Dana
23rd of April 2003 (Wed), 13:20
This is pulled from the DPReview site, but seemed worth repeating here...
Dana
"In response to the frequent requests for advice and instruction from beginners, I compiled a list of web resources. Often beginners do not have enough basic knowledge to be able to put their question into words meaningful to experienced photographers. Also they often do not realize that that their simple question requires some basic education before they can understand the answer. Hopefully these web resources will help beginners to express their questions and understand the answers.
Not everyone wants to become a "photographer", some are happy just to be competent "camera users". So take what you want from these resources. To those beginners who are interested in becoming photographers I recommend a thorough grounding in the basic principles of photography. Excellent books on basic photography can still be found in most public libraries and good book stores. I recommend "The Basic Book of Photography" by Tom and Michele Grimm (ISBN 0-452-27825-2) and the excellent "National Geographic Field Guide" by Burian and Caputo (ISBN 0-7922-7498-9). "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Digital Photography" has also been recommended - not being a qualified reader, I haven't read it yet :)
I also recommend, regardless of your experience, a thorough readthrough of the users manual with camera in hand and trying out everything in the manual until you can do it. I also recommend a read through of Phils review of your camera - again with camera in hand. These two exercises will be of lasting value and will save a lot of unnecessary questions posted to the forum.
BASIC PHOTOGRSPHY:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/nav/takingPics.shtml
http://www.photo.net/learn/
http://www.photographytips.com
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
http://www.shortcourses.com/using/index.htm
http://www.dpreview.com/learn
http://www.dpreview.glossary
http://www.botzilla.com
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.html
http://www.cliffshade.com/dpfwiw
http://www.kleptography.com
SPECIFIC SUBJECTS:
Landscape Photography
http://www.luminous-landscape.com
Photoshop and Photoshop Elements
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm
http://www.computer-darkroom.com
Curves
http://www.gurusnetwork.com/tutorials/photoshop/curves1.html
Workflow and RAW
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm
ADVANCED SITE:
http://www.zonezero.com
SCANNERS:
http://www.scantips.com
ON-LINE COURSES:
http://www.shortcourses.com
http://www.nyip.com
http://www.photoworkshop.com
AND PRACTICE - PRACTICE - PRACTICE - remember the film is free!! The key is to get to the point where you don't have to think about the camera at all - where your brain tells the camera what to do and your hands aren't even aware that they were involved. Then you can concentrate on the picture instead of the camera. You can't become an artist until you are a craftsman. And above all - Have Fun!!
Happy Snapping
Don McVee
http://www.pbase.com/mcveed "
Dana
"In response to the frequent requests for advice and instruction from beginners, I compiled a list of web resources. Often beginners do not have enough basic knowledge to be able to put their question into words meaningful to experienced photographers. Also they often do not realize that that their simple question requires some basic education before they can understand the answer. Hopefully these web resources will help beginners to express their questions and understand the answers.
Not everyone wants to become a "photographer", some are happy just to be competent "camera users". So take what you want from these resources. To those beginners who are interested in becoming photographers I recommend a thorough grounding in the basic principles of photography. Excellent books on basic photography can still be found in most public libraries and good book stores. I recommend "The Basic Book of Photography" by Tom and Michele Grimm (ISBN 0-452-27825-2) and the excellent "National Geographic Field Guide" by Burian and Caputo (ISBN 0-7922-7498-9). "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Digital Photography" has also been recommended - not being a qualified reader, I haven't read it yet :)
I also recommend, regardless of your experience, a thorough readthrough of the users manual with camera in hand and trying out everything in the manual until you can do it. I also recommend a read through of Phils review of your camera - again with camera in hand. These two exercises will be of lasting value and will save a lot of unnecessary questions posted to the forum.
BASIC PHOTOGRSPHY:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/nav/takingPics.shtml
http://www.photo.net/learn/
http://www.photographytips.com
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
http://www.shortcourses.com/using/index.htm
http://www.dpreview.com/learn
http://www.dpreview.glossary
http://www.botzilla.com
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.html
http://www.cliffshade.com/dpfwiw
http://www.kleptography.com
SPECIFIC SUBJECTS:
Landscape Photography
http://www.luminous-landscape.com
Photoshop and Photoshop Elements
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm
http://www.computer-darkroom.com
Curves
http://www.gurusnetwork.com/tutorials/photoshop/curves1.html
Workflow and RAW
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm
ADVANCED SITE:
http://www.zonezero.com
SCANNERS:
http://www.scantips.com
ON-LINE COURSES:
http://www.shortcourses.com
http://www.nyip.com
http://www.photoworkshop.com
AND PRACTICE - PRACTICE - PRACTICE - remember the film is free!! The key is to get to the point where you don't have to think about the camera at all - where your brain tells the camera what to do and your hands aren't even aware that they were involved. Then you can concentrate on the picture instead of the camera. You can't become an artist until you are a craftsman. And above all - Have Fun!!
Happy Snapping
Don McVee
http://www.pbase.com/mcveed "