Going to the mountains with my new Nikon d5000, my first dslr . . . need advice

[Kathy O]

So I got my first dslr on Tuesday, it is a Nikon d5000 -- very exciting. We are headed to the mountains on Friday. I have not had a lot of time to play around with it, do you suggest that I just put it on Auto mode and start shooting?? I have been reading up on how to shoot the "misty" looking waterfall so I will be playing around with my shutter speed a little. I would love to get some awesome mountain shots. I guess any suggestions I can get would be helpful. (I really am what you would call "DSLR Dumb") I have also been reading my manual -- I know that is a must!!

I also have a tripod, I have read where that is a must also!

Kathy

[FrankMi]

Kathy, you don't even have to leave the house to practice using the settings on the new camera. All you need to do is to start at the front of the manual and try each setting (what you shoot isn't important) then load the images onto the monitor and evaluate how well you did at the task at hand. Reshoot if needed or move on the next setting.

I spent an entire week shooting in the house with my DSLR until I felt I could find the controls I needed and could get the results I wanted before I took the camera out into the yard!

When you get to the mountains, set the camera on Auto and note the settings it uses, then switch to Manual, configure the settings and get the image. Think of each scenario as an experiment, make good notes, and unless you have a laptop with you, when you get back, compare the results on the monitor. For starters concentrate on the results achieved by the different combinations of Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. But then, you can do that at home before you go as well.

[Polar01]

Kathy: Good you have a tripod that will help, I would suggest a cable release, here is the reason, I find when I use it, I slow down, I think more about what I am going to shoot. Same with the tripod, I have to think more about the composition of the image I am going to take. I now do not just snap the camera up and pound out shots I have to think now. One good shot is worth more than 20 that are (well it starts with c and ends with p). Remember they are mountains they do not move very fast so take your time, put some tunes on and have fun.

Cheers:

Allan