Hi from Surrey

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herdwicksheep

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Name
Jill
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Hi All, just realised I ought to introduce myself. I found the site a few days ago and was struck by how friendly it seemed.
I started getting hooked on photography a few years ago when I realised that my basic phone actually took much better photos than I'd have expected. I just used it one evening on a stopover when I found my compact camera (which I never used that much) was at the bottom of the suitcase. Nearly didn't bother trying shots of an illuminated cathedral but I was really impressed. So I used that for quite a few years and then got to the point where I thought I'd like a "proper" camera. I'm never going to be someone who sits all day waiting for the perfect light, but I'd like to be able to take better shots of places I go and things I see, so my photography is basically outdoors and I never wanted to be put off taking a camera out because of the weight. Bearing this in mind, I bought a Canon EOS M100, which I love - it's a small and light mirrorless and I love it. As well as the kit lens I also now have a couple of telephotos and a macro.

I'm not as good as like to be though and feel that for the length of time I've been trying to learn (about 4 years now) I should be producing better images. I keep trying to improve though, have done a few course/workshop days and joined a camera club. The club is great socially - the people are lovely - but I'm bugged by the competitions (partly I suppose because I don't do well, but some of the judges seem very narrow-minded about everyone's images). But I suspect the main thing to help me is lots of practice, which I plan to carry on with.

Hope I can contribute a bit to some of the forums here.
 
Welcome - I suggest sharing some of your images and asking for "gentle critique" in order to get advice on here about things you can do to improve them. But also join in one or more of our challenges - 52, DPOTY, Nifty-Fifty (if you have an appropriate lens) - as a way of getting a target idea to shoot photos of. We always love to see newcomers joining in.
 
Welcome from South West Wales.

herdwicksheep said:
I'm never going to be someone who sits all day waiting for the perfect light
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Never say never :)

I'm not as good as like to be though and feel that for the length of time I've been trying to learn (about 4 years now) I should be producing better images.
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I've been photographering for 15 odd years now and I still think I'm rubbish most of the time.
 
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lindsay said:
Welcome - I suggest sharing some of your images and asking for "gentle critique" in order to get advice on here about things you can do to improve them. But also join in one or more of our challenges - 52, DPOTY, Nifty-Fifty (if you have an appropriate lens) - as a way of getting a target idea to shoot photos of. We always love to see newcomers joining in.
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Thanks, I'll do that. Will have a look at the subjects and see if I can some up with anything.
 
herdwicksheep said:
I'm bugged by the competitions (partly I suppose because I don't do well, but some of the judges seem very narrow-minded about everyone's images).
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Welcome to the forum - I do think it is a friendly place, and a good place to learn, as there are people with skills in almost any area of photography who are happy to share their time.

Camera club judges... yes, well a decidedly mixed bag. I used to crash and burn on many occasions, but always took a lot of comfort from the supportive comments of other members - surely if three or four people have gone out of their way to find you in the break and say they like your picture, that must be more important than one person dismissing it as "too dark in the bottom left corner - three points".
 
Hi, And welcome aboard TP, looking forward to hearing from you and maybe seeing some of your images on the various forums. "Enjoy"
 
Boots said:
Welcome to the forum - I do think it is a friendly place, and a good place to learn, as there are people with skills in almost any area of photography who are happy to share their time.

Camera club judges... yes, well a decidedly mixed bag. I used to crash and burn on many occasions, but always took a lot of comfort from the supportive comments of other members - surely if three or four people have gone out of their way to find you in the break and say they like your picture, that must be more important than one person dismissing it as "too dark in the bottom left corner - three points".
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Yes, that's true, thanks.
 
Welcome to the forum, enjoy your self here ;)
 
Welcome from another Surrey based photographer. even though my club is well within the M25 it is part of the Surrey Photographic Association, and some of the judges are hit and miss. Mind you we have had judges from other associations and they've left with a message from us saying Please don't come back!

Don't be put off by the inconsistency. Competition after competition you see a photograph that's received excellent critique getting an 8, whereas another one gets a few comments and is held back, followed by one that is slaughtered and gets a 7.5. Gets interesting if those who get an 8 are on tea making duty on the night.

Looking forward to seeing your photos on here.
 
welshwizard645 said:
Welcome from another Surrey based photographer. even though my club is well within the M25 it is part of the Surrey Photographic Association, and some of the judges are hit and miss. Mind you we have had judges from other associations and they've left with a message from us saying Please don't come back!

Don't be put off by the inconsistency. Competition after competition you see a photograph that's received excellent critique getting an 8, whereas another one gets a few comments and is held back, followed by one that is slaughtered and gets a 7.5. Gets interesting if those who get an 8 are on tea making duty on the night.

Looking forward to seeing your photos on here.
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Thanks Peter. It was a poor example and not typical, but it was sort of the final straw that got me thinking "Do all camera clubs have competitions?" You're right, there does seem to be a lot of unpredictability with judges, but I suppose everyone's different. I'll plug away, but hopefully join in here, broaden things a bit and not be quite so focussed on all my feedback coming from the club competitions.
 
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