[Jill]

and I have no idea how to use it. (Well, some idea, but even on Programmed it needs help) I want to take pictures as good as Catwoman's (my dogs will never look at me like that)....... Tell me about aperture/shutter speed equivalents.... Tell me your beginning stories when learning how to set these..... BTW, Catwomen I am so inspired by your picture taking... I want to send everyone your way!

[Backpacker Joe]

Good for you. That seems like a great camera. Yes the feeline takes some nice shots too! TB

[Tom]

Florida, can you clarify. Are you looking for a digital photography FAQ or list of tutorials? Or something specific to the 5700?

[Jill]

Not specific to the 5700.... I'll try to clarify and make sense but I can't promise...I understand in theory about shutter speed/aperture but practice is a whole 'nother ball of wax! Is there any rule of thumb about corresponding apertures to shutterspeeds (or vice-versa). I know that for every stop you change aperture you have to change applicable shutterspeed but how do you determine your starting point? I saw a rule called the "sunny rule", F16/1/125 so I thought well hey, maybe there are all kinds of rules for starting points under different lighting situations... So after all that rambling I guess that is my question.... How do you determine a starting point (without an experienced eye of course) and does any sort of guideline exist?

[polarbear-]

Florida, assuming it's not a digital camera you might want to see if your library has this book, Photographing the Landscape by John Fielder. Covers alot of useful info with nice pictures too and examples of bad exposures. One thing you might want to try is seeing what aperature/shutter speed the programmed mode gives you (my camera displays these two numbers internal when I look through the viewfinder), then adjust shutter and aperature from there if you want more wispy water--for example you could slow the shutter speed down from say 1/125 to 1/8 and then enlarge the aperature by the same number of steps to keep the exposure level constant.

[Tom]

If you want to set the aperture, just put the camera in Av mode, choose the aperture, and the camera will automatically figure out the right shutter speed (bumping the exposure up or down will adjust the shutter). Alternatively, if you want to set the shutter speed, put the camera in Tv mode, choose the shutter speed, and the camera will automatically set the aperture (bumping the exposure up or down will adjust the aperture). I hardly ever mess around with full manual mode since Tv or Av mode (with exposure compensation in those rare cases where the camera's metering system is fooled) accomplishes the same thing with far less guess work. On digicams you really don't need to worry about aperture as much as you do with 35mm film due to the teeny sensors which give you huge DOF. Great for landscapes where you want everything in focus, but not so great for portraits when you want to blur the background.

[-florida]

Here are the results of your advice..... I used Shutter Priority... What ya think?

Silver-Falls-072

[polarbear-]

I would also try it at faster shutter speeds and compare. That's because I think some falls look bettter with the wispiness than others. For example, falls that are more spread out (and shorter) and have more of a curtain of water than a shoot of water. What do others think?

[Jill]

I agree.... I did play around with faster shutter speeds but didn't go much over 1/60.... These are my first wispy shots so I wsas pretty hung up on it. You know like Overboard, I think I even took some wispy people shots too!

Silver-Falls-032

[Backpacker Joe]

Hey Tom, you once told me how to blure the water in falls shots like Mr. Florida did there. How again (with a G3) do you do that? TB

[Tom]

Florida, assuming you aren't using CP or ND filter to slow down the lens, I would shoot in Av mode and set the aperture to it's highest f value (f/8 on your camera). This gets you to the slowest possible shutter speed that will properly expose. Also make sure you shoot with a tripod or place the camera on a stable item like your backpack and use the camera's timer to trip the shutter. This should eliminate the camara shake that I see in the pics, but not bad for a first attempt.

[Sore Feet]

[Jill]

Thanks for the tips and Tom, Thanks for the

[michaelm5]

If you really want to learn the basics of photography get one of John Shaw's books. He is truly a master teacher and his exposure method is copied by a lot of practicing pros that teach. A photo workshop would also help accelerate your skill advancement. I would learn exposure as the primary first thing. Know that your meter loooks at everything as medium (or 18%gray). When you can "see" everything the way your meter does you will be on the path to getting accurately exposed images. In this topic someone asks the relationship between aperature and shutter and where do you begin. You begin with the aperature that will provide the depth of exposure you want to express in the image. If your chosen setting is F11, then meter on a neutral tone in the same light as the subject. That should be your nominal setting. If you decide to to close down the aperature to ensure an even greater depth of field then a one stop change on your aperature equals one stop on your shutter. (F11@1/125th would change to F16@1/60th). Get John Shaw's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques. When you put your camera on any automatic (exposure) mode you are handing over control and are giving up on mastering exposure.

[Tom]

It's important to note that digital is a different world than film (ignoring DSLRs) so some of the technique may be less applicable (not that it isn't important to understand). First, you have a live preview, histogram, and/or picture review, any one of which can give you a good idea as to whether the picture is properly exposed. If not, just bump the exposure up or down, plus you can always bracket. Second, digicams have tiny sensors, meaning the lenses are ultra wide angle, meaning DOF is huge and a non-consideration in most situations, except perhaps when shooting macros or at longer focal lengths. Also, most digicams don't go beyond f/8. Again, not an issue in terms of DOF because at f/8 the DOF is about what it would be at f/22 on a full frame 35mm camera.