wow i just realized i murdered the English language with that title.

I used a Pentax K1000 with a Quantaray 70-300mm f4-5.6
the light meter in my cam is broken so i used a sekonic 308b flashmate.
I started using this cam about 2 weeks ago and i think this is the first roll of film that actually came out somewhat crisp. Please give me all the constructive criticism you can, i wont get mad or anything like that, i really have no idea what im doing, im not taking any kinda classes its just a new hobby i picked up so feel free to point out what i could have done better. thanks


Took these two hours ago on the side of my house.
















these pics were taken on a different roll of film at a local college.

Black and white 400cn

_
Black and white 400cn




B&W 400cn (used PS on this one get the red out)



Pic of my lazy cat lying under a chair.

pic of my cat.

[Zewrak]

Great shots. I like them all. Analog is so much sweeter.

I am not sure what help you want. Several of your images lack some contrast. Might depend on a bad lense. But in analog photography you can use filters, yellow for example, to add some contrast. Also the paper and film you use is important. Luckily your images are digital now, and you can add it in photoshop.

Get a good glass, a good film, correct filters and get some good papers for your copying (if you do the darkroom stuff yourself). And your pictures will pop out of the paper .

[2ipper]

Great shots. I like them all. Analog is so much sweeter.

I am not sure what help you want. Several of your images lack some contrast. Might depend on a bad lense. But in analog photography you can use filters, yellow for example, to add some contrast. Also the paper and film you use is important. Luckily your images are digital now, and you can add it in photoshop.

Get a good glass, a good film, correct filters and get some good papers for your copying (if you do the darkroom stuff yourself). And your pictures will pop out of the paper .

Right on thanks for the advice, im not really sure about what film i should buy, is there a certain brand thats better, cause right now ive been buying Kodak. as far as the dark room, i dont have one, i just get the film developed at the 1 hr drugstore and get the pics put onto a cd, I dont know if thats best idea. maybe i should find another way.

Thanks for the comments.

[MRRiley]

First off... you have the PERFECT camera to learn the basics of photography with. The lens is nothing to talk about but at this point you need to be concentrating on learning composition and exposure more than making tack sharp images.

You appear to have a decent understanding of composition for someone who is just starting out (photo 11 particularly). As Zewrak said, many of the shots appear to be a bit flat but this could be a postprocessing issue. If the prints you got from the lab look the same, I'd suggest that you are overexposing by a bit. Try to place the match-needle in the meter just a little below the middle to slightly underexpose. If the prints look better then it is probably something you are doing in editing.

All in all though I'd say you are doing very well for only 2 weeks. Keep em coming...

p.s. The "photo on CD" thing is fine... And Kodak film is perfectly acceptable. Some brands and types are better for certain photos but Kodak will normally render a perfectly acceptable image in 99% of situations.

p.p.s. the one composition issue I see is "centering your subject". Look up the "rule of thirds" and try to apply it. Basically says to place the subject to one side or other and up or down in the frame.

[Peter Zack]

I'll echo what Mike just said. Slightly underexpose the shot to get more colour and contrast from the film. The "rule of Thirds" is very often an important one. A good basic understanding of some of these "rules" is found here:
Photography Guide
and:
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/4-rules-of-composition-for-landscape-photography/

I hope this doesn't overwhelm you but 3 of my favourite sites to visit for info are :
The Luminous Landscape
The Radiant Vista
THEONLINEPHOTOGRAPHER.COM

I'd also strongly recomment Byran Peterson's book, "Underestanding Exposure" 2004. Which you should be able to find in a used book store if your town is large enough. Start with that. It's a huge wealth of knowledge.

Another tip when learning is to review other peoples work. Go to the PF gallery here: User Photo Gallery - Gallery and see what others have done. Pick a subject you like and see how well you can replicate those shots. But remember that these images are what most will consider thier best stuff and it doesn't show the 1000's of discarded images. If you find you are having trouble getting close to what others have done, then post some results again for comments and advice. This is not to say you should always copy others work, but as a learning tool. You'll create your own style very quickly.

One of the most important tips I can pass on is this. When shooting print film and trying to learn, take a notepad and pen with you. Record all the details of the shot (meter readings, ASA/ISO, type of film etc). The info will make a huge difference in learning where the errors and successes are.

Shoot some scenes in a bracketed fashion. For example. You have a landscape, The meter says f8, 1/250th @ISO 100*. Shoot the scene at the meter readings and also at one stop above and one stop below. You will then learn how the meter is reacting to the light and what would work best in the future.

Excellent first series and keep them coming.

*One stop higher (brighter) would be f5.6 and one stop darker would be f11. A full stop scale is the following: 1.4 2.0 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22
Also you can do the same by leaving the f stop alone and adjusting the shutter speed. The scale for one full stop is this: 1/2000 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30 1/15 1/8. So in the example above you would try 1/500th to go darker and 1/125th to go brighter.

Last note. To avoid camera shake when not using a tripod, shoot the shutter speed to the focal length of the lens or higher. You can hand hold below that but you risk getting shaky shots. So if you are using your lens at 300mm. The minimum shutter speed should be 1/250th or higher to get a sharp image.

[2ipper]

First off... you have the PERFECT camera to learn the basics of photography with. The lens is nothing to talk about but at this point you need to be concentrating on learning composition and exposure more than making tack sharp images.

You appear to have a decent understanding of composition for someone who is just starting out (photo 11 particularly). As Zewrak said, many of the shots appear to be a bit flat but this could be a postprocessing issue. If the prints you got from the lab look the same, I'd suggest that you are overexposing by a bit. Try to place the match-needle in the meter just a little below the middle to slightly underexpose. If the prints look better then it is probably something you are doing in editing.

All in all though I'd say you are doing very well for only 2 weeks. Keep em coming...

p.s. The "photo on CD" thing is fine... And Kodak film is perfectly acceptable. Some brands and types are better for certain photos but Kodak will normally render a perfectly acceptable image in 99% of situations.

p.p.s. the one composition issue I see is "centering your subject". Look up the "rule of thirds" and try to apply it. Basically says to place the subject to one side or other and up or down in the frame.

thanks for info about the film and and the tip about "centering your subject", something new to work on.

I'll echo what Mike just said. Slightly underexpose the shot to get more colour and contrast from the film. The "rule of Thirds" is very often an important one. A good basic understanding of some of these "rules" is found here:
Photography Guide
and:
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/4-rules-of-composition-for-landscape-photography/

I hope this doesn't overwhelm you but 3 of my favourite sites to visit for info are :
The Luminous Landscape
The Radiant Vista
THEONLINEPHOTOGRAPHER.COM

I'd also strongly recomment Byran Peterson's book, "Underestanding Exposure" 2004. Which you should be able to find in a used book store if your town is large enough. Start with that. It's a huge wealth of knowledge.

Another tip when learning is to review other peoples work. Go to the PF gallery here: User Photo Gallery - Gallery and see what others have done. Pick a subject you like and see how well you can replicate those shots. But remember that these images are what most will consider thier best stuff and it doesn't show the 1000's of discarded images. If you find you are having trouble getting close to what others have done, then post some results again for comments and advice. This is not to say you should always copy others work, but as a learning tool. You'll create your own style very quickly.

One of the most important tips I can pass on is this. When shooting print film and trying to learn, take a notepad and pen with you. Record all the details of the shot (meter readings, ASA/ISO, type of film etc). The info will make a huge difference in learning where the errors and successes are.

Shoot some scenes in a bracketed fashion. For example. You have a landscape, The meter says f8, 1/250th @ISO 100*. Shoot the scene at the meter readings and also at one stop above and one stop below. You will then learn how the meter is reacting to the light and what would work best in the future.

Excellent first series and keep them coming.

*One stop higher (brighter) would be f5.6 and one stop darker would be f11. A full stop scale is the following: 1.4 2.0 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22
Also you can do the same by leaving the f stop alone and adjusting the shutter speed. The scale for one full stop is this: 1/2000 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30 1/15 1/8. So in the example above you would try 1/500th to go darker and 1/125th to go brighter.

Last note. To avoid camera shake when not using a tripod, shoot the shutter speed to the focal length of the lens or higher. You can hand hold below that but you risk getting shaky shots. So if you are using your lens at 300mm. The minimum shutter speed should be 1/250th or higher to get a sharp image.

awesome links man, much appreciated. and also thanks for all the tips. thats a good idea, im gonna start taking notes, that way i can see what worked and what didnt and use that as a reference. thanks again.

[2ipper]

I have to pic three of these for a weekly photoclub, the theme is red. if you had to pick three which ones would you pick.

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Last edited by 2ipper; 07-15-2008 at 10:37 PM.