Teaching yourself digital photography

Through the years, I have taught myself a lot about of photography. I have never attended one photography course in my life and taught myself all the basics. This was done through many years of reading and experimenting.

This is a slow process but worth the while. If you want to get into photography quickly, it is advisable to a 1 year diploma course at someone like National College of Photography, located in Hatfield, Pretoria.

However, if you like reading, there are a number of excellent resources on the net. I would like to introduce the following resource to the technically minded. If you are at all interested in the details behind photography, this is the ultimate site. If you read it and understand nothing, don't despair - there is always the creative side of photography left for you to explore :)

Link: Cambridge in Colour

They cover the following subjects at day of posting:

BASICS

* Cameras
* Understanding Digital Camera Sensors
* Understanding Camera Metering & Exposure
* Understanding Camera Lenses: Focal Length & Aperture
* Choosing a Camera Lens Filter: Polarizers, UV, ND & GND (NEW)
* Understanding Depth of Field
* Understanding Camera Autofocus (NEW)
* Understanding RAW Files: Why Should I Use RAW?
* Camera Lens Flare: What It Is and How to Reduce It
* Understanding the Hyperfocal Distance
* Imaging
* A Background on Color Perception
* Understanding Digital Pixels: PPI, Dithering and Print Size
* Understanding Bit Depth
* Understanding Image Types: JPEG & TIFF
* Understanding Histograms, Part 1: Tones & Contrast
* Understanding Histograms, Part 2: Luminance & Color
* Understanding Image Noise
* Understanding Sharpness
* Understanding White Balance
* Understanding Image Posterization
* Understanding Dynamic Range
* Understanding Digital Image Interpolation

TIPS & TECHNIQUES

* Using "Levels" in Photoshop
* Using "Curves" in Photoshop
* Sharpening Using an "Unsharp Mask"
* Using Local Contrast Enhancement
* Converting a Color Photo Into Black & White
* A Closer Look at Resizing an Image for the Web & Email
* Optimizing Digital Photo Enlargement
* Averaging Images to Reduce Noise
* A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator
* Color Management
* Color Management, Part 1: Concept & Overview
* Color Management, Part 2: Color Spaces
* Color Management, Part 3: Color Space Conversion
* Working Space Comparison: sRGB vs. Adobe RGB 1998

ADVANCED TOPICS

* Understanding Diffraction: Pixel Size, Aperture and Airy Disks
* Digital Camera Sensor Sizes: How Do These Influence Photography?
* Using the High Dynamic Range (HDR) Feature in Photoshop CS2/CS3
* Tilt/Shift Lenses: Using Shift Movements to Control Perspective (NEW)
* Tilt/Shift Lenses: Using Tilt Movements to Control Depth of Field (NEW)
* Intro and Common Obstacles in Night Photography
* Photo Stitching Digital Panoramas, Part 1: Overview & Capture
* Photo Stitching Digital Panoramas, Part 2: Using Stitching Software (NEW)
* Photo Stitching Digital Panoramas: Image Projections

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