Day 3 - Toy Story

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Not sure what I'm after here. It's just that the little toys on the top of the cupboard seemed interesting subjects to photograph. Some of these toys are really old - the two old men are from the 1960s. When it worked back then, the chap on the right could even bring a cigar to his mouth and blow puffs of smoke. Maybe one day these two will fetch something at a Sotheby's Auction :)

Some of the other toys are from more recent times. Many of them were acquired as souvenirs from my travels around the world.

I think you can see some from Vietnam, others from Japan and Sweden.

From the perspective of photographic technique, again I have nothing to say. Still using "Auto". Both photos are very "busy" - not much by way of composition or framing. When I learn more about the DSLR, I might revisit these types of shots. In the meantime, anyone out there with constructive comments, do feel free to give advice.
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Day 2 - Snack Attack

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I took the opportunity to get some shots of the Chinese New Year snacks at our home. The trouble with this kind of photography is that the objects of focus tend to disappear the longer the photographing session proceeds.

Looks yummy, doesn't it?

At this point, I wish I could discus the various camera settings and techniques Iemployed to produce these shots. However  (* head bowed *), I had the camera on "Auto" mode all the time and I also did a little bit of photo enhancement using the editing software called PhotoScape.
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Day 1 - Floral Fetish

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Took a little walk in the garden and tried out some shots of the flowers and bushes and plants ...

Well, that's my first attempt. Sharpness is certainly better with the DSLR than my point-and-shoot, but I'm still not convinced that some help from my trusty Photoscape software couldn't fix that difference. I'm also intrigued by this "depth of field" concept, which I think has to do with the ability to take a picture where the main object is clear and the rest of the stuff (in the background) is blurred.

Perhaps more on that later ...
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My First DSLR

I've been using digital point-and-shoot cameras for a number of years. Their small size make them easy to carry around, since I travel quite a bit for my work. My current point-and-shoot is the Canon Powershot SX210 IS which has a resolution of 14.1 megapixels and a 14X zoom. Not bad ....

Well, recently I got a DSLR via a sort of "reverse hand me down" route  :)  This was actually the camera I bought two years ago for my daughter Jemima, an undergraduate in the UK She seemed to have done quite well with it, and last Summer we upgraded her to a more professional model, and as a result, I got her Canon EOS 450D instead.

So here I am with my first real DSLR in hand, and trying to learn how to use it. I'm starting this blog to track my adventures in learning how to make full use of the 450D's capabilities. I will post samples of the images I capture - warts and all - and hopefully trace my progress as I learn more tricks and tips.

Should be fun. Away we go ...
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