Thursday, 16 April 2015

Am I in focus?

You will have to be patient with me while I learn the ins and outs of using my new DSLR camera. It is not quite the same as taking photos with my little point and shoot Canon which I can use without having to think about settings etc. So I spent a little time today doing a couple of the exercises in the online photography course I have started.


I had to take the camera off Auto and then take three photos of the same subject using different exposures which resulted...

 
...in this! Apparently a photographer has to know when to allow more or less light into the camera to avoid a photo being too dark or over exposed...or something like that.  


I was quite unwell during the night and woke up feeling 'yuk' this morning so didn't want to use too much brainpower so turned the camera back to Auto for the next few photos.


It will take a while to remember what settings to use for particular photos but practice makes perfect as they say.

 
I am fairly happy with the photos taken so far considering I am an absolute novice. If you have a DSLR and don't know how to use it then check out the courses on Udemy. I am doing the course called 'Beginner Nikon Digital Photography' which is currently on special till Monday 20th April for A$6.00.

When I started to get a sore throat yesterday I was hoping I wasn't getting the flu after making trite statements in my last post about all the warnings on TV about the flu virus expected to hit our shores this year :-) However, all is well and I am almost back to normal once again. One of the Down to Earth forum members recently told us about a FluTracking Project which Aussies are asked to be part of. Here is a little info from their website:

               What Is FluTracking?

FluTracking is an online health surveillance system to detect epidemics of influenza. We are looking for people who live in Australia and have easy access to email on a weekly basis. It doesn't matter if you are vaccinated or unvaccinated. It takes only 10 - 15 seconds each week. We ask if you have had fever or cough in the last week. This will help us find ways to detect both seasonal influenza and hopefully pandemic influenza and other diseases so we can better protect the community from epidemics.

It only takes a few seconds to sign up and 10 to 15 seconds a week to respond to the survey. You can also add other members of your household if you choose to sign up.

 The flu has been left behind for my Northern Hemisphere readers I am sure. You will be pleased to see the last of a long and harsh winter and must be looking forward so much to the warmth of spring and summer. Here we are preparing our winter gardens and digging out the warm clothes once again. 

Whatever the season is where you live have a wonderful day!





22 comments:

  1. You always show the prettiest flowers. Makes my day. What kind is the first one with all the little yellow and purply blue thingys coming out of it. It is beautiful.

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  2. Wow Nanna Chel. Just Wow. Those really POP, don't they. Lovely work! Mimi xxx

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    1. Thanks Mimi. It is a work in progress and another learning curve.

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  3. Krystal, that is a bromeliad. We have lots of them which all flower at different times so I am trying to remember to take a photo of each variety when they flower.

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  4. Chel, that brom is absolutely knockout. I thought your furry friend might have been saying 'which is my best side?' I've had a look at Udemy, I think I will take a course too - probably the free one to start with. Can't hurt right? Hope to see you tomorrow.

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    1. That guinea pig is Robert the Bruce! :-) ha ha! I must have a look at the free courses too. Should be there to tomorrow. Just a bit tired after having this bug. Hope you didn't get sick as you said you were choked up.

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  5. I hope your throat feels much better. What wonderful photos! They are truly lovely!!!

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    1. Thanks Chrissy. Yes, my throat is pretty good now thankfully.

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  6. Do you have any aspirations for your photography or is it just for personal use and blogging. You are getting very good. I also love the effort you take with them and PicMonkey. I've just started using it and it takes a while but fun to play around on. Im only using the free version.

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    1. Lynda, I am only trying to improve my photos for my blog really. Have a look at some of the tutorials on Picmonkey. They are very helpful. I use the free version too.

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  7. Those pictures are stunning!!! Thanks for sharing and I hope you feel better soon!
    Frances

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    1. Thanks Frances. I am well and truly on the mend.

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  8. Flower shots are just lovely. I just use phone and hope for the best which is very lazy. You've inspired me to get out our digital camera and try to figure out how to use it!

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    1. Actually Hutchy, the online course I am doing is much easier to understand than the Instruction Book which came with the camera as it is very basic.

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  9. Chel you are starting to sound quite technical already with your talk of allowing more or less light into your shots. Your flowers look so lovely, and they always do, they must give you so much pleasure and satisfaction. I do hope you are feeling well again after your illness.

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  10. Thanks Sherri, it was just a bug I had. Nearly back to normal again...whatever 'normal' is :-) Yes there are a lots of ins and outs to photography. I just like to keep things simple and easy to understand.

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  11. Photo quality waaaaay out of my realm of capability - I will just enjoys yours instead. Why are flowers so soul-satisfying to look at I wonder?

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    1. Yes Phil, there is something peaceful about flowers. When I need a lift I just walk around the garden and take in the beauty of the flowers there.

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  12. The colors are just phenomenal! They are also very clear and sharp, this looks like fun, glad you're feeling better.

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    1. Kathy, the DSLR cameras are a lot more expensive than the point and shoot ones so I guess they have more advanced components. They also are a lot heavier and cumbersome so I will be keeping my little one for when I go walking etc.

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  13. Those smudgey dots/circles of light behind your flowers are called "bokeh" effect. It took me ages to achieve those on my point and shoot on the manual setting of my digital camera. I'd love to have a camera like your DSLR. I'm enjoying following your photo shoots :).

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  14. I looooovvvveeed my goody!!!! Thank you.

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