Amature Digital Photography – Easy, Fun and Impressive

I used to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on photography. Most of that was the cost of film, processing and printing. Today with digital cameras most of the cost is eliminated. Photography as a hobby is now fun and because we can shoot thousands of pictures for nothing we get plenty of practice to create some great shots.

Today you have options that even 5 years ago were unheard of. A 12 megapixel camera with a decent shutter speed and zoom lens costs around $100. With some practice (taking pictures on an erasable memory card) you can get a good feel on how to compose a great shot. What you can't do with your camera, you can easily fix or create with inexpensive computer programs such as PhotoShop.

One of the hardest things to photograph is movement. Anything moving demands a fast speed, good composition and luck. Little tricks such as moving the camera as you press the shutter produce good results for many. The key is practice, practice, practice. As you master your current camera and learn what it is capable of you will begin to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

The downside of becomming a better photographer is the burning desire to get a bigger, better and more expensive camera. Sometime's that is a good thing other times you just have to fight the urge for equipment growth and opt for more knowledge of your current camera. The trick here is to determine how much time, money and effort you want to put into the process.

I love to take pictures, I would rather take 20 shots and delete all but two or three good ones than take the time to set up shots and only take one "money shot'.  Others view this as a waste of time. It is all up to the individual, (another thing I like about photography) there is now right or wrong way.

Keith Bledsoe is an accomplished amature photographer living in Pulaski, Tennessee. He is about 10 miles north of the Alabama line, 75 miles south of Nashville. He shoots with a fairly expensive (beginning at around $550 with body, lens, case ) Olympus E-520 camera.

Keith loves wildlife shots and explains: "Since I live more or less in the woods I have lots of subject material. I started taking pictures back in the mid eighties with Nikon film gear. It kind of grew on me and I found I had a bit of a knack for composition. I am an avid amateur and resisted going pro, because once you go that route you HAVE to shoot good stuff and shoot a lot of stuff you really wouldn't want to in order to pay the bills. There is a tremendous surge in photography these days, I am very glad to see folks take a little more interest in their environment because of the ease of digital photography.

I hope these facinating Hummingbird shots, taken from Keith's back porch will give you the encouragement needed to get out and photograph your world.

As you view these photos notice the wings movement, this is a nearly impossible thing to capture for the novice. These photos make it look easy. Enjoy. I know I did.