from tonight

Oh well - glad my gloom thread has been useful to folk .

Now if the decorator man would hurry up and come , so I can have my lunch I might just be able to get out and attack those holly berries, while the green leaves are still nice and shiny , and jaggy and a lovely contrast for the berries that are hiding there . I need to prove to myself that I can take some semi decent pics.

Not sure it is true on the K20D folks, but it is on the K-5 and K-r so probably on the K-7 and K-x too.
I didn't realise either which was why I initially was annoyed that SR controls are now in the menus not as a switch on the back.

If Tony Blair had been a photographer he might have said "Technique, technique, technique".

It has to learnt and perfected so do not feel downhearted.

You can do this in the comfort and privacy of your own home and it doesn't matter what the subject matter or conditions are; maybe in some room you have a low wattage table lamp, use that as the light source (not in shot) to light the entire room.

I would, and at the risk of seeming pedantic, put the camera on the tripod, set an exposure at f8. The risk is that if you use the shutter button you will almost certainly induce camera movement and I apologise for not mentioning this in my earlier post.

Not knowing your camera I guess in the Fn menu you'll find various drive settings, if its there use the one with '3 secs' or something attached.

A while back I started a thread about something as prosaic as photographing carpet samples, a lot of that technique applies too.

The Victorian pioneers managed all this just fine, they had to take there time given the technology available to them, so my advice is 'take your time'

@ Gywnn, 'date'?, matchmaking?

Couldn't think what else to call it at the time .

A common mistake, not implying that you made it, is that people hook the bag on without it touching the ground. What you end up with is a giant pendulum which will induce more camera shake than it removes.

Using the camera bag is a good idea, but it should be touching the ground so that it cannot move.

(And isn't it time we did the Scottish meet we first mooted a couple of years ago?)

By the heck - that session has taught me a lot . It's also taught me how teaching should be given and assumptions should not be made about students' levels of competence

It's actually taken me till today to have the courage to take some pictures again .

It's more than time we organised a Scottish Meet

Well make some suggestions and give plenty of notice and I'll be there recomendations for B&B also appreciated

Time it right and I'll try and make it too - DFDS to Newcastle and then up north, should be doable. But not midwinter. I can't risk getting stranded by weather.

Thinking of what last winter was like Gwyn - I certainly wouldn't fancy a meeting in ice