I'd just like to know what camera is used, especially for the banner photos. It's useful to see how a particular camera handles the colours.

Colors and digital cameras can be a real headache .. for some reason, a lot of digital cameras have a great deal of difficulty with dark blues and purples. The cameras see light differently then we do - they see "color temperature". With most cameras you can actually change how the camera sees color using something called "white balance". Light is measured not only in strength, but color temperature as well.

I'm sure you've noticed color shifts with pictures taken in florescent light (kinda bluish), or incandescent light (kind of orangy), the shade, bright sun or when it's cloudy.

Most digital cameras have buttons where you can choose your scenery. So get out your manual and look for the section that describes the following - some cameras will have more or less:

Auto
Fluorescent
Incandescent
Sunny
Cloudy
Flash

Once you get use to using these and seeing in the view finder how it changes the color you can actually use these settings to get better color.

Additionally, colors are different in morning and especially later evening sun.

And if you happen to have your camera on the wrong setting you can get weird colors (mostly bluish, in my experience; although I'm not even sure what the settings were...)



Kind of cool, in an artsy sort of way -- but not exactly what I meant to do!

The beginning of new life as the croziers (new fronds), emerge from one of my soft Australian tree ferns.
I took this with a Canon 450D. The tree ferns are located in a shady place, with just a bit of afternoon sun. Just enough sun to stop the flash going on.
I put this through iPhoto, just contrast and brightness, on my Apple Mac, and I like it!
Regards.
Neil.

I want to know what camera is being used, f-stop, focal length, exposure, and ISO are critical to a good photo. Greene, I am impressed at the clarity of that plant at 5mm. Since I bought a Canon T3i and do not have a macro lens, I cannot get that close to anything anymore. I do miss the super macro on my Canon S5 IS, but I know I can crop to get a macro if necessary with my dSLR.

I went out in the wind the other day to practice with my new camera. Bad day to do it, but I had fun practicing. If I don't use it every so often, I forget and have to relearn everything. And that is frustrating in itself.

Vickie, I have the same problem about not retaining the new things Iearned, unless I use the new knowledge enough to become familiar.
I hope to spend the winter months learning new things from the owners manual that I printed from the internet. Taking the camera to a small nursery/greenhouse that is just a few minutes from me.
I am going to practice the close ups. I do have a macro setting on my camera, but it still won't allow me to get very close to the subject.
Nikon D40.
I was so excited about finding that I had a diopter. Since adjusting that it is amazing how much better I can see things through the view finder.

It's those little things that keep us going. I found the diopter on my camera too!

Isn't it wonderful.

blue23rose said:I want to know what camera is being used, f-stop, focal length, exposure, and ISO are critical to a good photo.

A couple of other key considerations are how/where focus is determined (in your case, is it on the exact center, or is it weighted using the 9 points) and where the light metering (in your case TTL Evaluative, Partial (9% of v/f area), Spot (4% of v/f area) and Center-weighted) is occurring.