D500

Just looked at your profile don't can't see what you images are like mate and what gear you have..

Yes I know what you say mate and I got to settle like i did the canon days I had canon for 5 years. But I am liking nikon very much and going to start growing the kit and learn again.. Ive the Lee filters set up too lol so I do have some good kit just need to get on with it.

Love to be able to meet up with some pro to get my faith back into all this

Rookies, you need to STOP the gear obsession, someone gives you advice on getting out and using your camera more, and the first thing you do is want to know their gear,!!!! as all of our enthusiastic amateur level, the gear does not matter, you can take good pictures with any camera on the market today, but its taking a good picture that takes time, practice, more time and more practice.

I would go out on your own first a for a few times, play the with camera, play with settings, get used to it, take some pictures.

Meeting up with people in your current frame of mind will just give you gear envy, and its not the gear that takes the picture its the person pressing the shutter.

You have some great kit, please just get out there and use it, bad weather shouldn't matter, you don't need an amazingly sunny day for great shots, overcast/misty/foggy days can be just as good.
 
to be blunt,and i am trying to help here not be rude.
just stop changing your camera, go out and use it. all of the cameras you have owned are great and highly capable. the cameras could all take good pictures you just need to work on how to use it. your pictures will get way better by not changing kit.

So true, he has an excellent camera and lens combo.

and so were all of rookies other combos, as i say its not about being rude. but (just like me, and a lot of others) its the photographer that's the weak link not the camera. practice practice and yet more practice. saying if only i had this camera or lens it could do bla bla is not the answer. enjoying what you have and improving is way better.
then again nothing wrong with a hobby of buying camera kit/gas, buts its nothing to do with photography!

I've told him this on numerous occasions. He's had pretty much the best of the best (5D3, A7-II, D750, D500 and others) all with top top lenses and still never been happy :confused:

Just looked at your profile don't can't see what you images are like mate and what gear you have.

Yes I know what you say mate and I got to settle like i did the canon days I had canon for 5 years. But I am liking nikon very much and going to start growing the kit and learn again.. Ive the Lee filters set up too lol so I do have some good kit just need to get on with it.

Love to be able to meet up with some pro to get my faith back into all this
Lee filters? Not at all jealous ;) But Andy as I've been telling you, and now others you've had some of the best gear and you keep swapping. IMO you're looking at it all, rather than obsessing over gear learn about technique, how light affects images (including sharpness) etc etc.If you put as much time into learning photography as you do obsessing over gear you'd be the best tog on here ;) Joking aside, you can improve your photography no end by learning technique and light. Focussing your energy on this would be much better use of your time (y) Oh, and you don't need to go out with a pro, there's plenty of info online. That being said some folk do find it useful. But stop looking at your gear or other people to magically make your pictures better, you need to look at what you're doing (y)

You don't need to meet a pro. Just get out and shoot - you live in a beautiful part of the world so go and take photos.

Use filters, find what you like and what you don't and make small changes next time. Use presets in LR ( if that's what you want ), have a play with editing.

I'd be out all the time if I lived where you do - hell, I've even detoured through there ( by going 50+ miles out of my way ) just because I was "nearby" on my way back from meetings
Likewise, I'd be out all the time.
 
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DSC_1630 by Frontline Fighters.com, on Flickr
first time ever I went to a night shoot as its something I never have thought about doing before.few things stuck in my mind,D500 seems battery hungry although of course its working quite hard and it was cold.i need a better tripod!....my usual hobby I don't need one but mine last night was a concern especially after watching some guys gear fall over with the camera attached!.
take a spare shutter release as they are cheap but essential.
overall very good experience for a very good cause (Jon Egging Trust)
 
DSC_1630 by Frontline Fighters.com, on Flickr
first time ever I went to a night shoot as its something I never have thought about doing before.few things stuck in my mind,D500 seems battery hungry although of course its working quite hard and it was cold.i need a better tripod!....my usual hobby I don't need one but mine last night was a concern especially after watching some guys gear fall over with the camera attached!.
take a spare shutter release as they are cheap but essential.
overall very good experience for a very good cause (Jon Egging Trust)

Nice shot, how did you light it?
 
I didn't Tim,they organisers did the lighting on the different jets.

What part of the country are these taken and is it a regular meet and where do they fly from for the loop?? Some stunning photos on your Flickr.
 
The thing is folks I learn more and better if people show me that how I am..

If you know me or meet me you more likely know why :)
 
Rookies, you need to STOP the gear obsession, someone gives you advice on getting out and using your camera more, and the first thing you do is want to know their gear,!!!! as all of our enthusiastic amateur level, the gear does not matter, you can take good pictures with any camera on the market today, but its taking a good picture that takes time, practice, more time and more practice.

I would go out on your own first a for a few times, play the with camera, play with settings, get used to it, take some pictures.

Meeting up with people in your current frame of mind will just give you gear envy, and its not the gear that takes the picture its the person pressing the shutter.

You have some great kit, please just get out there and use it, bad weather shouldn't matter, you don't need an amazingly sunny day for great shots, overcast/misty/foggy days can be just as good.

Just like what I have done today as you can see i posted 4 images
 
If you know me or meet me you more likely know why :)

I understand why but please believe everyone that has posted in that we're trying to help you. (y)
 
I understand why but please believe everyone that has posted in that we're trying to help you. (y)

Yes I know everyone trying to help me but I meant you will understand why I need someone to show me sometime
 
What part of the country are these taken and is it a regular meet and where do they fly from for the loop?? Some stunning photos on your Flickr.
This was RAF Cosford near Telford.not a regular thing there but the company Time Line Events run loads of different events all over.
Traffic for the loop is mainly Valley,Marham,conninsby and Lakenheath.
 
Just like what I have done today as you can see i posted 4 images

Rookies (Andrew), I understand this, but you are still obsessed with gear, you should (by now) be obsessed by composition and lighting, and looking at images from that point of view, not what gear was used.

I spent a year with a Fuji X100 (fixed 35mm equivalent FF lens), and only an X100, my DSLR didn't leave the house. I constantly challenged myself to take good pictures with that camera, I had to work hard, move my feet to zoom, etc but at the end of that year my composition had improved significantly to where I felt I was taking decent photos, (I knew the camera inside out by then!)

When I look at other poeple's images now, I look at the composition, the light and how the photographer achieved the image, the gear really doesn't matter.

Its good that you decided to stick with the D500, its a great camera and you have a very versatile lens in the Sigma 18-35, work on your composition, start to understand the light, and it will all come together.
 
Rookies (Andrew), I understand this, but you are still obsessed with gear, you should (by now) be obsessed by composition and lighting, and looking at images from that point of view, not what gear was used.

I spent a year with a Fuji X100 (fixed 35mm equivalent FF lens), and only an X100, my DSLR didn't leave the house. I constantly challenged myself to take good pictures with that camera, I had to work hard, move my feet to zoom, etc but at the end of that year my composition had improved significantly to where I felt I was taking decent photos, (I knew the camera inside out by then!)

When I look at other poeple's images now, I look at the composition, the light and how the photographer achieved the image, the gear really doesn't matter.

Its good that you decided to stick with the D500, its a great camera and you have a very versatile lens in the Sigma 18-35, work on your composition, start to understand the light, and it will all come together.

I do understand what you saying.. I prob not had a good Composition on those 4 images at all as I was testing the ability of the camera today how much details I can dial out of the Raw images so i know how far wrong I am allowed to go when taking images as sometime you don't have a second chance if that moment go..

I like to learn i really do but I know those 4 are no where to be how many people would want them..
 
Rookies (Andrew),

I spent a year with a Fuji X100 (fixed 35mm equivalent FF lens), and only an X100, my DSLR didn't leave the house. I constantly challenged myself to take good pictures with that camera, I had to work hard, move my feet to zoom, etc but at the end of that year my composition had improved significantly to where I felt I was taking decent photos, (I knew the camera inside out by then!)

When I look at other poeple's images now, I look at the composition, the light and how the photographer achieved the image, the gear really doesn't matter.

this is great advice and one that i wholeheartedly agree with. As i've previously mentioned, i used to have an XF1 which was....basic shall we say. But, it taught me to think about composition and light. The x100 would be more so due to the fixed lens of course. Now, i feel i've gotten lazy as i can just bang a different lens on and generally achieve something - hence my newly acquired X30 to re-focus ( no pun intended ) the mind

regarding the 4 images @rookies - did you go out with the intention of taking a photo of something specific or just anything that you could edit ? I don't mean that in a bad way of course
 
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this is great advice and one that i wholeheartedly agree with. As i've previously mentioned, i used to have an XF1 which was....basic shall we say. But, it taught me to think about composition and light. The x100 would be more so due to the fixed lens of course. Now, i feel i've gotten lazy as i can just bang a different lens on and generally achieve something - hence my newly acquired X30 to re-focus ( no pun intended ) the mind

regarding the 4 images @rookies - did you go out with the intention of taking a photo of something specific or just anything that you could edit ? I don't mean that in a bad way of course

Both getting some nice images
 
Another thing to consider @rookies you are only seeing what people upload (which will probably be their best of that shoot/series/day etc) you won't see the soft/OOF/badly exposed/rubbish light shots that people DO take.

Of my last two uploads I probably took 60 shots and was happy with those two I posted.

You've got the kit, now go and shoot, then shoot again, go back in different light and do it all again. Rinse and repeat!
 
too true, Tim. I've taken 19000 shots with my em1 in 2 years..how many make flickr ? Not even 10% at a guess ( ok, some to to instagram but.. )
 
Both getting some nice images

I think there's a nice picture there in each of them but personally I may have included a bit more sky in the first three, shifted my position to the right and/or my view to the left in the fourth and in all of them either tried to protect the highlights a bit more or pointed the camera in a slightly different direction.

With the light on the day and the scene in front of you maybe none of these four could be real knockout WoW pictures but maybe something could have been done differently focal length wise or with perspective. With my own personal choice of slightly different perspective, angle of view and/or framing I think I'd be happy with them all as good captures of a scene if it was regular place to visit or walk.
 
I like to learn i really do but I know those 4 are no where to be how many people would want them..

Look you seem to choose your gear on other peoples views, now you want to take pictures that other people will immediately like.

STOP

Have the gear that you want to use, take the pictures and process them in the way that you want

Work on your composition, develop your style (this will change as you progress), believe in yourself and stop relying on others (for gear selection) or trying to make pictures that will please other people, do it for yourself!
 
Look you seem to choose your gear on other peoples views, now you want to take pictures that other people will immediately like.

STOP

Have the gear that you want to use, take the pictures and process them in the way that you want

Work on your composition, develop your style (this will change as you progress), believe in yourself and stop relying on others (for gear selection) or trying to make pictures that will please other people, do it for yourself!

I haven't said anything I only posts images. Then a few people commented.
 
Rookies (Andrew), I understand this, but you are still obsessed with gear, you should (by now) be obsessed by composition and lighting, and looking at images from that point of view, not what gear was used.

I spent a year with a Fuji X100 (fixed 35mm equivalent FF lens), and only an X100, my DSLR didn't leave the house. I constantly challenged myself to take good pictures with that camera, I had to work hard, move my feet to zoom, etc but at the end of that year my composition had improved significantly to where I felt I was taking decent photos, (I knew the camera inside out by then!)

When I look at other poeple's images now, I look at the composition, the light and how the photographer achieved the image, the gear really doesn't matter.

Its good that you decided to stick with the D500, its a great camera and you have a very versatile lens in the Sigma 18-35, work on your composition, start to understand the light, and it will all come together.
@rookies if you can learn anything from today it's these points. As you know I showed you a few images this week taken with m4/3, crop, and FF and a variety of lenses and without the EXIF you could not tell which was which (y)

Another thing to consider @rookies you are only seeing what people upload (which will probably be their best of that shoot/series/day etc) you won't see the soft/OOF/badly exposed/rubbish light shots that people DO take.
^^^^ this, not every picture you take will be a masterpiece or worthy of sharing.

Look you seem to choose your gear on other peoples views, now you want to take pictures that other people will immediately like.

STOP

Have the gear that you want to use, take the pictures and process them in the way that you want

Work on your composition, develop your style (this will change as you progress), believe in yourself and stop relying on others (for gear selection) or trying to make pictures that will please other people, do it for yourself!
Again great idea. It doesn't matter what others think as the world is full of differing opinions and what someone else likes may not be what you like, or what someone else's preference is might not be yours. Work out what YOU and be happy with it YOURSELF. If others then comment saying they like it then it means all the more, if they don't it doesn't matter because you like it anyway.
 
Thank you guys I leave it at this for now [emoji106]

I will just get on won't bother posting anymore images as all it don't is started this.

Didn't expect it end up like this.

So enough from me
 
Thank you guys I leave it at this for now [emoji106]

I will just get on won't bother posting anymore images as all it don't is started this.

Didn't expect it end up like this.

So enough from me

Don't take you bat and ball home...... :confused:

Be really of your critical of your own images, post the ones you think are best, you will always get useful feedback on TP. :)
 
I haven't said anything I only posts images. Then a few people commented.
andrew every one is trying to drum into you some very good advise, honestly we have been trying to help. its not having a dig.
try to take a step back from the forum for a few days (stop reading it as well as posting) and have a think what you want from your photography. The reason for saying stay away from the internet is you do seem to get dragged into "i must buy" from reading about it
you need to be really honest with yourself about what you enjoy and what you want. there is nothing wrong with wanting to be able to just record life around you as shapshots, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be an artist with the pictures.
If it is getting good you want then stop with buying any gear put camera on auto iso and aperture priority and just work on composition and available light. forget about settings, dr range, frames per second. just step back and enjoy being creative.
There is a great comment on here from i think Carlhall that said sort of sums things up "pick an object thats you want to capture and then work out the best way of doing it". its going back to what is my subject and what am i trying to capture, before getting the camera out of the bag even, the photo should be "taken in your head". i certainly will be using his advise when i have the time to get out more.

just think if you stop buying gear all the time you and your family could have a great holiday somewhere nice then wow us all when you get back with the pictures.
i will leave my posts on this subject at that, but really take time out to think.
 
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Thank you guys I leave it at this for now [emoji106]

I will just get on won't bother posting anymore images as all it don't is started this.

Didn't expect it end up like this.

So enough from me
No-one's started anything mate, people are just offering good advice (y) Nothing from what I can see has been critical, and I'd be grateful having so many people genuinely trying to help you :)
 
a good friend off mine disliked this image as he doesnt like vignetting.im ok with that and accept his critique...BUT its my image,i like the effect and also i had to clone a sign out and a trolley handle.Rookie its your shots to do with want you want and critique helps you.

DSC_1525 by Frontline Fighters.com, on Flickr

The orange against the blue works well, but for me the vignette is a bit too strong. But like you say it's your image!
 
in this case i wanted to cover the distracting stuff..also im crap at quality cloning!
 
a good friend off mine disliked this image as he doesnt like vignetting.im ok with that and accept his critique...BUT its my image,i like the effect and also i had to clone a sign out and a trolley handle.Rookie its your shots to do with want you want and critique helps you.

DSC_1525 by Frontline Fighters.com, on Flickr

I like that! But I like a bit of viggy!
 
a good friend off mine disliked this image as he doesnt like vignetting.im ok with that and accept his critique...BUT its my image,i like the effect and also i had to clone a sign out and a trolley handle.Rookie its your shots to do with want you want and critique helps you.

DSC_1525 by Frontline Fighters.com, on Flickr
thats great, the vig works well with the image
 
a good friend off mine disliked this image as he doesnt like vignetting.im ok with that and accept his critique...BUT its my image,i like the effect and also i had to clone a sign out and a trolley handle.Rookie its your shots to do with want you want and critique helps you.

DSC_1525 by Frontline Fighters.com, on Flickr
Really like that (y)
 
a good friend off mine disliked this image as he doesnt like vignetting.im ok with that and accept his critique...BUT its my image,i like the effect and also i had to clone a sign out and a trolley handle.Rookie its your shots to do with want you want and critique helps you.

DSC_1525 by Frontline Fighters.com, on Flickr
Reet nice. Been a while since I did any form of aircraft recognition... Jaguar?

Or is it some foreign muck?? ;)
 
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