RTFLC!
Welcome to the first post on the road through amateur photography, and beyond!
The aim of this blog is to help guide the amateur photographer who is just starting out, exactly like I am right now. I will explore photography techniques, go through camera settings and try some things that probably won't work - but this is how we all learn.
All being well, you can learn along side me and by the end of it we'll all have some amazing photos to our name. We'll also hopefully know about more than we did before and take great enjoyment from snapping everything we see, putting things in to focus (sorry... I can't promise that's the last bad camera pun!).
RTFLC?
Coming from an IT background this will make more sense to IT support guys than anything else, but it's a variation on a common acronym - RTFM - which is short for Read The F***ing Manual. In this case, Remove The F***ing Lens Cap - a fitting place to start I think.
I'm not an accomplished photographer, and I've only recently purchased my first DSLR camera, so I'm not going to do the obligatory 'equipment list'. That said, I feel it's worth noting that I use a Nikon camera (A D3200 to be precise) so some of you following along with a Canon camera may have settings I do not and vice-versa.
Who is this guy?
A great question. I am an IT Account Manager (read salesman) who has had a personal interest in photography for quite some time, but only recently taken the plunge and invested in some decent toys.
I love my family, I love to travel and I love my car - in that order. I enjoy taking a decent camera with me just in case you see something that would make that stand-out photo. Beyond that I don't really have a clue what I'm doing!
Why is he here?
Another great question. Put simply, I want to document my trials, tribulations and experiences with my cameras as I discover what works (and invariably what doesn't) and figured that it might be a journey others are going along too. As such it's the kind of thing that might be enlightening to others, as well as giving all you budding photographers out there a chance to comment and discuss techniques - and of course which of the photos included on the site you like, and those you don't!
All I ask is that if you don't like my photos, please tell me why! This is because learning, for me at least, is all about getting things right and wrong (like the photo to the left!).
This one to the left, by the way, is one of those 'left the camera on Manual mode by mistake' moments - please tell me I'm not the only one?!
What's to come?
The final question that I'll pretend you asked. The future will bring a few posts of things that I've played with up to now (having had the DSLR since September and having been lucky enough to see the delights of Peru and Florida in that time). The idea will be to bring you up to speed with where my photography is now, and discuss some of the directions I want to take it in further down the line. Please feel free to comment on what's below and have a quick look through the Gallery which has a brief selection of the photos which I'll be explaining in detail later!
Final Point
To finish I just want to say that, unless explicitly stated all the photographs used on this website are mine, taken by my own fair hand - the one of me above excluded obviously, it was taken by my father. As such all copyrights remain mine and these images are not to be published anywhere without my express permissions. If you do like a picture and want to use it in a publication, on your website, or even as a social media avatar then please email me at dan.shipmantoon@gmail.com and I'll respond as soon as I'm able!