Student needs inspiration!

I'm currently a student. I can get hold of some kit which is my dad's but it's rarely used (see sig - I can use that pretty much whenever I want).

I'd like to get into photography but I live in the middle of sticks.

What kind of things should I start practicing on? I've tried the garden and I think I've got enough random flower pictures!

I'm in London at the weekends, if that could help?

Inspiration / advice please!

first assignment in my last photo class: stand in one place, use as many lenses and settings as you like, and produce 15 different images, all worth keeping and be willing to explain why you would keep it. some just stood on a busy street and caught action as it happened, some spent the time waiting for different light to change subjects, I went to an air museum and looked for shapes that defined the image, closeups on curves with no detail other than the division of light and dark, and the obvious 'wow look at that one' shots too.

Creativity, nature/nurture

Where abouts in the sticks are you?

Come and say hi in the South East UK thread if you haven't already, various meets are always being planned, there are a few on the go at the moment, one in an old lunatic asylum which looks cool and often there are impromptu London get togethers. They're a great opportunity to shoot beside other photographers and inspiration can flow easier sometimes when you're with like minded people.

Nice bag full of goodies you have access to too!

Send yourself out on exercises to learn concepts in photography.

DOF exercises
Shutter speed exercises
Aperture selection exercises
Compositional elements...
...form (shape)
...texture
...color
...tonal differences (black and white)
...light as compositional element
etc.

When you use abstractions as exercises, you train your eye and you improve your skills, even with nothing particularly interesting (which would catch the eye of a tourist) to photograph!

Yes, it is a bit like doing 'homework', but you become a better photographer for it! Everyone photographs things like the Eye and Windsor Castle! An artist finds visually interesting things in the commonplace.

michaelgreen78 wrote in post #7602346
Where abouts in the sticks are you?

Come and say hi in the South East UK thread if you haven't already, various meets are always being planned, there are a few on the go at the moment, one in an old lunatic asylum which looks cool and often there are impromptu London get togethers. They're a great opportunity to shoot beside other photographers and inspiration can flow easier sometimes when you're with like minded people.

Nice bag full of goodies you have access to too!

I'm in Hampshire... are there any other UK threads? I had a glance through but didn't notice any...

Oh - and thanks about the gear!

motoroller wrote in post #7603086
I'm in Hampshire... are there any other UK threads? I had a glance through but didn't notice any...

There are I think but none as regularly posted in as our one. If you get into London regularly I'm sure that qualifies you as a South Eastener! We're not too strict about the geography of where you are.