Welcome to DPS - a site that helps digital camera owners to get the most out of their digital cameras.
Today has seen an influx of new readers into the site (someone seems to have linked to us on a larger email newsletter - can someone email me to let me know where you’re all coming from?) - (update: it seems a lot of people are coming from the Earthlink email - thanks to all who have emailed) so I thought I’d take a moment to introduce what this site is about:
- We write regular tips for normal people wanting to learn how to use a digital camera to it’s potential in everyday situations.
- Tips are for all types of digital cameras from point and shoot cameras to Digital SLRs.
- No jargon, no technical language, no assuming you’ve got loads of experience - just good solid advice to help you take your digital photography skills to the next level.
- We create fun group assignments that relate to our tips for readers to participate in and have as a practical way to put into practice the principles we write about.
- Tips are posted by experienced photographers most days and usually have pictures in them to illustrate the principles being talked about.
The best way to follow this site is to use one of our two Subscription methods (a free weekly email newsletter or our RSS fee) and to come back throughout each week to get our latest tips.
Please make yourself at home and feel free to explore Digital Photography School. Here are a few of our more popular recent tutorials to start with:
Those of you interested in participating in a group photographic Assignment might like to check out the latest one that I’ve posted in our Flickr Group.
Group assignments are simply chances to focus in on a technique, subject matter or theme that we all do at the same time. You’ll probably have some photos in your archives that already fit and can be shared but might like to spend the weekend and week ahead looking for opportunities to take more shots that will fit with it.
As you share your posts and look at what others submit hopefully we’ll all learn a thing or two and come away inspired to take what we’ve learnt from each other and put it into practice in our own digital photography.
The theme of the week is Blue.
Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!
Bryan Peterson has written a book titled Understanding Exposure which is worth a read if you’re wanting to venture out of the Auto mode on your digital camera and experiment with it’s manual settings.
In it Bryan illustrates the three main elements that need to be considered when playing around with exposure by calling them ‘the exposure triangle’.
Each of the three aspects of the triangle relate to light and how it enters and interacts with the camera.
The three elements are:
- ISO - the measure of a digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to light
- Aperture - the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken
- Shutter Speed - the amount of time that the shutter is open
Is is at the intersection of these three elements that an image’s exposure is worked out.
Most importantly - a change in one of the elements will impact the others. This means that you can never really isolate just one of the elements alone but always need to have the others in the back of your mind.
Some metaphors for understanding the digital photography exposure triangle:
Many people describe the relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed using different metaphors to help us get our heads around it. Let me share a couple. A quick word of warning first though - like most metaphors - these are far from perfect and are just for illustrative purposes:
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Digital Photography School was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal this last week - our first Mainstream Media mention!
Check it out at Amit’s Flickr account for the full sized photo.
thanks to Alex for letting me know.
The following tip has been submitted by Phillip Kirkham, a reader of DPS and avid wildlife photographer - see his own website (the source of all bird photos in this post). You can also read more about him at the end of his article.
How to photograph birds
Unfortunately, July and August are probably the worst months of the year for this task because most species look their worst just now, and also vegetation and food supply is at its best, so it is difficult enough just to see the birds, never mind pointing a lens at them. However, a few helpful tips now should prepare you for the Autumn months when many species are busily eating and hiding food ready for the long winter months ahead.
Perhaps if I take you through the various steps which I make when embarking on a typical bird photographic outing:-
1. Venue, where to visit and when. If my trip is to be a known reserve, then some local knowledge before I set out is invaluable. What species will I encounter? Are there hides available and which way do they face in relation to the sun? How near to the subject I am likely to be? What is the weather forecast for the area I am going?
2. Following on from point 1, if there is no hide available then will I be allowed to erect a temporary one, or can I get near enough to my subject in my car. The vehicle makes a surprisingly useful hide, with many species being quite unafraid of them. So long as you make no fast movements, and I always have the camera pointing out of the window before I approach my subject. Beanbags are particularly useful for this, and here’s a little tip, fill them with sunflower seeds, you can always use a few to attract your subject even closer!
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While the old saying says that ‘curiosity killed the cat’ I’m coming to see that ‘curiosity’ is an incredibly useful characteristic to have as a photographer. Here’s a few reasons why:
because it helps them notice things others are oblivious to - as I was surfing through the last 7 days of interesting photos section on Flickr earlier today, one of the things I noticed most about the photos that I saw there was that very few of them were of out of the ordinary subjects. Rather many of them were stunning images of everyday things that most of us wouldn’t even think to look for beauty in.
because it drives them to find new ways to show ‘normal’ items - another thing I noticed about many of these photos of ordinary everyday subjects was that the photographers found interesting ways to make them look extraordinary. They did this by finding interesting angles, placing their subjects in unusual settings or by experimenting things like focal length (particularly macro shots).
because it drives them to learn about their digital cameras - the last thing I noticed about the shots on flickr was that some of them showed that their photographers had a good grasp of their cameras and how to use them. It was obvious to me that many of the photographers had ventured out of Auto mode and had learned to use other functions of their cameras. There is obviously a lot of experimentation going on with many of the shots - evidence of curious minds wondering what will happen if they just take the shot like this….
curios photographers intrigue the viewers of their images - I’ve got no way of proving this one but it’s a theory I’ve always had. Creative people who are willing to push boundaries and explore new ground tend to be the type of people that others are drawn to. Curious photographers images are attractive because they help the rest of us view the world in new and intriguing ways.
