New hobby/outlet: photography. Any suggestions/advice?

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I really think a DSLR is a good thing to look into because it offers so much more control. You really learn what things like ISO, shutter speed, and aperture are, and how they make a picture. Then again, you might not be as into the equipment as I am, and that's fine.

A really cool thing that I've been able to do with a Canon Elph with image stabilization (IS) is to take pictures of buildings from a moving car. My wife drives and I take the shots she wants.

I added some camera equipment recently because I thought I was going to get back into photography, but so far I haven't done much. My old stock of cameras included Minolta and Nikon SLRs and a digital camera. My best photo came with using a Minolta SLR with a wonderful Vivatar telephoto lens from the 1980s---it was a photo of Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 (time exposure on a tracking telescope).

The cameras I recently added, that I want to begin using, are a Rolleiflex medium format twin lens reflex film camera and an Argus "brick" 35mm range finder that has been totally restored to mint condition. To be honest, I am afraid to use either camera because I regard them more like museum pieces, and I am afraid of hurting them.

Get plenty of practice in. Practice makes perfect.

Here is a sample of today's work (Taken with the point and shoot Vivitar)



Fountains anyone?

Imageshack and dA accounts set up, will be posting more photos later.

The fountain photo is excellent. The composition is good. The eye is led through the image from front to back. A good photo has a theme and you only put in the photo what fits the theme. Keep your image simple [uncluttered]. You keep out of the photo anything that takes you eye away from the theme. Remove things that are unsightly. Ask yourself questions: Will it look better if I move higher or lower, more left or right? Is there too much blank foreground or too much blue sky? Be passionate about what you take. A good photo can be taken with a box brownie, a point and shoot camera. It's all in you minds eye. Happy shooting.

From my home studio, my gerbil Agnes:

Watch TWiT photo: http://twit.tv/photo it's a weekly podcast about helping amateur photographers improve their craft.

I'm very into photography and would have many tips to share, but I don't really feel like writing anything down, right now, other than this: If you point the camera towards the sun - if the camera has an eyepiece, do not look into it as that can damage your eyesight, quickly; especially if you use the zoom. Also, otherwise, if you point it towards the sun to take photos with the sun present, keep the camera towards the sun for very brief periods. Longer periods can damage or melt the shutter, and even destroy the sensor. If you are composing a landscape shot, for example, with the sun a part of it, then keep the lens covered until just before you take the photo. Do not fret taking photos with the sun in them, though; just take precautions and do not waste time when being about to take them, and let the camera's sensor cool off, for a bit, by not taking new photos with the sun in them, too quickly.

Also, if you take landscape shots, use the timer to avoid losing sharpness. If you use an SLR/system camera, you may also want to activate mirror lock-up, for optimal sharpness.

Good tips on photographing the sun. Capture the sun when it is least intense, late in the day. The sun can damage the sensor in your camera as well as our eyes if we are not careful.

Don't forget fim format is still a real contender, You can learn great principles in photography and learn some craft but jumping into buying a canon AE1 (Manual camera ...not a AE1 program) or a Nikon f5 (F5hp especially good) and buy a copy of the original manual if you can.
You can buy bulk roll film in monochrome and process it fairly easily if you wish c41 colour is a different proposition but do-able.
lenses are fairly cheap look at reputable camera dealers (get it serviced before purchasing)

Do research on nice Nikon digi body and lens combo's but should be aware that the sensors s**t themselves after a while, but it may well be you make a purchase for the lens you want and the body is superfluous and you can sell it on?