Photography for beginners- where to start?

baby_frogmella

I recently bought a Fujifilm HS20EXR bridge camera and was a bit daunted by all its settings so needed to learn a bit more.

I bought this book and all i can say is that i am now as good as a pro:rotfl:
(but seriously its a very good book)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

tafelmoneysaver

Search the PAGB for a local camera club - You'll find lots of film buffs meeting weekly near you!

http://www.pagb-photography-uk.co.uk/links.htm

northwest1965

Depending where you live, Groupon have some good photography lessons

Sambucus_Nigra

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

You didn't say which camera(s) / lenses (afaik) I used to develop my own colour slides and black and white prints and yes it is a dying art but there are some very good quality kit out there that no-one wants, give me a while and I will check when I am back home, I only stopped after we were flooded at home, but my old Nikon 401 is still working and would produce fabulous photographs (if I had an eye for it) , as are my old Fuji slr and an old Agiflex (with removable lenses, not an SLR, but a rangefinder camera c1950's). Sadly too many people want the instant results, and often to the detriment of those who really think about composition , lighting and perhaps bracketing the exposures (I did once ) . The old tech is losing its appeal unless as a future antique, most sad, especially the old school teaching used to teach about what is light and how you can capture it on a bit of plastic coated with halides stick in some chemicals , fix it (the image) and then share it. (Gosh I didn't realise how much I miss the old stuff sometimes )

Lots of us still use film, so don't be disheartened.

I'm currently using an old Brownie 127 with 35mm film, bought it in a boot fair for 50p and loving it.

You can get the negs processed, not cut and not printed, and it costs about £1.50-£3 - I scan them in at home and that's where the fun can start.

muddyl

Northwest:
The camara is an Olympus om 10. Will have to check what lenses as I cant remember details but there's the standard one, a long range, a wide angle and a fish eye I think but dont know any of the specs.

Sambucus:
What do you use to scan them in at home and does that give good results? Getting a new laptop for xmas off the lovely wife, so would like to try that.

To those that posted links, thanks very much. I'll give those sites and books a good look.

Its good to see people still doing this and enjoying it.

I'll try find out more about the lenses soon and give it a go.

For now, any more info or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Sambucus_Nigra

I have a negative scanner.

The results are dependent on the scan quality - more quality = more pixels = longer to scan = bigger files.

I love my scanner

victor2

On scanners, many come with an attachment for scanning negatives, so look for one that does if you're buying. I have an Epson V300 Photo scanner. Scans a strip of 4 negatives as 4 separate images and they often come out better than the scanned print!

Mrs_Arcanum

muddyl wrote: »

Northwest:
The camara is an Olympus om 10. Will have to check what lenses as I cant remember details but there's the standard one, a long range, a wide angle and a fish eye I think but dont know any of the specs.

Sambucus:
What do you use to scan them in at home and does that give good results? Getting a new laptop for xmas off the lovely wife, so would like to try that.

To those that posted links, thanks very much. I'll give those sites and books a good look.

Its good to see people still doing this and enjoying it.

I'll try find out more about the lenses soon and give it a go.

For now, any more info or advice will be greatly appreciated.

A good camera in its day. All our wedding pictures were taken with hubby's OM10 by SiL and they came out really well. Film still offers the wonderful surprise of getting developed photos back to enjoy the moment again in a fresh way, both good and bad.

Film speed is controlled by the ISO so you have to take a whole roll with one sort of film (can be swapped but very fiddly)

The lower the ISO the better the picture quality (less grain) but the higher likelihood of camera shake or under exposed shots. The rest of the settings are camera based.

Good luck & have fun.

Sambucus_Nigra

victor2 wrote: »

On scanners, many come with an attachment for scanning negatives, so look for one that does if you're buying. I have an Epson V300 Photo scanner. Scans a strip of 4 negatives as 4 separate images and they often come out better than the scanned print!

Mine is a V500 and it scans 120 film as well as 35mm - it's marvelous! Means all my Holga photos can be scanned at home.

muddyl

Hm, got an epson printer/scanner (sx 130 I think) not long ago, dont know if it supports this though. Will have to find out.