As there is a wide variety of different types of film for film based cameras, a wide variety of storage mediums exist for digital cameras. While older digital cameras usually relied on internal storage, today's modern digital cameras are more focused on the need for memory cards in order to store photos taken by users.
There really are not any major issues for using a memory card to store your digital photos from your camera. Actually, most people prefer to have their photos store onto a removable card rather than have their photos stored in the internals of the camera. The memory cards allow the amateur photographer to easily transport their photos, and print photographs from the cards at almost every major retail outlet.
Really the only thing that concerns digital camera owners is the fact that there are so many different kinds of memory cards available. These memory cards, known as "flash memory" come in a wide variety of different formats. The problem with all these different formats, is that for the most part, they are not compatible with each other.
The first digital camera that relied on the usage of external flash memory (memory cards) to store their digital photographs utilized floppy disks, and the first kind of flash memory, Compact Flash. Floppy disk (which is not flash memory) based digital cameras were bulky, however because floppy disks were so cheap, it kind of evened out the bulk factor. Unfortunately, the photographs taken with floppy disk based cameras were nothing to write home about, and would be an eye sore compared to digital photographs taken with today's digital cameras.
As mentioned above, Compact Flash was the original external flash memory. While the format is still in use today in other electronics, it is pretty rare to find a new digital camera that accepts the usage of Compact Flash cards. Because Compact Flash was first introduced back in 1994, it is loosing its foot hold in the flash memory industry to newcomers with advanced technologies.
xD-Picture cards are another form of flash memory released in mid-2002 for the sole purpose of usage in digital cameras, because of their extremely small size. Very few camera manufacturers support this form of flash memory, and as a result users who hold digital cameras that only take xD memory cards will pay a premium for the memory cards due to the fact that their exists few manufacturers of xD flash cards.
Sony has their own line of flash memory, which is creatively titled "Memory Stick". Sony is the only company that produces digital cameras, as well as other electronics that utilize their Memory Stick protocol, so just as people who have xD memory cards; owners of cameras requiring a Memory Stick will be paying a premium for their memory.
SD, which stands for Secure Digital is perhaps the most used form of flash memory used on the market today. Available in a wide variety of digital cameras manufactured by literally thousands of different companies allows for the ability of cheap SD memory cards, considering there are also several different companies that produce SD memory cards. If you are looking for the cheapest flash memory cards, then you definitely should purchase a digital camera that utilizes SD memory cards.
The above are just the most popular formats of flash memory. Several other types of flash memory have come and gone, and new formats will be continued to be unveiled. It's kind of harsh that all these different flash memory formats exist, especially for customers who purchase the wrong type of memory card for their camera. Hopefully someday there will either be a universal standard for flash memory, or perhaps the different flash memory specifications will be compatible with each other.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Photography Project: Creating a Video Scrapbook
By Kathy A. Schaeffer
Often parents and grandparents struggle to think of a perfect and meaningful "pass down through the generations" heirloom gift for their children or grandchildren. A gift of spending time with the younger generation is always a good choice, but consider taking it a step further and offering a gift of heritage. Even if "lineage" doesn't seem to excite them now, it will sometime in the future most likely.
To put this project into action, you will need a camera or video camcorder, preferably both, someone to operate the cameras, and lots of old photographs that you have collected throughout the years. What you will be doing is putting together a video scrapbook of sorts for future generations.
There has been a large increase in the interest in genealogy over the past decade or two. Suddenly many people of various generations are clamoring to know their roots and lineages but all too often, sufficient records were never kept to make this a possibility. Our ancestors rarely kept records that were inclusive enough to give future genealogists much needed information and unfortunately all too often photographs and family recipes were lost along the way as well.
The first step will be to do a bit of planning. Sift through pictures from the past and find as many photographs of extended and immediate family members as possible. Jot down notes that will serve to remind you of stories about Uncle Jim or Great Grandmother Sarah.
Gather up a few family recipes because these will be going onto your video scrapbook also. You will be going a step further than just copying them down because future generations will have a video of you telling new cooks how to make your infamous chocolate cake or your mother's chili recipe. You may want to consider a second video project solely for recipes. Most of us would adore having a video of grandma or mother showing step by step how to make the recipes we remember but can never quite duplicate to taste the same. Bring your photographer into the kitchen and share your cooking secrets.
For the "still pictures" part of your project, take photographs of family members and have some taken of you. These will be put into a traditional scrapbook as a companion to your video scrapbook. If there is a family homestead in the area, or former places of employment, get pictures of the sites. Include photographs of churches and schools that were important to the family. Keep in mind, however, that there will be just one copy of the traditional book, but the video will be able to have copies made from it, so get those sites of interest onto the video also.
For the video scrapbook, have some kind of an outline to follow when the filming is taking place. Include things such as birth and death dates of the family members whose photographs you will be sharing. Be sure that your photographer knows enough about filming so that he or she will be able to use zoom shots or macro zoom for things like pictures that you are showing.
Tell stories on your video. Reminisce about your own childhood and about the childhoods of your children or grandchildren. This project will turn out to be a true family treasure, so whatever you wish to share on it will be a good idea.
Listed here are some ideas of things to include in your video scrapbook. Be sure to pair any of these items with companion photographs you may have:
1. Tell stories of your parents and grandparents, mention names of siblings, aunts, and uncles. If you know special dates for these people, include them. (Birth dates, death dates if applicable, anniversary dates, etc.)
2. Talk about sad stories, happy stories, and family legends. No story is too small or insignificant to include. Take the time to record things that come to mind, no matter how small they may seem at the time.
3. Tell about your birthday parties and your wedding. What was your most memorable birthday party and what was your favorite age? Who came to your wedding? What songs were sung there? Be sure to include the location and description of the cake, decorations, food, and gifts - everything that you can recall.
4. What jobs did you have throughout your life? Do you remember how much you were paid for them? What were your chores at home?
5. What do you remember about prices of items that can be compared to prices today?
6. What are some of the poems and prayers you remember learning as a child? Reciting them for your video scrapbook will be a lovely idea.
7. Where did you attend school? What do you remember most about it? Who were your best friends, and your nemesis?
8. What advice do you remember your parents or grandparents giving to you? What advice would you like to give to your grandchildren?
9. What are the most important life lessons that you have learned? What are some life lessons that you missed your opportunity to learn with them?
10. How did your family celebrate holidays? Be sure to include the "smaller" holidays as well as the major ones. Did the family celebrate Memorial Day or Labor Day differently than we do today? What foods were served for special holiday meals?
11. Which songs were popular when you were a child or teenager? Do you still remember the lyrics and tunes? If so, sing some on your video.
12. What were your favorite foods when you were a child? A teenager? Now?
13. Mention your children and grandchildren. Tell things you remember about their births and childhoods. Share things such as what your children wanted to be when they grew up. Tell about what made each of your children special and what now makes each of your grandchildren special if you are a grandparent.
14. Tell about some of the fashions you or your mother wore in the past. For some reason, children get a big kick out of hearing those things that make them keep laughing! Don't be afraid to add some jokes that you remember.
15. Get some "remote shots" if possible, of those places that were special to you as a child or adult.
Your family history video scrapbook project will be "finished" only when you choose to stop. Your creativity will allow you to think of many ideas that were not listed here. The most important thing to remember is that you need to enjoy doing this project. It will be a special gift, so be relaxed while doing it.
One final essential thing to remember is that although you might feel that something you recall is "not important" or you feel that no one would be interested in hearing it, it's just not true. Whatever you can pass along to future generations will indeed be appreciated at some point in time.
Often parents and grandparents struggle to think of a perfect and meaningful "pass down through the generations" heirloom gift for their children or grandchildren. A gift of spending time with the younger generation is always a good choice, but consider taking it a step further and offering a gift of heritage. Even if "lineage" doesn't seem to excite them now, it will sometime in the future most likely.
To put this project into action, you will need a camera or video camcorder, preferably both, someone to operate the cameras, and lots of old photographs that you have collected throughout the years. What you will be doing is putting together a video scrapbook of sorts for future generations.
There has been a large increase in the interest in genealogy over the past decade or two. Suddenly many people of various generations are clamoring to know their roots and lineages but all too often, sufficient records were never kept to make this a possibility. Our ancestors rarely kept records that were inclusive enough to give future genealogists much needed information and unfortunately all too often photographs and family recipes were lost along the way as well.
The first step will be to do a bit of planning. Sift through pictures from the past and find as many photographs of extended and immediate family members as possible. Jot down notes that will serve to remind you of stories about Uncle Jim or Great Grandmother Sarah.
Gather up a few family recipes because these will be going onto your video scrapbook also. You will be going a step further than just copying them down because future generations will have a video of you telling new cooks how to make your infamous chocolate cake or your mother's chili recipe. You may want to consider a second video project solely for recipes. Most of us would adore having a video of grandma or mother showing step by step how to make the recipes we remember but can never quite duplicate to taste the same. Bring your photographer into the kitchen and share your cooking secrets.
For the "still pictures" part of your project, take photographs of family members and have some taken of you. These will be put into a traditional scrapbook as a companion to your video scrapbook. If there is a family homestead in the area, or former places of employment, get pictures of the sites. Include photographs of churches and schools that were important to the family. Keep in mind, however, that there will be just one copy of the traditional book, but the video will be able to have copies made from it, so get those sites of interest onto the video also.
For the video scrapbook, have some kind of an outline to follow when the filming is taking place. Include things such as birth and death dates of the family members whose photographs you will be sharing. Be sure that your photographer knows enough about filming so that he or she will be able to use zoom shots or macro zoom for things like pictures that you are showing.
Tell stories on your video. Reminisce about your own childhood and about the childhoods of your children or grandchildren. This project will turn out to be a true family treasure, so whatever you wish to share on it will be a good idea.
Listed here are some ideas of things to include in your video scrapbook. Be sure to pair any of these items with companion photographs you may have:
1. Tell stories of your parents and grandparents, mention names of siblings, aunts, and uncles. If you know special dates for these people, include them. (Birth dates, death dates if applicable, anniversary dates, etc.)
2. Talk about sad stories, happy stories, and family legends. No story is too small or insignificant to include. Take the time to record things that come to mind, no matter how small they may seem at the time.
3. Tell about your birthday parties and your wedding. What was your most memorable birthday party and what was your favorite age? Who came to your wedding? What songs were sung there? Be sure to include the location and description of the cake, decorations, food, and gifts - everything that you can recall.
4. What jobs did you have throughout your life? Do you remember how much you were paid for them? What were your chores at home?
5. What do you remember about prices of items that can be compared to prices today?
6. What are some of the poems and prayers you remember learning as a child? Reciting them for your video scrapbook will be a lovely idea.
7. Where did you attend school? What do you remember most about it? Who were your best friends, and your nemesis?
8. What advice do you remember your parents or grandparents giving to you? What advice would you like to give to your grandchildren?
9. What are the most important life lessons that you have learned? What are some life lessons that you missed your opportunity to learn with them?
10. How did your family celebrate holidays? Be sure to include the "smaller" holidays as well as the major ones. Did the family celebrate Memorial Day or Labor Day differently than we do today? What foods were served for special holiday meals?
11. Which songs were popular when you were a child or teenager? Do you still remember the lyrics and tunes? If so, sing some on your video.
12. What were your favorite foods when you were a child? A teenager? Now?
13. Mention your children and grandchildren. Tell things you remember about their births and childhoods. Share things such as what your children wanted to be when they grew up. Tell about what made each of your children special and what now makes each of your grandchildren special if you are a grandparent.
14. Tell about some of the fashions you or your mother wore in the past. For some reason, children get a big kick out of hearing those things that make them keep laughing! Don't be afraid to add some jokes that you remember.
15. Get some "remote shots" if possible, of those places that were special to you as a child or adult.
Your family history video scrapbook project will be "finished" only when you choose to stop. Your creativity will allow you to think of many ideas that were not listed here. The most important thing to remember is that you need to enjoy doing this project. It will be a special gift, so be relaxed while doing it.
One final essential thing to remember is that although you might feel that something you recall is "not important" or you feel that no one would be interested in hearing it, it's just not true. Whatever you can pass along to future generations will indeed be appreciated at some point in time.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Portrait Photography
Portrait photography is one of the most common types of professional photography on the market today. Most of us have been put into the position of having to pay a professional photographer large sums of money to have senior portraits taken of our children, or simply having the yearly shots of the family taken in order to preserve the kids growing up in different stages of their life. These are important photographs for us. In most cases, people will consider these photos as some of the most important things they own.
Good portrait photography can be fairly easy though, if you take the time to cover the basics and you own a reasonably good digital camera. Most of the point and shoot cheaper models will be inadequate to give you the really good photos you want of your family. I recommend a camera that's no less than about six mega pixels if you want really good shots, although you can get some pretty good photographs with lesser resolution if you're careful and prepare well.
I've covered lenses in earlier posts so we won't go into a lot of detail on how different lenses work, but you will need a lens that has some zoom capability, and honestly the more the better. Just make sure that you're lens is in the range of 100mm with some zoom capability on either side of that.
A good flash setup is essential. You have to have a flash that you can move around the subject in order to get the proper lighting. The flash that's either in your camera or attached to your camera simply won't provide the versatility to take good portrait photographs.
Lighting your subject in the most flattering way is the starting place for good portraits. You'll need to take a close look at your subject and see the areas that need improvement. In addition to your flash, you should be considering whether you'll be taking your portraits inside or outside. The whole idea is to have your subject well lit from all directions. You can do this by using your flash, outside light with a flash, reflectors that capture and return the light sources, or just room light if the room is set up properly. Remember that a single light source coming from one direction is going to create a shadow or an uneven lighting. As the person behind the camera you need to take enough time to examine your subject in the available light, and to see in your minds eye the effect of the flash or any extra light you may be using.
One of the cheapest ways to achieve a natural effect is through the use of an umbrella. There are several types of photographic umbrellas available. These are great for softening up the light that comes from your flash because they tend to scatter the light around an make it seem to be coming from more than a single point.
Without a doubt, flash is the easiest to use. Because you can alter the intensity of the flash, you'll be able to change your shutter speed and aperture to their best affect.
You also need to know a little about the different types of light. Light can be bright or low, hard or soft. I avoid taking portraits with a harsh direct light on the person I'm shooting as it tends to bring out the imperfections in the skin. I generally will take family photos in my back room, where I can use a combination of flash and natural sunlight through the window.
Backgrounds are next. I have several different color backgrounds that I use for taking portraits, none of which cost me a lot of money. That's because you can buy rolls of background paper of different colors very inexpensively. When you're done you can just throw it away without losing a lot of money. If you're really thrifty, you can roll it up and use it again, but be very careful that it doesn't get wrinkled or creased in the process. It's not worth having a distracting line behind your subject to save a few pennies on paper. Make sure that the area you use for your background extends widely enough to contain your entire subject and the lighting you intend to use. Extend it at least two feet beyond the image in order to have the background contribute to the effect of your lighting.
Good portrait photography can be fairly easy though, if you take the time to cover the basics and you own a reasonably good digital camera. Most of the point and shoot cheaper models will be inadequate to give you the really good photos you want of your family. I recommend a camera that's no less than about six mega pixels if you want really good shots, although you can get some pretty good photographs with lesser resolution if you're careful and prepare well.
I've covered lenses in earlier posts so we won't go into a lot of detail on how different lenses work, but you will need a lens that has some zoom capability, and honestly the more the better. Just make sure that you're lens is in the range of 100mm with some zoom capability on either side of that.
A good flash setup is essential. You have to have a flash that you can move around the subject in order to get the proper lighting. The flash that's either in your camera or attached to your camera simply won't provide the versatility to take good portrait photographs.
Lighting your subject in the most flattering way is the starting place for good portraits. You'll need to take a close look at your subject and see the areas that need improvement. In addition to your flash, you should be considering whether you'll be taking your portraits inside or outside. The whole idea is to have your subject well lit from all directions. You can do this by using your flash, outside light with a flash, reflectors that capture and return the light sources, or just room light if the room is set up properly. Remember that a single light source coming from one direction is going to create a shadow or an uneven lighting. As the person behind the camera you need to take enough time to examine your subject in the available light, and to see in your minds eye the effect of the flash or any extra light you may be using.
One of the cheapest ways to achieve a natural effect is through the use of an umbrella. There are several types of photographic umbrellas available. These are great for softening up the light that comes from your flash because they tend to scatter the light around an make it seem to be coming from more than a single point.
Without a doubt, flash is the easiest to use. Because you can alter the intensity of the flash, you'll be able to change your shutter speed and aperture to their best affect.
You also need to know a little about the different types of light. Light can be bright or low, hard or soft. I avoid taking portraits with a harsh direct light on the person I'm shooting as it tends to bring out the imperfections in the skin. I generally will take family photos in my back room, where I can use a combination of flash and natural sunlight through the window.
Backgrounds are next. I have several different color backgrounds that I use for taking portraits, none of which cost me a lot of money. That's because you can buy rolls of background paper of different colors very inexpensively. When you're done you can just throw it away without losing a lot of money. If you're really thrifty, you can roll it up and use it again, but be very careful that it doesn't get wrinkled or creased in the process. It's not worth having a distracting line behind your subject to save a few pennies on paper. Make sure that the area you use for your background extends widely enough to contain your entire subject and the lighting you intend to use. Extend it at least two feet beyond the image in order to have the background contribute to the effect of your lighting.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
5 Places to Find Digital Photography Classes
Now that you have made the transition from film to digital, you might want to consider taking some classes in digital photography. Taking classes led by an experienced photographer can help you learn about the various functions and modes of your digital camera, help you discover some timing techniques to assist you in overcoming any shutter lag in your camera, and help you understand basic visual concepts in photography, such as composition and lighting. Since digital photography doesn't require a darkroom in order to view the resulting images, classes can be held almost anywhere. To help get you started, here are 5 places in your community that are likely to offer digital photography classes.
1. Community College
Your local community college is a wonderful resource that you should take advantage of. Community colleges often offer a whole series of classes, ranging from basic to advanced levels. There may also be classes with a specific focus, such as Wedding Photography or Action Photography. You can take non-credit classes, usually held in the evening or on weekends, or you can opt to officially enroll in the college and earn academic credits. Instructors for community college classes usually hold degrees or other certifications in the field, especially in cases where academic credit is offered, so you can rest assured that you will have a knowledgeable teacher. In addition to regular tuition rates, be prepared to pay for extra materials or services such as a textbook or computer lab fees.
2. Cultural Center or Art Museum
Cultural centers or art museums are excellent places to find digital photography classes, since they are already dedicated to the advancement of fine arts. Classes offered by one of these centers would probably be more focused on the creative aspect of photography. Therefore, you might be able to experiment with unusual subjects, settings, or techniques that a class offered through a different outlet wouldn't cover. Additionally, cultural centers and art museums often hold exhibitions to display students' work or competitions with various prizes at stake. This would be a great opportunity for you to give your work additional exposure in your community, if that is what you are after.
3. Internet
You can find online classes in almost any discipline these days, including digital photography. If job or family commitments make it impossible for you to regularly attend classes outside your home, you might want to consider online learning. With an online class, you can access the instructional materials at any time of the day or night. You are not limited by location, either. Because everything is done online, you can take a class from a school in New York City even if you live in San Diego. You can use email to submit your photographs to the instructor for evaluation, or you might be allowed access to a special website where you can directly upload your work for the duration of the course. One drawback to online classes is the lack of face-to-face interaction with the instructor and your fellow classmates, although you will be able to communicate through email or through postings on a class message board.
4. Public Library
A lot of people don't know that public libraries often hold free or low-cost classes and workshops for local residents. To find out if your library is planning to hold a digital photography class, just pick up an events brochure or visit the library's website. If your library doesn't currently offer a photography class, ask if they would consider doing so. Most libraries are open to suggestions for new classes. Classes sponsored by public libraries are usually very short and may consist of only one or two sessions. Keep this point in mind as you look for a digital photography class that best suits your needs. If you just want to learn about the basic functions of your digital camera in order to get the best performance possible without delving into photographic techniques, then a class at the public library would be great for you.
5. Private Lessons with a Professional Photographer
If you want to make the most of your lessons and feel that you would benefit from one-on-one instruction, you might want to consider taking private lessons from a professional photographer. The biggest advantage to taking private lessons is that you will be able to tailor the curriculum to fit your needs and learn exactly what you want to learn without having to waste time on aspects of photography that don't interest you. Check your local Yellow Pages or your newspaper's classified ads to get names and numbers or photographers in your area. Then call them and do some comparison shopping regarding their hourly rates. While private digital photography lessons are sure to be more expensive than the other options listed here, this might be the best route to take if you are serious about learning the craft.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Taking Action Shots
I have a preference for action photography. In my job as a sports reporter for our local paper I'm often called upon to get shots of basketball and football games and I find it to be the most challenging but rewarding type of photography. It's usually a case of being in the right place at the right time and taking lots of shots which is easy to do with a digital camera. If you're using film you have to be a lot more selective in your shots and a lot more patient.
Most of all it begins with developing a feel for capturing the exact moment that tells a story. The picture of the kid dribbling down the court is fine, but capturing the exact moment when the winning shot is made is better. The running back captured at the moment of contact with the tackler, or the batter caught ripping that shot to left field is an image anyone can understand and translate to their own personal experience. Knowing your sport and developing your timing is something that comes with experience, but entering with the right preparation and knowledge is a good start.
It's also important to know about the participants in the sport you are shooting, especially if your shots are going to be used for publication. My editor is always looking for the shot of the hometown kid who scored 35 points, even if it's not as good a shot as the one I took of the opposing player who hit 40.
The equipment needed for action photography is not all that different from the equipment used in any other photography. I like a fast camera of course because the lighting conditions are not always ideal. A good flash is important in nighttime football games and indoor basketball. I also believe in shooting at several different shutter speeds because sometime the blurring effect of motion is more dramatic than the absolutely perfectly exposed shot that doesn't convey the sense of motion in the sport.
What I'm looking for in my photographs of a sport is the idea of an image that tells a story by itself. In the newspaper we use cut lines of course, but who needs a cut line if you can capture the face of the kid who just made the winning shot at the last second, or the faces of the players on the bench as they realize their season just came to an end?
Every picture tells a story, try and make it obvious what the story is.
Most of all it begins with developing a feel for capturing the exact moment that tells a story. The picture of the kid dribbling down the court is fine, but capturing the exact moment when the winning shot is made is better. The running back captured at the moment of contact with the tackler, or the batter caught ripping that shot to left field is an image anyone can understand and translate to their own personal experience. Knowing your sport and developing your timing is something that comes with experience, but entering with the right preparation and knowledge is a good start.
It's also important to know about the participants in the sport you are shooting, especially if your shots are going to be used for publication. My editor is always looking for the shot of the hometown kid who scored 35 points, even if it's not as good a shot as the one I took of the opposing player who hit 40.
The equipment needed for action photography is not all that different from the equipment used in any other photography. I like a fast camera of course because the lighting conditions are not always ideal. A good flash is important in nighttime football games and indoor basketball. I also believe in shooting at several different shutter speeds because sometime the blurring effect of motion is more dramatic than the absolutely perfectly exposed shot that doesn't convey the sense of motion in the sport.
What I'm looking for in my photographs of a sport is the idea of an image that tells a story by itself. In the newspaper we use cut lines of course, but who needs a cut line if you can capture the face of the kid who just made the winning shot at the last second, or the faces of the players on the bench as they realize their season just came to an end?
Every picture tells a story, try and make it obvious what the story is.
Know your Camera Lens
Digital Photography may have eliminated many of the problems associated with film photography for the average user, but for those interested in serious photography or those interested in simply taking the best photographs they can, it's still important to understand the camera lens and use that knowledge to improve the quality of your photographs.
The camera lens has often been called "the camera's eye". It is the beginning of your photo. The lens gathers and focuses the light from your subject onto the sensor mechanism of your digital camera. The key elements are the quality of your lens, and how it handles the light.
Lenses vary in the amount of light they are capable of handling, the range in which they can focus, and zoom capability.
The main factor in the way your lens controls light is the aperture, which is simply the size of the opening through which light enters the camera. The bigger the opening the more light and vice versa. The aperture is varied by an adjustment that is measured in what are called f-stops. This adjustment allows you to compensate for different lighting situation in order to get the best results.
Remember that f-stops are measured so that the larger the number the smaller the aperture. They are divided by doublings. In other word an f2 allows twice as much light as an f4.
The second effect of f-stops is that they change your depth of focus. The smaller the aperture the greater your depth of field.
Aperture comes into play in several situations and your knowledge of it can change the nature of your photographs drastically. Here are a few examples of what can be done by changing the aperture.
By widening your aperture, you can eliminate background clutter. As an example, I recently went on a field trip with my daughter to a Historical Park, an old fort right outside of New Orleans. I had my daughter pose on a cannon which was on display in front of the fort. Because there was a rather large crowd of people milling around in the background, I chose a large aperture to take the picture. The result was a sharply focused image of my daughter on the cannon while the people and objects in the background were blurred and thus not a distraction that removed attention from the subject (my daughter).
Sometimes it's necessary to widen your aperture to get a good shot. Heavily backlit subjects tend to deceive a built in light meter, resulting in a subject that appears to dark in the final image. By overriding the automatic setting and increasing the aperture, the subject become visible in more detail. You may also wish to decrease aperture when photographing in highly reflective areas such as snow or water in order to avoid an overexposure.
Another consideration for your lens is close up photography. Since most people are using digital cameras for family snapshots and such, extreme closeups are not usually a consideration. However, if your creative nature occasionally compels you to take that great shot of the honeybee gathering nectar from a flower you'll need to give at least passing consideration to the range of focus of your lens.
Zoom lenses are an absolute must for the even semi-serious photographer. They allow you to get closer to your subject visually, even if distance or other limitations prevent you from getting closer physically. The range can vary widely with the least expensive lenses offering less range.
Zoom lenses are favorites of sports photographers and wildlife photographers for obvious reasons, but they also offer the casual photographer the ability to use the zoom feature for cropping out unwanted background features and honing in on the intended subject.
The camera lens has often been called "the camera's eye". It is the beginning of your photo. The lens gathers and focuses the light from your subject onto the sensor mechanism of your digital camera. The key elements are the quality of your lens, and how it handles the light.
Lenses vary in the amount of light they are capable of handling, the range in which they can focus, and zoom capability.
The main factor in the way your lens controls light is the aperture, which is simply the size of the opening through which light enters the camera. The bigger the opening the more light and vice versa. The aperture is varied by an adjustment that is measured in what are called f-stops. This adjustment allows you to compensate for different lighting situation in order to get the best results.
Remember that f-stops are measured so that the larger the number the smaller the aperture. They are divided by doublings. In other word an f2 allows twice as much light as an f4.
The second effect of f-stops is that they change your depth of focus. The smaller the aperture the greater your depth of field.
Aperture comes into play in several situations and your knowledge of it can change the nature of your photographs drastically. Here are a few examples of what can be done by changing the aperture.
By widening your aperture, you can eliminate background clutter. As an example, I recently went on a field trip with my daughter to a Historical Park, an old fort right outside of New Orleans. I had my daughter pose on a cannon which was on display in front of the fort. Because there was a rather large crowd of people milling around in the background, I chose a large aperture to take the picture. The result was a sharply focused image of my daughter on the cannon while the people and objects in the background were blurred and thus not a distraction that removed attention from the subject (my daughter).
Sometimes it's necessary to widen your aperture to get a good shot. Heavily backlit subjects tend to deceive a built in light meter, resulting in a subject that appears to dark in the final image. By overriding the automatic setting and increasing the aperture, the subject become visible in more detail. You may also wish to decrease aperture when photographing in highly reflective areas such as snow or water in order to avoid an overexposure.
Another consideration for your lens is close up photography. Since most people are using digital cameras for family snapshots and such, extreme closeups are not usually a consideration. However, if your creative nature occasionally compels you to take that great shot of the honeybee gathering nectar from a flower you'll need to give at least passing consideration to the range of focus of your lens.
Zoom lenses are an absolute must for the even semi-serious photographer. They allow you to get closer to your subject visually, even if distance or other limitations prevent you from getting closer physically. The range can vary widely with the least expensive lenses offering less range.
Zoom lenses are favorites of sports photographers and wildlife photographers for obvious reasons, but they also offer the casual photographer the ability to use the zoom feature for cropping out unwanted background features and honing in on the intended subject.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Webcams
With the advent of VoIP--voice over Internet protocol--the cost of long distance calls have been reduced to negligible, and you can call from anywhere in the world with just a few cents in your pocket. There are many facilities that have enabled the computer machine to serve multiple functions for the human being, and online chatting is one of them!
It has made the whole world a buzzing place, where people from different countries, speaking different languages, and having different background, meet for a formal or informal communication exchange. This facility is very much enhanced by the feature of a webcam--camera attached to the computer--which helps to even see with whom you are talking and who is on the other side of the conversation.
Webcams come in variety of shapes, digital enhanced features and varying accordingly in the price. You can buy one for your use, as there is a lot of variation in the price of webcams, and one of them will certainly fit in your budget.
You can also take snapshots with this camera, and if you have one of the better one, you can also record a movie sort of thing with your webcam. Some of these web cameras are cordless and have a good memory, so you can use them to record the photographs that are outside your computer room. These webcams will cost a little more, but if you can afford their price, their functionality will make the price for you! At the end, you will not rue the dollars spent on these webcams.
These webcams have benefited the persons who are living out of their country, because they can now converse with their family members and at the same time can also see the picture. This is a very emotional subject and the value of this facility is known to those persons only, who have someone living outside the country, and therefore, have no physical contact! Really webcam is a wonderful invention of the modern era!
It has made the whole world a buzzing place, where people from different countries, speaking different languages, and having different background, meet for a formal or informal communication exchange. This facility is very much enhanced by the feature of a webcam--camera attached to the computer--which helps to even see with whom you are talking and who is on the other side of the conversation.
Webcams come in variety of shapes, digital enhanced features and varying accordingly in the price. You can buy one for your use, as there is a lot of variation in the price of webcams, and one of them will certainly fit in your budget.
You can also take snapshots with this camera, and if you have one of the better one, you can also record a movie sort of thing with your webcam. Some of these web cameras are cordless and have a good memory, so you can use them to record the photographs that are outside your computer room. These webcams will cost a little more, but if you can afford their price, their functionality will make the price for you! At the end, you will not rue the dollars spent on these webcams.
These webcams have benefited the persons who are living out of their country, because they can now converse with their family members and at the same time can also see the picture. This is a very emotional subject and the value of this facility is known to those persons only, who have someone living outside the country, and therefore, have no physical contact! Really webcam is a wonderful invention of the modern era!
Catch Us If You Can!
I used to think that getting our cats to "pose" in exactly the right position was difficult, but that was before I had children. Now I know what impossible photography really is! It comes in the shape of two little boys not quite one meter high in their bare feet!
I have a dream of capturing on camera every magic moment my boys achieve; or rather I had such dream. Now it seems like an unattainable fantasy! These days I'd settle for capturing any moment where I have a complete replica on camera of a head and body, rather than some disappearing torso or feet. The boys can be happily playing with their toys, or exploring the environment, completely unaware of what's going on around them. Or so I think. They seem to have some kind of extraordinarily developed radar sense that can detect a camera lens pointing in their direction from five meters away. Of course, once the camera is spotted, the children immediately stop whatever activity they were doing and either disappears behind any convenient piece of furniture, or put their hands over their faces.
Unfortunately I do have to confess that this reaction could possibly be genetically inherited because their mother also has a tendency to react in a similar manner when a camera is pointed at her!
What the experience of trying to record my children's milestones has taught me, is that even with the most technologically advanced equipment in the world; you can't take a perfect photo unless your models comply with your desire to photograph them. On day however, a stealth camera will be designed which will outwit even the most astute of children, and parents everywhere will celebrate this monumental achievement in parenting technology, as they secretly record their adorable offspring's every little step along the road to adulthood. As for me, I'll just have to become quicker on the button to try and outsmart my boys - so don't get me started on the deficiencies of the time delay on digital cameras!
Katie-Anne Gustafsson
I have a dream of capturing on camera every magic moment my boys achieve; or rather I had such dream. Now it seems like an unattainable fantasy! These days I'd settle for capturing any moment where I have a complete replica on camera of a head and body, rather than some disappearing torso or feet. The boys can be happily playing with their toys, or exploring the environment, completely unaware of what's going on around them. Or so I think. They seem to have some kind of extraordinarily developed radar sense that can detect a camera lens pointing in their direction from five meters away. Of course, once the camera is spotted, the children immediately stop whatever activity they were doing and either disappears behind any convenient piece of furniture, or put their hands over their faces.
Unfortunately I do have to confess that this reaction could possibly be genetically inherited because their mother also has a tendency to react in a similar manner when a camera is pointed at her!
What the experience of trying to record my children's milestones has taught me, is that even with the most technologically advanced equipment in the world; you can't take a perfect photo unless your models comply with your desire to photograph them. On day however, a stealth camera will be designed which will outwit even the most astute of children, and parents everywhere will celebrate this monumental achievement in parenting technology, as they secretly record their adorable offspring's every little step along the road to adulthood. As for me, I'll just have to become quicker on the button to try and outsmart my boys - so don't get me started on the deficiencies of the time delay on digital cameras!
Katie-Anne Gustafsson
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Model Trains as a Hobby
Model trains are a very good hobby and if your grandpa has gifted one to you on Christmas, you know it already! However, if you have not enjoyed it, as you missed any opportunity to buy one, remember, it is never too late and you can buy even now, as train model sets are available around the world, and still, are one of the favorite pass-time!
Model train sets are available with all the things that can let you start easily with this hobby. These components may include a length of track, the locomotive, a set of rolling stock and maybe a piece or two of scenery. And if you have them all, you can add some other things to customize your model train layout. This is very creative process and you are going to enjoy it to length.
What to look for
If you are supporter of quality, then you will perhaps find these model trains a little expansive. For these high class model trains are not cheap! But you must consider some points before making your purchase, as you are going to invest some good bucks with these model trains:
The first thing that needs consideration before a purchase is the place where you are going to install these model trains? The scale of these model trains will be decided by the space that you can spare. You can go for a big train with all its components, if you are ready to spare a whole room.
Try to learn some key terms that are popular in industry of model trains, viz., scale, gauge, operating system, layout, etc. mind you, you need to understand these terms in order to enjoy this hobby fully and also to get a good model train set.
A little consideration over some aspects of model trains can make you a smart buyer and you will not repent spending some time with these terms! Model train industry is always changing and you may sometimes have to update yourself for that!
Model train sets are available with all the things that can let you start easily with this hobby. These components may include a length of track, the locomotive, a set of rolling stock and maybe a piece or two of scenery. And if you have them all, you can add some other things to customize your model train layout. This is very creative process and you are going to enjoy it to length.
What to look for
If you are supporter of quality, then you will perhaps find these model trains a little expansive. For these high class model trains are not cheap! But you must consider some points before making your purchase, as you are going to invest some good bucks with these model trains:
The first thing that needs consideration before a purchase is the place where you are going to install these model trains? The scale of these model trains will be decided by the space that you can spare. You can go for a big train with all its components, if you are ready to spare a whole room.
Try to learn some key terms that are popular in industry of model trains, viz., scale, gauge, operating system, layout, etc. mind you, you need to understand these terms in order to enjoy this hobby fully and also to get a good model train set.
A little consideration over some aspects of model trains can make you a smart buyer and you will not repent spending some time with these terms! Model train industry is always changing and you may sometimes have to update yourself for that!
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Scrap Booking
Different Ways to Scrapbook:
Everywhere you look you find a picture here and there. It is common sense that it would cost way too much money to go buy picture frames for as many pictures as you have just laying around. Then again there is always the idea of scrap-booking that would be all too perfect… but… where to start? There are several different routes that you could take when it comes to the opportunity to personalize your very own scrapbook. There are fancy pre-made scrapbooks in many different stores (specifically book stores) that can range anywhere from $15 to $50 dollars. Most people spend at least a little bit of money for their scrap-booking projects just to make sure that it gets a little bit more of a flashy and attracting appeal to it. That does not mean that your scrapbook cannot be made for free and be any less eye-catching and fun to look at. If you know Calligraphy and happen to be a fairly decent artist, take that to your advantage when creating your scrap-book! If you aren’t as talented as Picasso, don’t fret too badly, for there are always computers and printers! Thank heavens for modern technology eh? Microsoft Word provides picture clip images that may help in providing you pictures that you are looking for. If you click for images on your main Internet search engine, they may also provide you with the perfect picture that you are looking for. Be creative. If there is a picture that provides you with a memory of some sort of secret meaning, try to find a picture that will resort to the hint. If you and your friend are giving a full on grin in that certain picture, and its because you both won a pie eating contest and won a $500 dollar prize, try to find a picture of a pie and a picture of money! There are so many opportunities to find an image to put on your scrapbook that matches that memory perfectly, just use your imagination! If you go to a book store they also have little bubble words or clippings that you can stick next to the picture. If you are planning on doing a free scrapbook, this is where your Calligraphy skills may come into play! Colors and eye-catching designs on the pages of your scrapbook wick only help enhance its features. Scrap-booking does not only need to be for pictures. I have an Internet relationship, and can only print off e-mails to preserve the memories. If you love remembering letters or e-mails that people sent you, scrapbook those as well to save the memories! You can scrapbook them the same way that you would a normal picture scrapbook. Just add pictures and Calligraphy or words that describe and give the best feel to that certain moment. Flowers aren’t only beneficial by looking beautiful, but you can use them to scrapbook too! A dried plant pressed onto paper looks quite lovely, and is an excellent technique for a well thought out scrapbook. If it is a romantic memory to preserve, put lipstick on and kiss the paper to leave a ‘sealed with a kiss’ effect, and perhaps print off a picture of a candle or heart and place it next to it. Use different theme idea’s, and perhaps TAKE pictures to help bring out that theme. Listed below are some great theme ideas.
- Romantic Anniversary (take photos of every anniversary that you have shared, and put things in them that symbolize what took place on every anniversary. Let’s say that you got a dozen roses and a poem for your 12th anniversary, put a picture of 12 roses and a poem on the page of your 12th anniversary).
- Animals (of coarse you cherish your pet! Why not preserve the memories? I’m sure that everyone has pictures of their animals, so make a fun scrapbook of it!)
- Friends (Ok this one is a huge pick to create a scrapbook, so try to make yours really unique and make up sayings or put quotes on the picture next to the picture that ties in perfectly with the memory).
- Relatives (family reunions, camping trips, road trips, holidays, and anything you can imagine or have a picture of with your family. Not only would be a great scrapbook, but a great gift to pass down from generations to generations!)
- High School/College (of course these are the most memorable years of someone’s life. Hardships, laughter, stress, friendships, opportunities, and everything! This is a great way to show what you went through, good and bad to get where you are today!)
- Children/Growing up (Well… of coarse that’s what baby books are for… but it’s almost like doing an ongoing scrapbook for a baby-book! Share the memory of your loved one growing older, it will be quite priceless!)
- Trips (Maybe you took a trip to Europe, or even just to your cousins house that lived 2 miles away. If you have pictures, scrapbook them! Tell stories and show pictures, it will be so much fun to look back on!)
- Things you loved (perhaps people call you a crazy person obsessed with Lord of the Rings, preserve pictures of the movie, you in a Lord of the Rings costume standing in line waiting for the movie, this will be very priceless and a great way to look back on the things that you used to love and cherish)
- Nature (Perhaps you took pictures of different places, whether it be your back yard or a waterfall in a different country. Pictures of landscapes and nature can be quite relaxing to look at. Maybe add information about the place, or a memory about what you did at that place and why it is so special)
- Entertainment (maybe you really love the media, magazines, television shows, so archive it! Take picture clippings of your Hollywood idol, your favourite movies, books and things that entertain you!)
There are just a few ideas, if you’ve got a great imagination, allow yourself to get carried away with it. Scrap Booking is very fun, and doesn’t really feel like a task. It’s a great way to send your mood soaring to new heights with laughter and smiles. As they say, every picture is more than a thousand words, and it’s quite true. Whether its with a lover, your best friend, your faithful pet, or the inspiration of the outdoors, we all have things that we can scrapbook that would mean a lot to us, and be so priceless to look back at over the years. Even if it is just a random scrapbook with no theme, it’ll still be worth a lot to you. It’s a prized possession that you created and that brings out the meaning of what life is for. There’s always a special memory that belongs in a place to be remembered, that’s the beauty of scrap booking. Whether it’s free, or a $75.00 scrapbook found in a really nice store, nothing will ever be as priceless as the memories that go into the book. This can be a family, friend or individual project… but most importantly, make sure that you have a lot of fun while doing it!
Everywhere you look you find a picture here and there. It is common sense that it would cost way too much money to go buy picture frames for as many pictures as you have just laying around. Then again there is always the idea of scrap-booking that would be all too perfect… but… where to start? There are several different routes that you could take when it comes to the opportunity to personalize your very own scrapbook. There are fancy pre-made scrapbooks in many different stores (specifically book stores) that can range anywhere from $15 to $50 dollars. Most people spend at least a little bit of money for their scrap-booking projects just to make sure that it gets a little bit more of a flashy and attracting appeal to it. That does not mean that your scrapbook cannot be made for free and be any less eye-catching and fun to look at. If you know Calligraphy and happen to be a fairly decent artist, take that to your advantage when creating your scrap-book! If you aren’t as talented as Picasso, don’t fret too badly, for there are always computers and printers! Thank heavens for modern technology eh? Microsoft Word provides picture clip images that may help in providing you pictures that you are looking for. If you click for images on your main Internet search engine, they may also provide you with the perfect picture that you are looking for. Be creative. If there is a picture that provides you with a memory of some sort of secret meaning, try to find a picture that will resort to the hint. If you and your friend are giving a full on grin in that certain picture, and its because you both won a pie eating contest and won a $500 dollar prize, try to find a picture of a pie and a picture of money! There are so many opportunities to find an image to put on your scrapbook that matches that memory perfectly, just use your imagination! If you go to a book store they also have little bubble words or clippings that you can stick next to the picture. If you are planning on doing a free scrapbook, this is where your Calligraphy skills may come into play! Colors and eye-catching designs on the pages of your scrapbook wick only help enhance its features. Scrap-booking does not only need to be for pictures. I have an Internet relationship, and can only print off e-mails to preserve the memories. If you love remembering letters or e-mails that people sent you, scrapbook those as well to save the memories! You can scrapbook them the same way that you would a normal picture scrapbook. Just add pictures and Calligraphy or words that describe and give the best feel to that certain moment. Flowers aren’t only beneficial by looking beautiful, but you can use them to scrapbook too! A dried plant pressed onto paper looks quite lovely, and is an excellent technique for a well thought out scrapbook. If it is a romantic memory to preserve, put lipstick on and kiss the paper to leave a ‘sealed with a kiss’ effect, and perhaps print off a picture of a candle or heart and place it next to it. Use different theme idea’s, and perhaps TAKE pictures to help bring out that theme. Listed below are some great theme ideas.
- Romantic Anniversary (take photos of every anniversary that you have shared, and put things in them that symbolize what took place on every anniversary. Let’s say that you got a dozen roses and a poem for your 12th anniversary, put a picture of 12 roses and a poem on the page of your 12th anniversary).
- Animals (of coarse you cherish your pet! Why not preserve the memories? I’m sure that everyone has pictures of their animals, so make a fun scrapbook of it!)
- Friends (Ok this one is a huge pick to create a scrapbook, so try to make yours really unique and make up sayings or put quotes on the picture next to the picture that ties in perfectly with the memory).
- Relatives (family reunions, camping trips, road trips, holidays, and anything you can imagine or have a picture of with your family. Not only would be a great scrapbook, but a great gift to pass down from generations to generations!)
- High School/College (of course these are the most memorable years of someone’s life. Hardships, laughter, stress, friendships, opportunities, and everything! This is a great way to show what you went through, good and bad to get where you are today!)
- Children/Growing up (Well… of coarse that’s what baby books are for… but it’s almost like doing an ongoing scrapbook for a baby-book! Share the memory of your loved one growing older, it will be quite priceless!)
- Trips (Maybe you took a trip to Europe, or even just to your cousins house that lived 2 miles away. If you have pictures, scrapbook them! Tell stories and show pictures, it will be so much fun to look back on!)
- Things you loved (perhaps people call you a crazy person obsessed with Lord of the Rings, preserve pictures of the movie, you in a Lord of the Rings costume standing in line waiting for the movie, this will be very priceless and a great way to look back on the things that you used to love and cherish)
- Nature (Perhaps you took pictures of different places, whether it be your back yard or a waterfall in a different country. Pictures of landscapes and nature can be quite relaxing to look at. Maybe add information about the place, or a memory about what you did at that place and why it is so special)
- Entertainment (maybe you really love the media, magazines, television shows, so archive it! Take picture clippings of your Hollywood idol, your favourite movies, books and things that entertain you!)
There are just a few ideas, if you’ve got a great imagination, allow yourself to get carried away with it. Scrap Booking is very fun, and doesn’t really feel like a task. It’s a great way to send your mood soaring to new heights with laughter and smiles. As they say, every picture is more than a thousand words, and it’s quite true. Whether its with a lover, your best friend, your faithful pet, or the inspiration of the outdoors, we all have things that we can scrapbook that would mean a lot to us, and be so priceless to look back at over the years. Even if it is just a random scrapbook with no theme, it’ll still be worth a lot to you. It’s a prized possession that you created and that brings out the meaning of what life is for. There’s always a special memory that belongs in a place to be remembered, that’s the beauty of scrap booking. Whether it’s free, or a $75.00 scrapbook found in a really nice store, nothing will ever be as priceless as the memories that go into the book. This can be a family, friend or individual project… but most importantly, make sure that you have a lot of fun while doing it!
My Father's camera and what he left me
My father died a few years ago. During the course of his life he pursued many interests, one of which was an interest in photography. As a young man I often went along with him on the short trips he took in order to pursue this interest.
Our equipment consisted of several manual cameras, a variety of lenses, and a hand held light meter. Living in New Orleans we naturally gravitated toward the French Quarter area and the Farmers Market for photo opportunities because of the unique nature of the area and the chance to photograph a style of architecture that is found in very few places in the united State.
These trips began in the early morning, often finding us set up along the banks of the Mississippi river. In the early morning, the Mississippi is more often than not overlaid by a layer of fog. My father loved to shoot the many different types of ships that traveled the river, carrying their cargo to New Orleans for offloading, and leaving the port city for destinations around the world.
He often spoke of using the camera as a way of preserving the world around us, of capturing moments in time that could not be repeated ever again. These images of ships pushing their way down a fog shrouded river captured the essence of the port and the working lives of the men along the docks, plying their trade in the morning light while the rest of the city slept around us.
While newer cameras were emerging onto the market, cameras with built in light meters and so forth, my father believed that these devices reduced the person behind the camera to a mere picture taker. What he tried to pass on to me was that the camera can be an artist's tool, but to do so, the artist had to develop a feel for the camera, an intimate knowledge of light, and the different ways it can be captured by a camera and a knowledgeable photographer.
As we wandered the levee and the streets of New Orleans, he would point out different features of the camera and how they could be used to create dramatic effects that amplified the spirit and the nature of the city.
I was required to know the effect of film speed on an image, how changing the aperture of a lens changed the depth of field, how shutter speed could be used to create intentional blurring, and an endless litany of other things he felt any good photographer should learn.
In doing so, he created a passion within me for creative photography that stays with me today, and he created memories that I treasure, a connection that come back to me in full force when I hold the cameras he passed down to me.
I often find myself on these excursions again, wandering the streets of the French quarter in the early morning when the atmosphere of the previous night still hangs in the air, yet the dawning day is battling its way through the fog.
I carry his old Olympus camera, the 40 year old light meter that still works as well as it ever did. I appreciate the time he spent with me, not merely because of what his love of photography taught me, but because carrying that old Olympus camera allows me to reconnect with him, to feel like he is there beside me as I capture the line of Spanish and French architecture, the movement of the peddlers as they bring their produce in from the country as they have for hundreds of years.
I still have his equipment and I guard it carefully. Among the items he gave me is a 1/2 frame camera. It uses 35mm film but produces 72 pictures on a roll of 36 shot film. I have to develop and print these pictures myself, as there are no labs that I have found with the capability of handling this format. I like it that way. When I'm in the darkroom, it's just me and my dad together again with the years melted away, and he hangs over my shoulder giving me advice.
While I have entered the digital age, and enjoy the simplicity and economy of electronic photography, nothing compares to that connection to the past that taught me what photography can be.
While those around me snap away with their digitals, knowing that 1 shot or a hundred carries the same cost, I find myself looking at a scene from every angle, analyzing my shots before I take them, because after all, film is expensive and not to be wasted on just random shots. As a result, I take fewer but better pictures, and since I know what I'm trying to capture before I press the shutter I know in a glance whether I've accomplished what I set out to do.
I'm happy that I do things the way I was taught, that I take the time to plan my shots, and to force my eye to see what the camera will capture when I finally pull the trigger.
Our equipment consisted of several manual cameras, a variety of lenses, and a hand held light meter. Living in New Orleans we naturally gravitated toward the French Quarter area and the Farmers Market for photo opportunities because of the unique nature of the area and the chance to photograph a style of architecture that is found in very few places in the united State.
These trips began in the early morning, often finding us set up along the banks of the Mississippi river. In the early morning, the Mississippi is more often than not overlaid by a layer of fog. My father loved to shoot the many different types of ships that traveled the river, carrying their cargo to New Orleans for offloading, and leaving the port city for destinations around the world.
He often spoke of using the camera as a way of preserving the world around us, of capturing moments in time that could not be repeated ever again. These images of ships pushing their way down a fog shrouded river captured the essence of the port and the working lives of the men along the docks, plying their trade in the morning light while the rest of the city slept around us.
While newer cameras were emerging onto the market, cameras with built in light meters and so forth, my father believed that these devices reduced the person behind the camera to a mere picture taker. What he tried to pass on to me was that the camera can be an artist's tool, but to do so, the artist had to develop a feel for the camera, an intimate knowledge of light, and the different ways it can be captured by a camera and a knowledgeable photographer.
As we wandered the levee and the streets of New Orleans, he would point out different features of the camera and how they could be used to create dramatic effects that amplified the spirit and the nature of the city.
I was required to know the effect of film speed on an image, how changing the aperture of a lens changed the depth of field, how shutter speed could be used to create intentional blurring, and an endless litany of other things he felt any good photographer should learn.
In doing so, he created a passion within me for creative photography that stays with me today, and he created memories that I treasure, a connection that come back to me in full force when I hold the cameras he passed down to me.
I often find myself on these excursions again, wandering the streets of the French quarter in the early morning when the atmosphere of the previous night still hangs in the air, yet the dawning day is battling its way through the fog.
I carry his old Olympus camera, the 40 year old light meter that still works as well as it ever did. I appreciate the time he spent with me, not merely because of what his love of photography taught me, but because carrying that old Olympus camera allows me to reconnect with him, to feel like he is there beside me as I capture the line of Spanish and French architecture, the movement of the peddlers as they bring their produce in from the country as they have for hundreds of years.
I still have his equipment and I guard it carefully. Among the items he gave me is a 1/2 frame camera. It uses 35mm film but produces 72 pictures on a roll of 36 shot film. I have to develop and print these pictures myself, as there are no labs that I have found with the capability of handling this format. I like it that way. When I'm in the darkroom, it's just me and my dad together again with the years melted away, and he hangs over my shoulder giving me advice.
While I have entered the digital age, and enjoy the simplicity and economy of electronic photography, nothing compares to that connection to the past that taught me what photography can be.
While those around me snap away with their digitals, knowing that 1 shot or a hundred carries the same cost, I find myself looking at a scene from every angle, analyzing my shots before I take them, because after all, film is expensive and not to be wasted on just random shots. As a result, I take fewer but better pictures, and since I know what I'm trying to capture before I press the shutter I know in a glance whether I've accomplished what I set out to do.
I'm happy that I do things the way I was taught, that I take the time to plan my shots, and to force my eye to see what the camera will capture when I finally pull the trigger.
Photography
‘Photography’ is a very interesting word, as it gives us an image of enjoyment and fun. But it is something beyond this aspect, i.e., it has a wider meaning! Generally we think that photography is just clicking a camera and capturing some objects in it, developing it and getting the image and praising it, or using it for some other task. Photography is not so simple, and it needs a very creativity, sensibility, love for beauty, time and many more things to perform this task. Because, without these things the real photography could not take place. A good photographer depicts all application of his mind in his or her own creation. Photography can be taken as an Art, Science, Hobby of Profession.
Photography as an art
As said earlier, photography is a task of senses and creativity, and therefore, it is believed not be everyone’s task. But it is not so that a good photographer is born, and you can opt to learn the art of photography. But it is true that love for photography should be from mind itself that will help in learning it.
Photography as Science
As it is an application of mind, techniques, ideas and other methods to improve the quality, it is can also be considered as a science. As we know there are specific courses in photography for making it as a career or sometimes for taking it as hobby, someone can learn it.
Photography as a hobby
As almost everyone has some type of hobby, like, gardening, stamp collection, and reading books, etc., some people have photography as their hobby. It gives them immense pleasure to capture the memories or the moments and remembering their mates or by making their collection as gallery. There are some exhibitions, which shows the collections of some people having good photographs.
Photography as profession
As we think of anything in today’s world, it can be your profession! –So is photography! Photography is a very good profession as every person wants that his or her memorable moments should be stored as photographs or pictures, so that in future they can remember their past and enjoy it. But it must be kept in mind that the quality should be good so as to maintain the image of photography.
Introduction of computers in photography imparts great effect and lends a rare beauty to it. With the help of computers the quality of photography is very much improved. Now we can adjust the color combinations, sights according to our requirements. This also results in quickness, variety and cost cutting in the professionalism as well as for personal. Really computers have taken the art of poetry to an altogether different pedestal!
Photography as an art
As said earlier, photography is a task of senses and creativity, and therefore, it is believed not be everyone’s task. But it is not so that a good photographer is born, and you can opt to learn the art of photography. But it is true that love for photography should be from mind itself that will help in learning it.
Photography as Science
As it is an application of mind, techniques, ideas and other methods to improve the quality, it is can also be considered as a science. As we know there are specific courses in photography for making it as a career or sometimes for taking it as hobby, someone can learn it.
Photography as a hobby
As almost everyone has some type of hobby, like, gardening, stamp collection, and reading books, etc., some people have photography as their hobby. It gives them immense pleasure to capture the memories or the moments and remembering their mates or by making their collection as gallery. There are some exhibitions, which shows the collections of some people having good photographs.
Photography as profession
As we think of anything in today’s world, it can be your profession! –So is photography! Photography is a very good profession as every person wants that his or her memorable moments should be stored as photographs or pictures, so that in future they can remember their past and enjoy it. But it must be kept in mind that the quality should be good so as to maintain the image of photography.
Introduction of computers in photography imparts great effect and lends a rare beauty to it. With the help of computers the quality of photography is very much improved. Now we can adjust the color combinations, sights according to our requirements. This also results in quickness, variety and cost cutting in the professionalism as well as for personal. Really computers have taken the art of poetry to an altogether different pedestal!
Thursday, March 10, 2005
How to Find the Right Digital Camera for You
In the technology age, it has become increasingly more important for photographers to keep up with the times. New technology means new techniques and devices to learn how to use effectively, properly and creatively. The world of photography has ushered in the age of the digital camera, where even the novice can point and click the perfect picture, even if that means deleting the 20 or so that aren't so perfect.
So, how does a novice go about buying the right digital camera? With some basic knowledge, even the most technologically illiterate can go to a store like Circuit City or Best Buy and walk out with a quality digital camera.
It is important to realize you cannot just walk into a store, point at a camera and except it to be right for you. Many shoppers enter electronics stores, thinking that sales assistance can guide you to the right product, but buyer beware, this isn't always the case. It's better to be prepared when you walk into the store, know exactly what you want, get it and be able to use it in the long run than getting stuck with a digital camera that is not for your level of skill.
Having said that, what does one look for when picking out the right digital camera?
First, focus on the main features, such as size, the resolution, types/amount of storage, zoom and power. Extra features, such as LCD viewfinders, timers, flash, and speed are all secondary to your purchase (or at least they should be).
The smaller the camera, the better in the long run. It is easier to carry around, easy to store and most importantly, probably packs a lot more of a punch than the chunkier, "older" digital cameras. Most digital cameras nowadays are palm-sized.
Resolution, for digital cameras and video recorders, is measured in mega pixels. Mega pixels are how many bits of data are stored when the photo is actually taken and projected back to you. The higher the mega pixels, the better quality a photo is when taken. For example, a four mega pixel camera can generally capture a good quality 8x10 photo.
Types and amount of storage vary from camera to camera. Keep in mind: You can always upgrade later. The memory card, where photos are stored in your digital camera, is equivalent to film in a box camera. There are many different types of memory cards, such as Compact Flash cards, XD Flash cards and memory sticks. Memory sticks are the most widely accepted form of memory out there; they can be used for your digital camera, for your MP3 player and for just storing files on your computer to transfer to another computer (think a CD-ROM or old school floppy disk). XD Flash cards are the most advanced memory storage cards on the market today, only recently released in the last year or so; they are also the smallest memory card out there. Compact Flash cards, however, are the most widely used digital camera-specific memory cards out there; they can be used for most cameras and support most formats.
Most memory cards will store a certain number of Megabytes. Manufacturers make many different sizes of memory cards and most digital cameras come with a very small memory card when first purchased; this is why most opt to upgrade and buy another memory card for their camera. Nowadays, the one Gigabyte memory card is a common upgrade digital camera owner's purchase.
Keep in mind when you buy your digital camera, it will typically tell you what size and style of memory card you need to purchase if you do upgrade. Be careful when you upgrade to purchase the right size/shape or else you will have to return it and reorder a new one which takes up a lot of your time and is generally quite a hassle.
Zoom comes in two forms: Optical and digital. Optical zoom refers to the size of the photo subjects; digital zoom refers to zooming in on a photo after it has been captured. Most first time buyers should be on the lookout for cameras with a 6x or higher optical zoom as most novices won't be using optical zoom any time soon.
Power on a digital camera varies, some are self-charged and some use batteries. If the camera charges, look for how long it takes to charge; if the camera uses batteries of the common variety (AA or AAA), it might be wise to invest in rechargeable batteries and a dock for them to save long-term in keeping your digital camera taking photos.
Now, once you figure out what will work best for you from the main features, if you have a bit of money to spare, it might be nice to look into some extra features for your digital camera. Note, an extra feature does not mean that nice camera bag or photo printer you've been slaving over on the internet. No, no, no, this means such features that actually are built into your digital camera.
Such features like a LCD viewfinder, which gives you a larger window to view the picture after it's been shot. Computer interfacing is also a great extra feature that will allow you to connect your digital camera to your home desktop and laptop to upload/download pictures; while most digital cameras come with a USB cord and software, sometimes they do not an this is when computer interfacing might be necessary. A timer might be a useful if you take a look of family portraits or pictures of yourself where you need the camera to set by itself and take the picture. Flash is also another feature you might need if you'll be taking pictures in varying types light; another feature that almost always comes with new digital cameras. Last but not least, the speed at which the camera takes the picture once you press the button to take it; most digital cameras can take pictures instantly, but sometimes, it takes a little longer than one or two seconds to do so.
So, when it comes down to it, careful research and buyer interest determines what digital camera will work best for the buyer. Just take your time, do your research and your new digital camera will be perfect for you.
So, how does a novice go about buying the right digital camera? With some basic knowledge, even the most technologically illiterate can go to a store like Circuit City or Best Buy and walk out with a quality digital camera.
It is important to realize you cannot just walk into a store, point at a camera and except it to be right for you. Many shoppers enter electronics stores, thinking that sales assistance can guide you to the right product, but buyer beware, this isn't always the case. It's better to be prepared when you walk into the store, know exactly what you want, get it and be able to use it in the long run than getting stuck with a digital camera that is not for your level of skill.
Having said that, what does one look for when picking out the right digital camera?
First, focus on the main features, such as size, the resolution, types/amount of storage, zoom and power. Extra features, such as LCD viewfinders, timers, flash, and speed are all secondary to your purchase (or at least they should be).
The smaller the camera, the better in the long run. It is easier to carry around, easy to store and most importantly, probably packs a lot more of a punch than the chunkier, "older" digital cameras. Most digital cameras nowadays are palm-sized.
Resolution, for digital cameras and video recorders, is measured in mega pixels. Mega pixels are how many bits of data are stored when the photo is actually taken and projected back to you. The higher the mega pixels, the better quality a photo is when taken. For example, a four mega pixel camera can generally capture a good quality 8x10 photo.
Types and amount of storage vary from camera to camera. Keep in mind: You can always upgrade later. The memory card, where photos are stored in your digital camera, is equivalent to film in a box camera. There are many different types of memory cards, such as Compact Flash cards, XD Flash cards and memory sticks. Memory sticks are the most widely accepted form of memory out there; they can be used for your digital camera, for your MP3 player and for just storing files on your computer to transfer to another computer (think a CD-ROM or old school floppy disk). XD Flash cards are the most advanced memory storage cards on the market today, only recently released in the last year or so; they are also the smallest memory card out there. Compact Flash cards, however, are the most widely used digital camera-specific memory cards out there; they can be used for most cameras and support most formats.
Most memory cards will store a certain number of Megabytes. Manufacturers make many different sizes of memory cards and most digital cameras come with a very small memory card when first purchased; this is why most opt to upgrade and buy another memory card for their camera. Nowadays, the one Gigabyte memory card is a common upgrade digital camera owner's purchase.
Keep in mind when you buy your digital camera, it will typically tell you what size and style of memory card you need to purchase if you do upgrade. Be careful when you upgrade to purchase the right size/shape or else you will have to return it and reorder a new one which takes up a lot of your time and is generally quite a hassle.
Zoom comes in two forms: Optical and digital. Optical zoom refers to the size of the photo subjects; digital zoom refers to zooming in on a photo after it has been captured. Most first time buyers should be on the lookout for cameras with a 6x or higher optical zoom as most novices won't be using optical zoom any time soon.
Power on a digital camera varies, some are self-charged and some use batteries. If the camera charges, look for how long it takes to charge; if the camera uses batteries of the common variety (AA or AAA), it might be wise to invest in rechargeable batteries and a dock for them to save long-term in keeping your digital camera taking photos.
Now, once you figure out what will work best for you from the main features, if you have a bit of money to spare, it might be nice to look into some extra features for your digital camera. Note, an extra feature does not mean that nice camera bag or photo printer you've been slaving over on the internet. No, no, no, this means such features that actually are built into your digital camera.
Such features like a LCD viewfinder, which gives you a larger window to view the picture after it's been shot. Computer interfacing is also a great extra feature that will allow you to connect your digital camera to your home desktop and laptop to upload/download pictures; while most digital cameras come with a USB cord and software, sometimes they do not an this is when computer interfacing might be necessary. A timer might be a useful if you take a look of family portraits or pictures of yourself where you need the camera to set by itself and take the picture. Flash is also another feature you might need if you'll be taking pictures in varying types light; another feature that almost always comes with new digital cameras. Last but not least, the speed at which the camera takes the picture once you press the button to take it; most digital cameras can take pictures instantly, but sometimes, it takes a little longer than one or two seconds to do so.
So, when it comes down to it, careful research and buyer interest determines what digital camera will work best for the buyer. Just take your time, do your research and your new digital camera will be perfect for you.
History of Photography
From the beginning of time, humankind has recorded its own history through oral traditions, pictures, song and eventually photography. Photography is the process of taking a picture with a device and later printing what is captured by that camera in some way, shape or form.
The history of photography dates back to ancient times, when civilizations such as the Ottomans and Greeks used pieces of paper and pinholes to burn onto parchment pictures drawn on one surface to another. While highly unsuccessful, the pinhole would manage to capture obscure fragments of a picture, and early photography had begun.
Modern photography, however, began in the year 1839 when the actual name came to the art form from Sir John Herschel. Photography is made up of two separate processes that make the entire art form possible. The first process was optical, the second was chemical.
"Camera obscura," the dark room, is the optical form. The idea of the dark room had existed for more than 400 years and was used to aid drawing in the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to aid the exposure to light paintings and drawings came under fire from while lying around studios. As light damages drawings and paintings, it also damages photographs when developing.
Chemically, photographs have to be developed on paper in order to be preserved and viewed. Robert Boyle, in the 1600s, determined that silver chloride would darken when exposed to light. Angelo Sala, in the early 1700s, noticed that powdered nitrate – from silver – would blacken when exposed to light. Johann H. Schulze also discovered the certain liquids, such as water, changed color when exposed to light for long periods of time. Finally, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, Thomas Wedgwood began conducting experiments piecing together all of the above as he had captured images with a crude camera but he could not make the images permanent on anything.
Almost a century later, in 1827, Joseph Niepce was able to capture the first image to paper after more than eight hours of exposure and many botched attempts in various chemicals discovered centuries before his time. After Niepce died, Louis Daguerre spent years trying to perfect his colleagues' techniques and eventually discovered a way to develop photographic plates – much like printing plates – to reduce the exposure time down to half an hour. He is also responsible for discovering that with common table salt, one could make an image permanent on paper. These discoveries were made public a few years later as details of the process spread throughout Europe and elsewhere.
Many people were skeptical of the new process, mostly because of religious objections, as they believed nobody but their Christian God could capture the essence of any one thing. However, they were wrong, as the ability to capture anything was now in the hands of mankind. A more minor movement, of painters, predicted that drawing and painting would soon fall victim to the art of photography.
As word spread of the new process and the art of photography, more people became interested in pursuing it actively. The demand for photographs grew and a livelihood was possible for a select few from the art with the right patronage.
In 1851, Frederick S. Archer introduced the Collodion process of photograph development; this reduced the exposure time to three seconds, making it much easier for the average man to print a photograph. From there, he developed the wet Collodion process which required much equipment to process a photograph while still wet and in chemicals. However, the process was very difficult, and the need for a dry process was deemed required.
Richard Maddox, around 1870, used Gelatin instead of glass as the base of a photograph's base, thus allowing a dry process to fully develop. They could be developed much quicker in this fashion and the idea of mass-produced, Industrial Age factory photographs could be pursued.
John Carbutt invented celluloid which later became the backing for sensitive film; George Eastman, a notable photographer, introduced flexible film in the 1880s. He then, in 1888, introduced the camera box, the first actual film camera. Now, photography could reach everyone who desired to take a picture.
From there, the art form took off, and we find today the modern realm of photography changing from print to digital in a matter of years. Today even the most novice photographer can easily take thousands of pictures with a digital camera and get the perfect shot, something the early photographers never even dreamed of doing in their lifetimes.
The history of photography dates back to ancient times, when civilizations such as the Ottomans and Greeks used pieces of paper and pinholes to burn onto parchment pictures drawn on one surface to another. While highly unsuccessful, the pinhole would manage to capture obscure fragments of a picture, and early photography had begun.
Modern photography, however, began in the year 1839 when the actual name came to the art form from Sir John Herschel. Photography is made up of two separate processes that make the entire art form possible. The first process was optical, the second was chemical.
"Camera obscura," the dark room, is the optical form. The idea of the dark room had existed for more than 400 years and was used to aid drawing in the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to aid the exposure to light paintings and drawings came under fire from while lying around studios. As light damages drawings and paintings, it also damages photographs when developing.
Chemically, photographs have to be developed on paper in order to be preserved and viewed. Robert Boyle, in the 1600s, determined that silver chloride would darken when exposed to light. Angelo Sala, in the early 1700s, noticed that powdered nitrate – from silver – would blacken when exposed to light. Johann H. Schulze also discovered the certain liquids, such as water, changed color when exposed to light for long periods of time. Finally, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, Thomas Wedgwood began conducting experiments piecing together all of the above as he had captured images with a crude camera but he could not make the images permanent on anything.
Almost a century later, in 1827, Joseph Niepce was able to capture the first image to paper after more than eight hours of exposure and many botched attempts in various chemicals discovered centuries before his time. After Niepce died, Louis Daguerre spent years trying to perfect his colleagues' techniques and eventually discovered a way to develop photographic plates – much like printing plates – to reduce the exposure time down to half an hour. He is also responsible for discovering that with common table salt, one could make an image permanent on paper. These discoveries were made public a few years later as details of the process spread throughout Europe and elsewhere.
Many people were skeptical of the new process, mostly because of religious objections, as they believed nobody but their Christian God could capture the essence of any one thing. However, they were wrong, as the ability to capture anything was now in the hands of mankind. A more minor movement, of painters, predicted that drawing and painting would soon fall victim to the art of photography.
As word spread of the new process and the art of photography, more people became interested in pursuing it actively. The demand for photographs grew and a livelihood was possible for a select few from the art with the right patronage.
In 1851, Frederick S. Archer introduced the Collodion process of photograph development; this reduced the exposure time to three seconds, making it much easier for the average man to print a photograph. From there, he developed the wet Collodion process which required much equipment to process a photograph while still wet and in chemicals. However, the process was very difficult, and the need for a dry process was deemed required.
Richard Maddox, around 1870, used Gelatin instead of glass as the base of a photograph's base, thus allowing a dry process to fully develop. They could be developed much quicker in this fashion and the idea of mass-produced, Industrial Age factory photographs could be pursued.
John Carbutt invented celluloid which later became the backing for sensitive film; George Eastman, a notable photographer, introduced flexible film in the 1880s. He then, in 1888, introduced the camera box, the first actual film camera. Now, photography could reach everyone who desired to take a picture.
From there, the art form took off, and we find today the modern realm of photography changing from print to digital in a matter of years. Today even the most novice photographer can easily take thousands of pictures with a digital camera and get the perfect shot, something the early photographers never even dreamed of doing in their lifetimes.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
An Overlooked Feature On Today's Digital Cameras; Movie Mode
One of the most useful, yet overlooked features that can be found on today's modern digital cameras is the ability to record and playback small movies.
Movie mode has pretty much always existed, but only as a novelty feature.
While this feature has been available with digital cameras for a long time, it was usually considered a novelty feature due to the following limitations with the camera;
1.) The camera's internal processor could not process the movie fast enough, so lots of frames were usually dropped from the saved movie file.
2.) The limitation of the camera's memory card prevented large movies from being saved.
3.) The lack of a built-in microphone prevented any worthwhile movies from being created, or saved for that matter.
The problems that plagued older digital cameras with movie modes have been fixed with today's modern cameras.
However in the past couple of years, digital camera makers have overcome most of these limitations. Today digital cameras have fast internal processors that are capable of not only taking high quality movies, but also encoding the movies in a popular format such as QuickTime in real time. Large memory cards also dominate the market. The largest cards from a few years ago can now be found today as the smallest and cheapest cards. As opposed to a few years ago, today literally thousands of flash memory producers exist, and therefore you can now find extremely large memory cards for extremely low prices.
Another nice development in digital cameras is the inclusion of a microphone built right into today's digital cameras. With the built in microphone, photographers can now become film directors and record movies complete with accompany sounds and dialogue.
With all of these improvements, a digital camera is not that far off from being a digital camcorder. There are still lots of places that need improvement in the video department of digital cameras, but it is still relatively fun to make small two minute movies of all sorts of the normal stuff that occurs in life.
Try out the movie mode of your digital camera- you might find that you have a new hobby!
Just think of how you can utilize the movie feature on your digital camera. You can record your baby's first steps, or your friend's airplane landing. The possibilities are endless. The best part, is after you capture the video, you can edit it with popular software and send your small videos to all your friends via email.
So the next time you are messing around with your digital camera, why don't you try out the movie mode? Who knows, you might just discover that making small movies is one of your favorite things to do!
Movie mode has pretty much always existed, but only as a novelty feature.
While this feature has been available with digital cameras for a long time, it was usually considered a novelty feature due to the following limitations with the camera;
1.) The camera's internal processor could not process the movie fast enough, so lots of frames were usually dropped from the saved movie file.
2.) The limitation of the camera's memory card prevented large movies from being saved.
3.) The lack of a built-in microphone prevented any worthwhile movies from being created, or saved for that matter.
The problems that plagued older digital cameras with movie modes have been fixed with today's modern cameras.
However in the past couple of years, digital camera makers have overcome most of these limitations. Today digital cameras have fast internal processors that are capable of not only taking high quality movies, but also encoding the movies in a popular format such as QuickTime in real time. Large memory cards also dominate the market. The largest cards from a few years ago can now be found today as the smallest and cheapest cards. As opposed to a few years ago, today literally thousands of flash memory producers exist, and therefore you can now find extremely large memory cards for extremely low prices.
Another nice development in digital cameras is the inclusion of a microphone built right into today's digital cameras. With the built in microphone, photographers can now become film directors and record movies complete with accompany sounds and dialogue.
With all of these improvements, a digital camera is not that far off from being a digital camcorder. There are still lots of places that need improvement in the video department of digital cameras, but it is still relatively fun to make small two minute movies of all sorts of the normal stuff that occurs in life.
Try out the movie mode of your digital camera- you might find that you have a new hobby!
Just think of how you can utilize the movie feature on your digital camera. You can record your baby's first steps, or your friend's airplane landing. The possibilities are endless. The best part, is after you capture the video, you can edit it with popular software and send your small videos to all your friends via email.
So the next time you are messing around with your digital camera, why don't you try out the movie mode? Who knows, you might just discover that making small movies is one of your favorite things to do!
The Death of Film
The clock is ticking and the death of film is nearing. We live in a digital age now. Everything is processed and recorded with digital technology these days, music, television, movies and of course, photographs. Yet we still hear the word "film" all of the time.
I cringe when I hear people misusing the word ‘film’. You cannot film anything with a video camera. It’s physically impossible. Similarly, you cannot “run to the store” in your car, or phone a friend by dialing a brick. You cannot make a “short film” with a digital camera. Film is a dying medium, and a dying art form. We've been recording photographs and movies on film for over one hundred years - surely it deserves a little something. Can't we please give it a little of the respect it deserves? If you were on your deathbed wouldn’t you want a little respect? Maybe a parade is in order.
When Kodak, the world's largest film producer, announced last year that they were halting the production of 35mm cameras in North America and Europe to focus on digital imaging I was aghast. While they are maintaining their production of film, papers and processing materials, surely the announcement marked the beginning of the end for film. The exodus to digital has been going on for a few years now and seems to get worse every day. In 2003, for the first time ever, digital cameras outsold film cameras. That was the end of that. How much longer will film be produced at all? This is pure speculation and opinion, but I’d be really surprised to see film around in another 25 years. Why bother?
Processing chemicals are already getting hard to come by. Even in a large, cosmopolitan city, you really have to look for processing materials. Smaller camera shops are refraining from carrying chemicals anymore. You have to specify that you do not want paper for a digital printer. If you rent a darkroom, most of them use dry processing now. The old fashioned, romanticized idea of darkroom where you pour your chemicals into trays and watch the picture develop before your eyes is all but gone. Maybe I’m being a little nostalgic.
There are a few purists left out there, and no I would not count myself as one of them. I do own a digital camera and I love it. It’s so easy to use. It’s great to take on vacations because you don’t have to fuss with it too much, and it makes it that much easier to catch those spontaneous photos. It’s perfect if you have kids. You can set everything to automatic and just push a button. You don’t even have to worry about film selection or film speed or light balancing or anything – a decent digital camera will do all of that for you.
Digital cameras are still in that weird consumerist race right now where the newest, coolest camera with more mega pixels is released every week. If you buy a digital camera today, it will be worthless in a year. I frequently suffer from ‘camera envy’ these days when just two years ago I had a top of the line model. I’m sure that pawnshops treat older digital cameras the same way they treat film cameras: thanks, but no thanks. They have enough overpriced paperweights. The technology changes and improves so quickly it’s incredible. The newer CMOS chips capture images faster and more accurately than the older 3 CCD cameras. CCD (Charge Coupled Device) cameras had trouble recording detail in highlights and shadows. Anything too bright would be rendered white and anything too dark showed up black or muddy at best. I just can’t keep up with all of it.
When I want total image control it still has to be film, and I prefer to use medium format. The reproduction of lines, contrast and colors is still unmatched by my digital camera. The shadows and highlights look great, and I can blow up to poster size or larger without noticeable grain – or worse – pixelation. If I buy into all the hype though, for just under $10, 000 I could get a digital camera and lens that would do the same thing. That is, if I wanted to trade in my car for a camera.
For the time being I’ll stick to using both media: digital for capturing memories and film for art. When the death of film does come, and it won’t be long now, I’ll be sure to send flowers.
I cringe when I hear people misusing the word ‘film’. You cannot film anything with a video camera. It’s physically impossible. Similarly, you cannot “run to the store” in your car, or phone a friend by dialing a brick. You cannot make a “short film” with a digital camera. Film is a dying medium, and a dying art form. We've been recording photographs and movies on film for over one hundred years - surely it deserves a little something. Can't we please give it a little of the respect it deserves? If you were on your deathbed wouldn’t you want a little respect? Maybe a parade is in order.
When Kodak, the world's largest film producer, announced last year that they were halting the production of 35mm cameras in North America and Europe to focus on digital imaging I was aghast. While they are maintaining their production of film, papers and processing materials, surely the announcement marked the beginning of the end for film. The exodus to digital has been going on for a few years now and seems to get worse every day. In 2003, for the first time ever, digital cameras outsold film cameras. That was the end of that. How much longer will film be produced at all? This is pure speculation and opinion, but I’d be really surprised to see film around in another 25 years. Why bother?
Processing chemicals are already getting hard to come by. Even in a large, cosmopolitan city, you really have to look for processing materials. Smaller camera shops are refraining from carrying chemicals anymore. You have to specify that you do not want paper for a digital printer. If you rent a darkroom, most of them use dry processing now. The old fashioned, romanticized idea of darkroom where you pour your chemicals into trays and watch the picture develop before your eyes is all but gone. Maybe I’m being a little nostalgic.
There are a few purists left out there, and no I would not count myself as one of them. I do own a digital camera and I love it. It’s so easy to use. It’s great to take on vacations because you don’t have to fuss with it too much, and it makes it that much easier to catch those spontaneous photos. It’s perfect if you have kids. You can set everything to automatic and just push a button. You don’t even have to worry about film selection or film speed or light balancing or anything – a decent digital camera will do all of that for you.
Digital cameras are still in that weird consumerist race right now where the newest, coolest camera with more mega pixels is released every week. If you buy a digital camera today, it will be worthless in a year. I frequently suffer from ‘camera envy’ these days when just two years ago I had a top of the line model. I’m sure that pawnshops treat older digital cameras the same way they treat film cameras: thanks, but no thanks. They have enough overpriced paperweights. The technology changes and improves so quickly it’s incredible. The newer CMOS chips capture images faster and more accurately than the older 3 CCD cameras. CCD (Charge Coupled Device) cameras had trouble recording detail in highlights and shadows. Anything too bright would be rendered white and anything too dark showed up black or muddy at best. I just can’t keep up with all of it.
When I want total image control it still has to be film, and I prefer to use medium format. The reproduction of lines, contrast and colors is still unmatched by my digital camera. The shadows and highlights look great, and I can blow up to poster size or larger without noticeable grain – or worse – pixelation. If I buy into all the hype though, for just under $10, 000 I could get a digital camera and lens that would do the same thing. That is, if I wanted to trade in my car for a camera.
For the time being I’ll stick to using both media: digital for capturing memories and film for art. When the death of film does come, and it won’t be long now, I’ll be sure to send flowers.
It's Not About the Camera
Being a freelance writer, I once accepted an assignment from a magazine website to cover a professional Motocross race. I was supposed to write a 1000 word race report and submit 5-10 action photos from the event. So, I shoved my notebook, pencils, digital voice recorder (for interviews), and digital camera into my backpack and headed out to the track. At the time, I just had a basic point-and-shoot camera. It had a sports setting, though, so I thought I would be ok.
As you can imagine, the camera was painfully slow. The shutter lag time (the amount of time from pushing the shutter release button to the picture being taken) was more than one second when image quality was set to fine. In action sports photography, one second can seem like an eternity! I had at least twenty shots of an empty track, as the motorcycles whizzed in and out of my viewfinder during the lag time. I had at least twenty more shots of back tires and rear fenders. It took me a while to get accustomed to timing the riders coming at me, but I did manage to do it. I walked away from the event with the required number of usable photos.
The editor of the website liked my report and photos enough to pay me at the maximum end of their scale. In fact, I kept getting more assignments to cover more races and take more pictures. At every race, I had to struggle with the timing of the photographs. My success rate was a paltry 3% -- that is, for every 100 photos I took, only 3 were considered usable.
This was very frustrating, to say the least. Since I was creating a very strong working relationship with my editor and was pretty confident of getting future assignments, I decided to invest in a digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera. My new camera set me back more than $1500, but I didn't care. With a shutter lag time of 0.1 seconds, I was envisioning all the awesome shots I would capture. My photo success rate was going to skyrocket!
I didn't have enough time to take my camera out for a practice session before I had to cover the next race. So I just stood out on my balcony and took a few pictures of passing cars in order to get a feel for the camera. I live on a main thoroughfare, so the cars were cruising by at a pretty good clip: 50mph or more. The bikes wouldn't be moving as fast as that, so I thought these test shots would be a pretty good gauge of the camera's capabilities. I checked the test shots on my computer and loved the results. I was full of confidence as I headed out to the race.
When I got there, the other regular photo hounds and reporters couldn't help but notice my new camera. I received many congratulatory pats on the back and was applauded for finally getting a decent camera. I got lots of advice on how to use the camera, particularly from one man who insisted that shooting in Manual mode was the only way that "real" photographers work. I gave in to his ribbing, clicked the setting wheel to "M", and set myself up trackside.
I took a few photos during the first lap of the race, then checked the results in the preview window of the camera. Everything looked good. This was going to be a snap (no pun intended)! I took more than 300 photos that day, and couldn't wait to get home to check them out. On the drive back to my place, all I could think about was how hard it was going to be to choose only 10 good shots.
Imagine my horror, then, as I reviewed the day's work on my computer and saw that every single image was blurred! Apparently, the imperfections in the pictures couldn't be seen in the tiny preview window of the camera, but they were excruciatingly obvious when blown up to full-size on my computer screen. I did not have even one usable photo from the race.
Needless to say, I did not get paid for that assignment, and I missed out on several new assignments as my editor made me spend some time in the proverbial doghouse.
So what did I learn from all this? Just having an expensive camera that comes with lots of bells and whistles doesn't guarantee that you will end up with nice photographs. You have to take the time to learn how the equipment works before you use it. There are simply no shortcuts to taking great pictures.
As you can imagine, the camera was painfully slow. The shutter lag time (the amount of time from pushing the shutter release button to the picture being taken) was more than one second when image quality was set to fine. In action sports photography, one second can seem like an eternity! I had at least twenty shots of an empty track, as the motorcycles whizzed in and out of my viewfinder during the lag time. I had at least twenty more shots of back tires and rear fenders. It took me a while to get accustomed to timing the riders coming at me, but I did manage to do it. I walked away from the event with the required number of usable photos.
The editor of the website liked my report and photos enough to pay me at the maximum end of their scale. In fact, I kept getting more assignments to cover more races and take more pictures. At every race, I had to struggle with the timing of the photographs. My success rate was a paltry 3% -- that is, for every 100 photos I took, only 3 were considered usable.
This was very frustrating, to say the least. Since I was creating a very strong working relationship with my editor and was pretty confident of getting future assignments, I decided to invest in a digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera. My new camera set me back more than $1500, but I didn't care. With a shutter lag time of 0.1 seconds, I was envisioning all the awesome shots I would capture. My photo success rate was going to skyrocket!
I didn't have enough time to take my camera out for a practice session before I had to cover the next race. So I just stood out on my balcony and took a few pictures of passing cars in order to get a feel for the camera. I live on a main thoroughfare, so the cars were cruising by at a pretty good clip: 50mph or more. The bikes wouldn't be moving as fast as that, so I thought these test shots would be a pretty good gauge of the camera's capabilities. I checked the test shots on my computer and loved the results. I was full of confidence as I headed out to the race.
When I got there, the other regular photo hounds and reporters couldn't help but notice my new camera. I received many congratulatory pats on the back and was applauded for finally getting a decent camera. I got lots of advice on how to use the camera, particularly from one man who insisted that shooting in Manual mode was the only way that "real" photographers work. I gave in to his ribbing, clicked the setting wheel to "M", and set myself up trackside.
I took a few photos during the first lap of the race, then checked the results in the preview window of the camera. Everything looked good. This was going to be a snap (no pun intended)! I took more than 300 photos that day, and couldn't wait to get home to check them out. On the drive back to my place, all I could think about was how hard it was going to be to choose only 10 good shots.
Imagine my horror, then, as I reviewed the day's work on my computer and saw that every single image was blurred! Apparently, the imperfections in the pictures couldn't be seen in the tiny preview window of the camera, but they were excruciatingly obvious when blown up to full-size on my computer screen. I did not have even one usable photo from the race.
Needless to say, I did not get paid for that assignment, and I missed out on several new assignments as my editor made me spend some time in the proverbial doghouse.
So what did I learn from all this? Just having an expensive camera that comes with lots of bells and whistles doesn't guarantee that you will end up with nice photographs. You have to take the time to learn how the equipment works before you use it. There are simply no shortcuts to taking great pictures.
Model Trains at Slidell's Christmas Celebration
Model Trains and Christmas
I live way down south in Slidell, La, and every year the City of Slidell puts on a Christmas Celebration. The local park is located in the center of town and the City, alonf with a variety of local organizations, always puts on a celebration to which you can bring your kids to see Santa Claus, visit a forest of decorated Christmas trees, see animals in a manger etc.
One of my favorite parts of the Christmac celebration is the model train disply that's set up in the small building in the park. This model train display is run bt the local VFW and is really enjoyable.
There are several trains in the display. Each train is run on it's own seperate track, with every track meandering in and out a complex system of tunnels a nd mountains and various types of terrain.
For instance, there is an old style steam train reproduction that has period type cars attached to it. There's a coal car, old fashioned passenger type cars, and an old style caboose that rides at the end. In the middle you'll find a variety of freight type cars that were used for carrying cattle or different types of freight. Along the track are water towers like you'll see in old movies, coal loading stations \, etc. Everything is really well done.
One of the things I love about this model train is the smell. A few small drops of oil are placed in the stack of the steam train to make smoke and simultae the sight of an old steam train barrelling down the track. My memory of myself and my brother playing in the basement of our house is vividly brought back by this smell. many was the hour we spent assembling and running our train set down there, and that smell is burned into my memory.
There are other types of trains that run on their own tracks. Reproduction of the Amtrack trains and modern passenger cars, their sleek design reproduced exactly, speed around a rail line that includes passenger depots and train stations, all neatly landscaped even down to miniature passengers in the station and out on the platform.
When all these trains are going at the same time , it's really a sight to behold. The many times I've brought my children out to see them have been well worthwhile. There is something in a model train that fascinates children, from their earlist years right up until the time they become cynical jaded teenagers. My oldest daughter, who is about to get her masters degree, still enjoys going out to see the model train display.
These trains have become a part of our Christmas celebration that we hope to enjoy for many more years.
I live way down south in Slidell, La, and every year the City of Slidell puts on a Christmas Celebration. The local park is located in the center of town and the City, alonf with a variety of local organizations, always puts on a celebration to which you can bring your kids to see Santa Claus, visit a forest of decorated Christmas trees, see animals in a manger etc.
One of my favorite parts of the Christmac celebration is the model train disply that's set up in the small building in the park. This model train display is run bt the local VFW and is really enjoyable.
There are several trains in the display. Each train is run on it's own seperate track, with every track meandering in and out a complex system of tunnels a nd mountains and various types of terrain.
For instance, there is an old style steam train reproduction that has period type cars attached to it. There's a coal car, old fashioned passenger type cars, and an old style caboose that rides at the end. In the middle you'll find a variety of freight type cars that were used for carrying cattle or different types of freight. Along the track are water towers like you'll see in old movies, coal loading stations \, etc. Everything is really well done.
One of the things I love about this model train is the smell. A few small drops of oil are placed in the stack of the steam train to make smoke and simultae the sight of an old steam train barrelling down the track. My memory of myself and my brother playing in the basement of our house is vividly brought back by this smell. many was the hour we spent assembling and running our train set down there, and that smell is burned into my memory.
There are other types of trains that run on their own tracks. Reproduction of the Amtrack trains and modern passenger cars, their sleek design reproduced exactly, speed around a rail line that includes passenger depots and train stations, all neatly landscaped even down to miniature passengers in the station and out on the platform.
When all these trains are going at the same time , it's really a sight to behold. The many times I've brought my children out to see them have been well worthwhile. There is something in a model train that fascinates children, from their earlist years right up until the time they become cynical jaded teenagers. My oldest daughter, who is about to get her masters degree, still enjoys going out to see the model train display.
These trains have become a part of our Christmas celebration that we hope to enjoy for many more years.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Capturing your Subject
Capturing a subject is the most important aspect of taking a picture; if you don't have a subject, you don't have a picture. As the old adage goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words," where how do you get words without a subject?
Well, how does a photographer go about framing their subject for picture? It helps if you have a good definition of a subject. A subject is the focal point of your picture, whether it is a small or large part of the photo is up to you, but once you find the subject, it's up to you to take that perfect picture.
Just how do you do that though?
As the Boy Scouts coined, "Be prepared." Know your camera in and out. Make sure you have all the necessary accessories with you to make sure you don't lose out on a shot. Extra batteries, battery charger, more film or a larger memory card, lens' cloth, and/or a tripod.
Once you find your setting, where you're going to take pictures, make sure the lighting is right for the occasion. Improper lighting can kill even the most perfect shots that you can take the time to take right. If possible, try to scope out the location prior to taking shots at it, that way you can know where the lighting is just right. Before taking the picture, make sure you know where the light is, because lighting directly behind you is always bad for a picture. Depending on how you take a picture from the side or front, it can make the picture very interesting. Always avoid bright, direct sunlight; it'll not only make for a bad picture but can often damage the lens.
If using some sort of background, for object or people photographs make sure it is quite simple and solid colors. Blacks, whites, dark blues and greens all work well and go with a variety of colors as long as they do not clash with the objects' color or the person's clothing. Shooting a subject in the foreground will give depth from a variety of angles will give you various shadows and depth to the photograph.
A must for a good subject photograph is to make sure the picture is sharp, crisp, as if the picture could leap up at you from the paper itself. Using a tripod, which will keep the camera completely stable, will make sure the photo does not get taken blurry. It will stabilize the shot, if you can't use a tripod though; you can stabilize the camera by bending you arm tight against your body while holding the camera or leaning against a wall or other solid surface. If your camera has auto-focus, most have some sort of auto-focus, and that will help a great deal without the extra measures to be taken; however, when in doubt, take the extra steps to get a crisp, clear picture.
When deciding on what to shoot, make sure your picture answers the "five w's" you learned in elementary school: Who, what, where, when and why. Take photos in sequence, if you can, from beginning to end so that they flow like a storyboard. Change locations often, taking the same photo, from a variety of angles. Look for specifics in the pictures you take to capitalize on in capturing the subject.
Create interesting photos by making sure the subject, backgrounds, colors and lighting all work together to make the perfect photograph. By positioning your shot off center, the subject that is, you might get an angle of the subject much more pleasing to the eye. It will also add focus to that subject. Zooming also does wonders, as close-ups of particular objects or sceneries bring out details lost to the eye. Different perspectives also bring out details lost to the eye looking at a picture straight on.
Experiment with your camera settings to find out what you can do with it; then, you can take lots of photos with different effects, focuses and what-not. Try taking pictures of people in their natural environment, when they aren't looking or when they are looking. Find different ways to look at things, and then from that perspective, take a picture.
Find a subject, take its picture, and then take it a million more times from every perspective, angle, camera setting, color, lighting and any other feature you can think of and then do it again in black and white. Do it again and again until every photo you take captures the subject in exactly the right light, so that you can take the camera and capture the perfect picture on every day and at any time.
Well, how does a photographer go about framing their subject for picture? It helps if you have a good definition of a subject. A subject is the focal point of your picture, whether it is a small or large part of the photo is up to you, but once you find the subject, it's up to you to take that perfect picture.
Just how do you do that though?
As the Boy Scouts coined, "Be prepared." Know your camera in and out. Make sure you have all the necessary accessories with you to make sure you don't lose out on a shot. Extra batteries, battery charger, more film or a larger memory card, lens' cloth, and/or a tripod.
Once you find your setting, where you're going to take pictures, make sure the lighting is right for the occasion. Improper lighting can kill even the most perfect shots that you can take the time to take right. If possible, try to scope out the location prior to taking shots at it, that way you can know where the lighting is just right. Before taking the picture, make sure you know where the light is, because lighting directly behind you is always bad for a picture. Depending on how you take a picture from the side or front, it can make the picture very interesting. Always avoid bright, direct sunlight; it'll not only make for a bad picture but can often damage the lens.
If using some sort of background, for object or people photographs make sure it is quite simple and solid colors. Blacks, whites, dark blues and greens all work well and go with a variety of colors as long as they do not clash with the objects' color or the person's clothing. Shooting a subject in the foreground will give depth from a variety of angles will give you various shadows and depth to the photograph.
A must for a good subject photograph is to make sure the picture is sharp, crisp, as if the picture could leap up at you from the paper itself. Using a tripod, which will keep the camera completely stable, will make sure the photo does not get taken blurry. It will stabilize the shot, if you can't use a tripod though; you can stabilize the camera by bending you arm tight against your body while holding the camera or leaning against a wall or other solid surface. If your camera has auto-focus, most have some sort of auto-focus, and that will help a great deal without the extra measures to be taken; however, when in doubt, take the extra steps to get a crisp, clear picture.
When deciding on what to shoot, make sure your picture answers the "five w's" you learned in elementary school: Who, what, where, when and why. Take photos in sequence, if you can, from beginning to end so that they flow like a storyboard. Change locations often, taking the same photo, from a variety of angles. Look for specifics in the pictures you take to capitalize on in capturing the subject.
Create interesting photos by making sure the subject, backgrounds, colors and lighting all work together to make the perfect photograph. By positioning your shot off center, the subject that is, you might get an angle of the subject much more pleasing to the eye. It will also add focus to that subject. Zooming also does wonders, as close-ups of particular objects or sceneries bring out details lost to the eye. Different perspectives also bring out details lost to the eye looking at a picture straight on.
Experiment with your camera settings to find out what you can do with it; then, you can take lots of photos with different effects, focuses and what-not. Try taking pictures of people in their natural environment, when they aren't looking or when they are looking. Find different ways to look at things, and then from that perspective, take a picture.
Find a subject, take its picture, and then take it a million more times from every perspective, angle, camera setting, color, lighting and any other feature you can think of and then do it again in black and white. Do it again and again until every photo you take captures the subject in exactly the right light, so that you can take the camera and capture the perfect picture on every day and at any time.
Learn and Love the Basics of Photography
I am an amateur photographer I will readily admit. It bothers me however to see people pick up a camera that is fully automatic, and knowing nothing about the basic elements of photography, call themselves professional photographers.
While I do like the convenience of a fully automatic camera for taking pictures, I think there's a world of difference between taking pictures at your kid's birthday party and real photography. To me, photography is capturing an image that somehow conveys a message beyond what is pictured in the image. That message can be just about anything, an emotion, a story that appears beneath the surface, whatever. The image is a means of communication. The camera, in the hands of a real photographer, is a tool much like an artists brush. the artist understands what his brush can do, and he uses it carefully, changing it when necessary to capture the effect he's looking for.
A camera is the same way. A good photographer understands how his camera works, the effects of light, the proper use of filters, how his lens changes the image he's attempting to capture.
I use a digital camera to take pictures. These are snapshots that are important to me. They capture the passage of time in my life and the different stages in the lives of my family. I love to take pictures.
When I want to dip into photography, I take a whole different approach. Then I drag out my old 35MM cameras, and a hand held light meter. I guess these are considered antiques now, but they are the tools I used to develop my eye and my understanding of photography. Because I learned how to use a light meter, I learned how to use varying exposures to create different looks in my photographs. Because I had to set the f stop and shutter speed on my camera by hand, I learned how the changes to one or another can change the picture as a whole. I learned how to take my time and set up a shot because film was expensive. I did not have the luxury of taking 100 shots and just deleting the rest.
Take your time and learn the basics of your camera, learn how the changes you choose can change your picture. You'll learn a lot about photography, and gain a greater appreciation of the old masters.
While I do like the convenience of a fully automatic camera for taking pictures, I think there's a world of difference between taking pictures at your kid's birthday party and real photography. To me, photography is capturing an image that somehow conveys a message beyond what is pictured in the image. That message can be just about anything, an emotion, a story that appears beneath the surface, whatever. The image is a means of communication. The camera, in the hands of a real photographer, is a tool much like an artists brush. the artist understands what his brush can do, and he uses it carefully, changing it when necessary to capture the effect he's looking for.
A camera is the same way. A good photographer understands how his camera works, the effects of light, the proper use of filters, how his lens changes the image he's attempting to capture.
I use a digital camera to take pictures. These are snapshots that are important to me. They capture the passage of time in my life and the different stages in the lives of my family. I love to take pictures.
When I want to dip into photography, I take a whole different approach. Then I drag out my old 35MM cameras, and a hand held light meter. I guess these are considered antiques now, but they are the tools I used to develop my eye and my understanding of photography. Because I learned how to use a light meter, I learned how to use varying exposures to create different looks in my photographs. Because I had to set the f stop and shutter speed on my camera by hand, I learned how the changes to one or another can change the picture as a whole. I learned how to take my time and set up a shot because film was expensive. I did not have the luxury of taking 100 shots and just deleting the rest.
Take your time and learn the basics of your camera, learn how the changes you choose can change your picture. You'll learn a lot about photography, and gain a greater appreciation of the old masters.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Need Free Photo Management Software? Try Picasa 2!
If you have a digital camera, chances are you have a ton of photos scattered across memory cards, hard disks, and even stored online on numerous web servers. While you probably already have a nice piece of photo management software, a really fine application is available with not only a wide array of features, but it's also a free piece of software.
The software, titled "Picasa" is a wonderful piece of free computer software made the nice folks at Google. The software, which runs on Windows computer systems is a computer program that is relatively small in size, yet fully packed with features.
Picasa is now in its 2nd major version, known as Picasa 2, and is readily available at www.picasa.com. The main focus of the Picasa program is the ability to find and manage photos. Picasa will search your computer for all the photographs it can find, and will allow you to organize the photos the way you wish in albums.
Not only can you organize your photos into specific albums, but you are also given the abilities to give your photo albums a specific star rating, as well as password protect your albums. These features are absolutely perfect if a lot of other people utilize your computer system.
Not only does the Picasa software allow you to organize your photo collection, but it also allows you to make your photo collection better. Picasa 2 comes complete with several tools and utilities that allow you to fix common problems with photos such as brightness / contrast, and allow you to easily crop your photographs. Picasa 2 also gives users the ability to resize their photos, as well as add specific comments to individual photos.
Finally, Picasa 2 allows you to literally put your photos anywhere. From directly inside the Picasa program, you can quickly and easily send photos via e-mail, onto a specific website, or even designate an CD or flash drive for the photos.
Overall, Picasa 2 is a very powerful computer program made free by the wonderful folks at Google. If you are in need of free photo management software, or are under the impression that the photo management software you are currently using is not exactly what you need, then it is highly suggested that you get a copy of Picasa 2 at http://www.picasa.com and see what you have been missing.
The software, titled "Picasa" is a wonderful piece of free computer software made the nice folks at Google. The software, which runs on Windows computer systems is a computer program that is relatively small in size, yet fully packed with features.
Picasa is now in its 2nd major version, known as Picasa 2, and is readily available at www.picasa.com. The main focus of the Picasa program is the ability to find and manage photos. Picasa will search your computer for all the photographs it can find, and will allow you to organize the photos the way you wish in albums.
Not only can you organize your photos into specific albums, but you are also given the abilities to give your photo albums a specific star rating, as well as password protect your albums. These features are absolutely perfect if a lot of other people utilize your computer system.
Not only does the Picasa software allow you to organize your photo collection, but it also allows you to make your photo collection better. Picasa 2 comes complete with several tools and utilities that allow you to fix common problems with photos such as brightness / contrast, and allow you to easily crop your photographs. Picasa 2 also gives users the ability to resize their photos, as well as add specific comments to individual photos.
Finally, Picasa 2 allows you to literally put your photos anywhere. From directly inside the Picasa program, you can quickly and easily send photos via e-mail, onto a specific website, or even designate an CD or flash drive for the photos.
Overall, Picasa 2 is a very powerful computer program made free by the wonderful folks at Google. If you are in need of free photo management software, or are under the impression that the photo management software you are currently using is not exactly what you need, then it is highly suggested that you get a copy of Picasa 2 at http://www.picasa.com and see what you have been missing.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
In Love With Black and White
In Love With Black and White
by Kat Yares
My newest love is photography. I have digital cameras, I have point and shoot 35 mm cameras, but what I've fallen in love with is black and white photography shot with my ancient Voigtlander Prominent II camera.
From what I've read, this camera was probably the best made camera on the market in the late fifties. Unfortunately it was also probably the worst designed. It is heavy, parts of it are awkward to use, but it takes superb pictures. Since I've never used any other expensive camera, I really don't know if it truly has any flaws. Guess I'll have to take someone else's word for that.
An old boss gave the Voigtlander to me. He called it worthless and thought maybe my son would want it to 'play' with. Along with the camera in its original leather case, it came with three extra lenses, several filters and a few items I don't have a clue of their use. I took one look and told myself there was no way my then 12 year old was going to play with it. I looked it up on eBay, and the prices it was going for only confirmed my thoughts.
I bought film and learned to use it. It took all of our vacation pictures for two years. I loved the quality of the photos, even those I took through the glass of a moving car turned out wonderful. No blurring, just clean, crisp pictures.
The third year, I loaded it with black and white film. I've never gone back to color. I love the way this camera picks up the nuances of gray in the still shots. I love to take pictures of old abandoned houses, and try to think up stories of the families that once lived there. The Voigtlander gives the old houses an eerie look in black and white and if I'm very lucky, it will pick up the early morning ground fog surrounding them.
It also seems to capture the personality behind peoples faces. The twinkle in the eyes (and never any red-eye) and laugh lines. Take a picture of an old farmer and you'll see what I mean. The shots are stunning.
My only complaint so far is the cost of developing the film. Living away from the big city as far as I do, I only have one option: the local super center. And they aren't cheap for black and white, not buying the film or processing.
This leads me to the next thing on my wish list, my own dark room. I would love to watch my own photographs come to life in front of my eyes. To me, watching that happen would be the ultimate experience.
That is on my to do list, along with finding online sources of good black and white film that won't cost me three arms and two legs to have delivered to the Ozark Backwoods.
Until then, I'll just do the best I can with what I have to work with. It doesn't matter, the pictures are so wonderful, they are worth any price.
by Kat Yares
My newest love is photography. I have digital cameras, I have point and shoot 35 mm cameras, but what I've fallen in love with is black and white photography shot with my ancient Voigtlander Prominent II camera.
From what I've read, this camera was probably the best made camera on the market in the late fifties. Unfortunately it was also probably the worst designed. It is heavy, parts of it are awkward to use, but it takes superb pictures. Since I've never used any other expensive camera, I really don't know if it truly has any flaws. Guess I'll have to take someone else's word for that.
An old boss gave the Voigtlander to me. He called it worthless and thought maybe my son would want it to 'play' with. Along with the camera in its original leather case, it came with three extra lenses, several filters and a few items I don't have a clue of their use. I took one look and told myself there was no way my then 12 year old was going to play with it. I looked it up on eBay, and the prices it was going for only confirmed my thoughts.
I bought film and learned to use it. It took all of our vacation pictures for two years. I loved the quality of the photos, even those I took through the glass of a moving car turned out wonderful. No blurring, just clean, crisp pictures.
The third year, I loaded it with black and white film. I've never gone back to color. I love the way this camera picks up the nuances of gray in the still shots. I love to take pictures of old abandoned houses, and try to think up stories of the families that once lived there. The Voigtlander gives the old houses an eerie look in black and white and if I'm very lucky, it will pick up the early morning ground fog surrounding them.
It also seems to capture the personality behind peoples faces. The twinkle in the eyes (and never any red-eye) and laugh lines. Take a picture of an old farmer and you'll see what I mean. The shots are stunning.
My only complaint so far is the cost of developing the film. Living away from the big city as far as I do, I only have one option: the local super center. And they aren't cheap for black and white, not buying the film or processing.
This leads me to the next thing on my wish list, my own dark room. I would love to watch my own photographs come to life in front of my eyes. To me, watching that happen would be the ultimate experience.
That is on my to do list, along with finding online sources of good black and white film that won't cost me three arms and two legs to have delivered to the Ozark Backwoods.
Until then, I'll just do the best I can with what I have to work with. It doesn't matter, the pictures are so wonderful, they are worth any price.
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