This past Sunday, I spent the afternoon in Sacramento taking pictures at the California State Railroad Museum for a “photowalk” organized by Thomas Hawk and Robert Scoble. There were about 20 people that showed up - we walked around the museum and old town Sacramento.
I brought a Canon 5D from work and took a couple hundred pictures - we had a great time.
Some of my pictures turned out good, but most were bad or so-so. Here’s some of what I’d like to focus on in my photography:
- Don’t be afraid of high ISO. With my old cameras, anything above 200 started to get grainy. So at the museum, I was hesitant to go over 800. But with the 5D, I should have just gone for it. The noise levels aren’t very high at 1600 on that camera. Instead, I left it at 800 much of the time and the shutter speed was never fast enough to get a crisp shot.
- Use the fast lens! Another low-light must. I brought my 50mm 1.8, but opted for my 28-135mm for most shots. The problem is the zoom lens just isn’t as fast - again requiring slightly long shutter speeds and making for fuzzy photos.
- Spend time thinking about the shot through the viewfinder. I am generally good at studying a scene for a while thinking of what I’d like to capture, but once I put my eye to the viewfinder, I take the shot and move on. Next time, I’d like to spend more time thinking hard about the shot after I’ve decided to take it - make sure I’ve got the focus exactly where I want it. Especially on my 50mm lens, the depth of field can be quite shallow when it’s opened all the way up - it’s important to place the focus at exactly the right spot.
But even with some low-light learning curve, the day was a lot of fun. Lots of other photographers there, and quite a few Aperture users!
Click here to see Thomas Hawk’s take on the day, and here is Robert Scoble’s post - along with links to other people’s blogs and photos.
Click here to take a look at my photos. I was in a very contrasty-vignettey mood, so that’s how I processed many of the photos.
PS: My very own 5D arrived in the mail today! I charging up the battery right now. So excited!
That museum is definitely on my list of places to visit next time I’m in California (which will probably be WWDC).
Blake - It’s refreshing to hear another photographer talk about the process of improving. I can relate to your comments on learning to concentrate on looking through the finder. I usually rush myself and don’t concentrate enough on how the images looks inside the camera and it takes a bit of training to learn to take everything in. Thanks for bringing it up - it makes me feel good to hear other peoples struggles with learning.
blake I Agree with Nate Griffin, I can also relate with your comments:)
Thumps UP:)
Warmly
Thordur Mocan