Learning to use photography.

As my posts have already hinted, I want to learn to use photography. I've loved photography and adored the pictures taken by Joe for a long time. I have not, however, taken many pictures of my own. Sometimes many months pass without me taking a single picture. Sometimes I think I'm simply insecure about taking pictures next to a roommate whose pictures are so incredible. Usually, however, I think it's linked to a more practical problem. That is, if I were to buy a nice SLR, I would need to carry around a bag and lenses. In the Army, that's impossible. In social situations, it can be awkward. In athletic activities, it's difficult. However, I'm now set on taking a step forward and buying a Canon G11. It has much of the manual power of an SLR, a seizable fraction of the sensor power, and low light / low noise performance never before seen on a point and shoot.

While I await its arrival, I am enjoying my Canon SD850 IS. It's a pocket camera but very nice. I took a couple pictures today and then walked home to charge the battery--something I should have checked long before embarking in the first place. No matter! I will take more later. Meanwhile, I will critique my couple photos below:

Camera: Canon SD 850 IS
Mode: Auto
ISO: 400
I tried to use the rule of thirds by aligning the canon on the bottom horizontal third line and left vertical third line. I also envisioned the right pillar on the right third line. None of these things really happened. I think I was too distracted with trying to get the frame edge parallel with the edge of the frame.

I hoped the sign, canon, and climbing rope might give good context to the building (a barracks just like mine--only this one is attached to the dining facility). I think the idea was good (a centered face-on building pic would be very boring), but the canon would have been much better if it was brighter, the sign is hard to read, and the mass of grass is boring.

Camera: Canon SD 850 IS

Mode: Auto

ISO: 400

This mass of people is less impressive than in person. In person you could tell that a lot of them had very large weapons. The phone booth is over emphasized by it's placement, but there really isn't anything interesting enough to emphasize.

Maybe the material is boring and I would have been better off focusing on one person holding a saw (nickname for a certain type of chain gun) instead of making this half group shot (there are more soldiers on the near side of the sidewalk).

Camera: Canon SD 850 IS

Mode: Auto

ISO: 250

ISO 250, Canon's anti-shake, and still this blur? Do I need a tripod for even a normal snapshot? I didn't think I was so shakey, and I even have training to fire an M-16 without trigger squeeze and breathing affecting my shot. I would have thought that would help a lot. Now I DID think the screen said ISO 600, but the pic info on my computer says 250. I'll pay close attention next time.

Nevermind the crooked frame. That's easy to fix if the picture was worth processing. If I'd been able to get a clear picture, I would have also turned the ISO to 400 since it's a bit dark. I think that's easy to fix in processing too. I need more clarity though. I don't know why this is so bad. Maybe my camera isn't working so well anymore. I'll look forward to my G11 for comparison purposes.

Oh, and these are the airborne jump towers where Doug just finished training (now he's in mortar leadership training). I took this without leaving my battalion area. They're literally RIGHT next door. We have airborne stuff on three sides of us. These jump towers are used in week 2 of jump school.

Next time I'll have more than 5 minutes reserved fro taking shots, better light (45 minutes earlier in the day would help), and in a couple weeks I'll have a sweet camera too... Goodnight all!