That's the biggest problem with travel photography: you can't wait. You're traveling. A pro photographer can see a scene and immediately have a pretty good idea when it will be at its best -- usually that slanted-light time an hour before sundown or after sunup. Light makes all the difference.

With practice you can do this too. The difference is, you're on vacation, and it's noon, and at sundown you're going to be a hundred miles away.

The pro will come back, or hunker down and wait; you have to shoot now and move along. And you get home, and all your shots are of dim grey building facades, because the light was coming from the wrong direction.

So, to get better shots, follow the light. Look for lesser shots with better light. And those postcard shots? Buy postcards. Those guys had the luxury of time.

A very good, easy to understand book is Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

http://tinyurl.com/25p3pa

It can really help connect the dots with aperture vs. shutter speed vs. ISO

I am leaving in two weeks for a trip to Iceland. I am new to the DSLR world. I have a Canon Rebel XT with kit lens, EF 70-300mm IS, and just arrived today is the Sigma 10-20mm. I have a Tamarac backpack now which I love but do find it a bit of a pain to take the pack off and get another lens out. I really like the look of the Crumpler 5mm dollar home bag. Does anyone know if all my gear, plus extra battery and filters would fit in this bag? Or could you suggest another similar bag that isn't a backpack style.

Thanks for all the helpful information everyone is posting.

Lexi

I second the recommendation for reading "Understanding Exposure". I just read it myself. I'm still in the neophyte stage of photography myself and know it can be a little overwhelming when trying to learn all there is about taking photographs with an SLR not on full auto mode.

My advice (and was passed on to me by others) is not to try to learn it all at once. Spend some time on one aspect and once you have become comfortable with it, move on to another aspect.

For example, spend a few days taking pictures with composition as you're focus. Don't worry too much about exposure etc. but experiment with framing subjects and trying different angles etc. Then move on to exposure. Maybe choose shutter mode and see what happens as you vary that and what types of results you get. Then experiment with aperture mode etc.

Also, try taking pictures before you go of the types of things you expect/hope to be taking pictures of on your vacation. If you think you will be doing architectural photography, walk around your home town and take pictures of its buildings. Same for nature, people etc. Of course you'll probably do some of all, but experience will make the decisions easier and faster.

It takes time and experience to master these things so they become almost instinctual. So, as previously said, take lots of photos, both before you go as practice and while you're there. It's that 1 in 50 amazing shot that makes it all worthwhile.

Lexi,

I have the Lowepro Road Runner beltpack. It holds the XT, kit lens, 75-300mm and Tamron 28-75mm plus my 3 extension tubes in the main compartment. The front compartment can hold my memory cards, extra battery, battery charger, and PSD (personal storage device).

It's not that bulky and I wear it with the pack over the front of my leg (just off center in the front). I can get in and out of it without taking it off and I can switch lenses easily.

You people are amazing!
I have ordered the book and am going to print out all these suggestions so I can refer to them.
fnarf - your comment about travel photography is so right.
Even reading over these many ideas is motivating. thank you so much.
I bought the Magic Lantern Guide for my camera and think that is a must to get to know your camera and as a reference - owners manuals are so poor these days.
Lexi - You might want to look at the Lowepro Slingshot as this bag is designed to be worn as a backpack but swings around in front without removing when you want more security or to access your camera and lenses. The zippers and poackets are designed with this in mind.

I would second the slingshot. It also comes with a useful all weather cover, and is very comfortable I'm told. It also has a seperate section for your lunch or a sweater. It comes in three sizes, the 100 or 200 would be right for you.
http://tinyurl.com/9g32o

Naneu Pro also has great bags. They are well made, don't scream "expensive camera bag," and are less expensive than most of the brands mentioned here.

Hi Lexi! Your kit is very similar to what I took to Iceland - I also had the Sigma 10-20mm, the Nikon 70-300mm VR, and the Nikon 18-200mm. Your kit will work out great for you

I looked up the bag you mentioned, and I found this site that reviewed the bag and showed exactly what you can put in it:
http://tinyurl.com/yoszal

I have this bag, and I think you *might* be able to get away with putting your body and all your lenses in the bag, but not anything else. You could always get the next size up.

You might want to check out Lowepro's Stealth Reporter series. They aren't as stylish, but you'll definitely find one that's roomy enough. The other nice thing about the Stealth Reporters is that they have rain flies, and the fabric is treated to be water-resistant, which is really nice for Iceland with all the rain and waterfalls.

I know your trip is coming up soon, but do you own an image tank so you can offload your memory cards to it and leave room for more photos? If you don't, make sure you have enough memory. You won't want to stop taking pictures in Iceland!

rkkwan, the 70-300mm is so amazing on the Rebel XT or XTi that I've been able to handhold successfully at 1/8th of a second.

robjame - how to become a "not-so-crappy" photographer? I've never become much beyond that category, but when I've done well it's when I paid attention to which ISO I was using so I don't get more noise than needed or can freeze motion better, and when I look at the LCD screen or viewfinder in an SLR as if I were seeing the final print.

I tend to use spot or center metering, press half-way down to 'lock' that focus and exposure, and then move the camera to compose, but I think the most important thing once you've done all that is to SQUEEZE the shutter release button. When I get excited I sort of press too hard trying to 'get' the shot and then I 'get' a blurry shot...

As mentioned earlier, I was extremely glad to have both the point and shoot for wider stuff and the DSLR for telephoto shots.

- Andrys
www.pbase.com/andrys/italy

lexi_0906,
Congratulations on that top notch combo you're taking with you !! You are really well set up.

ShelliDawn,
Your advice is especially wise. There is so much to take in when starting out with a whole new type of camera that's not totally automatic...

robjame,
Way to go! Getting the guide for your camera is excellent. I still carry mine in my purse so everytime I'm stuck in a line or waiting for takeout I can learn a bit more. Can't take it all in at once, I've found. So many options and things to think about.

robjame, a few websites you might want to look at too -
www.cameratown.com/guides/
www.luminous-landscape.com/
www.uscoles.com/fstop.htm

And can I also recommend Scott Kelby's book on digital photography.

But the best thing to do is get out there and play with different settings and find out for yourself what they all do - it doesn't cost anything after all.
Try putting an object on a table in your garden and then starting at the widest aperture you have (smallest f number) take a series of photos of it, whilst stopping down the aperture (so at 2.8,4,8,11 etc) to see the depth of field it gives. Do this in Av mode - you set the aperture, the camera will set the time.
Then try the ame thing by setting the time (Tv mode)and taking a series of photos of a moving object. This will really help you remember some of the basics, and how your camera reacts - whether it under - or over exposes for instance (it shouldn't but some K10D's do slightly underexpose) in which case you will know to use exposure compensation and how much to use.
One of the neatthings on the K10D is the abilty to choose the ISO and let the camera do the rest - look at that too, handy for shots in churches etc without flash.

You still have a whole month to play and get to know the camera before you go. You will soon be looking at things like a photographer!
I assume you are shooting in jpeg? Make sure you have it at it's highest quality in that case. Eventually you will want to shoot RAW but I would suggest getting to know the camera well first.
Have fun, don't be scared you can only learn form your mistakes, and as I said you don't have to pay for them or wait ages to see them and then try and remember what you did wrong. Look at the Exif on photos that go wrong (or go right) to remind yourself what you did.

Oh and join a forum or two - people will be very happy to help you. Try www.Pentaxuser.co.uk/forum for instance.

The camera came with 18-55 and 50-200 kit lenses. I got a 50mm 1.4 prime lens which I have been using lately as it takes the zoom out of practising.
These questions are really naive but I don't see them addressed in any of the books, etc.
1. If I were in a church using the 50mm lens, why would I worry about ISO? Won't the (automatic function) on the camera make a much better selection of shutter, aperture and ISO than I ever would?
2. I plan on taking all three lenses. How do you know know which one to grab - telephoto is obvious but beyond that.

Thanks for the suggestions and web addresses. I will check them out carefully.
Is there a good photo course offered on the net?
hetismij - I will try your exercise using Av and Tv!

One thing I learned from the Bryan Peterson book is to expose on the blue sky. I find it works great for most subjects.

The concept is that the blue sky is just about the midtone as a grey card. This helps keep your darks dark and your lights light. Your camera exposes using the point that you are focusing on (in the case of center metering, the center of your scene) - if that point is very dark, the camera will overexpose to lighten it to a midtone; if that point is very light, the camera will underexpose to darken it to midtone. If it's a woman in a white wedding dress, the dress will look greyish. If it's a man in a black tux, the tux will look faded.

By exposing on the sky, you tell the camera what is midtone (the sky) and it keeps the wedding dress white and the tux black. It's also great for snow shots where you have a lot of white.

To expose on the sky when it's not where the metering is (i.e., center of image for center metering), move the camera so the sky is centered, half-click the shutter to focus and expose, then (for the XT) click the ( * ) button. That locks the exposure. Now, you can recompose the image, focus and shoot. For other cameras, check your manual for "exposure lock".

robjame - I wouldn't use the automatic ISO. Together with aperture and shutter speed, ISO determines exposure. It's one thing you should control yourself.

If you're using a tripod or stabilizing the camera with something else (pillar, table, etc) in a church, you can use much lower ISO while lengthening shutter speed. Higher the ISO, the more noise you'll get in your picture. It's a balance that YOU need to determine. I wouldn't let the camera do it, when you're learning photography and have the time to take the picture.

The camera may decide to go for a higher ISO than you need which will result in a "noisier" picture.
On the whole it will do a good job of the ISO settings on it's own though. You can limit the ISO range it uses in the menu, so that it doesn;t use the really high ISOs which are noisier. Set to say a maximum of 800. You can always override it if you can't get a suitable exposure setting any other way.
Use the kit lens for wide angles -landscapes, buildings, the fast 50mm for darker situations, not at 1.4, try 2.8. For general photos, stop it down to about F8 to F11, for photos of people, again stopped down or you will end up with rather unflattering results. The zoom for getting detail in a landscape - for giving it depth, and for just zooming. Generally for landscapes you should aim at about F8 or F11 to get the right depth of field. Most lenses have a "sweet spot" which is around this range.

In regards to the connection between ISO, aperture and shutter speed:

ISO - identifies the sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive. That means that a low ISO "sees" less of the light available. ISO is usually set up in 1-stop progressives: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600.

Aperture - Aperture is the opening of the lens. The bigger the opening, the more light is allowed in to the camera. The more light that is allowed in, the smaller the depth of field (dof). DOF is how much of the image is in focus. A small DOF will have more of the image blurred, a large DOF will have more of the image in focus. Also known as F number (i.e., F11)

One stop measurements are 1.0, 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, 64, etc.

Shutter speed - The shutter speed is how quickly the shutter closes after clicking the button. The faster it shuts, the less light enters the camera. The slower it shuts, the more light enters the camera. Too fast, and the image will be dark (underexposed). Too slow, and the image will be washed out (overexposed). A slow shutter speed will create motion blur (i.e., the flowing effect of a waterfall, or the blur of bike wheels), a fast shutter speed will stop motion.

One stop measurements are: 1/4000, 1/2000, 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, etc.

If the camera says that ISO 400, F11 and 1/60 is the right exposure, you can adjust that:

you want less DOF, so drop your F stop to F5.6 (2 stops down), and raise your shutter speed to 1/250 (2 stops up). The exposure is the same, but the image will be different (less DOF).

Hi Sunny16 -

Thanks for the info. I really like the bag I have now, it's just a little difficult to have to stop and get a new lens out. Since you have the Sigma 10-20mm also, would you mind emailing me? I'm having some issues with getting the photos to look right. Granted I just got this lens yesterday and started snapping away when I got home...the photos just seem curved. I want to figure out what I'm doing wrong before I go to Iceland. Oh my gosh - - I leave 2 weeks from today. I think I have enough memory to hold 2,500 pics...that should be enough. :-)

[email protected]

Lexi - That is the nature of the lens at 10mm. Whilst it isn't a fish-eye it does cause some barrelling at it's widest setting.