New Amateur photographer

[LeeBee]

Hello everyone, my names Lee, i live in Wales, UK and have just joined having had this site recommended by the owner of a Camera shop from where I have recently purchased my first DSLR. I have been interested in photography since I was about 17yrs old. I joined the military shortly before my 18th birthday and fortunately, my travels took me all over the world. The camera which stood me in good stead, being a budding amateur, was a Olympus OM10 35mm, which is still in good working order today surprisingly, having only had one 'MOT' in its lifespan. The camera i have now taken on is a Canon EOS 20D so i am in the 'getting to know you' stage. I am here really to pick up any hints/tips/experiences and possibly to ask what some may think as real basic questions but I want to get the best out of the camera. My favourite type of photography is landscapes, so any advice or info on lenses/light/etc etc will be more than welcome.


Many thanks for reading this, hope to hear any tips real soon.


Lee

[Sheiky]

Welcome Lee! You're always welcome to ask any question you want. If you search the forums you might also find some answers []


Enjoy! [B]

[LeeBee]

Many thanks Jan


Cheers

[Daniel Browning]

Welcome! I like landscapes too.

[neuroanatomist]

Hi Lee, and welcome to the TDP forums!


First piece of advice for landscapes - get a good tripod! You'll pick up lots more tips in here, and you are certainly welcome to ask anything you like!


--John

[ddt0725]

Welcome, Lee!!


Photography has been my hobby for about a year now and that is also about as long as I

[DLS]

Welcome to the fam..I mean the TDP forums Lee! Be assured there

[LeeBee]

Thank you guys for the warm welcome, I hope to expand my knowledge and experience with all your help and advice


Lee

[btaylor]

G'day Lee and welcome.


For landscapes I have 3 main suggestions.


1) Go WIDE: A wide angle lens really emphasises the vastness of a landscape and helps draw the eye into interesting background subjects such as cloud formations, the sunlight etc etc. I used to use the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens with my 40D and it was absolutely fantastic. It would go well with your 20D. If it's out of your budget then I have a friend who uses the Sigma equivalent and it's also a nice lens. This is not to say that impressive landscapes cannot be taken with a telephoto lens as well.


2) Composition - include a subject! Anybody can take a stock standard photograph of a landscape but the ones that catch your eye and force you to work your way through the image generallyhave a thoughtful composition.


If using a wide/ ultrawide angle lens, GET LOW to the ground to highlight interesting aspects of the foreground. A trait of ultrawide angle lenses is their deep depth of field so it's easy to keep the foreground and background in focus.


If there is an interesting tree, grass, water (anything!) then use it! Think about the position/direction of that object and how it can be used to lead the eye around the scene.


3) Light: The best light (especially for landscapes) is the couple of hours before and after sunrise and sunset. This will give you warm tones, nice contrasty shadows at a good low angle and nice tones in the clouds (if you get a good day anyway).


In my opinion these are the key elements that separate a normal old landscape shot to something special.


This is an example of a shot I really like that I think is a good example of a putting these elements into play. It was taken by a friend of mine using his Nikon D80 and the Sigma 10-20mm. (Didn't want to look like I was blowing my own horn so I thought I'd put someone else's shot in here[] )


Hopefully this gives you a few starters anyway. Look forward to seeing some shots.


Cheers,


Ben.



The Dead Pool by Simon Diete, on Flickr

[TucsonTRD]

Lee,


Welcome to the forums. You will find that you will receive plenty of input from the members here (myself included though I'm not a heavy poster). When you create any post asking for help/suggestions, be sure to be specific and include details. For example: What is a good lens to buy for my first lens? Be sure to include the type of photography you are interested in, your budget (obviously this will affect recommendations), and any other limiting factors you can think of.


I think you will find the best place to start is to spend many, many hours going through all of Bryan's reviews on this site. They are incredibly informative.


Good luck and enjoy,


Braden