Hello there! I started off in college these many years ago wanting to be a photojournalist and learned the basics of photography on an old Minolta Maxxum, but ended up getting a job in the IT field and then there was family and life in general and I kind of lost track of photography for a long time. About a year and a half ago I got an iPhone 4 and started taking pictures with it and using many of the apps which reminded me how much I loved photography and so I went out and got a D3100 and have been having such a wonderful time with it and learning how to process my own photos. I'm definitely still a noob as far as the technical side of things.
I have recently determined that I really like the challenge of capturing birds, though I am horrible at it. They move very fast, but they are so beautiful. I'm sure I need to work on my stalking technique. lol
My gear at the moment consists only of a tripod of middling quality (sturdy but heavy), my D3100, a Nikon 70-300 VR lens and the kit lens. I'm planning on getting a longer lens and possibly a new body in the next few months, but waiting to see if Nikon comes out with anything else besides the D4.
Anyway, I found this site because when I lived in NC, I took a class with Charles Glatzer's daughter and he was also helping her with the teaching. I learned a lot from them both and was in awe of some of the photos that Chas showed during his presentation. Anyway, I was looking at Nik software and they had an interview with Charles, during which he mentioned this site so I came to see what it was all about and I read through a lot of the critiques and was glad to see that there was not a lot of conflict; just good helpful commentary and suggestions. I visited another photography forum and man, the amount of evil there was suffocating. So much negativity. So that's why I joined and posted a picture here yesterday. Looking forward to reading your thoughts and learning! I also added some of my thoughts on some of the photos in that section, though I don't feel able to critique technical aspects because most of you are far more advanced than I am, I do at least know what I like and usually even why.
Welcome Matt!
You will learn a lot on BPN. The people here are very helpful. You may want to repost your image as all posts from Jan 16 to early am on the 18th are gone.
Looking forward to seeing your images. You live in one of the best places in NA to be a bird photographer.
Gail
Thanks, Gail! I took a look and I still see my post down there in the landscapes / cityscapes forum. I think I posted it after everything was back to normal, but probably before any restorations had started. I will choose to let fate sort out whether others can see it or not. lol
Welcome to BPN, Matt! You'll find this a great place to learn. I'm glad to hear that even as a newbie you're starting to critique other people's photos. That will help you learn even more. Looking forward to your participation!