I finally found time this week to go through the first module of the photography course and although I have not read through everything yet, what I've learned so far is really interesting and made me think that I really want more lenses for my camera! To be more specific, I would love a prime telephoto lens as well as a prime macro lens. Because the telephoto lens is so heavy, the newer lenses have image stabilization built in, but it is still best to use a tripod where possible. Prime Macro lenses can take close-ups with a subject ratio of higher than 1:1. I love taking pictures of flowers or little insects of anything similar and this type of lens will be perfect. The image quality on a prime lens is better than for example a zoom lens with macro capability. The quality of lens you are using has a big influence on your picture quality, so the better the lens, the better your picture quality!
Here are some reviews on the prime lenses:
Telephoto: http://lenshero.com/lenses/prime-telephoto-lens-by-nikon
Macro: http://lenshero.com/lenses/prime-macro-lens-by-nikon
I am so excited to getting these types of lenses so I can try it out for myself! That is the problem when I do research on equipment! There is always something better out there that I want to try for myself!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
My Equipment - Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 18 - 70mm 1:3.5 - 4.5GED
I wish I could give you a progress report on the course I have enrolled for, but due to working late a couple of times and very limited time for the past week or so, I have only just started reading through the first module. I'm hoping to at least finish reading through it tonight if time permits.
So in the meantime I will tell you about the lens I got as part of the package when I bought my Nikon D50, the AF-S NIKKOR 18 - 70mm 1:3.5 - 4.5GED. It is a standard zoom lens and is fairly small in size. It is not ideal to use this lens on your film camera as it will create a semi-circular image and your photo will have dark corners. You could however use your Nikon film lens on the D50, but keep in mind that you will have to multiply the focal length with 1.6 hence a 28 - 100mm film camera lens will become a 44.8 - 160mm lens on your digital camera. (You cannot use any film camera lens on any digital lens. It is best to do some research or speak to your dealer first).
Here are two reviews on this lens which I found interesting:
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/235-nikkor-af-s-18-70mm-f35-45-g-if-ed-dx-review--test-report
http://www.bythom.com/1870lens.htm
Until next time...
So in the meantime I will tell you about the lens I got as part of the package when I bought my Nikon D50, the AF-S NIKKOR 18 - 70mm 1:3.5 - 4.5GED. It is a standard zoom lens and is fairly small in size. It is not ideal to use this lens on your film camera as it will create a semi-circular image and your photo will have dark corners. You could however use your Nikon film lens on the D50, but keep in mind that you will have to multiply the focal length with 1.6 hence a 28 - 100mm film camera lens will become a 44.8 - 160mm lens on your digital camera. (You cannot use any film camera lens on any digital lens. It is best to do some research or speak to your dealer first).
Here are two reviews on this lens which I found interesting:
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/235-nikkor-af-s-18-70mm-f35-45-g-if-ed-dx-review--test-report
http://www.bythom.com/1870lens.htm
Until next time...
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
My Equipment - Lens: Nikon AF 28-100mm 3.5 - 5.6G
When I purchased my Nikon F75 it came with a Nikon AF 28-100mm f3.5 - 5.6G standard zoom lens. Although probably not the best zoom lens to buy, it is ideal if you are on a tight budget as it offers flexibility between wide-angle (28mm) and telephoto (100mm). Another advantage of course is that it is lightweight. The aperture control is set from the camera body only which to me makes it slightly more user friendly.
There is an interesting review on this lens (see http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/AFNikkor/AF28100mm/)
There is an interesting review on this lens (see http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/AFNikkor/AF28100mm/)
Monday, May 20, 2013
My Equipment - Cameras
I thought it might be a good idea to tell you which equipment I am using.
As I have mentioned to you before I started out with the Nikon F75, 35mm, SLR. I have done my photography for beginners course with this camera and found the picture quality to be really good. In fact I think it is much better than many (of the older) digital cameras' picture quality. It is an elegant looking, light-weight camera made mostly out of plastic. It has 5 auto focus sensors and multi-sensor matrix balance fill flash. You can set it either to fully automatic or use the 6 manual exposure modes. I found it very user-friendly and really enjoyed shooting with this camera.
I was asked to take photos at a wedding in 2006 and became VERY NERVOUS indeed to use the film camera, simply because you do not see what the pictures look like when you take them. So I bought the Nikon D50, 6.1 megapixel camera for the occasion! According to Wikipedia the Nikon D50 is the lightest Nikon DSLR to have the autofocus motor (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D50). The weight of the camera is important to me because I really struggle to keep the camera still if it is too heavy. Although I love this camera and find it user friendly and it taking good quality pictures, I do find the noisy shutter very annoying especially if you try to take a photo inside a church, etc. during a sermon or wedding. What I do like is that it is not too heavy, although I still cannot leave the shutter open for too long before my hands would start shaking and the pictures come out blurred. The longest I can get away with to leave it open is ± 1/60 second otherwise I need to use my tripod.
During our stay in the UK, we went into one of the shops that sells photographic equipment and I found a mono/tripod combo that was displayed in the window. I was very impressed as the price had been marked down significantly so bought it immediately. It is handy of course to have the monopod included for those situations where you cannot really reach the spot where you would ideally like to take the picture from. I also bought a remote which works very well with the D50. It came with it's own little pouch and is probably the size of a person's thumb.
As I have mentioned to you before I started out with the Nikon F75, 35mm, SLR. I have done my photography for beginners course with this camera and found the picture quality to be really good. In fact I think it is much better than many (of the older) digital cameras' picture quality. It is an elegant looking, light-weight camera made mostly out of plastic. It has 5 auto focus sensors and multi-sensor matrix balance fill flash. You can set it either to fully automatic or use the 6 manual exposure modes. I found it very user-friendly and really enjoyed shooting with this camera.
I was asked to take photos at a wedding in 2006 and became VERY NERVOUS indeed to use the film camera, simply because you do not see what the pictures look like when you take them. So I bought the Nikon D50, 6.1 megapixel camera for the occasion! According to Wikipedia the Nikon D50 is the lightest Nikon DSLR to have the autofocus motor (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D50). The weight of the camera is important to me because I really struggle to keep the camera still if it is too heavy. Although I love this camera and find it user friendly and it taking good quality pictures, I do find the noisy shutter very annoying especially if you try to take a photo inside a church, etc. during a sermon or wedding. What I do like is that it is not too heavy, although I still cannot leave the shutter open for too long before my hands would start shaking and the pictures come out blurred. The longest I can get away with to leave it open is ± 1/60 second otherwise I need to use my tripod.
During our stay in the UK, we went into one of the shops that sells photographic equipment and I found a mono/tripod combo that was displayed in the window. I was very impressed as the price had been marked down significantly so bought it immediately. It is handy of course to have the monopod included for those situations where you cannot really reach the spot where you would ideally like to take the picture from. I also bought a remote which works very well with the D50. It came with it's own little pouch and is probably the size of a person's thumb.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Where did it all start?
At our wedding in 2001 my brother used a point-and-shoot film camera to take photos for us as at the time we could not afford employing a professional photographer. A friend's neighbour worked at a photolab and developed the pictures for us. She never studied photography, but took the most beautiful pictures after hours and earned an additional income with it. She loved doing it and offered to teach me how to take good quality photos. At the time I couldn't take up her offer as we moved away, but ever since then I became very interested in this field.
In 2004 we moved to the UK where during our stay I had done a correspondence photography course for beginners with a local college. As time went by my interest grew and I started dreaming about having my own studio and following a career as a professional photographer. It is a way that I can be creative and actually have fun and enjoy what I'm doing.
I've been reading books, looking at other photographers' work and purchased a good SLR camera (Nikon f75) which I used for the course in the UK. A couple of months afterwards I've opted for the Nikon D50 which I've been using since. My dream camera at the moment is the Nikon D700, but will have to save for a while before I can get it!
So in the meantime I have enrolled for another correspondence course. Although I'm not residing in the UK anymore, the college is UK based. I looked around at various courses available through different colleges, but in the end picked a correspondence course again. This is because I'm working full time and I have two beautiful babies (3yrs and 10months) at home so my time is very limited. There is no time limit in completing the course, but I am motivating myself to do it sooner rather than later as there is no point in wasting more time. In all honesty I don't know when I will be able to fit studying in, but I am going to try anyway. I will never know if I am able to do it if I don't try, I guess.
Why haven't I started earlier? Because I was scared of not being able to succeed. Thoughts like 'what if I'm not good at it or don't get it right' often pops into my head. I keep reminding myself that practice makes perfect and try to think positively about this new challenge in my life and I'm sure in the end it will all work out well. If it doesn't work out, then at least I've tried.
I'm hoping that this would inspire other Moms with very busy schedules to follow their dreams and not looking back on their lives one day with regret for not trying.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I have bought a studio kit. One thing I've learned is that if you look around and don't just go to the well known companies you can actually find good prices on equipment, courses, etc. Just do some research and it will be worth your while.
In 2004 we moved to the UK where during our stay I had done a correspondence photography course for beginners with a local college. As time went by my interest grew and I started dreaming about having my own studio and following a career as a professional photographer. It is a way that I can be creative and actually have fun and enjoy what I'm doing.
I've been reading books, looking at other photographers' work and purchased a good SLR camera (Nikon f75) which I used for the course in the UK. A couple of months afterwards I've opted for the Nikon D50 which I've been using since. My dream camera at the moment is the Nikon D700, but will have to save for a while before I can get it!
So in the meantime I have enrolled for another correspondence course. Although I'm not residing in the UK anymore, the college is UK based. I looked around at various courses available through different colleges, but in the end picked a correspondence course again. This is because I'm working full time and I have two beautiful babies (3yrs and 10months) at home so my time is very limited. There is no time limit in completing the course, but I am motivating myself to do it sooner rather than later as there is no point in wasting more time. In all honesty I don't know when I will be able to fit studying in, but I am going to try anyway. I will never know if I am able to do it if I don't try, I guess.
Why haven't I started earlier? Because I was scared of not being able to succeed. Thoughts like 'what if I'm not good at it or don't get it right' often pops into my head. I keep reminding myself that practice makes perfect and try to think positively about this new challenge in my life and I'm sure in the end it will all work out well. If it doesn't work out, then at least I've tried.
I'm hoping that this would inspire other Moms with very busy schedules to follow their dreams and not looking back on their lives one day with regret for not trying.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I have bought a studio kit. One thing I've learned is that if you look around and don't just go to the well known companies you can actually find good prices on equipment, courses, etc. Just do some research and it will be worth your while.
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