Still Photography

Adam_S · 05-19-2003, 01:10 AM

One of my goals this summer is to teach myself the rudiments and jargon of still photography, I'd like to work on pretty much any and all aspects of knowledge of it, and am more than willing to do lots of reading. I'm hoping to spend about half the summer reading up on the subject and looking at cameras, and by then hopefully have about 300 saved up to sink into a basic camera and lens set up. I'm not looking at anything extremely fancy right now, I just want to practice and work out all my beginner's mistakes before I step up to something really nice (if I do so). I adore black and white but want to be able to work in color as well, and I figure I'll photograph either depending on how that particular one feels it should be shot.

What I'm looking for is any helpful suggestions of books, journals, or magazines on the subject, or I suppose online support as well (though I'm trying to wean myself off the computer and would prefer to work offline).

On books, a mixture of gallery stuff along with the technical hows and whys of lighting, composition, framing, shooting, lens, cameras etc and gallery books of examples (anyone know of a single really outstanding Ansel Adams book that's better than any other collection [basically everything I've seen of his I've liked though]).

Would a subscription to popular photography be worthwhile? is there a better magazine to get?

Right now I'm thinking I'll browse through for anything worthwhile at the public library and then attack the university libraries and I"m more than willing to make use of interlibrary loan, so getting just about any book will not be a problem (I think).

Thanks in advance to anyone that helps me out!

Cam S · 05-19-2003, 05:02 AM

Adam, by the sounds of it, a digital camera might be the best thing for you. With the right camera, say a Canon S45/50 or Canon G3 (just to name a brands high end camera) you can shoot all the pictures you want, and it will cost you nothing, other than the cost of the camera. It's a great way of learning, and it's how I've learned all of my photography skills. I used a Pentax MX 35mm camera from the late 70's for a year before I got into digital with a Canon G3, and I spent well over 500 dollars (Canadian) in one year on film and getting it developed. When your learning, ALOT of those pictures will be garbage and a waste of money. I guess it all depends on preference though.

Photo.net is great for film info, but most of it also applies to digital. A great site though.

DPreview is a good site for anything digital. It has great reviews, lots of info on the forums, but is mostly geared towards digital photography.

Dominik Dröscher · 05-19-2003, 06:25 AM

Adam, like Cam I'd also suggest going the digital way for your first steps. You'll do a lot of trial and error in the beginning and being able to see the result immediately rather than waiting for the film to get developed, speeds up the learning process tremendously and is a lot cheaper.

Here is another recommendation for Canon's G3. I bought mine last week with the same intentions like you and love it!

Josh Lowe · 05-19-2003, 07:16 AM

I'm going to go differ and suggest an inexpensive SLR body camera that uses 35mm film to start off with. I love digital photography and I currently own only a digital camera, but I think for truly learning the ropes of photography as an artform that starting off w/ film is the way to go. It teaches you more of the process..

Mark Sherman · 05-20-2003, 05:57 PM

Stay the F$%^ away from Digital. Get a Nice Manual Camera Maybe a Nikon F1 with a 50 1.8 Lens. The Good thing about Nikon is that the lens mount has not Changed on the F Mount so a Lens For an N will fit on a New F. There is no Digital camera on the market that will let you adjust Shutter and F stop for under a grand.

Shoot Using Slide Film it is less expensive then Print Film Since you only have to pay for the developing and not the prints. That way you know its the camera and not the lab doing any Touching up.

make sure that you right down all the info on each shot Time of day Cloudy sunny (Overcast day is the best Since you will have less hot spots and less contrast then a Sunny day) Shutter speed and F stop. so when you get the film back you know what you did right and what you did wrong.

Example Picture of my house. Sunday 2:25 Pm Slight Cloud Cover. Film Speed ASA 100, (when Shooting outside use 100 DO NOT use 200 under any Circumstances it sucks) Shutter 125 F stop 5.6.

Good luck

Mark C Sherman CPC (Certified Photographic Consultant) and thats no BS I am a CPC

One more thing Adam i noticed that you Live in Trojan Cental would that be USC? If so Fight On

**HTF Ads**

Ted Lee · 05-20-2003, 07:41 PM

i'll side with the 35mm camp. can you even do stuff like shutter speed, f-stops, etc with a digital?

you just can't beat the feel of a true 35mm camera in your hand. i really feel it would be the way to go for you.

you may also want to check out your local camera shops. they often have classes that you can take. also, try a community college or (i think they're called) "outreach" classes. basically you sign up for a one day type thing - they usually don't cost more than about 30-50 bucks.

btw - i've been thinking about selling my gear for about your budget. if you're curious just send me a pm or email.

Cam S · 05-20-2003, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Stay the F$%^ away from Digital.

Mark and Ted, you guys NEED to read up on the current Digital technology!!!! You can get digital cameras for cheaply that have FULL adjustment of EVERYTHING and MORE than a 35mm film camera. Infact, with a good digital, you can adjust WAY more than any SLR type camera, so don't go saying that a digital is a bad way to go because it has no adjustments, as that is FAR from the truth. My canon G3 has shutter priority, aperture priority, manual, and many other shooting modes. Full ISO adjustability, without having to by new film or pushing your current film. Taking videos up to 3 minutes long with sound. The ability to see the picture you just too INSTANTLY, and for FREE.

Quote:

Mark C Sherman CPC (Certified Photographic Consultant) and thats no BS I am a CPC

You sure don't sound like a consultant, as most consult their client to go with what best suits their needs, not too tell them to "stay the f$*# away from digital".

Ted Lee · 05-20-2003, 09:11 PM

thx for the info on digital cam. i guess i need to do some reading. in all seriousness....how do you feel the final picture quality is compared to film? do you feel the digital gets every little bit of oomph out of the pic?

i'm still not so sure digital is that good yet. if so, i would think we'd see it used more professionally? again, just guessing here.

oh yeah...one other aspect i thought about is the ability to develop your own film. not sure if that's an issue for adam, but i found it an enjoyable aspect of photography.

Holadem · 05-20-2003, 10:00 PM

I am also looking to get into photography, and from the little I have read, there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting off (STARTING OFF!!!) with digital.

--
Holadem

Cam S · 05-21-2003, 01:54 AM

Quote:

one other aspect i thought about is the ability to develop your own film.

A very small percentage of people actually do this, especially people just starting off. I too started off with film, with my Pentax MX. It was great, but WAY too expensive to buy and develop film, and again, most of which will be garbage due to experimenting. If I hadn't gotten into digital I would still be trying to figure out the different effects that the F-stop has on the pictures, mainly DOF. With digital, that would take me a short photo session and cost me nothing but my time and enjoyment.

As for picture quality compared to film, that is a bag of worms. To ME, I don't see the difference between pictures taken with my Canon G3 to those pictures taken with my Pentax MX. But these are my eyes and MY opinion. Now if you get a cheaper camera, there is NO DOUBT going to be a difference in picture quality, as with digital, you get what you pay for. With 35mm film, even a cheapo camera can produce nice pictures in the right hands. To me, digital makes all the sense in the world, and because of that, I havn't used my Pentax MX SLR in some time now.

On a side note, on my one wall I have 7 8"x10" pictures that I have taken in the last year. Three are from the Pentax MX, two from a Casio QV3500ex digital, one from a Canon S30, and one from a Canon G3. I actually prefer the look of the digital pictures to those taken with the SLR camera, even the cheaper digital cameras such as the S30 takes wonderful pictures. But your opinion may differ.

Check out my my website that I threw together to show some of the digital images I have taken in the last year.
CS Digital Photography

Mark Sherman · 05-21-2003, 11:27 AM

Pardon me Cam. But It's Better to learn on a real camera that opens a real shutter and aperture and puts Light on to a piece of acetate then a CCD. that way you know what the picture looks like and you can then make the proper Lighting adjustments based on what the film looks like.

I here to many people say Oh I want to do Photography they Buy a digital camera FUCK up the shot and Fix it in Photo shop That is not Photographer.