digital photography

This weekend we did indeed make it to the Pumpkin Patch, and my purse did well as both camera case/diaper bag/purse.  I was snapping a bunch of photos, so I left it on auto just to make it easier. But when I ran across the picture below, I knew I had to adjust some settings to get the picture I wanted.

You can barely - if at all - read the sign that was one of the main reasons I took a picture of both tepees. I then put my camera on TV setting to control the shutter speed to allow more light into the camera. After a few takes, I came up the one below.

It was as close as I could get to a readable picture without the whole picture being washed out. Not sure if the sign shows up that well but the small tepee is a mother-in-law tepee. I thought it was cute.

Going places always seems to present itself with plenty of photo taking opportunities and the chance to play with those digital camera settings. It really helps you to get the perfect picture.

I’ve been thinking about buying a new lens for my Canon XTi. After reading about lens and thinking about what I want, I’ve decided to go with a prime lens. A prime lens has no zoom, so you have to move more to frame the shot you want. They also produce better clarity than a zoom lens.

There is one that is relatively inexpensive - or at least compared to other lenses - on Amazon. It’s a 50mm and sells for about 80 dollars. I’m anxious to try it even though I’ve become to rely heavily on the zoom feature. This will be a good exercise in framing a shot and thinking about it before pressing the shutter button.

My digital camera strap saved my camera from yet another repair. I bought my new DSLR at Christmas and had it about three weeks before accidentally dropping it. I was mad at myself but glad that I did get the accidental insurance on the camera. I definitely don’t want to go through that again, so my husband attached the strap to my camera since if it had been on I might have saved it last time from hitting the ground.

Yesterday as I put my digital camera back into its case, the camera bag strap wrapped around the fastener. I had to undo the fasterner and then somehow my bag begin to fall off the table. Luckily I was able to grab the strap to save the camera from hitting the floor.  It would have been horrible to have the take the camera back again for another accidental dropping and be without it for six weeks.

So, for your digital camera, make sure to attach the strap even if it’s a little annoying to deal with. It might save you a costly repair one day.

The biggest learning curve with using a DSLR is getting just the right setting for the situation. It just takes practice and patience to get the shot you desire.

Shooting with a lighter background could mean a dark subject if you’re not careful.

My setting was OK for the background, but my subjects are silhouettes. I had the camera set to the Tv setting instead of using the Av setting that lets in more light. The camera was automatically setting the Av setting according to the background. To remedy this, I zoomed in to one of the faces, then pressed the lock on the camera. This will set the light reading and not change it. Then I zoomed back out to snap the photo again.

The second photo is much better. You can always use a photo editor to help with washed out photos. The background is looking a little overexposed. But there’s not much can be done with underexposed pictures.

The hummingbirds have been in full buzz mode at my parent’s house. They have a feeder hanging from their back porch that attracts quite a few hummingbirds. Friday evening I decided to try to capture some with my digital camera.

I set my camera to Tv mode allows you to set the shutter speed so objects in motion can appear more in motion rather than still. I still get confused about which way to go with the settings to get the desired effect. I used a slower speed on the above picture. It was the first one I snapped, and I didn’t get another opportunity to take another one as he didn’t return to the feeder. He was too busy running off other hummingbirds.

I had hoped to get more pictures but will try again. The above picture is too dark but really didn’t have a chance to play with more settings. That way if I only get one shot hopefully it will be the one I want. Since hummingbirds are so fast, I will set up my shot first and test it. Then adjust the settings accordingly.