I have been doing photography properly for a few years now. When I say 'properly' I mean going out to new locations purely for the reason of taking photos. I have had an assortment of cameras since I was small, but in the early days they were just point and shoot cameras, and I took snaps to remember days out. The pictures were always an after thought and never the sole reason I went anywhere.
Holiday in Leicestershire (2012)
When I first met my partner (somewhere in 2008 I think?), we realised we both had something in common, and that was a deep enjoyment of being outdoors, and exploring new places. In those early days when we started dating, we didn't go to the cinema or to restaurants... we went to a selection of different nature reserves. To begin with we just walked around and talked. We both had rubbish cameras and we would pause occasionally to take rubbish pictures of flowers or butterflies.
Grass seeds (2012)
Swans (2013)
As the years passed we grew increasingly disappointed with the poor quality shots that we were getting. We were also starting to compare our pictures to professional pictures in magazines. I looked at getting a DSLR camera... but at the time I wasn't sure if I could justify the expense. I didn't want to fork out all of that money and then not get the use out of it.
Stock Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_PowerShot_SX50_HS
I ended up choosing this Bridge Camera. It was the perfect compromise between versatility (imrpoved image quality and an enormous zoom reach) and price. It was one of the more expensive bridge cameras when I bought it, but I got a lot of camera for that money.
Grey Squirrel at Hartsholme Park (2014)
The Zoom was equivalent to something like 1200mm which at the time was huge. To get the same amount of zoom using a DSLR camera will cost you thousands, and I had access to that for under £400. Image Quality still suffered at full zoom as you can see in the image of the Squirrel.
Peacock (2015)
However this Peacock was closer so I did not need to use the zoom, and the picture does look better. It was around this point that my views towards photography changed. Instead of just taking snaps while we were out and about, we were now planning trips, and choosing places to visit, purely to take pretty pictures of various things.
Street signs on Steep Hill, Lincoln (2015)
About this time I found myself becoming limited by my camera again. As a photographer I find my standards keep increasing, and what I once considered to be a 'good' image, is no longer the case. Looking back through my archives to find images for this article, there are some seriously cringe worthy images... I daren't share them here haha!
It was time again to upgrade my equipment, and having taken nearly 30,000 images in the space of 3 years of the Bridge Camera, I had proven to myself that I had I had the long term interest in photography. Therefore it was obvious that the next step was to invest in a DSLR camera.
I did my research, and decided to buy the 'best' body I could afford: a Canon 760D. I paired that with an 18-55mm 'kit lens' and a 70-300 zoom. Now I finally had the quality I was after, and another plus with the upgrade to a DSLR was that I had more control over my settings.
All of my previous cameras were mostly semi-automatic. I would choose landscape mode or portrait mode (or sports, macro, night etc...) but i never really had control over the settings. The bridge camera enabled me to change the shutter and the ISO, but I was still limited creatively.
Dame's Violet flowers (2016)
This new DSLR was a huge step-up in quality and difficulty. And because I don't like making it easy for myself, I went straight onto the Full Manual mode, where I can control every single aspect of the shot. F-stop, White balance, you name it, I changed it...
Stained Glass Windows, Lincoln Cathedral (2017)
Those first 6 months were awful, and my pictures were awful. Blurred, under-exposed, over-exposed, out of focus, weird shadows, weird colours.... pretty much any mistake I could make, I did make.
But it was worth persevering. Those first 6 months was a baptism of fire, but I came out of it a much better photographer, and one who understood how his camera worked. And after putting the effort in to learn how my equipment worked I can now react quickly and appropriately to the situation in front of me.
Sunset at Formby Beach, Liverpool (2017)
Its now been 4 years since those first DSLR images, and in that time I have collected a selection of lenses, some new, some second-hand. I have discarded the 70-300mm as its no longer good enough, and replaced it with the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary. It is flippin' outstanding and I love it. But the lens starts at 150mm which is great for distance shots but not for close up pictures.
I needed a new lens for working up close, and after a bit of research I decided to go for the 24-105mm L series. It had the zoom range I needed, and as canon L series lens it had the quality too. I found out that there was a second hand one available in a local camera shop (for less than £400 it was a steal!)
I phoned ahead and made sure it was still availble for sale, and they agreed to reserve it for me. When I headed into town to have a look, and to test it out, I noticed that there was a 5DmkII also available to buy 2nd hand.
I had already added the Canon 5D to a potential wishlist for the future. It would be a considerable step up again, featuring a full-frame sensor, and aimed at professional photographers. There are are now 4 versions available (the mark 1 is the original, every couple of years a new version is released. The Mark lV is the latest, and at nearly £2500 is way out of my price range.
This older Mark ll version was very reasonably priced, and in a moment of weakness that most photographers know... I bought it as well!
So there you have it. A long and slightly rambling look at my 'journey' in photography from those rubbish little cameras, all the way up to the 'professional' Canon 5D. I would like to think that I have got better as a photogrpaher over the past 10 years, but I'll let you judge that...
Slightly frustratingly, I purchased the 5DMarkll a few weeks before the whole coronavirus lockdowwn started, so I have had very little chance to actually play with it. And I really do need to practise, the quality is a huge step up, but the camera is physically 10 years old, and so all the buttons are in different places compared to the previous camera.
The next few posts here will hopefully feature the new camera... watch this space!
Other than the stock image for the Bridge Camera, every other image is my own (taken on a selection of different cameras)
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what a lovely story you have to share! I immediately started thinking about sharing my own :P well, maybe some day! I will postpone it, put it to a dark cupboard for maturing :)))
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Thank You! Everyone has a different story to tell, it would be cool to find out more about you got into photography, or some of the different cameras/lenses you have used.
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BEER.Loved my 5DMII. I'd still be shooting with it, but alas it decided to die. I was looking at the MIV, but I can't justify that expense right now. I settled on a refurbished 6D MII directly from Canon. It should arrive early next week. I think it's a good compromise while still keeping with a full frame, which I prefer for landscapes and travel.
Thats cool (not the bit about it dying lol), I wanted one of the 5D's purely because of the reputation they had from other photographers, but agreed the MIV is out of many peoples price range. I wish you luck with the 6D, and I look forward to seeing some of the pictures from it :-)
Photography is a game where the better you get; the more expensive the equipment becomes. Have you ever used canons 24-70 2.8? It was my favorite lens for the longest time, but the weight of it got to me after a while. I also recommend checking out Sigma's Art series if you aren't familiar with it. Cheers!
aint that the truth!
I did consider the 24-70, but it was out of my price range, and most of the money (and weight) seems purely to get the apperture to be 2.8. It wasnt important at the moment (although I wouldnt say no to using one in future 😉
Wow there are some lovely photos there!
I also went down the Canon and need to make more use of my Cameras. I started with a 300D which lasted me a good few years. Motorsport has always been my thing and I was always nervous with the 300D as it didn't have any weather proofing. I then got a 30D which I've had since 2006. It's still fully functional and I tend to use it as my second body. I grabbed second hand 5D to try full frame and fell in love - the wife has this as her full frame body now as she shoots the occasional wedding fro friends.
My main camera is the 6D which I bought as they released the 6D MkII and got a great deal on.
Unfortunately I'm lacking any decent lenses at the moment as I had to sell a bunch of gear some time back to raise some money. They'll get replaced one day but only once I start getting the most out of what I have.
Thats the thing to keep in mind...a good quality camera that is well looked after, is almost an investment, there will be plenty of decent 2nd hand lenses which will be reasonably priced, and if they have been looked after they will still be a worthwhile investment
Thanks from sharing some of your camera history, its interesting to see how we all take a slightly different 'path' in this photography journey
What an interesting and immersive look into your journey as a photographer. My addiction is golf which although a totally different activity shares a lot of the same hall marks of addiction to quality and improvement.
Some of your shots are beautiful and you can see the steady progression from the early years to your current portfolio. It's great that you have found your niche and that your partner shares it with you. It's one that you can bring anywhere and also never have it perfect. You can spend your whole life trying to get those perfect shots and chasing shadows.
Thank you, I'm glad you found it interesting, I felt like I was starting to waffle and ramble near the end lol
It certainly does and its one of the few 'hobbies' that will rival photography in its expense... there is always something new to buy!
Love the photo of Sunset at Formby Beach, Liverpool.
Thank you. It was a lucky shot. We were in the forest next to the beach looking for squirrels, took the wrong path and ended up on the beach to be greeted by this beautiful sunset
Hehe nice camera.
I've only a Sony Cybershot 6x Zoom
But it is much better then a mobile photo.😃
I don't like photos of mobile.😩
A quote I read somewhere...
So if you only have a little sony camera then that is good enough!
Did you take pictures of your lego projects with it? They are good pictures, with sharp detail and good colours.
And I agree most mobile phone cameras are not good, my phone is awful!
Yes I used it for my pictures.
I'm very happy with it because I made bad photos of Lego with a mobile.
Cheers friend 😃