Ay up from Bolton

[miffsmith]

Hello there.

I've been mooching around for a while on the forums while I tried to fathom out my first SLR camera, a Sony Alpha 300, and pick up some tips and ideas from the great photos that are regularly posted. As some of you will no doubt be aware it can all seem a bit daunting at first.

If you're not all sick of the snow yet, here's a few of my recent efforts. I don't have any decent processing software so they are straight out of the camera. Please let me know what you think as it would be great to get some friendly advice.

For instance, the snow looks a bit bobbins on the last one and I'm not sure why.

 

[Yardbent]

just a beginner too but....

#1.. crop portrait so concentrating on the bird?

#2 doesn't look in focus - if you have set the camera to "centre spot" focus, then focus on the off-centre berry by half-depressing the shutter release - hold and recompose the shot before shooting

#3 i think is to do with WB white balance and exposure. The camera sees lotsa light so stops down and the image is under-exposed. See if you can dial in some +EV values and set the WB according to the manual

 

[Yardbent]

I don't have any decent processing software

try gimp or somewhat easier to use i find is Paint.Net

 

[miffsmith]

Thanks for the advice John. I'll have to read the manual a bit more for the exposure stuff and get a bit more practise in with the focussing. It all used to be so easy with my old compact.

However, there's no way I'm walking into Jessops asking for the Gimp you refer to. I suspect that would end badly.

 

[Yardbent]

However, there's no way I'm walking into Jessops asking for the Gimp you refer to. I suspect that would end badly.

both a freebies downloaded off the web..............

2 good books from Amazon ..........

"Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson

"Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography" (Paperback)
by Brenda Tharp

 

[Wail]

Hi Mark, and to TP.