In conjunction with my Evening Class on Photography, this page contains a running list of useful photography related resources, many of which are referenced during the course:
Sally Mann and there’s a discussion about the book here and here
Links from Week 2
More on Depth of Field (Circles of Confusion Video)
Seven Important Lessons Learned from Landscape Photography
More about Landscapes from fstoppers
Landscape Photo group https://fstoppers.com/group/64736/photos
Seascapes – definitely something to try in Ireland! Also this one
More on Richard Avedon This is very interesting too on his work if you have 15 minutes: American West Video
Perfecting the Headshot (fstoppers)
Anthony Armstrong Jones / Lord Snowdon
Photographing Martin Scorsese and his actors. BBC reel has a lot of articles on photographers and their work.
Blog post for my Starlings Image
Swim Ireland Photography Policy
See links below for Photo Editing Software…
Plus – Nikon NX Studio Software demonstrated in class
Article on Darkroom Print Manipulation
Info on taking Star Fields pics
General Image Sites:
https://www.worldpressphoto.org/
BBC In Pictures Page – regular picture stories from around the world
Camera Gear Sites:
Useful tips for taking pictures with your phone
Photo Editing Software
Used personally:
Have tried and are good alternatives:
Most of the camera manufacturers also have software that can edit images from their own cameras. Windows and MacOS also come with editing software. Try these first before you buy something else.
Buying Stuff
First port of call is to shop local at places like Barker Photographic or O’Leary’s. Call in, get your hands on stuff, ask questions, pay a little more for good, local customer service.
There are bigger dealers in Dublin if you want to keep it Irish and/or want to go up: Bermingham Cameras and Conns Cameras. I’ve never used them personally but know Pros who do.
I have previously bought a lot of stuff from Wex in the UK (but I don’t think they ship to Ireland anymore so you need a friend in the UK). A genuine dealer with the best (real) prices. I think Jessops are now shipping to Ireland again: once a national proper camera store, now only on-line.
If you browse the web you’ll see ads from Amazon. I have found that many of the Amazon.co.uk sellers won’t ship to Ireland but check it for yourself.
BREXIT WARNING: expect to get hit with additional charges if buying from the UK. Even though the seller may remove UK VAT, as a minimum you’ll have to pay the Irish VAT. You’ll probably also have to pay fee to the courier for collecting the VAT, and sometimes they have minimum fees (or they guess the VAT if the parcel value isn’t marked).
So I’ve been looking for EU based sellers. So far photospecialist.ie looks good – everything shipped from the Netherlands – in fact underneath the Irish site is KameraExpress which I visited on holidays in NL and they are a proper chain of specialist camera shops.
For used equipment I now go first to MPB, who are a worldwide camera gear buyers and seller. They shipped my purchase from Berlin so I avoided additional fees and I got exactly what I wanted: https://www.mpb.com/en-eu/
I have to bought second hand gear from eBay – but only from sellers with excellent feedback ratings in the EU. Especially look for private sellers selling their own gear. Beware anything shipping from Asia (unless it’s lens caps or other little bits of useful plastic).
I’ve not tried DoneDeal or Adverts.ie. There is less stuff there and some seems over priced (in the asking anyway) but you might find something locally you can try before you buy. I have bought from Facebook Marketplace but only when the seller is local enough to meet and check things out personally before buying.
O’Leary’s Camera World still carry a good amount of second hand gear. It’s great to get your hands on it before you buy and to have somewhere to return it to if it turns out to be a dud. Barkers also sell stuff for some of their customers.
Also worth looking in CEX in town and douglas for odd camera gear
For memory cards, readers, batteries and all manor of small useful things, I rely on 7-dayshop (in Jersey I think). Free shipping may only apply to the UK but shipping to Ireland isn’t very expensive. Also myMemory.ie. More recently I’ve bought cards from photospecialist.ie and Barkers have everything too
In terms of buying cameras second hand:
- Check overall condition
- Check the shutter count. Get the seller to take a photo of anything and upload to https://www.camerashuttercount.com/ This is like the mileage on a car: higher mileage is OK if it within the specified shutter life for the camera – but low shutter count camera are less used and should be more expensive.
- Check how the shutter sounds at different speeds. Around 1/10 or more you should notice a change in sound for longer exposures (try manual mode for this)
- Check the sensor https://photographylife.com/how-to-spot-dust-on-your-dslr-sensor. Dust can be cleaned in most cases, scratches or damage is more significant.
- Check all the knobs and dials and make sure they work and move smoothly.
- Take a picture and look at it on the back of the camera to check the screen is working properly. Check the screen for damage.
- Look through the viewfinder without a lens in place and check for damage to the prism and mirror.
For used lenses:
- Look through them and check for dust and scratches. Small particles inside are not unusual and may have no noticeable effect on images. Haze, fungus or weird tracks like a minute slug walked through the lens are bad.
- Check the outer surfaces and coatings of front and rear elements for weird stuff by shining a light against it at an angle
- Check the focus / zoom rings move smoothly
- Mount it on a camera and make sure it clicks smoothly in place
- Make sure the camera can identify the lens and auto focus works
- Try and operate the diaphragm manually or take a series of test shots at different apertures and make sure the lens stops down and opens up cleanly.
- Inspect the aperture blades with the lens stopped down.
If it’s from a shop, check if they offer a warranty or money-back if it turns out to be a dud once you get it home.