Ode to the Nikon D70
I recently made a YouTube video celebrating my ancient Nikon D70 - the first camera I bought and what got me into photography. The D70 was Nikon's first entry level DSLR - it was their first DSLR that wasn't aimed at professional photographers, and was released in early 2004. I bought mine around 2010 and never looked back. It cost me about £250 back then but you can pick them up for around £50 on eBay nowadays, although my specific camera is worth less as the top LCD screen
The importance of cleaning your lenses.
Photographers: hands up who routinely cleans their lenses? I admit it; I don't. If I spot something really obvious I'll give it a quick wipe with a lens cloth. After processing a recent shot though, I think I'll have to change my ways. For comparison, here is the shot before and after I'd cloaned out the muck and spots in Photoshop. The spots are quite visible across the top of the image. I was quite annoyed when I saw it to be honest and I'll make sure I don't make the same
You're not a Photographer... Just because you call yourself one.
So, this is a friend of a friend of a friend type situation that I've been going over in my mind for a few days and come to the conclusion that I need to vent and have a little bit of a rant about it. This particular person recently became a "Photographer" (capital P). They quit their day job, built an office at home, spent cash on gear. Now, I'd like to be able to say that I admire that sort of courage and commitment, but I dont, it's misguided. Particularly in this person's
The importance of shooting RAW
I wanted to share a photography tip that I wish I'd followed when I was a photography beginner. When I started out I didn't shoot in RAW, I shot exclusively JPEG. For three reasons: 1 - I didn't entirely understand what shooting RAW was, nor how useful - nay, essential - it is. 2 - I felt some kind of misplaced superiority from being able to claim all my work was "straight out of camera". 3 - I wanted instant results (I was lazy). What is shooting in RAW? For the beginner to
Wedding photography - What's in my bag?
With wedding season upon us I thought I'd share what I pack and take with me when I shoot wedding photography. I carry a LowePro Versapack 200AW which, in my opinion, is an awesome and extremely practical camera bag. It serves as a camera bag and rucksack in one, is really comfortable and still small enough to be able to tuck away somewhere whilst I'm shooting the bulk of the wedding. Plus it’s side loading, which means when I do have it on my back with the camera packed away
Canon or Nikon? A beginners guide.
I was inspired to write this after reading a question in a photography group I’m a member of on Facebook. The question posed was a simple one: "I’m looking to buy my first “decent” camera… Canon or Nikon?” I’m sure the question was asked completely innocently and naively, which is partly what prompted my response. But it does require an answer, and an informed one at that. And if that was the type of question you yourself may have been wanting to ask on a group or forum somew
