Photography

[Miss Molly]

So a few weeks ago I remembered that my mom has an old Pentax K1000 35mm camera that's almost as old as I am.  (I discovered the other day the warrantee card, that of course was never sent off; the purchase date was sometime in 1984.)

So I bought some film, read the manual, read a manual for single-lens-reflex photography, and took a couple rolls of photos.  I went to our shoddy little botanic garden and then an arboretum.  The photos came out fairly good for a first timer.

My dilemma is this: there isn't much to artistically photograph around my parts.  I also got some black and white film that I'd like to use... but I severely lack in the creativity department. 

So, does anybody have any additional photography tips?  Remember I am using an old school camera, not one of the fancy pants digi cams.  And lame as it is, I need ideas of crap to take pictures of!

:-D

[VikingJuice]

So a few weeks ago I remembered that my mom has an old Pentax K1000 35mm camera that's almost as old as I am.  (I discovered the other day the warrantee card, that of course was never sent off; the purchase date was sometime in 1984.)

So I bought some film, read the manual, read a manual for single-lens-reflex photography, and took a couple rolls of photos.  I went to our shoddy little botanic garden and then an arboretum.  The photos came out fairly good for a first timer.

My dilemma is this: there isn't much to artistically photograph around my parts.  I also got some black and white film that I'd like to use... but I severely lack in the creativity department. 

So, does anybody have any additional photography tips?  Remember I am using an old school camera, not one of the fancy pants digi cams.  And lame as it is, I need ideas of crap to take pictures of!

:-D

You could always do stills of fruit.
Outdoor shots of lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks, trees, clouds etc.
Pictures of kids at parks are always cute.
There may be animalrs: cats, dogs, birds....
Buildings with angles and lines that cross and meet, rail road tracks-especially down lown like right on the rail(look out for actual trains!)
Fallen leaves, old cars, old signs, flag poles(stand under and look up), any glass office buildings.

Look around.  There's great photography everywhere you look if you do it right.

[Miss Molly]

The main problem I find is that there's so much stuff that I don't want in the pictures.  I read a story about Ansel Adams who was setting up a shot of a tree or something.  He went up to the tree and ripped a limb off it.  When asked why he did it, he said "It didn't belong in the picture."  I'm not exactly afforded that opportunity. 

[Jessie]

I always wanted to be a photographer.  I'd still like to have a good camera and give it a go as a hobby.

[ignom]

I took several photography classes in college.

Sometimes it isn't what you photograph, but how you photograph it. Unique angles, close ups, changing the lighting. Find a way to see the subject in a way you've never seen it before.

[Jessie]

I took several photography classes in college.

Sometimes it isn't what you photograph, but how you photograph it. Unique angles, close ups, changing the lighting. Find a way to see the subject in a way you've never seen it before.

You were quite good at it, too.

[Miss Molly]

/shamelessly fishing for compliments... or criticism. :-D

[nishi]

hey molly!

composition and light are a big part of it - what jason says is so. vj has good suggestions for subjects. i assume you're using the zoom? that's the best way to get things out of the picture that you don't want in them.

the other thing i would suggest is not working to center your image. like the photo of the lane under the trees. the orange flowers have pushed that for you, by being in an assymetrical spray.

don't be afraid to leave part of the image off the picture. a picture of a rose, while pretty, isn't as interesting as watching water or light interact with the texture of the rose, or moving into the rose in a way that takes us inside. don't be afraid to take not pretty pictures. in fact, you should spend a lot of time taking crappy pictures. the ones you have are nice. but - back to the rose - you have a great angle on it, and the way we can almost peep inside is really nice. take a lot of pictures of the same thing. can you stay on the same level with the rose, but get us closer - so we're still wanting to look inside, but still can't quite make it? can you push the image to one side? how far is too far?

taking about 20 pictures of the same thing, from as many angles and distances that you can. most of them will suck, but then you can compare them and try to figure out why they suck.

good start! good color, and good subjects. and don't worry about starting out finding the most interesting subjects. look for the interesting in really boring stuff.

[Gamplayerx]

VJ, ignom and nishi said most of what I was going to suggest.  Play with angles, lighting, textures, depth of field (the aperture setting), perspective.  As nishi said, asymmetery can make an ordinary image much more visually appealing.

If you really get into black and white, you should see about learning to develop pictures yourself.  A huge part of Ansel Adams' art was created in the dark room. 

Very nice start!!

[ignom]

Darkrooms are becoming a thing of the past, and I miss them.

One good thing about having digital images is that you can easily crop a picture to take out what you don't need. Also, you can add focus to the strong points of an photo. Photoshop can do in seconds what it could take hours to do burning and dodging in a dark room, and you also don't have to worry about overexposing or underexposing the print.

Still, it's no replacement to the experience of a darkroom.

[ignom]

I just heard the other day that Ilford went bankrupt. That was sad. And Kodak is going completely digital.

[dazie]

My son is taking a photography class in school- he's learning darkroom techniques and has taken some interesting shots.  He has some great ones of a fire hydrant, our lawn mower and the cat next door.  (not all at the same time!)

If you see something that has an interesting look (ie: the tread of the lawn mower tire or the bolts on a fire hydrant) hunker down and look at it from all angles.  You'll find something!

[ReBurn]

My son is taking a photography class in school- he's learning darkroom techniques and has taken some interesting shots.  He has some great ones of a fire hydrant, our lawn mower and the cat next door.  (not all at the same time!)

If you see something that has an interesting look (ie: the tread of the lawn mower tire or the bolts on a fire hydrant) hunker down and look at it from all angles.  You'll find something!

If you're lucky you'll find loose change.

[cnamon]

This is all good advice. 

I like going to a park or monument and just snapping pctures when you feel like it.  Sometimes the best pictures are the ones taking by accident.

[BigDun]

I have an enlarger (with color filters) and everything needed for setting up small B/W darkroom if anyone wants to buy the stuff. I keep meaning to put it up on eBay.

[Jessie]

We should start a Photography forum thingy.

I need a good camera. 

[Alice]

The easiest way to start learning about composition - is to start with the triangle method.  Make sure there are 3 points in your picture... they will lead your eyes around the piece of art and not let it stray off the photo/canvas/etc.  Once you master the triangle composition, it's easier to lead out on your own and start finding more unique, but still appealing compositions.  This is especially true with nature pictures... find a nature picture you really like, and 9 times out of 10 it's using the triangle composition.

[snizwilk]

I use the triangle composition method to toast bagels and boost my self esteem.  It doesn't just apply to stupid photography.

[VikingJuice]

The easiest way to start learning about composition - is to start with the triangle method.  Make sure there are 3 points in your picture... they will lead your eyes around the piece of art and not let it stray off the photo/canvas/etc.  Once you master the triangle composition, it's easier to lead out on your own and start finding more unique, but still appealing compositions.  This is especially true with nature pictures... find a nature picture you really like, and 9 times out of 10 it's using the triangle composition.

Elaborate on this triangle concept if you would.  It sounds interesting.  I wonder if I already do that by accident?

Also, extending on what I believe Nishi said, try finding a unique angle that you don't see often.  Molly, when I saw your first pic with the rose, I suddenly wondered what it looked like from underneath the flower.  I think with a Digital that would be easier to try without destroying the surroundings of the flower but I bet if you tinkered with it, you could get that with a regular cam.

One of my favorite things is to look at lines and patterns.  Even if you don't see straight lines, there are often some very interesting lines in nature.  Your pic of the bark and the one of the path with winding trees overhead were especially nice examples of patterns and lines-and my favorites from your shots.

[VikingJuice]

One other suggestion I'll pass to you from my aunt who has been coaching me the last couple years: When you get certain shots, try to pic up something small in the foreground that will add perspective and will add a little something extra.  Your swamp shot, or pond shot, which ever it was, would be even nicer with a few of those grassy reeds in one of the corners of the shot.  You got part of them but if they were in a little tighter to your camera's position, it would pick them up better.

[Alice]

Elaborate on this triangle concept if you would.  It sounds interesting.  I wonder if I already do that by accident?

Composition is basically the concept of forcing an onlookers eyes around the piece of art.  The easiest way to do this, is to make sure that there are 3 focal points in a work of art that cause your eyes to constantly move in this triangle motion - not leading your eyes off of the art.  For example:






Not that all art uses the triangle, but it is the most simple way to start.

[VikingJuice]

Elaborate on this triangle concept if you would.  It sounds interesting.  I wonder if I already do that by accident?

Composition is basically the concept of forcing an onlookers eyes around the piece of art.  The easiest way to do this, is to make sure that there are 3 focal points in a work of art that cause your eyes to constantly move in this triangle motion - not leading your eyes off of the art.  For example:






Not that all art uses the triangle, but it is the most simple way to start.

Interesting.  I bet subconsciously I do a lot of that in my photography.

[ReBurn]

So a few weeks ago I remembered that my mom has an old Pentax K1000 35mm camera that's almost as old as I am.  (I discovered the other day the warrantee card, that of course was never sent off; the purchase date was sometime in 1984.)

So I bought some film, read the manual, read a manual for single-lens-reflex photography, and took a couple rolls of photos.  I went to our shoddy little botanic garden and then an arboretum.  The photos came out fairly good for a first timer.

My dilemma is this: there isn't much to artistically photograph around my parts.  I also got some black and white film that I'd like to use... but I severely lack in the creativity department. 

So, does anybody have any additional photography tips?  Remember I am using an old school camera, not one of the fancy pants digi cams.  And lame as it is, I need ideas of crap to take pictures of!

:-D

Did you ever use the black and white film?

[Mr. Ubiquity]

So a few weeks ago I remembered that my mom has an old Pentax K1000 35mm camera that's almost as old as I am.  (I discovered the other day the warrantee card, that of course was never sent off; the purchase date was sometime in 1984.)

So I bought some film, read the manual, read a manual for single-lens-reflex photography, and took a couple rolls of photos.  I went to our shoddy little botanic garden and then an arboretum.  The photos came out fairly good for a first timer.

My dilemma is this: there isn't much to artistically photograph around my parts.  I also got some black and white film that I'd like to use... but I severely lack in the creativity department. 

So, does anybody have any additional photography tips?  Remember I am using an old school camera, not one of the fancy pants digi cams.  And lame as it is, I need ideas of crap to take pictures of!

:-D

take pics of anything and everything.  take pics of the same thing at different angles and such.    its amazing what you can see when you look at something from a different perspective..

[Miss Molly]

Did you ever use the black and white film?

I still have a partial roll left in the camera to shoot.  But I learned after I had put it in that it's not true B&W.  It's Kodak fake B&W.  So god knows how they're going to come out.