I went for a (fully manual) walk

[Ben Jennings]

So I set myself a challenge, I had a few spare hours which is not a common occurrence these days, I wanted to do something constructive with this time, so after starting to read "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, it had become quite clear to me that I really had to learn to shoot fully manual with my 5D, not just using aperture priority all the time. I also needed to spend some time using my 55-200mm which rarely sees the light of day (mainly use my 50mm for the large aperture, slight dof obsession I'm trying to get out of now).

So I went for my fully manual walk, it was challenging and I missed some shots due to not being prepared for events around me (missed a heron in flight right by me) but here are the results. Let me know what you think or if you have any tips when shooting fully manual it would be appreciated.

 

[adrian jordin]

The robin is excellent and I also like the abstract nature of the last two shots.

Before going digital I used to use a fully manual OM1.
I find it slightly less easy with the modern digital cameras as you often don't have two separate controls. They're often set by a dial with an extra button to press to select aperture or shutter. (Doubtles people using other makes of camera will correct me here.... ).

I used to set a working shutter speed to start with, so where I had to act quicker to get a shot I only had one control to set. If I had more time I could vary both controls to suit the subject.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Great idea Ben - stretching yourself my doing something different, and learning loads at the same time

Looks like you got some cracking results - loving that Robin particularly

 

[Bryan Hunt]

Cracking shot of the Robin and a great idea

 

[Darren Bradley]

Nice shots all around. I have to admit I rarely shoot fully manual anymore. I've gotten lazy and generally shoot either shutter or aperture priority, depending on the circumstances. So I'm a bit rusty, myself.

 

[jack green]

i love the robin !

personally i only shoot manual, i'm terrible for focus though ! rarely MF apart from night photography !

 

[Hamish Gill]

The robin and the last two are my favorite, but the robin is especially good!
Never hurts shooting manual for practising I think! But if you have aperture and shutter priority I say use them! They give the ability to shoot quicker in a lot of circumstances!

I mainly use manual mode when I very specifically want to set and fix the exposure!
Shooting indoors at weddings for eg, I can set the exposure and then it doesn't matter if a point the camera at somone with a strong light source behind them I will still get the right exposure for thier face!