My first attempt with a DSLR.

I borrowed my roomie's Pentax K100D for really rough stumble into DSLR-land. He gave me a quick crash course on the basic functions and I took off to my snakes. I will admit, my first attempt with it was very rough. Only one of my pictures actually came out decent. I think my lens and lightning weren't the greatest along with my newbieness. But, here's the one picture I am decently proud of.

My boa, Gauge. He's 3 years old.



Anyone else use this camera? Or have any pointers for me?

Not a BAD shot!! Alot better than my little camera

That's a cool shot. That would look nice in large-ish format, matted, and framed in a wood frame.

Thanks y'all!

Nice shot. A little more light and a smaller aperature (larger f-stop) would have provided a bit more depth of field.

Thank you! My roommate gave me a crash course on the aperture setting but I had it set to automatic. There's so much to learn compared to my Canon P&S.

DSLR cameras are super fun to work with. I use an Olympus E-520 with a 35mm macro lens most of the time. I don't really have my own lighting arrangement, so with smaller guys like corn snakes I tend to set them up on my windowsill on slightly overcast days. Personally, I don't like the effect that too much sun can have - harsh shadows in awkward areas. It also tends to wash things out. Here's one of my most recent shots of my lavender, Pandora:



She was curled up in her water dish, and I managed not to disturb her on the trip to the window.

Soo yeah, my suggestion is to go with slightly overcast days if you're using natural light, as it won't wash out the subject as much but still provides adequate exposure. Experiment with angles to get more interesting shots. Aaand yeah, have fun!