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Judging by how many of these have been sold, there is no shortage of “The Digital Photography Book, Volume 1″ if you want to borrow from someone. Scott Kelby wrote this book, and just found out it is the best selling digital photography book ever.

I have this too. In fact it was the second book I bought after some D40 manual. It is a great book. His writing style is great. He is funny, and presents topics in a conversational way that is interesting to read. There is lots of good info in here for beginners, and intermediate photographers that want to get the most out of their cameras.

It is cheap, about $16. Just go buy it.

[Update]

There are now three of these books. They are really quite useful. He covers a lot of ground across the three books. In the first there is a lot of “this is what lens, and settings I use of this type of shooting”, which is quite useful to beginners. In the other books he delves into lighting and portraits a lot more.

Probably the best thing about the books is the “recipes” section at the back of each book. In one or two pages he posts a picture, then describes the lens, the settings, and how to get the “look” he was going for in each shot. Very helpful.

A few days ago I received a new lens in the mail. A Nikkor 50mm 1.8D. I debated getting this lens for quite some time. The lens only costs about $120, so what was the holdup? It doesn’t auto focus on my D40. I really wanted something that would let in more light. I had been kind of saving for a Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC HSM that does autofocus on my D40, but it is around $400 now. Bit of a difference in price.

When I first got my D40, I soon found out that the kit lens on my camera was almost useless shooting in my light deprived house without flash. I did get an SB400 flash, but I wanted to shoot available light.

The 50 has been pretty good, but I am finding it a bit difficult to focus. There is no focusing screen on my camera, just a little dot in the bottom left corner that I have to look for. I find that trying to focus and look for the dot is adding just that little bit more that is making it hard to compose and ensure that I am setting the proper exposure and other settings.

I think it is good that I am forced to focus with this lens, as a learning experience, but it sure would be nice if I didn’t have to.

Here is an indoor picture of Kate that I couldn’t have taken with the kit lens.

The old blog software, Serendipity, has been replaced with WordPress. I just decided to switch with no particular reason that I can remember. I was going to upgrade, and just decided to switch. Try something new. I decided to ditch the old posts too. Nothing newer than a couple of years ago anyway.

What has got me going again is photography. I think I have something to say anyway. Check back and find out.