It's the running joke in the house that I started to keep tropical fish and now guinea pigs simply because I ran out of things to photograph
Oh how I can relate to THAT! I go out and take pictures of what's in the grass, for example; this property I bought is a
4-leaf clover farm, it seems, and I take
photos of the really good ones. I'll include one at the end of this post.
There's lots of good articles online that will help you improve composition skills and how different camera modes work to get the best out of whatever camera you have.
You are absolutely right! Having been a newspaper photographer here at the local Army post and one of the community newspapers, those articles helped immensely in getting my shots on the covers. I used an older model of my own camera (the Olympus SP500UZ as I mentioned) and one of the digital SLRs, I don't remember which model. The problem right now, though, is point-and-shoot ease of use so that I don't miss the guinea pig faces (and butts running away!) The one I have now has lots of settings that are great for still photos, and I have sold jewelry on eBay using that macro function to get closeups of the diamonds and whatnot, but for fast guineapig motion at closeup range, it is difficult to ever get a good shot, so I need a little handheld something or another to keep beside the guineapig cage. You are right about spending the money, too. That's why I'm asking, so I don't spend a lot when a little will do. If I can get a free used one, so much the better, but I have to know what to ask for. People often can't sell them when all the new ones come out, so they will give them away.
This was from my Iphone 3G
Oh, that was so precious and EXACTLY the thing I am talking about!
Though I switched from Canon to Nikon for DSLR as it's got excellent performance in low light (I loathe using flash. . . Canon seems to regularly beat Nikon in consumer tests - particularly the Ixus and Powershot lines. . . The best way to pick a new camera is to go and see one in the store.
That also is important to me. I try not to use flash if I don't have to, and the Olympus I have is marvelous in that respect. Last week AFTER DARK I took some photos for a friend of his new motor home for insurance purposes, and without the flash and under the street light they came out better than in a sunlight venue! Not using a flash also decreases demonic red guineapig eyes. . . . I went to the store to try out the cameras I might want, and the displays of the models I was interested in did not work, so here I am.
Many of the photos I post are from my iPhone too though..
It appears as though maybe upgrading my phone is the way to go; my cell 'phone is ancient, comparatively speaking, the Nokia base model from 2009. It works for what I need, and I bought several for about 5 dollars apiece, so when I leave one out in the rain or drop it into the dishwater I can just transfer the SIM card.
And thanks thanks thanks ever so much for the photo examples; they show me exactly what I want to see and do!
Here's that photo of the four-leaf clover I promised; it's one of the reasons I got my camera, for the closeup ability WITHOUT flash.
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