Ask HN: Beginning Photography

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=982814

by biggitybones • 17 years ago

3 6 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Do any of you have any suggestions on books, web sites, or other resources for starting out in photography?

I need a hobby that doesn't involve staring at PHP code and stimulates the left side of my brain, and I think photography is something I'll enjoy. Being a tech nerd, I'd like to delve into as much as I can about the art and science of photography, from camera settings to post-processing. This hobby seems to be frequently found among tech geeks, so I'm hoping to find some great resources that aim to help the technical/hacker mindset.

yan• 17 years ago

If you're just interested in finding a hobby (and not 100% set on photography), check out this post I submitted a while ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=862139.

volida• 17 years ago

photo.net

wgj• 17 years ago

I took two years off from software and did almost nothing but photography. Photo.net is a great resource and great community.

biggitybones• 17 years ago

Thanks for this link - I'm usually leery of simple domains that have a link to retail, so I probably would have ignored it in a google search. It seems like a great starting point.

hackworth• 17 years ago

Barbara London and John Updike's "Photography" is literally the textbook most beginning photographers get in school. i'd suggest looking at used book sites to see if you can get a copy second-hand, since it is priced like a college textbook, too.

joshuarr• 17 years ago

Buy the most expensive digital slr camera you can afford - probably canon or nikon (canon). Then buy or try out Adobe Lightroom. Shoot interesting things on the auto mode, get used to organizing and post in lightroom. Then start playing with settings.

If you need motivation, try creating condensed weekend projects, like photographing a baseball in interesting ways, or moving vehicles.

Ask HN: Beginning Photography

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