Finally! My storage/spare room has been cleaned up and I can use it as a studio. Marcus lent me a back-drop and tripods. All I need are lights, they should arrive next week. I thought I would give ambiant light a try, not much success but I did one nice shot.
See Below
Shela Gazing out the Window
Once the lights arrive I expect to really get underway. 
Sometimes the simplest things bring the greatest pleasure.
One can’t always be in the perfect place at the perfect time to make the perfect photo.
However, the more often one has their camera with them, the more often good opportunities arise.
Last month while walking the dog was one of those times for me. The photo below will not win any prizes, but it is pleasing to look at.
Here is the result.
Rye Grain
Do you have nothing to do because of the rain? Guess again, rain makes things wet, and wet things make great photos!
Here’s a wet thistle
Wet Thistle
And a dripping flower
Dripping
And some Raindrops
Raindrops
Keep your gear dry, but get out there! Take some pics!
I am just going through my old photos to see what I can salvage. I took this one in 2007 at an Airshow, but there was way too much in the background. I am now trying my hand at photoshop. I have much to learn, but you get the idea.
Oldie Rescued from Archives
And now, the original…
Original, with ugly background
(Note: I bought my first DSLR from my Friend Marcus, you will see his name still in the EXIF data for the first few thousand photos I took lol)
Would you like to take a different photo? Change your perspective!
Most of us take photos while standing. If you want to make your photo more dramatic, get on your belly! LOL
Here’s an example.
Shela, from the floor
We had a storm last night. I went outside after sunset and the sky was so red I had to grab my camera. I used my Tamron SP AF 90/2.8 which is not the right lens, but since my short lens is on loan, it was better than nothing lol
Here are the untouched photos
Untouched Red Sky 1
Untouched Red Sky 2
Untouched Red Sky 3
Untouched Red Sky 4
Untouched Red Sky 5
Hiya Everyone!
A friend of mine took an absolutely gorgeous photo and has allowed me to play with it.
Thank You Trina!
When I saw the photo, I said to myself, this is a gorgeous photo. (I did so) I also said it suffers from the dreaded “Digital Camera Flatness” I knew I could help with my brand new version of Adobe Lightroom.
Here is the orig
Original By Trina B.
Here I added vibrance, clarity and saturation
Trina's photo with Vibrance, Clarity and Satuation added
Then I thought, “That might be too much” so I did an auto white balance
Trina's Gorgeous photo with auto whitebalance applied
Then I thought, “why not try and make it look like I did nothing?” Here is the result
Trina's Gorgeous Photo, Untouched Look
Conclusion
It is a gorgeous photo, Thanks Trina!
It did not need much help to become captivating. I’ll have to try and not overdo it in the future.
Hiya All,
Digital cameras are great! I Love them! But they do not automatically take the photo I see in my head, why? To keep it short and sweet I will just say that they are generalists. They are programmed to take a good photo under many conditions. I have learned that if you want to be dramatic, you must leave the security of automatic mode and explore the settings on your camera.
Here is a quick, real-world example:
Shela, low-light, no flash, auto (Landscape)
Auto Mode
Now a minute later in Tv (Shutter speed Manual mode)
Tv Mode
Big Difference heh?
For Dramatic shadows, set ISO 100 (or as close as camera/lighting allows) and play with the shutter speed!
What are you waiting for? Go shoot some photos! 
I was down at the pond the other day and snapped a shot or two.
I was not impressed with the result until I added some Vibrance in Lightroom.
Have a look for yourself.
Original
With Vibrance
Sitting on my Terrace this morning, I thought I would try to capture the difference between my two favourite Tamron lenses.
1. Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro
2. Tamron AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC (Vibration Compensation) LD Aspherical (Macro, though it isn’t really strong at that.)
I also wanted to see the difference in my filter; Tamron 67mm MC UV so the third shot is with filter.
I was amazed again at the difference!
Here are the uncropped versions followed by 1:1 crops. This is not a technical test, just a spur of the moment real-life test
Conclusion
Once again, the higher quality lens makes a big difference. The Tamron AF28-300mm seems fuzzy in comparison! There is also a difference in the filter which is very apparent.
Recommendation
Save your money, buy the highest quality lenses you can afford or you will be buying twice. (Like I did)
edit: this is not a very good test, I am going to do it again with manual settings. In the meantime, I am testing the built-in gallery function…
