Photography

Exploring the Moss

This post is an attempt to draw a picture, through words, of my perspective on photography and specifically  it's meant to give a friend, who recently asked me for some advice on getting into photography. I am no expert, in fact my cameras are way below par (as of the date I post this). But I have a serious passion for capturing what I see, vision is a wonderful gift and sharing that gift with others can be a lot of fun.

Subject?
Some things to consider before getting into photography, these aren't tests to pass, just something to think about, look through Flickr.com or 500px.com sometime and see what kind of images you like the look of, what is something you could see yourself capturing?
anything, everything?
people? landscapes? architecture? interior? nature? what aspects of the photograph interest you the most? contrast, color, shape, texture, etc

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_elements_and_principles 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography 

What do I like?
light and texture interest me
I care less about color than about composition... color is usually emotive I think right, sometimes its important for information other than emotion
I  like Architecture, Landscapes, Macro (close ups), Cityscapes, Nature... Almost anything really, if I see value in a shot I will try for it. I also like abstract images.

These photos all done with my Nikon E8800 well mostly...
...a friend let me use his Nikon P6000

So for me the focus, until now, has been the composition, everything in the frame, and then, in the hierarchy of elements, is light, then color, then detail, and lastly focus.

DSLR or Digital?
A camera is a tool like any other, it's used in creating something. But a camera is a extremely powerful tool right, more than a hammer for example. Capturing time, emotion, light, shadow, etc. Isn't a light subject. If you are serious about sharing your vision of the world/reality with people and want to spend the time to learn the art form of Photography, then invest in a DSLR. What kind? It's doesn't really matter. Depending on how comfortable you are with the process, start cheap, you can always get more serious later.
A DSLR really gives control over everything.
I learned about photography via digital cameras, which gives less control over everything, but its more convinient and practical for using in any situation.
I've heard people say that a DSLR is kinda intimidating and bold, when you are walking around holding that, people know what you are doing. if you have a digital camera its not so obvious.

Many of the newer digital cameras are rediculously powerful
zoom, metering, focus, etc., its pretty amazing.

In a nutshell
A DSLR is the kind of tool you can calibrate, tune, customize, and spend a LOT of time learning how to use. A digital camera is meant to be easy to use, practical in any situation without all the complicated and time consuming options. There are some digital cameras that provide some serious power and those will cost a pretty penny but they are pretty cool for what they are.

What I am going for in my own photographic journey?
I only do Nikon.

bjp-online.com

The Nikon D7000 is amazing. It's basically a temporary replacement for an earlier camera called the D90. It has a lot of the same features you will find in professional levels cameras like the D300