Firstly I wanted to be able to capture better images of my modelling projects. It is simply impossible to produce images of adequate quality using the camera on my tablet or phone. I don't like the like the quality, and you, reader, wouldn't be able to see anything of value. This, initially, was the only reason.
A second reason occurred to me later. The challenge. Presented to me was a whole school of thought almost entirely alien to me. I found myself in an unlit room with no idea where the light switch was. Fantastic. An opportunity to learn something brand new. Where to start?
I had purchased a Fujifilm model X-T10 with a 16-50mm lens. I read through the manual. Short of telling me what the dials did and how to access all the settings, it didn't explain a whole lot. Time to go back to fundamentals. ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed.
How could I brush away all the modern extras and paraphernalia, and work out the basics? Simple. Look back to the past, go back to analogue. So I rummaged through the cupboards to find my Father's old Canon A-1. Well used and worn, I like to think it was happy to once again see the light of day.
I found a website dedicated to the Canon A-1 and started reading. I learnt the following:
Aperture (also known as f/stop) is the size of the opening in the lens, which determines the amount of light which will fall on the film (or nowadays, the sensor). The aperture determines how much of an image will be in focus, the focal length. The lower the f/stop, the wider the aperture; less of the image will be in focus. Higher f/stops prouce an increased focal length, but require higher exposure times - the shutter speed needs to be longer.
Shutter Speed is the amount of time the film (sensor) is exposed to light. This affects the brightness of the image, too short a shutter speed the image will be too dark (under exposed), too long and it'll be too bright (over exposed). Modern digital cameras provide a preview image to aid in getting this setting right.
ISO (International Organisation of Standards) is the scale determining how sensitive a film (or sensor) is to light. I found this easiest to understand in chemical terms: the size of the silver halide grains in the film affect it's sensitivity to light. Larger grains require less light to translate into an image, smaller grains require more light. Thus large grain (fast) film works better in low level light (at night for example), but produces grainier images. Digital cameras use a similar concept, based on the properties of the sensor and processing carried out by the camera.
The following websites also helped to cement the concepts for me:
With these fundamentals understood, I was able to transfer back to the X-T10 and start shooting on manual mode. Salute 2016 was my first outing using the camera, the outcome of which can be seen in my Salute 2016 post. I was reasonably happy with the results, especially considering I'd only had the camera and learnt this stuff two days prior.
A couple of weeks later my Father was having a clear out of his wardrobe and found a couple of lenses that used to fit his old Canon - a 50mm lens and a 70-210mm lens. I thought it a great shame to not get some use out of them, so looked to see if an adaptor existed to convert them to fit my camera. To my surprise such a thing did indeed exist. A small investment (£20) in an adapter ring opened up two new lenses.
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| Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm lens |
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| Canon 50mm lens |
With three lenses at my disposal, I decided to go in the garden and around the house and take some quick shots:
So what next?
I recently discovered the 'Photoclass 2016' subreddit, wherein a series of weekly photography assignments can be found, ostensibly aimed at beginners. Just my cup of tea. I intend to start at assignment one and work my way through.
Assignment one involves walking for 10 minutes, stopping, then taking 10 photos within 10 paces of the stopping position. I'll have a go at this one weekend and see what I can come up with!
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