Walk Arounds With Small Digital

I hope this question doesn't sound silly. What does one usually shoot on a walk around? Is there a plan, or is it just what catches your eye?

Got a Powershot sx160. Great little camera. Does so much.

Maybe I should just GO.

What catches my eye. Clouds, the pups, local scenery. If I'm planning to photograph things I have a bit more than the SX230 or the EOS M.

Yep, anything you like. Once you go out a few times you will start to get an idea of what you like and what you don't. Local markets are usually a great place with plenty of things at stalls and interesting characters to shoot.

With my SX50, I am looking for wild life a lot because of the reach of the zoom. Other than that I am looking for interesting colours, architecture, flowers, etc.

Not brave enough to do a lot of people shooting in the streets yet, but I do go to festivals and take pictures of performers.

Are there any legal issues with sh er I mean photographing people? (If you say shooting people, today, it might have some unintended consequences )

Whatever looks interesting. Doors, mailboxes, window displays, bldgs, on and on. Think ahead, also, and try to envision scenes that can be manipulated later with different effects. If I'm going out to take pictures I'll just take my time and concentrate on looking for stuff.

buffumjr wrote in post #16069087
Are there any legal issues with sh er I mean photographing people? (If you say shooting people, today, it might have some unintended consequences )

Yes, and it's important for a photographer to know their own rights as well as the rights of those around them.

Bob Atkins does a fantastic write-up for the Yankees: http://www.bobatkins.c​om …otography_law_r​ights.html

(See also the Ten Legal Commandments of Photographers [In the U.S])

For International folks, probably the best place to get started would be on Wikipedia.

Follow the light. Look for where the light creates interesting effects or patterns and then play with the best angle and settings to shoot it.

Been doing just that.

Having a problem with depth. This camera does good stuff, but, well, maybe it's me.

I've uploaded my stuff to Photo Bucket tonight, and provided links. What I'm striving for is photographing through dark brush to get to sun highlighted foliage maybe 10' - 15' away. Comes out flat looking.

I am tasked with walking our mentally challenged dog each day. Numerous health and mental problems. Rescue dog. I'm starting to use this time to notice foliage that does interesting things with light.

http://s1272.photobuck​et.com …340410103087065​6864798273

http://s1272.photobuck​et.com …124982880412024​5542741691

http://s1272.photobuck​et.com …128047880887964​9997343195

These three are not edited in any way, except to add text, documenting the camera settings when snapped.

Autofocus on this camera, for plants, is not so good. It needs bigger targets. Manual focus is a pain, as the wheel at the back invokes other programs, as well. Press at all when turning the wheel, and the following happens. 1. It leaves Manual Focus and sets it to Auto Focus. 2. Depending on where you pressed, it invokes ISO, MF, Timer, or Flash off. Sometimes, you have to play with the focus four or five times before you get there, starting over from the mistakenly autofocused position each time. Enough to make a grown man whimper.

Any suggestions appreciated for increasing the perception of depth? Oh yes, were you able to see the pictures?

Same walk. A little post production using Photo Bucket's tools.

http://s1272.photobuck​et.com …182160380910617​2426155439

I have been reading a lot of books and articles on how to compose photos. Many books suggest exercises which can be a great way of breaking out of doing the same things.

For example, one exercise is to look for lines or how things line up and photograph them.

Gets you looking in different ways.

ebusinesstutor wrote in post #16126872
I have been reading a lot of books and articles on how to compose photos. Many books suggest exercises which can be a great way of breaking out of doing the same things.

For example, one exercise is to look for lines or how things line up and photograph them.

Gets you looking in different ways.

Currently, along with my CNC machining course, I'm reading "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. In addition, I cover-to-cover each Digital Photo magazine that comes in.

The quality of the shots, in the end, is due to the photographer. Better cameras and specialty lenses allow him to do certain things, but it is still his skill.

In the jumble of foliage, finding a line is difficult, unless it's some sort of path.

Did anyone see the pictures? I'm trying to determine if I can use Photo Bucket for these shots.

I'm starting to notice something, taking a lot of pictures. Over 600 so far. This point and shoot is crisp in ten feet or less, but over that, it becomes soft. I autofocus or manual focus, same softness. Wide aperture or narrow aperture, same softness. But hey. $150 as opposed to $1,200.

Still, if the consideration for the art of the shot will allow, or even demand softness, this camera will do.

Photo Bucket has a sharpness tool, but it works only to a limited extent, then it starts inserting jaggies.

Here's a photo where it worked well
http://s1272.photobuck​et.com …0600_zpsd7c468a​4.jpg.html

I found out elsewhere that people are indeed able to use the links to retrieve the shots in THEIR FULL SIZE! Yay Photo Bucket! Worth the small $$ amount they ask.

Autofocus vs manual focus is driving me nuts on this camera. I found some flowers to photo today, and, the screen doesn't give you enough of an idea when the focus is right. I want to do the flower isolated in the blurred field shots, but I get the branch or the leaf, with the flower blurred. Is there some sort of trick to this I am missing?

If anything drives me into a DSLR, it will be the focus issue. The sharpness limits, too.

http://s1272.photobuck​et.com …0621_zpsd1dd37a​a.jpg.html

Do DSLR shooters run into the same?

Some nice sky shots, this morning. Used in-camera cropping to edit out the roof of my truck.
http://s1272.photobuck​et.com …0617_zps8b2a773​e.jpg.html

http://s1272.photobuck​et.com …0615_zps3a5bae0​7.jpg.html