Nice example Bill has there. I was reading the page, not bothering to notice the url, and thought HEY I've seen that cat before. The woman looks familiar too - oh DUH, it's Bill's page.
Camdumb/icecube:
Go buy some 35mm, ISO 100 film at your local CVS/WalMart/Target etc.. (IF you want to shoot B&W, for now make sure it says C-41 - you can still get that processed at your local drug store, walmart etc...
If it's bright and sunny, set the aperture to f/16. If it's hazy F/11, Cloudy f/8, Stormy but still daylight f/5.6. If it's darker than that, go inside and watch TV or find something else to do. (For now)
Set the shutter speed to the fraction closest to the ISO film speed. If it's ISO 100, set it to 1/125th (usually the closest) of a second. If you have doubts, set it to the next slower notch (lower number for fractions, it's usually better to get too much light than too little). Some numbers to be aware of - it's hard to hold the camera still enough by hand slower than 1/60th of a second, maybe 1/30th. (Depends on the camera and you)
See Bill Mattock's page above (the
http://www.growlery.com/aires_iiil/ one) for how to focus this one.
Go take some pictures (outside). Indoors is much darker than you would ever imagine, even when it looks brightly lit. Fred does a fine job explaining all of this on the first web page listed below, how shutter speed and aperture relate, what stops are, etc... But that will get you going. Indeed, there is a cult of people who shoot little plastic toy cameras that only have one shutter speed (usually close to 1/100th) and one aperture setting (f/11 usually).
further explanation:
Re film choice:
I shoot a lot of B&W because I can develop it myself at home, but for right now, you dont want to mess with that. C-41 is the process that all the 1 hour photo places use. (Incidently even one hour places are usually cheaper if you elect to leave it with them overnight. Ask first) If you really want to shoot some black and white, make sure that it says that it's C-41. Wal-Mart has started selling some old fashioned true black and white (*ok it's not truly old fashioned but you troublemakers better keep out of this) films. These cost a good bit more to process and they usually have to be sent out for a week or two.)
Re film speed:
The ISO number is the "speed" or light sensitivity of the film. 400 is "faster" (or more sensitive) than 100 or 200, but it's also more expensive. 800 is faster and more expensive still. In addition to being more expensive they generally look "grainy" or coarser than slower speed films. Since you're shooting without a meter of any sort (it's usually built in to the camera) - it's also much harder to guess the light when it gets darker. Stick with ISO 100 for now, and just shoot outdoors in broad daylight until you get the hang of it.
Links
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A handy guide for judging the shutter speeds and aperture settings can be found at:
http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm
Also, a copy you can print out and make into a handy dandy slide rule out of cardstock can be found at:
http://expomat.tripod.com/
