# My photography, 6 months later..



## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

I picked up a DSLR for the first time 6 months ago, read numerous books, got out and tried to get to capture as much variation as I can.

I'm absolutely loving it right now, sold my M3 yesterday and today ordered a 70-200 f2.8 VRII and a Nikon D7100. Needed something to help me recover from the loss! :lol:

Anyway, here's a small selection of what I've got over the last 6 months, any advice, comments, criticism is appreciated. It's only a small sample of what I have over on my Flickr page (feel free to add me! ) http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyedea_/

#1

Colour in the darkness (Explored! 25/06/13) by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#2

Festwake 29/06/13 by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#3

Wallpaper by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#4

Flower by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#5

Colour burst by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#6

Street Performers by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#7

The sun will shine... by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#8

This is how we do it by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#9

CamBRIDGE.. Get it? ... No? by fresheyedea, on Flickr

#10

Tango flower! by fresheyedea, on Flickr


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## Mean & clean (Aug 19, 2007)

You've got some very nice shots after just 6 months 

Do you shoot in RAW? Are you using full manual mode? It took me a while to really feel confident with my camera, RAW and manual were a big step for me but I wouldn't go back now. 


You have a good eye that's for sure. Keep it up! My current problem is a lack of £££. Why are hobbies so expensive? Lol!





Sent from my GT-I8150 using Tapatalk 2


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## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

Great Photo's, 

Kev


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## cossierick (Jan 19, 2011)

Great pics, love pic 5 and the m3.

What set up are you using right now, ive had my camera 18mths now but just don't seam to have the motivation.

Any tips for me. lol

rick


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Terrific shots! Really like them
I shot Canon 500D and love macro stuff.
I think your photos are truly excellent. The water skier is brill!

Thanks for sharing, Ben
:thumb:


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

Mean & clean said:


> You've got some very nice shots after just 6 months
> 
> Do you shoot in RAW? Are you using full manual mode? It took me a while to really feel confident with my camera, RAW and manual were a big step for me but I wouldn't go back now.
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot mate.

I always shoot in RAW, I don't bother with JPEG as I know I want the RAW file so having RAW + JPEG together just drains the buffer and for motorsport etc renders it pretty much useless.

Depends what I'm shooting as to what mode I'm on, if I want to control the depth of field (macro, portrait etc) I normally use Aperture priority and set the Aperture I want. Sometimes (if you have harsh backlighting or something) this doesn't work, in which case I'd meter off the persons face, check what the settings are, switch to manual and then enter the settings and shoot from there. If I'm shooting something fast moving, I'll either use shutter priority or manual, depending on the lighting etc.

RAW can be a real saver of some shots, I would've had some keepers binned had it not been for RAW. Lightroom is well worth the money it costs too, and can really enhance your photos.

I got sick of pouring money into cars, and in all honesty a little bored of detailing. This is what I'm really enjoying (for now at least) the best thing about photography equipment is it holds it's value fantastically well.



spursfan said:


> Great Photo's,
> 
> Kev


Thank you Kev. :thumb:



cossierick said:


> Great pics, love pic 5 and the m3.
> 
> What set up are you using right now, ive had my camera 18mths now but just don't seam to have the motivation.
> 
> ...


2 of my personal favourites as it goes, I'm going to get the colour burst (#5) printed soon I think, I love it more and more as time progresses!

Will be a bit sad to look back on the M3 one, but I love it as a picture.

I'm currently using a Nikon D5100, my lenses are:
35mm f1.8 prime
16-85mm VR zoom
70-300mm VR zoom

I have just ordered myself a D7100 and 70-200 f2.8 VRII this evening with some of the M3 money, I won't be saying how much they set me back! :doublesho

My advice would be get out, shoot things you enjoy or in my case shoot anything! If you have a bug for it, you'll know.

I'd highly recommend reading books like 'Understanding Exposure', I found them insanely helpful, I've probably read 7/8 books in total now and each one has taught me that little bit more.


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

SBM said:


> Terrific shots! Really like them
> I shot Canon 500D and love macro stuff.
> I think your photos are truly excellent. The water skier is brill!
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for your kind words Ben! :thumb:


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## ivor (Sep 24, 2008)

Nice to see your enjoying it I'm just getting started with mine , a friend in Australia has just brought a f2.8 500 mm as he does a lot of Motorsport including rc cars which was something I had never thought about

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hercules-Photography-Australia/264866276981376


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

Cracking photos bildo. I'm jealous of you getting a new camera  :thumb:


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## B2ONGO (May 5, 2011)

Cool shots mate - have you thought about a wide angle lens for landscapes? I have the sigma 10-20mm and its great on my D7000.


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

Very nice! Especially if you're only using a DSLR for 6 months!

Also great enhancements on the pics! Really coming up nice!

You only use Lightroom? You've got to learn me how to use it  I can't really enhance my pics nicely with it? Mostly I mess it up when I'm trying to make my picture more enhancing then original :s


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## Gar050 (Aug 15, 2012)

HELP NEEDED!!! 
I have a dslr and have a very small knowledge of how to use it, but what i'm more interested in is what is the best photo editor to use? The only shots i take are of the cars i've detailed. Any Suggestions would be gratefully received


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## Gar050 (Aug 15, 2012)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sorry for hi-jacking your Thread


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## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

Nice shots dude! :thumb:


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

Sorry for the late responses guys, fixed my DW problems and back here now! 



LeadFarmer said:


> Cracking photos bildo. I'm jealous of you getting a new camera  :thumb:


Thanks mate!  Seems like yesterday I was asking you how to get the blurry background in photos!  Sorry about the camera, needs must though! I did sell my pride and joy and bend over backwards to pay for that and the lens if it makes you feel any better!



B2ONGO said:


> Cool shots mate - have you thought about a wide angle lens for landscapes? I have the sigma 10-20mm and its great on my D7000.


Hey mate, thank you for your nice comments. I have thought about one, in fact I recently also invested in a 16-85 to go a little wider. Not really one for landscapes too much.

Live in a rubbish area for it and I don't have the patience for driving somewhere and sitting in a field for hours and hours waiting for a perfect sunset! I love capturing the moment and freezing movement more than anything.

Saying that, a lot of my photography has taken me by surprise as to what I'm interested in so you never know, I might do one day! I'll get you a lovely shot of Southend beach, everyone wants to see the stuff floating about in there! 



Wout_RS said:


> Very nice! Especially if you're only using a DSLR for 6 months!
> 
> Also great enhancements on the pics! Really coming up nice!
> 
> You only use Lightroom? You've got to learn me how to use it  I can't really enhance my pics nicely with it? Mostly I mess it up when I'm trying to make my picture more enhancing then original :s


Thank you very much! 

Only use LR, Photoshop VERY rarely for cloning/touch-up's.

Will be more than happy to give you a bit of help with LR if you genuinely want it, there are some fantastic books out there which can be much more informative than I am though!

This is a great one: The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 Book for Digital Photographers Voices That Matter: Amazon.co.uk: Scott Kelby: Books



Gar050 said:


> HELP NEEDED!!!
> I have a dslr and have a very small knowledge of how to use it, but what i'm more interested in is what is the best photo editor to use? The only shots i take are of the cars i've detailed. Any Suggestions would be gratefully received





Gar050 said:


> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Sorry for hi-jacking your Thread


No problem at all.

Lightroom is the best all-in-one program that's easy to use and gives you just about everything you might ever need. Has a great price tag to suit too, with the book above you can learn all about it. Combine that with some online tutorials and you have a winner 



Porkypig said:


> Nice shots dude! :thumb:


Thanks a lot mate, always really nice to get good feedback!


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

Figured that due to the nice feedback I'd share some of my newer motorsport photos taken with the D7100 and 70-200 f2.8!  Been getting as much variation as I can with motorsport, off to the British Drift Championship this weekend, can't wait for it! 


Formula 4 & Support - Brands Hatch by eyedea-media, on Flickr


Formula 4 & Support - Brands Hatch by eyedea-media, on Flickr


Formula 4 & Support - Brands Hatch by eyedea-media, on Flickr


King of the Ring - Arena Essex by eyedea-media, on Flickr


British Superbikes 2013 (BSB) - Brands Hatch by eyedea-media, on Flickr


British Supersport Championship - Brands Hatch by eyedea-media, on Flickr


BSB Brands Hatch by eyedea-media, on Flickr


BSB Brands Hatch by eyedea-media, on Flickr


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

Those are brilliant photos, especially No2. Are you seeing a big difference with your new camera?


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

LeadFarmer said:


> Those are brilliant photos, especially No2. Are you seeing a big difference with your new camera?


Thanks Steve.

Since I upgraded the body and lens at the same time, it's hard to tell what has given me the biggest improvement. The clarity of the new lens is superb, I can see why it has such a huge amount of respect and despite costing almost twice what the camera did I'm hugely pleased with it.

I find myself having a lot less throwaways than previously, and have a much higher chance of getting the shot I'm after.

One thing I hated on the D5100 was the lack of physical buttons and having to access the on-screen menu everytime you wanted to adjust anything. Having the top screen and buttons all over the place is a huge help once you get used to it. Things like the bigger viewfinder, additional AF points and increased ISO performance are winners too!


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

some really nice shots you've got there, thanks for sharing.


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Fabulous fabulous photo's Bildo.:thumb:

You certainly have a talent. in awe and envy 

Ben


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Fabulous fabulous photo's Bildo.:thumb:

You certainly have a talent. in awe and envy 

Ben


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## Freddie (Mar 17, 2013)

You say you have ordered a Nixon 7100. What are you using at the moment? 
I am currently eying up a Nikon 3200 for a first camera. What's you experience with Nikon been like?


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

SBM said:


> Fabulous fabulous photo's Bildo.:thumb:
> 
> You certainly have a talent. in awe and envy
> 
> Ben


Thank you very much Ben, I'm sure you could do the same with some time and patience! 



Freddie said:


> You say you have ordered a Nixon 7100. What are you using at the moment?
> I am currently eying up a Nikon 3200 for a first camera. What's you experience with Nikon been like?


My first set of shots were taken on the D5100, the second set were taken on the D7100.

Body's are pretty irrelevant, it's the glass (lenses) that make the real difference. But good glass costs a LOT of money.

I'll have my D5100 for sale soon, only a few months old and only selling due to the reasons above. The D5100 is a fantastic starter camera and unbeatable for the price imo. If you look at a D5100 and a D7100 shot side by side there's hardly any difference at all.


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## Freddie (Mar 17, 2013)

Just realised your almost local. Spotted a few of Cambridge (used to live there. Am now Essex/suffolk/cambridgeshire border) 

Some fantastic photos there mate.


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

Thanks for the nice comments mate, went to Cambridge for a weekend away, I really enjoyed it. Little touristy but I intend to head back when it's not quite so busy sometime.

I'm based down near Southend, just not an awful lot to shoot down here so I try and get around!


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## bildo (Mar 29, 2008)

Here's a quick preview of what I got up to at the weekend:


British Drift Championship - Round 4 by eyedea-media, on Flickr


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Some stunning shots there and all great, just going back to how you have progressed, the side on volvo had the spectators in view and fairly focussed where as the above shot has the car crisp and the background blurred, great stuff really drawing you straight to the car and only the car great stuff.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Freddie said:


> You say you have ordered a Nixon 7100. What are you using at the moment?
> I am currently eying up a Nikon 3200 for a first camera. What's you experience with Nikon been like?


Nikon make great kit, you will get predominantly 2 camps the Cannon and the Nikon.

The nikon has used the same mount system since year dot, so you can use old glass but will tend to find you need to manual focus but then again its old quality glass at a good price.

I still have my old D50 and a D300 i simply dont do photography as i hoped i would never get out with it although you can do great shots indoors or local.

The big cost comes with so many lenses if your trying to do a lot of different shots.

Macro, sport, wildlife, landscape a mid lens 18-200 would cover most aspects however.

A 50mm is about the best lens for its money a decent f1.8 thats 50mm on a full frame sensor so thats around 75mm on a crop sensor so a true 50mm on a crop sensor would be 35mm.

This lens would need you close for close shots but great for low light nice and small a lens to always have despite what your main stay lens would be.


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