As someone who learnt the basics (and I mean
basics)about the relationships between ASA rating, shutter speed, aperture and DOF way back in the 1970s with first a Pentax K2 and then an ME, I have found reading this thread a fascinating experience. Getting a picture sharp was enough to please me. If I managed occasionally to get a good candid portrait, or great composition (of whatever subject) it was usually by luck, and as like or not I may have even been totally oblivious of why such "luck" shots stood out from all my others.
I gave up photography as a hobby in the early 1980s and only came back to (the now digital) photographic world in October 2018 with the purchase of a 2nd hand K50 and the only modern lens the Pentax 18-55mm kit lens that came with the K50. I used that, and my old collection of film era Pentax M lenses, and tried to get back into some level of competence (at least in trying to get a sharp picture!!). In June this year I went bananas budget-wise and bought a brand new KP, along with 3 modern lenses - the PLM version of the 55-300mm zoom, the 16-85mm, and the 100mm F2.8 Macro.
Like the poster, flowers as subjects has become a major part of my photographic interest, and (perhaps not like TT) I blundered my way from one shot to the next, occasionally remembering to check to see what aperture or shutter speed I was using. I have recently tried TAV mode, in an effort to get a suitable shutter speed (for hand-held shots) together with an aperture that might get me whatever depth of field i thought the shot needed, and let the camera set the ISO. Needless to say, inattention led to some shots being taken with ridiculously high ISO (even for the KP) for subjects in moderate to deep shade.
But to now get to the point.
First, comments about uv filters (I think first by Photolady95) jolted me: one of the first things I did with my new purchases was to buy UV filters and put them on each of my 3 highly prized new lenses, and, of course, left them on regardless of the conditions in which I was shooting, or what I was shooting. Now I learn I should take them off!!!
Second: TT, your description of how much effort, and how many attempts, you made to get a satisfying result - first with the flash, then without, then with different shutter speeds ....Well, this also jolted me, causing me to try and recall how many times I put that much effort into any of my own shots. Not very many, I am ashamed to say. I am lazy!!! To the point where the effort of changing to a more appropriate lens, or getting the tripod out - nah, lets just take a couple of shots and move on.!!! (Maybe it's the Aussie in me coming out - "She'll be right, mate!".
MarkJerling: Sir, that photograph you put into this thread - lovely!! Sharp, nice capture of the lighting between well- lit and shaded areas of the flower, nothing in the background to distract, and clever background of deep gold from one side of the photograph to deep black on the other - beautiful. Was that how it was, or was that PP. Whatever, it works!! And then the EXIF tells me it was shot with an ISO as high as 3200!! And TT was concerned about bumping the ISO up to 400! (and as mentioned here earlier in this ramble I confessed to leaving the ISO to the camera when experimenting in TAV, and not even occasionally checking the ISO the camera gave me!)
Clackers: loved the homework assignment - indoors (no wind to cause subject movement while shooting at low shutter speed, as you say), ambient vs direct light. Of course, that jar better be very clean and clear. And yes, as per your subsequent post, I put only the original DNG files of my pics onto my OneDrive account, whether to just share with friends and family, or as a reference comparison to any cropped JPEGS i sometimes put into the PF threads.
TT, and everyone else: I have not even reached the status of Novice with regard to photo editing software. I have Irfanview, Paint.Net, and of course the built-in Windows Photo app, but never done more than crop, or convert to jpeg and resize for posting into PF. (cannot justify the expense of the likes of Lightroom and photoshop or any of the other programs which I have seen mentioned throghout the PF).
Comments on Irfanview, Paint.net??
Of course, with my recently purchased KP came a disk with Silkypics, which I haven't even got around to installing - did I mention my main prob: I am LAZY!!
The artistry and technical skills that some people achieve with any of these programs is just black magic to me: I recall being impressed with what Drinkkeri did in this thread:
How could this be improved - PentaxForums.com
To get to the main point:
TT: for what it is worth, coming from a person with very poorly developed technical skills of his own, and even less endowed with the level of knowledge and expertise of most of the other posters here, my reaction to the subject in question was: nice pic of a nice red rose contrasted with a black background. You know -
nice ? It doesn't
POP, though. For me. I know: a totally non-technical, and unhelpful comment. Why (it doesn't
POP), I will leave to all the other contributors here to try to explain or guess. I am very able to say when some pics I come across in this remarkable forum POP for me: not remotely qualified to say why, or how the POP could have been achieved.
On the other hand, I chased up a very small number of the many other photos you have posted in this forum, and WOW! In just the small number I looked at, I loved. eg "
Nice, Bright and..", and "
Nice...".
Looking back, and before actually submitting this post, I realise I have totally hijacked this thread, and wondered if I should just abort it. But after giving it so much time, I had to press the "Submit Reply" button - so hope you all forgive me!!
But I have been alternately surprised, jolted, but mostly inspired to put more concentration and effort into my own photo-shooting by reading this thread - so thank you all. And long live Pentax Forums!!