Hey... they took my freakin' kidney.
Strawberries
Photography has become the hobby of my latest affection. As such, I have thrown all my not-as-disposable-as-I'd-like-it-to-be income at it. Not too long ago I got the bug up my ass to make the jump from my high-end consumer-grade Canon Powershot S3IS to something more versatile. And by versatile, of course, I mean expensive.
After a couple weeks of consternation I finally muscled a few bucks out of the budget and ordered a shiny and new Nikon D40. It, and the couple of lenses I bought, arrived a few days later. Inconspicuously packaged in plain, brown cardboard like so many Playboy magazines. Oh, the glorious digital single-lens reflex love I will make with this camera.
I don't want this to be a feature-by-feature review of this camera. You can get that anywhere. But I will say that this camera is light, fast and umm... delicious. Its major advantages are that I can now take good photos without a ton of setup or fussing around with a bunch of knobs and dials. Also, it gives remarkably good head. So that's nice.
Indulge me in posting a few un-edited photos, of our (mine and the camera's) honeymoon, if you will. Or even if you won't.
I took this sitting in the dark vestibule of the Macaroni Grill where we ate dinner on Friday night. I used the built-in flash which has the remarkably novel feature of actually illuminating the subject with exactly the right amount of light.
It's not hard to take beautiful pictures of Megan. 'Nuff said.
Some of my favorite photos are of the kids just horsing around, being themselves. The ex-camera (who will NOT be getting half of our old photos in the divorce) wasn't responsive enough to capture true candids like this. The new trophy camera can snap several quick shots in succession assuring me that I'll have captured just the right moment.
Even the normally photophobic dog can't escape the lightning-fast shutter speed and reaction time of the D40.
Cindy... not only hilarious but friggin' gorgeous too. This shot seems staged but thanks again to the responsive Nikon optics, I was able to catch her in a relaxed and natural pose at exactly the perfect instant.
The best thing about all these photos is that I felt comfortable posting them with exactly zero editing in Photoshop. Pretty remarkable, considering I have basically no idea what I'm doing behind the camera.
Filed under - Photos | TechnologyDear Pete,
Thanks to this post my owner has become even more dissatisfied with me (And I didn't think that was possible.)
You suck.
Love,
Loralee's Shitty Camera
Pete,
The photo's you posted definitely show that you know how to take a photo. Most of them turned out rather nicely. You have cute kids too. I do like the strawberry shot. Takes really nice DOF. Is that a manual setting or something you gotta tweak and futz with? I seen this camera at costco. It looks pretty worthy to get.
-a regular reader of your blog.
I will very often use Photoshop for depth-of-field effects. In this case though, I left the photos exactly as they came from the camera.
I generally use a longer lens than is required, open the aperture up as for as it will go (lowest f/number), then stand away from the subject and zoom to it. This narrows the DOF quite a bit.
-a regular writer of my blog.
How coincidental--I purchased a D40 two weeks ago. I've taken about 2,000 pictures already. Of course some of those don't count, because I abide by the rule of 3--take 3 pictures of your subject to ensure you get one that you like.
The d40 is a super kit. I'm already making plans for more lenses, filters, etc.
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http://www.signifyingnothing.com/clint
Thank you for using the word coincidental and not ironic.
I abide by something more like the rule of 64.
Well irony would have been if I would have just sold a D40, not purchased one. Here's to being an English major! Woot!
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http://www.signifyingnothing.com/clint
I love looking at other people's pictures and thinking, "Why do mine always look so crappy?" Then I realize it is because I know NOTHING about photography. I'm even going to be really brave and admit right here that I don't own a digital camera. GASP! I know! Isn't that awful!
I also love that Clint is an English major and still said, "Woot!" Awesome.
These came out great. I personally am a canon man. I got a D20 but the only quality lens I have is my wide angle. Need more monies. I have found that the pop-up flash on a lot of camera can really suck. This nifty little piece of plastic can help remedy that: AMAZON LINK
Oh, and in case you wanted to check out my photography, I included the link this time
Thanks alot for that..I've just bought the D-40 and i'm confused as all hell on the settings but after viewing your pictures I have hope that i can come up with some good shots..thanks
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I was just looking at that camera today, trying to decide if I should just go ahead and sell an organ to buy one. I'm almost convinced.