experience

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Name
derek
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For someone like myself coming back to photography after a lengthy lay off {20 years} and digital being a somewhat new experience, would joining a camera club be of help in gaining knowledge, or did most of you gather experience through forums like this, magazines,or self practice ?
 
Very much depends on the individual members of the club.

I'd opt for the self education option. The fact that you have been into photography before should mean that you are well on the road.

Digital cams and processing software tend to be complex, but it will fall into place if you stick at it.
 
Hi Derek and welcome back to the fold :)

If you're just after learning the techniques associated with digital (as opposed to film) then I think you would be better off using the resources on the Internet and reading a few good books.

On the other hand, if you want more general photography help (e.g. exposure, composition, etc) then I thoroughly recommend a camera club.

There you go, helpful or what?

From a purely personal viewpoint I enjoy my local camera club even though I now consider myself to be a fairly advanced photographer. The ability to discuss ideas and get practical tips on a face-to-face basis is something I value highly. I'm a people person and much prefer talking to a real human than a computer screen.
 
Welcome back :) I suppose you want personal opinions here, mine was a combination of magazines, this place and just constantly using my camera and fiddling (not reading the manual when I probably should have :p ) I found a big help is looking at photos on sites like Flickr and looking at settings used, then trying to recreate effects that took my fancy, I find this lets me learn exactly what I want to learn how to do rather than loads of extra bits that I don't fancy :)
Adam
 
Welcome back to shooting
A great resource for all things tog related is creative live
If you sign up free, they send you info on upcoming workshops and if you watch live, they're free too
Some real talent, teaching their tecnique and practical advice
I find this site an excellent place to pick brains and get tips/advice with a wealth of top togs willing to encourage and share knowledge
 
The basic principles of photography haven't changed, exposure, focusing, composition. Just that the tools are more sophiosticated, a good understanding of whatever camera you have and how to change it's settings is the main 'new' stuff. Then for processing, forget the soggy dark smelly room, and embrace the comfort of a chair in front of your PC with an editing program. The big change is that you can shoot loads, play with processing and it isn't going to bankrupt you with film and processing costs.
 
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