As you may or may not have known, I spent the last 3+ weeks in Europe. The main purpose of this trip was to visit my cousin (or is it kleincousin?) Johanna, and attend her wedding to her love Regis. Now I have technically known Johanna since I was about 5. We were at a relatives 25th anniversary and we sat together at the children’s table. Johanna didn’t speak any English and the only German I knew was Du bist blöd, which basically means “you are stupid”. So as 5 year olds go, I called my cousin stupid, and she would respond with something similar, and on goes the story. What a lovely first encounter.

I really hadn’t gotten to know Johanna until I was 21, when she came to Canada for a visit. She came during the summer, during a time when I was unemployed due to the dot com crash. Since I had no job, I was able to tour around with her quite a bit and get to know her a little more. Since then we kept in touch, and every time I visit Europe I do my best to visit with her.

So back to the main story. I came to Europe to attend the wedding, and was going to do a bit of touring afterwards. I packed a light camera bag with a couple 2 somewhat wide lenses and a 50mm prime. Good lenses for touristy pictures. At the wedding I hadn’t planned on taking many photos. Usually weddings have photographers hired, and every guest tends to have a camera. So I decided I would leave my camera in my hotel room.

German weddings have 2 parts. The first ceremony which is the state wedding which takes place at the town hall usually, then the second church wedding, well … in a church. So I headed off to the town hall, with nothing but my cellphone for the odd snap or video. As I expected everyone had a camera, and everyone was taking loads of photos. I felt relived that I made the right choice; or so I thought. After the first ceremony, after congratulating Johanna, she said to me with a very stern and serious look, “Why are you not taking any photos?”. I told her my rant on how everyone was shooting, which she replied, “I want you to take our photos.”

So it was settled. When I got back to my hotel room, I grabbed my camera bag, and thought, for Johanna I will take some photos. So during the church ceremony, I snapped off some shots, and continued to do so outside the church after the wedding. I got a few good shots here and there, thinking nothing more of it. However after a short gathering after the church ceremony, it was time for couples photos. Up until this point one of Johanna & Regis’s friends had been shooting a lot of their photos. So I had assumed he was their unofficial photographer. When it was time to take the couple photos however, Johanna grabbed me by my arm, and told me to come along too. She wanted me to take their photos as well. I am sure there is some sort of rule about saying no to a bride on her wedding day, so I agreed and went off with them in their Mercedes to take photos.

For the rest of the day I proceeded to act as the alternate photographer for the wedding. Taking shots of whatever I could. Since this was a bit of a surprise to be shooting the wedding, I didn’t really have time to prepare, so I just flat out winged it. As for the results? I am relatively happy with some of the shots I got. I think I probably would have been able to get a lot nicer shots if I had prepared for the day, however for a first time I am satisfied. Anyway let me know what you think of the shots. Most were shot with my 50mm f/1.4 lens. A couple I used my wide angles. Below are some of my favorite shots of the day. Oh and congratulations to Johanna and Regis!

Roughly one year ago I took the plunge and bought myself a DSLR. I had always enjoyed taking photos, but never really taken it too seriously. After being pushed by my friend Lee, and positively reinforced by Laura, I ordered my Canon Rebel Xti. When I first started I had no idea what aperture was, when the best times of day were to shoot, and generally how to operate an SLR camera. So I got a bunch of books on the subject, and started to experiment.

My first couple weeks with the camera I shot all the time. Like non stop. I would go out on my lunch breaks, before and after work and shoot. It was a learning experience to say the least, but I was loving it. The more I read, and the more I shot, the better I got a feel for how the camera worked. At that time I also started to get into Flickr a lot more. I found Flickr to be extremely helpful as I was able to find photos that I liked, and try to examine how they were created, and what made them great.

So I continued to shoot and experiment. Learning as I went. Initially I didn’t quite fully comprehend a lot of what the books talked about, but as time went on it really began to sink it. Like how important the light plays in photography, or what makes a good composition. While photography is not a science, there is science and psychology behind a lot of the principals, and it is important to understand them, to be able to take a good shot.

I think when things started to sink in, and I really started to get it was when I visited Laura in London. It was a wonderful trip, one in which I was able to take a few photos (probably not as many as I should have) that I could start to apply the techniques I was learning. My first ever photo “Explored” on Flickr was of Laura’s shoes. At the time I didn’t even know what explore was.

As the summer progressed I experimented more, and continued to grow. I started to play with filters, shoot macro shots, and play around more with HDR images.

Come fall I think I started to put all the things I had learned together. A trip to visit my friends Joe and Kasie in Ventura, California really topped things off. During my week there I was able to get out and shoot daily, and feel extremely positively about the images I shot during my week.

Now I am by no means close to being a good photographer, but I think I now have the basics down. There is still a lot to learn and improve on, and so much more to explore. This is by far the most exciting hobby I have found, and am forever grateful to both Lee and Laura for pushing me in the right direction.

So last but not least a few tips for anyone else starting off in photography.

Know Your Light – Learn when the light is harsh and when it is soft. See the effects each has on shadows, and contrast. Go and shoot during the golden hours (before and after sunrise and sunset) and then go shoot the same things during midday and see how each type of light affects your image. Understanding lighting is probably the most important thing you need to learn.

Focus on your Composition – If learning the affects of light is the most important thing, then learning about composition is probably the second most important thing. Learn the rule of thirds. Then break it. Then go back to it. While it is not a hard set rule it does hold weight. Play around with placing objects in different locations in a shot, and see which ones you like best.

Simplicity is King – It is really easy to want to put lots of ‘things’ into a photo. Generally these types of shots just look cluttered. Try and simplify things, and see the result. Focus on what you want to say in your photo.

Explore – Go out and explore. Take lots of shots. Like seriously, take loads of shots. With digital now you can! You don’t have to share them all (most people say to only share your best shots anyway), but the more you shoot, the more you will learn. Find shots you really like on Flickr (or any other photo site) and try to decompose how they made the shot. Read blogs, books etc, and most of all have fun.

Looking forward there is still so much for me to learn. Some key areas I really want to focus on in 2009 are:

Taking more photos of people: Most of what I have shot so far is typically landscapes. I really would like to get a lot better at taking photos of people (either staged or candid).

Learn to Off Camera Light: I have just gotten into off camera lighting, and would really like to explore it more. In 2009 I plan to fully scour the strobist blog and learn the ropes of off camera lighting.

Utilize my Filters Better: I am still learning the ropes of the effects filters play on an image. I want to become more confident using them, and be able to choose the right filter for the right occasion.

Feel More Confident Behind the Lens: While I have come a long way since I started, I still have a ways to go. I think with continuing to learn, and continuing to shoot though this should fall in place.