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.
Monday, March 07, 2005
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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