Special thanks to Ken Rockwell, for recommending me my first Nikon ;-)

 " Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. "

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

If this saying ever be true, then my first 9470 (as of the moment am writing this blog post) photographs have been shot with my Nikon D3000. Initially being an avid reader of "Ken Rockwell's blog", I didn't like his review of (then newly introduced) Nikon D3000 DSLR, simply because it was the only model in my budget and I somewhat had developed a soft corner for this particular camera. For me any camera with manual control would have been a blessing, as it was almost for a decade that I had been learning (from books, magazines, etc) about photography, but could never really manage to get my hands on a SLR. My burning desire to buy an SLR and to prove to Ken that I can shoot good pictures with just any SLR camera (kinda just like him:p). Finally I got myself the lovely (just liked the print ads so much!) Nikon D3000. At the time of purchase, the cost of the camera was more than my one months salaray. I promised myself until I make some money out of this cam (not that I needed any, but going pro means one has a command over the equipment/skill) am not gonna think of any more investments. Well I would say I kept my word and never wasted a single thought (or penny) on DSLRs/Lenses/accessories after that. On a hindsight, that was the only reason, for which I learned the most of, what ever I know today. Only thing I failed (rather haven't tried my hand) at was making money out of this hobby. May be that has it's own time. Anyway after few wonderful years of learning the basics, I think now I have a sense of the type of photography I love doing. Having said that time has also come for me to part with my beloved Nikon (I mean this very model:p). I am closing in on getting my next rig ready by mid march. Only last week with the help of two friends I had created a listing on eBay and today (after 7 days of bidding and watching) the bid is won by a London based buyer. Just spoke with him to answer his queries on my camera and sort out the payment related formalities, which will be taking place in the coming few days. Well thats all I have to share in this post. Attaching a screenshot of the eBay listing here. Got an awesome resale value for this camera and I wish 'Ken Rockwell' gets to read this post:D No personal grudge, rather am still a regular reader of his posts and really admire his skills and the ideas he shares on photography. So this marks the first phase of this transition (or may be once Vladimir-the-new-owner receives the item).

 

[ Photograph Courtesy: Tobin Sam , Equipment: Nikon D5100 with 35mm 1.8G DX ]

Oh, so what will be my next cam??!

 

Well...just have little patience and I promise you'll see it here soon;)

 

Till then YOU keep shooting,

Sid

What I Learned: When you don't feel like doing it, just do it!

Hi:),
This is one of the rarest time of the day, when I am making a post.Not that it's an odd hour to do so, but it's kinda unusual for me to sit quite(read being patient, while being at home:p) and write. But as you can see am doing that. Last night I came late from work, with the plans of continuing with it at the earliest possible. Well....came to room, switched on the notebook, was on fb for a while...Until 10:30 didn't realized the delivery guy has forgotten to deliver my dinner. Called up, but was not in a mood to have that, so cancelled it. I know it's nothing to talk about, but thats how it went:p(You can skip this, if your life runs in a similar way!). Got a stuffed chicken roll parceled and a bar of chocolate:) That was my dinner. Then surfed the net till 5:30 in the morning. Yep you read it right, didn't realize it was so late. Finally went to bed with a book. Before I could go beyond the first page, I was down. So what you read so far is the reason why this post is made at this hour of the day:) (not justifying or anything, it's.just.so.!)

So there's a fest in my college(http://www.dayanandasagar.edu/) and am invited by reen, who's managing the event along with other team members. Seeing the guest list( Vishal n Shekhar, Pooja Gandhi n many more. John turned down the offer in the last minute. Gawwsh!!!), it's hard to miss, but my work commitment is on high priority at the moment. I don't think I'll be going today evening. Well there's a power cut(now a days very frequent in Bangalore) and can't think of anything interesting to do at the moment. So picked up my cam and thought of capturing something in the house. These are few pics I took.....

1/50 F4.2 ISO100 26mm

1/8 F5.6 ISO200 34mm

1/2 F3.5 ISO180 18mm

1/2 F3.8 IS100 20mm

1/50 F3.5 ISO125 18mm

1/15 F3.8 ISO100 20mm

Macro 1/60 F5.6 ISO200 40mm

(^this one I had taken earlier, saw it while archiving, so posted)

1/50 F4.2 ISO100 26mm

Well whats special(and common) about these photographs is....all are taken in complete manual mode. This is what I learned today. Yupppeeee:) If I wouldn't have picked up my cam today, I wouldn't have experimented with manual override, wouldn't have known how much creative freedom it provides:)! Glad I did, what I did !!! Definitely I'll be using this new found skill more and more to take good pictures. For your reference I am providing the EXIF(SS,AP,ISO,FL) details.

Cheers!!!!!!
Sid

Falling in Love with the Beautiful Species

D3000 Mini Review - The Purchase

Hi Readers/Photographers/Friends,
I was just going through CNet product video-review of Canon S90, before recommending to a friend, when I felt like checking D3000 review video(which I had seen many times earlier before
purchasing the cam). It is quite mediocre in terms of reviewer interest(may be thats what they call as professionalism i.e. doing things to the point that you loose interest and people look at you with high respect. Good if that's what you wanted:p). I thought of posting a short reader review in order to guide potential buyers like me, who could get an idea of the post purchase experience. Well I did post a review. As am going to write the review anyways, why not share it with my beloved reader here as well.....

1. Rate this product:

2. One-line summary:
Commendable Beginner's Nikon (Sturdy enough for my adventure trips)

3. Pros:

• Build quality(Sturdy and feels perfect in hand)
• 11 point AF system (cool to track moving objects)
• Ownership Feel/Brand Reputation(No worries for compatibility with 3rd party accessory/lenses)
• Nikkor 18-55 Kit lens (picture quality is good)
• VR (though it's built into the kit lens) allows shooting low light scenes without a tripod(as am new and don't carry a tripod most of the time:P)

4. Cons:

• Lack of dedicated buttons to alter settings on the fly(i.e. without getting into menu! psst..it's usually found in high-end DSLRs)
• No exposure bracketing(haven't used it yet)
• Nikkor lenses/accessories are expensive(compared to Canon)
• Live view (personally I never felt the need)
• Camera's picture saving time is slow(when 'Active D-lighting' is ON, so in order to have a faster response switch this feature off, when not required!)

Bottom-line summary:

Hi,
Am Sidharth, 25yrs old, a software engineer by profession. I love taking photographs and have mostly used point and shoot. I decided to go for my first SLR in december 2009 and after a lot of research/hands on, I zeroed in, on the D3000. I had 2 options(out of the recommended brands):
a) Canon 1000D(a yr old model but feature rich)
b) Nikon D3000, latest offering, but with less frills
My requirements which lead me to Nikon's this model are as follows:
1. I do long motorcycle rides(http://iluvriding.blogspot.com), and these are the times I would be capturing the places, experiences,etc.. so my cam needs to be reliable and sturdy, so that I can carry it without much fuss/extra attention
2. I wanted to carry it all the time, so the one I feel most comfortable(out of the 2), would be my choice, and it was D3000, the weight, size and sturdiness got me hooked.
3. During my early stint with photography , I have read many books and knew enough concepts/theory that most professionals should be aware of, so all I needed was a reliable(dependable) device with manual mode. Frills(live view, video,etc) doesn't impress me much anyways, at least not at the cost of build quality.
4. I liked the brand Nikon, since I was a kid
5. I had read in a site the advantage of having a Nikon(or Canon) is on special situations an accessory can be rented(i.e no compatibility issues), in any corner of the world

The End

Hope you found it useful, and my experience will support you in making a decision for your first DSLR. Last but not the least, O'ways (read it with li'l British accent) remember:

"It's never the paint brush, but the artist who creates a masterpiece!"
- Sid:)

Set #2 Shuffled Postcards...

Hi there,
In this post am sharing few pictures which are part of my learning in the last three weeks. I explored few interesting subjects and was amazed at the beauty of things, which we don't usually see with our very own eyes. This time I stepped into the territory of S(Shutter Priority) and A(Aperture Priority) modes and enjoyed the ride. While taking few pictures, I realized that it's very difficult to hold the cam steady, especially in night shots and when you keep the shutter open for almost a second or so. This set of pictures mostly include my attempts at understanding lighting, composition, Macro photography and Night shots. As the title for this post says, pictures are in no particular order. I was out at a friend's place for quite late(as it's 4am, monday already:p) and quickly uploading the pics before I forget. Got a lot of work to finish at office as well, so may be next weekend I will take out some time to explore my creative side. Till then have a pleasant stay and enjoy the photographs. Do share how you find them and of course tips are highly appreciated:)



































NOTE: None of the above pics have undergone any post processing, as I have decided to stay away from it, till am happy with the raw creations. I'll provide the cam settings for the above displayed pics soon, so keep visiting..