- A slik tripod
- A lens hood
- A wide angle lens
- A lens that has metering on it so I can be like the paparazzi!
- A faster SD card like 150x and about 16Gbs!!
- A macro lens
- a fish eye lens
- a million euros to be able to afford all of this!!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
My wish list
Thought I better add my wish list onto here as it could become very very long. So here it begins:
class number four or relativity or OH NO!
I was excited about this class as Pablo had mentioned that this was the day we would actually start learning how all the theory could be put into practice.
The class started and I was full of nervous tension. Now it was all going to click into place. We started looking at the Fstops and depth of field and how to measure this.
Then we moved on to shutter speed and exposure and how to take movement shots..time and amount of light relatively as in mathematically and physically. EEK!
Now those who know me, know that I AM CRAP AT MATHS AND SCIENCE. And knowing that part of photography had to do with physics and maths made the world spin out of control for me.
I slumped down in the seat and broke into a cold sweat. I stopped listening and focussed on panicking! Oh God, not numbers, not maths, not physics!
Looking at photos and being told what settings they were taken on is one thing but actually understanding it and DOING THE MATHS is something very different. In theory I could do all these things but then in practice it´s another thing.
So when the theory part of the class and the "practical" part started I thought I was going to die. On the board, Pablo wrote that the Fstop was 11 and the shutter speed was 125 and it was 10 am on a bright autumn morning. I got flash backs to those horrible maths problems in school, you know the ones "if bob has 10 apples and he loses a quarter and then..."
Ok so, relax Fiona it's ok..new mantra. Then on the board, my teacher writes F/16 and says "now class, you have the same conditions, so what should the shutter speed be?" Oh man, I literally was freaking out internally. Inside my head I was screaming "I HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!" And what's worse is that people were being called on at random to answer the questions. I hoped (in vein) that I would just be invisible until this little pop quiz was over. But life isn't exactly fair is it? Finally it was my turn. My question? "If it's on F18 what's your shutter speed?" Ahhh, I was looking frantically over my notes and mumbed "50 something" almost inaudibly, was asked to repeat louder, so I changed my answer and meekly muttered "50". And guess what? I was right! It was the happiest moment in my life! I got a maths problem correct!!! Who's hve thought?
The class started and I was full of nervous tension. Now it was all going to click into place. We started looking at the Fstops and depth of field and how to measure this.
Then we moved on to shutter speed and exposure and how to take movement shots..time and amount of light relatively as in mathematically and physically. EEK!
Now those who know me, know that I AM CRAP AT MATHS AND SCIENCE. And knowing that part of photography had to do with physics and maths made the world spin out of control for me.
I slumped down in the seat and broke into a cold sweat. I stopped listening and focussed on panicking! Oh God, not numbers, not maths, not physics!
Looking at photos and being told what settings they were taken on is one thing but actually understanding it and DOING THE MATHS is something very different. In theory I could do all these things but then in practice it´s another thing.
So when the theory part of the class and the "practical" part started I thought I was going to die. On the board, Pablo wrote that the Fstop was 11 and the shutter speed was 125 and it was 10 am on a bright autumn morning. I got flash backs to those horrible maths problems in school, you know the ones "if bob has 10 apples and he loses a quarter and then..."
Ok so, relax Fiona it's ok..new mantra. Then on the board, my teacher writes F/16 and says "now class, you have the same conditions, so what should the shutter speed be?" Oh man, I literally was freaking out internally. Inside my head I was screaming "I HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!" And what's worse is that people were being called on at random to answer the questions. I hoped (in vein) that I would just be invisible until this little pop quiz was over. But life isn't exactly fair is it? Finally it was my turn. My question? "If it's on F18 what's your shutter speed?" Ahhh, I was looking frantically over my notes and mumbed "50 something" almost inaudibly, was asked to repeat louder, so I changed my answer and meekly muttered "50". And guess what? I was right! It was the happiest moment in my life! I got a maths problem correct!!! Who's hve thought?
Week two begins
The second week of class began and I was EXHAUSTED! The weekend had been crazy because of ACEIA and being perfectly honest I wasn't in the mood for class - all I wanted was sleep. Before going to class I guzzled down some cocacola hoping that it would boost my energy somehow..
Anyway, the coke had some effect and I managed to struggle through. The deep difficult confusing stuff started..and I had abbreviations coming out my ears - USM; MTF; IF; USM incorporated IF, ASPH; DO; LD; APO..the list was endless. BUT, it was good becasue I finally realised what those funny F letters meant. It was like a little light went on in my head. Yes! I was finally coming to terms with what my camera can do and even better, what I can do with my camera!!
So the F numbers in case you were wondering mean the amount of light that you allow in!! The lower the number the higher the amount of light you let in!
Now, all I need to do is figure out how to use this..so I ran home to grab my camera. Pity that I didn´t realise that it was night - and that all this knowledge was for daylihgt photos. Duh!!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Class number two
When I was on the way to my second class I made a promise to myself. I would NOT be a typical teacher in the position on a student. All you teachers out there know what i mean. We observe the teaching of the class and critically rip it to shreds in our heads. So thus began the second class, my new mantra being "thy will not criticise the teacher's teaching", oh yeah and to start taking notes in English.
I was quite preoccupied at the start of class - it was Thusday and a hectic week. Lots of observations, feedbacks not to mention ACEIA which was happening on Saturday. My head was full and I wasn't sure how much more information would fit in and how I would concentrate on one thing for the next two hours. And to top it off I was hungry.
Class number two was also theory based, looking at the parts of the camera and how they are made and what accessories we really need. This is where my new wish list begins..and I have a feeling that it will be a looonnnnggggggg list, a long expensive list. i think I'm going to have to invest in a piggy bank.
I also kept my mantra and did not tear apart any teaching techniques - very proud of myself :-D
And, I did learn lots of new things. Like:
I was quite preoccupied at the start of class - it was Thusday and a hectic week. Lots of observations, feedbacks not to mention ACEIA which was happening on Saturday. My head was full and I wasn't sure how much more information would fit in and how I would concentrate on one thing for the next two hours. And to top it off I was hungry.
Class number two was also theory based, looking at the parts of the camera and how they are made and what accessories we really need. This is where my new wish list begins..and I have a feeling that it will be a looonnnnggggggg list, a long expensive list. i think I'm going to have to invest in a piggy bank.
I also kept my mantra and did not tear apart any teaching techniques - very proud of myself :-D
And, I did learn lots of new things. Like:
- memory cards have a special speed and that for reflex cameras you need at least 130x (not sure what the X stands for but I'm sure in time that will become obvious).
- what .tiff, .gif, .jpeg and RAW actually mean. I always thought it was just a file type and had no idea it had anything to do with compressing images and resizing. Good to know though. From now on I will only use RAW (hmmm, maybe there's a new mantra for me there..)
- maybe most interestingly is that the pixelage (think I made up that word) doesn't really matter unless you are printing large scale phots. So for all you pixel maniacs, unless you are planning on printing your shots larger than A4, 10mp is more than enough.
The first class
My classes are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 8-10. The day of the first class I was nervous. Was this really what I wanted to do? I mean my Spanish is alright but a class on photography in Spanish?Isn't that a bit technical for me? Oh dear what have I got myself into..
I walked into the building and got the lift to the fifth floor and nervously and anxiously made my way to the classroom. I decided to hide myself in the back row so that I could blend in with the wall and that my non-Spanishness would go unnoticed.
As I was getting comfortable the teacher, Pablo, made his way across the class and back to my desk, telling everyone he bumped into that he just had to check something with me. Oh how embarrassing this was becoming..please, please don't single me out as the "guiri" of the class. And yes folks, that's exactly what happened. Over he came to ask about my Spanish level and that if I don't understand to put up my hand and he will translate it for me. 15 heads turned to look at the zoo animal..a real live foreigner in their class. Now that's something to tell the kids.EEEK. I was probably crimson in colour at this stage, sinking lower and lower into the chair.
And so began my first class...
The first class, I frantically began taking notes, looking at photos and scribbling diagrams in my notebook. Now as I look back at these notes, they are a comical melange of Spanish, English and something in between. Why, I asked myself after class, am I writing in Spanish? My aim for class number two was to write in English - far more sensible!
Oh and just in case you were worried, I was able to follow the class just fine :-) And it turned out I really enjoyed it. Getting homework to look at webpages is pretty fun. And you know what's more? I like being a student again. So many years of being a teacher, you sometimes forget what it's like on the other side of the desk.
I think I'm going to enjoy this class..
I walked into the building and got the lift to the fifth floor and nervously and anxiously made my way to the classroom. I decided to hide myself in the back row so that I could blend in with the wall and that my non-Spanishness would go unnoticed.
As I was getting comfortable the teacher, Pablo, made his way across the class and back to my desk, telling everyone he bumped into that he just had to check something with me. Oh how embarrassing this was becoming..please, please don't single me out as the "guiri" of the class. And yes folks, that's exactly what happened. Over he came to ask about my Spanish level and that if I don't understand to put up my hand and he will translate it for me. 15 heads turned to look at the zoo animal..a real live foreigner in their class. Now that's something to tell the kids.EEEK. I was probably crimson in colour at this stage, sinking lower and lower into the chair.
And so began my first class...
The first class, I frantically began taking notes, looking at photos and scribbling diagrams in my notebook. Now as I look back at these notes, they are a comical melange of Spanish, English and something in between. Why, I asked myself after class, am I writing in Spanish? My aim for class number two was to write in English - far more sensible!
Oh and just in case you were worried, I was able to follow the class just fine :-) And it turned out I really enjoyed it. Getting homework to look at webpages is pretty fun. And you know what's more? I like being a student again. So many years of being a teacher, you sometimes forget what it's like on the other side of the desk.
I think I'm going to enjoy this class..
A new beginning
For my 30th birthday I was given a great reflex camera - a Canon EOS. I have always loved snapping photos and as a teenager my room was covered with photos...literally covered.
When I got the camera I was so excited..it was what I had always wanted. I took it out of the box, attached the lens and then started snapping (in automatic of course ;-D).
Things were going fine, I took my camera on every trip I went on, spent days walking through Seville taking photos but I was missing a piece of the puzzle..I had no idea what I was doing really. I was lost in a maze of F numbers and other strange numbers.
Now those who know me, know that I have a passion for reading. However, this reading passion is only transferable to books, novels, and the like. I ABSOLUTELY HATE instruction manuals and will go out of my way NOT to read them. So of course these F numbers etc., continued to be a mystery to me.
After a year and a half I found a photography course, close to my house and a good price. So I decided to sign up...and this is my blog about trying to learn to use my camera properly and take good photos.
When I got the camera I was so excited..it was what I had always wanted. I took it out of the box, attached the lens and then started snapping (in automatic of course ;-D).
Things were going fine, I took my camera on every trip I went on, spent days walking through Seville taking photos but I was missing a piece of the puzzle..I had no idea what I was doing really. I was lost in a maze of F numbers and other strange numbers.
Now those who know me, know that I have a passion for reading. However, this reading passion is only transferable to books, novels, and the like. I ABSOLUTELY HATE instruction manuals and will go out of my way NOT to read them. So of course these F numbers etc., continued to be a mystery to me.
After a year and a half I found a photography course, close to my house and a good price. So I decided to sign up...and this is my blog about trying to learn to use my camera properly and take good photos.
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