Images of items I have purchased.

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Raymond Lin said:
If I were to start again tomorrow, or if I were to travel back in time and tell myself in 1 conversation, I would say this.

1 - Learn the technical side first, get this down, when this becomes second nature, the art will follow. Forget the idiot modes, go straight into Aperture priority. Don't need to go all out manual, the camera is clever enough to work out the shutter speed. Use the LCD to tell when it is over or under exposed.
2 - don't be afraid to imitate, there are very few original ideas anymore, only the style are different. So if you see a photo that you like, do copy it, practice, try it for yourself.
3 - read lots of blogs, looks at magazines and THINK how that photo is taken, pay attention to the light and the shadows, the shadows tells you as much about light as light itself and light is everything. Pay attention to what is on screen and what isn't, pay attention to negative space, negative space is counter-intuitive at first but it gives the photo a context.

Don't worry about the smudge on the LCD, that doesn't affect the image, don't even worry about seeing dust on the viewfinder. Those don't show up in photos. If you see spots in photos, that's when you need to be worried (and get sensor cleaned). One of my 5D3's LCD has a scratch on it. Probably from my glasses, I was like "dammit" at first but I was also in the middle of a shoot so that dammit lasted half a second and I got over it. Cameras are a tool, nothing more.

Love the pictures, not the camera.

You bought the camera because you have something to say, I imagine you see things that you want to share with people, I imagine that sometimes or some days you see images and wish you could've captured that and share those. Remember that, share the photos, don't worry about the camera. Learn the camera of what it can do, learn its limits and push those limits, don't fall into the trap of getting a lot of lenses or upgrade that you don't need. If you think your photography takes you a certain direction and certain gear can help you on your journey, then that's when you spend the money.

One more thing, ask yourself 1 question before you take a photo.

What story does this photo tell?

If the photo tell a story without your commentary then it is a photo worth taking and keeping. Storytelling is the soul, much like painting or sculpture, people do it to express themselves, tell their story. Have the art and you will have your audience.

(I only intended to write 3 lines lol and I should really reword that and put it on my blog)
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Great post dude.

Had my DSLR a year and it's been a nice learning curve.
 
kona786 said:
Great post dude.

Had my DSLR a year and it's been a nice learning curve.
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Np. :)

I think photography is quite special as a hobby. A lot of hobbies are self-serving in its nature (reading, craft of some sorts, sports), even though you can do it with other people, the end result from it is hard to share with others, unless you become the Olympic champion in 1500m or something. Where with photography you can share what you love with other people with what you do. I find that the most rewarding part, when people enjoy looking at my pictures.

The self serving part I would say is when I take a photo, when it is a really good one, I just know it, and there are times when I gasp and I've even gone "wow" out loud looking at the LCD (even I didn't expect it come out that good), sometimes I just smile, sometimes it feels like my heart skips a beat. It's almost a high and that high is addictive and I want that again and again. I love that feeling.
 
Cosimo said:
Planning to take lessons later?
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Going through the lesson part of the game now.

It's REALLY good. I am learning a lot, not just the phases they use but actual guitar playing.

For example, the basics such as hitting the E string on the 3rd fret and then 5th fret and then 7th fret to make a small melody. The screen throws at you these notes and you need to hit it in time. Obviously you need to move your fingers up and down the fret board and I SUCK, so I misses a couple of times, when that happens the game slows down, it slows everything down so you have time to move your hand until you hit it. Then it speeds up a bit, then you hit that and then it does it at full speed. It doesn't move on to the next phrase until you've actually hit 100%.

I just laughed and amazed I just did that part of the lesson and thought that was amazing !

It basically forcing you to practice, practice and practice.

Love it.
 
This arrived along with some cables to connect it together.


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Raymond Lin said:
Going through the lesson part of the game now.

It's REALLY good. I am learning a lot, not just the phases they use but actual guitar playing.

For example, the basics such as hitting the E string on the 3rd fret and then 5th fret and then 7th fret to make a small melody. The screen throws at you these notes and you need to hit it in time. Obviously you need to move your fingers up and down the fret board and I SUCK, so I misses a couple of times, when that happens the game slows down, it slows everything down so you have time to move your hand until you hit it. Then it speeds up a bit, then you hit that and then it does it at full speed. It doesn't move on to the next phrase until you've actually hit 100%.

I just laughed and amazed I just did that part of the lesson and thought that was amazing !

It basically forcing you to practice, practice and practice.

Love it.
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Thanks for this, I might buy it and give it a go. Is there a way to skip the basics? I used to be able to play fairly well, I had songs like Everlong nailed down and was learning parts of the solo from sweet child of mine, but I haven't played for years and I'm very rusty and have little motivation.

Also are the coloured strings required? I could fit them to the Stratocaster but I'd rather not if I don't have to.
 
When you first start the game it asks you what kind of level you are, beginning, novice etc. I guess you can.

Colour strings are not required, any bog standard guitar would do.

I just spent the last hour doing the bending string lesson and getting painful fingers (play until fingers bleed? lol), I just couldn't hack it, scare I would snap the strings ! (I already snapped the thin one today when tuning....on the first day !)
 
Raymond Lin said:
When you first start the game it asks you what kind of level you are, beginning, novice etc. I guess you can.

Colour strings are not required, any bog standard guitar would do.

I just spent the last hour doing the bending string lesson and getting painful fingers (play until fingers bleed? lol), I just couldn't hack it, scare I would snap the strings ! (I already snapped the thin one today when tuning....on the first day !)
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The strings shouldn't snap when bending if they are decent quality, fitted correctly and so on.

And after you've been playing for a while your fingertips toughen up. I could slide along an unwound metal string without thinking about it before, if I did it now I'd probably cut my finger open.
 
I'll try the bending lesson again tomorrow, I ALMOST Got it, but at normal speed I just keep missing it, and it slow down a notch again. So I had to nail that before it go back up to normal speed. Kept going back and forth and my middle finger is just in pain.

The strings are Medium Gauge (.011-.049) Electric Nanoweb® Coated Elixir® Strings...I bought a whole pack today, think I will get a few of the .011 as spares !
 
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Light gauge would probably be easier for learning. :)

They would be easier to press down and bend etc. What is the action of the guitar?

Medium heavy strings and a high action won't be much fun for learning for example. I used to play with super slinkey's (light) and low action, and later switched to regular slinkey's and stuck with low action.
 
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It probably would be but I rather not restring the whole thing lol

On a different note, my brother in law loves my guitar and he loves the acoustic tone that it gives, even unplugged. It sounds even better when amped too and best of all, it is more comfortable to play due to the size.

Flip and switch and ramp up the amp and you get an angry electric tone. This thing is just awesome.
 
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acme15 said:
I edited my previous post a little, and I would expect it to be awesome for that money haha, its a beautiful bit of kit. :)

What amp did you end up getting?
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The action on the guitar is fine, I am not sure how to adjust it or if you can but I have no complaint about it. It is certainly the easiest one I've tried so even as it is I am more than happy with it.

I haven't pick up an amp yet. My brother in law brought over his Blackstar HT-1R (I thought he had an orange, he said he had a Marshall and a couple of Peavey before), the Blackstar is a 1 Watt amp, and it was plenty loud enough and it sounded good too. He is a guitar player and he says my guitar gives really nice acoustic sounds and sounds great through the Blackstar (even though it is an electric amp rather than a pure acoustic amp).

So I am going to look into other > 5W Tube amps and see. There is no rush yet as I am learning through Rocksmith so no need for an amp I think for a while. He also offer to lent it to me for a week, I said once I've picked up some songs from Rocksmith I would love to, right now I am just making noise, not music ! :D
 
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