My first images with the 100mm Macro

Most of my flower photos are taken in the wild. One puff of breeze at the wrong time and bang goes sharpness! I did see a gadget advertised somewhere which clamped onto your tripod and then had a claw like grip to hold the stem of the flower still. Seemed like cheating to me

Just to reiterate what John said, watch your backgrounds especially when you are indoors and can do something about them.

Lastly, with most flower / macro shots there is a compromise to be had between sharpness of the object and a nice bokeh in the background. But hey... we're shooting digital. I will sometimes take a sequence of photos stopping down one stop at a time so I can pick the best compromise on screen. Not a good technique for bugs though, they are too impatient!

Cheers, Kris.

My Av mode doesn't allow me to change the shutter values. Am I missing something here? Is there some kind of setting I need to do or change in the C menu to do this? I might be missing something here. Help again

Amin

Hefty,

I think my mental bulb just went on , you mean Av mode, choose the aperture and the ISO and let it choose the shutter value for me ha,
that's what it means isn't it?

Because the only other mode in order to choose all three would be on the M mode, right?

Thanks

Amin

Hi Amin, I think you should read the hand book again that came with the camera, also another one to read is the "magic lantern guide" for the Pentax K20d.
These will help, I may be an old goat but I still refer to the "book" No body knows every thing,I don't that's for sure but i try my best.
Photography is not an easy thing to do well many just stick that very expensive camera on auto and snap away, you can do that with a "compact" and far cheaper.
Work at it, dont give up, you will have hair like mine white and learn new words.

The hand book has been constantly next to me on my desk and bedside table . And yes, I constantly refer to it. May be I am just too slow to pick it up , but before I ask a question around here I tend to go to the book first, and sometimes only when I need some more clarification or explanation regarding an issue or subject I throw in a question for help here.

magic lantern book yup, its on order, thanks to some great suggestions and advice from the forum too.

Thanks

Amin

hi Amin, The guide should help, the K20 hand book is not bad compared to other camera make books but still requires more.
There is a DVD guide out now for the K20, I have not seen it, so cant comment.
It is a pity you dont live nearer, I have a faily "open house" with guys from my local camera club come to visit and we pickup ideas from each other.
Not all camera clubs are the same though, all they want to do is do competitions, not for me if I like an image I have done, that for me is fine.If others like it even better but the one to please is you, so keep at it.

Richard,

That's a very kind thought, thank you very much. If I were nearby definitely would love to join you people and acquire some skills in the field.

Regarding books and manuals, I go through them always. I am a firm believer that one should read instructions and manuals times and times again until the controls are well mastered. I refer to the manual of the K20D times and times again and have read it a couple of times inclusive. But being fairly new to the field many terms are still strange for me.

But I am getting there. In a month I have become familiarised with a few terminology and still learning. Well that's the joy of it, keeping on learning.

Yesterday I concentrated on the Sigma flash I had and in my opinion it has one of the worse UI, this I think has been mentioned before by one of the forum members somewhere here but I experienced it first hand, but after tackling it for a while and keeping my K20D book next to me I ended managing to familiarise with the controls of it too. .

But mastering the controls in my view is one thing and putting in in practice and how to apply it while taking the shots is way another matter. That's why I keep bugging you people who have been extremely patient with me. I hope I am not pushing my luck or else I might end up being told off .

Thanks again

Amin

HI Amin.
I am sure no one will "tell you off" Many on this forum will always try to help, we all had to start somewhere and the first steps are the hardest but when you get some thing right you get a satisfied feeling.
The best way to learn is to see other "doing it".
I also find that getting one thing right at a time helps rather than having a go at many things at once, that is confusing. Try and get one of the books at your local library on cameras (functions), you can look first and not waste money

One of the reasons I love taking one of my film cameras out --- like the MX --- is how simple the controls are. The manual is 36 small pages long including a whole page on how to lock the shutter (the the little ring around the shutter button) and a page on how to hold the camera. Don't get me wrong, 99% of the time I use the K10D and I love it but sometimes it is nice to walk somewhere rather than get on my Suzuki 1200 Bandit...

Amin... have you thought about buying a relatively cheap film camera like the MX and a simple 50mm prime? There is a good reason that most photography courses make their students get a simple film camera first. Also, try picking up a copy of "The Asahi Pentax Way" (might cost you a couple of quid). Some really great stuff in there.

Best wishes, Kris.

That's excatly what I meant - in Av mode you choose the aperture and the ISO and the camera will decide the shutter speed. If it selects a really long shutter speed then in this instance it doesn't matter as the camera is being held steady by the tripod.

There's a lot to take in when you first start with photography but you'll find more and more of it becoming second nature before you realise it.

Took a couple of minutes for the bulb to come on but that was good. It was followed by a wide grin the moment the bulb went on.

Same feeling yesterday when I was messing about with the Sigma flash and trying to have it work as slave on wireless, and when I finally succeeded it I knew I could make full use of it.

Talking about making full use of it I wish the road conditions were a bit better so I could pursuade wife to go shopping so I could have the house all for myself again and play around and fiddle with the camera .

A bit risky to let her drive with these icy conditions,

Well "She who must be Obeyed" must come first, it's no good saying I want to do this.
That is something i have learned over the years,not if you want a peaceful life.

That's wisdom talking and the voice of experience

And signs of a good many warm dinners rather than cold sandwiches eaten lonely in front of the telly ha

If I had been a serial killer I would have had a shorter sentence.
I just hope my wife does not read this

Paving the way for a cold dinner tonight Richard, are you? , information comes to them through strange and unexplainable means, so watch out .

Stunning images you have on your profile, some absolutely great shots. I wonder how many grey hairs I will have to have had in order to take some shots to come even close to those ones.

How is the property prices around your side Richard :wink Worth considering moving nearby so I can start dropping by with the bunch of enthusiasts in your local camera club?