I need photography lessons :-(

I need a lot of things. I need a visit to the doctor to help with the severe pollen allergy I have been experiencing the past week. I need a significant other in my life. I need a vacation. I need...

...photography lessons! Hopefully this year the annual fee I pay to the Oslo Kamera Klubb will pay off. I took my brand new Pentax K-r for a spin this evening, walking around Akerselva to take a picture of the waterfalls beside Wallmans Salong, among other things. And I can definitely say: I need photography lessons, and I need to work on my photographic eye. And I need to be a little bit more extroverted to take more pictures of people!

So here is it again, the waterfalls in all its glory. Not so much water anymore, as we are fast approaching the summer months. This image was shot in RAW and PP was done in Apple Aperture (I just added a bit more contrast as I shoot with the camera's natural mode). The quality, of course, is leaps and bounds compared to my (trusty but slowly retiring) Sony P-200. 

There is no doubt that summer is just around the corner.  You see lots of colors, flowers. A beautiful scenery indeed. I see...pollen! Lots of pollen to trigger allergies and asthma! But a beautiful scene nonetheless. This is, by the way, Studenterlunden, the main plaza in the middle of Oslo's main promenade, Karl Johan Street.  No post processing here. The photo was taken in aperture mode, with the aperture set at f11.

 

So how much can you blur the background with the Pentax K-r and the kit lens? A lot! If I were still in the mood I was in a few weeks back, I would probably write something poetic and melodramatic right about now. But no. I have hay fever, and during this time of the year "survival mode" kicks in and all I worry about is living each day as normal as I possibly can without being drugged so much, hehehe. Well if I were seriously drugged this is probably how I would see this scene with my eyes. No special effects here, the background blur is all the camera's work. I did, however converted the image to BW in Aperture (you can tell that I cannot do so many things with Apple Aperture yet, that too is a work in progress). But still I like the overall "mood" I was able to get with this image. If there was one thing about the kit lens I could criticize, it would be the bokeh. It's ok, but I would have preferred it to be a tad smoother.

This is probably my most favorite place in the city center: Aker Brygge (Aker Pier) with the Akershus fortress in the background. I took this photo at 9PM and the sun was barely beginning to set. The colors look a bit oversaturated, but trust me, it's not the camera. It's just the way it is! Oslo during the spring-summer transition is, simply put, VIVID. Well worth experiencing first-hand if you have the opportunity!

I guess the pictures are nice, but I want more drama in my photographs. Not be people doing dramatic things (though I guess I could to that, too) but by taking pictures in angles that catch the attention. I do hope I learn do to these things as I continue to use my new photo equipment.