Lightroom - Being My Own Teacher

I do a lot of on-line researching for my daytime job, so perhaps what I'm about to say won't resonate with everyone.

As you know I recently purchased Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 to help me improve my post-photography images.  Nowadays when you buy software you are very likely not going to get much more than a CD/DVD and the packaging that disc came in.  Perhaps a piece of paper encouraging you to register, but rarely will you get any kind of user manual.  This means you have to find your way around the software on your own.  This is where my on-line researching skills come into play.

Now I love manuals.  I'm the kind of person who reads the user manual on everything I buy if it's provided.  So, if it doesn't come with it?  I start using Google to search for on-line content to read and view.

This is what I did with Lightroom.  One simple source I found was probably the most obvious:  AdobeTV.  This is where I found Learn Lightroom 4.  Simple videos that are generally less than six minutes in length - perfect for watching, learning, and applying in short bursts.

Today I learned the basics to touching up photos in Lightroom.

BEFORE

AFTER

The great thing with Lightroom is it is non-destructive to your digital images.  It uses a metadata system to record everything you do to the photo and stores that information separately.  The original image allows remains as is.

Olympus PEN E-PM1 - Learning the Ropes

I've been playing around with my new camera, the Olympus PEN E-PM1, since I got it on Sunday.  By playing with it I'm getting to know where everything is, on the body and within the menu structure.  The camera looks deceptively simple, but there's a lot going on under it's hood.

Now I'll be able to get some good close ups of roasted chick peas ...

... playing with Walter's Lego ...

... and recording the growing flora around our new home.

I've got a lot to learn.  I've forgotten a lot of things that I used to know when I had a film camera, and there are a lot of things that didn't exist before digital cameras came along which makes them all new to me.

Camera Hunting - The Winner Is ...

The Olympus PEN E-PM1.

I kept on swaying back and forth between DSLR and Mirrorless.  I think both have their place, and in the end I chose the mirrorless for my needs.  I really love the idea of the DSLR, but I knew that I wouldn't take it everywhere with me; that the camera would get in the way of taking photos.  For me, the photo is the important part.  The Mirrorless camera is smaller, lighter, and more forgiving.  It allows me to stretch and push to get better photos without getting frustrated.  I can get more lenses as I need to, but the kit lens will work for now.  And, the best part?  It was on sale for a great deal at London Drugs - $249.99.  So, even if I decide to eventually get a DSLR, I won't feel like I spent wrong now.  True, it's not the newest, greatest, but it's a solid camera that will do me well.

To show you the difference in how the three cameras I have create pictures I used my handy Slik tripod to setup a position that would be the same for each camera.  I then took each camera, used their Auto setting, and snapped the same photo.

The Canon PowerShot S3IS is the camera that I have used for most of the photos on this blog.  I've always found it makes wonderful outside pictures, but I've struggled to get interior photos that I've been totally happy with (especially night photos).  We got this camera in 2006 and it was fairly expensive at the time.  It offers a 12x optical zoom lens with image stabilizer, 6.0 MP sensor, a viewfinder, and a 2" flip/twist LCD with 115K pixels.  It does 30fps VGA movies with stereo sound.  ISO to 800.  Here's the photo I got with it:

The PowerShot S3IS wanted me to raise the flash, but let me take the photo without.  A little washed out, but acceptable.

Next up, the Canon PowerShot A1000IS - the camera I got when Walter was a baby and I realized I needed something simpler to use, that I could grab and put in my bag.  It offers 4x optical zoom, 10 MP sensor, a viewfinder, and a 2.5" fixed LCD with 115K pixels.  No movie taking possible.  ISO 80 - 1600.  Here's the photo I got with it:

The PowerShot A1000IS wanted the flash too, and could have definitely used it.  It struggled between the dining light and the darker shadows.  Not a very useable photo.

Finally, my new baby - the Olympus PEN E-PM1.  This camera has interchangeable lenses - the kit lens I have is the M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 (crop factor is 2.0 so this lens would equate to a 28-84mm on a DSLR); there's 12MP for the sensor, no viewfinder (quite common for mirrorless cameras), and a fixed 3" LCD with 460K pixels.  Image stabilization (IS) is built into the body.  Some, like the Sony NEX cameras, have IS built into the lens.  Movie making can occur at 1080i60.  There's a lot more, but I'll leave it at that for now.  Here's the photo I got with it:

No problems with the Olympus.  Nice, rich colours.  Love that it was able to capture more of the room.

I love this camera.  It's just so much fun to use.  I want to have it with me all the time.  It's so easy.  So light and comfortable in my hands.  I'm very happy with my choice.

Learning More - Improving Photographs in Lightroom

I'm still hunting for a new camera.  Just when I think I've picked the one I do just a little bit more research and hesitate.

In the meantime, I got myself a simple tripod from Staples - the Slik Compact II for Digital.  It's a wonderful little tripod and I'm quite happy with it.  It comes with a little carry pouch which makes it great for taking along when you're out and about.  At $29.86 it didn't hurt either.



The other thing I bought was Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.  I already have Adobe Photoshop Elements 10.  It's been a great program for doing basic edits on my photos, but I wanted to do a bit more and everything I read pointed me to Lightroom.  Since I work in the education field I was able to buy it for $79.98.  What does Lightroom give me?  Well, I'm still learning, but here's one thing I've just done in a few minutes.

I went from this:

 

To this:

I'm still learning how to do things, but I'm hoping it will give me some flexibility in improving the images I create ... whatever the camera.

Passing on the Love of Photography to Our Children

We took a day vacation this past Friday and went to the Sunshine Coast to stay with my Mom for a few days.  It was a nice, relaxing visit.  On the way back home today we stopped in at Costco to pick up some grass seed, fertilizer ... and I wanted to have a look at their cameras.  Manuel and Walter went off to look at the garden section.  Walter knew I was looking at cameras and he told Dad he wanted a camera.

After we got home and put everything away I remembered that I needed to take some photos of a bike I have.  I haven't been using it very much and a colleague and friend at work has a Nintendo DS system that she's willing to trade ... but she wants to see the bike before committing.  This would be a trade for Walter since his Leapster has about had it and the DS was something I was considering as a replacement.  Trading means we don't have to spend money on something I'm not sure will work out - the Leapster has been the perfect fit so far, but Walter is getting close to outgrowing it.  We've been considering a Leapster 2, a Nintendo DS, or an iPod Touch.  They all have their pros and cons.

Since Manuel had mentioned Walter wanting a camera I asked Walter if he'd like to take some photos while I took photos of the bike.  He was game, so I gave him the Canon PowerShot A1000IS while I took the bigger PowerShot S3IS.  I spent a few minutes explaining how to turn it on and off, how to zoom in and out, and taking the shot.

I think we have a photographer in the making.  Check this out:

That's a hard shot to take and he made a really cool photograph out of it.

My budding photographer!