intensity of your colors. All that said, you can fix it in your PC with a photo editing software. Some are inexpensive (Elements) and some are expensive (Photoshop) and some are free (Google's product Picasa). There are others that are free and very good...Picnik is one such product but they are planning to close it down in April - so you probably shouldn't get attached. It's simple to use and can really help the photos (but they don't help out of focus).
ReplyDeleteI am still having trouble with the focusing issue and I've been using the camera for a year. My husband swears it's easy and he gets so fed up of me asking now that I'm just putting up with the slight blurring. I think your photos are great for a first attempt, I suspect your dolls house issues are to do with how dark it is in the dolls house, this might be slowing your shutter speed and therefore creating a wobble. I don't know how to fix it yet though. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteKeep at it though, even mediocre photos with this sort of camera are better than most!
Hi Teresa I think you are doing really well with the camera. Love the Dolls House and the photo of thr gorge is stunning. I'm sure you will soon get it sorted. Have fun. Anne x
ReplyDeleteTeresa, Your photos are great!!! I think like everything else practice practice and then perfection. I always seem to learn something from my mistakes. BUT I think you are doing GREAT! Are you going to watch the SUPER BOWL? We are..... GO PATS!
ReplyDeletexoRobin❤
Your pillow and ripple are both FAB! I love them both. They look so good together too. You will get the hang of that camera before long, I'm sure, and you will have fun learning. The pictures you took look great though. Love that beveled glass!
ReplyDeleteI think with anything new Teresa it's just practice, practice, practice. I must admit an SLR is way over my head for me but my future SIL has one and he takes fab photos with it. You just need to find all your settings etc. It will take some time but will be worth it. I am just sticking to my Panasonic TZ8 which even with all the amazing settings it has I just leave on auto mode and it does all the thinking for me! Have fun and I will look forward to seeing all your shots.
ReplyDeleteJane x
You are a clever lady, Teresa and I know you'll get the hang of you new camera with practice...just keep on playing around with it! I 'borrowed' my hb's SLR camera when I began my blog and like it a lot though I know nothing about cameras! He had already put the settings in place, and I can ask him if I have a problem. (You could always go on a short course to learn how to use the different settings if you wanted to speed up the process!?)
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are lovely today, anyhow, and I loved seeing that beautiful scenery in the sunshine. Enjoy your photoshoots!
Helen x
As with others just keep at it and don't be afraid of manual mode.
ReplyDelete