The Winding Road - Shot of the Day

This shot was taken in August of 2016 in Algonquin Provincial Park. Algonquin is a HUGE park in Northern Ontario. We were camping in the Kearney campground about 30 minutes north of the South entrance of the park.

My camera, Olympus OMD10ii, was still fairly new to me. It was purchased in July for my birthday. So, I had a ton of fun playing with it......and not a whole lot of good pictures but that was okay.

I love this shot. You can see Kearney Lake through the trees. I can also see my mistakes. My f-stop is wrong. See how the focus is in the center of the photo and the foreground is a little blurred? Sometimes it's personal taste but sometimes it's just wrong. I could let my ego run wild and say, "yah but.....it forces my eye to look up and past the foreground." Yeah...the buts!

We learn by honestly reviewing our work and listening to creative criticism. Each time I come back in, I pop my sd card into the reader and just focus on my photos. How do they look? How could I have improved them? What do I like? Sometimes I take notes for my next outing.

Learning how to shoot in manual mode takes time and practice. My goal is to have a quality picture right off the camera. Yes, you can do some amazing things in Gimp or whatever graphics software you use. I think it's equally cool to be able to use the photo right off the camera, with little manipulation if any. I suggest keeping a notebook and write down your camera settings, the lighting, the weather, etc..

My little notebook has some basic "how-to's" that I've copied from my camera manual. It's helpful in the field. Those "little" camera manuals have a lot crammed into them. It takes time to find what you need. I've also copied a table of settings to use, or just start with, under certain conditions. I'm happy to say I've been needing these less and less. YAY!

My friend, who has been shooting with her DSLR in auto mode, takes some nice shots but I think they could be better. I've played around with my camera in "auto". I snapped a few nice shots but many of them didn't capture what I wanted. The focus jumps around whereas I prefer to hit my back button (programmed button) and quickly fix my focus area. I can change the mood of my photo with a flick of my thumb. It's been worth my time reading my manual and practicing.

It's worth your time to learn about your camera. You'll have much more fun in the long run and be happier with your shots. So one rainy afternoon, curl up with your camera, and read that that manual. Before you know it, you'll be a pro.

Until next time friends.