Hobbies

Things I like to do.

Photography: Gear vs Vision

0
8 months ago
by Kevin in
Filename

Image via Wikipedia

This is the typical statement: It’s not the camera, it’s the photographer that’s makes great photos.

This is the point that I think David duChemin, a photographer that I look up to, is trying to make in his latest blog post: “Point & Shoot, My A**“.  I agree with him to a point.  While I feel that the photographer is the reason the photograph ultimetly turns out. Without a certain level of gear, some shots would simply not be possible.  I’ll try to illustrate my point with an example.

I currently own a Canon Digital Rebel XSi and a “kit” lens.  For an “entry-level” DSLR, the XSi is a very capable camera.  I have taken (what I feel any way) are some very good pictures with it.  I love using it – in fact I wish I had more time to use it.

But the XSi has its weaknesses.  The biggest of these (to me) is the camera’s low light capabilities.  If a certain shot requires the ISO to be set above 400, this camera is not the ready for the job.  Setting the ISO to 800 or 1600 will produce very, very noisy images.

Yes I can take great photographs with my iPhone, yes I can take great photographs with my wife’s Casio compact digital camera (notice I didn’t call it a “point and shoot”, oops), but I know I can take better pictures with my Rebel.  And by the same token I know that a 5D Mark II will give me better pictures still.  But here’s difference.  It’s what these devices allow me to do that makes the difference.

I can set up a shot with an iPhone and with my Rebel.  I can compose it the exact same way, using the exact same light and I know that the photo from my Rebel will look better.  With the Rebel, I can control things so that I can give the image a certain emotion or feel. The extra features of the Rebel allow me to get more from a shot.

While I agree with David (and nearly every other photographer on the planet) that gear is only one piece that makes a great photo, I have to stop short and say that it takes a bit of gear to get the job done.

As an aside, let me point out that most of the people that tell you that great photographs come from the photographer and not the gear usually have the best gear on the planet.  I’m just sayin’

Enhanced by Zemanta

365Project – Getting Closer

0
1 year ago
by Kevin in

I’ve sorted a few things out and am gearing up for a Sept. 1, 2010 launch of my 365Project.

Check out the new site for the details.

Chipmunk!

0
1 year ago
by Kevin in

I arrived a bit early for an appointment this morning.  While I waited in the car, I noticed this little guy:

Kinda glad I had the camera with me.

365 Project – Part 2

0
1 year ago
by Kevin in

On the way home from work, I thought about the 365Project a bit more.  I have resolved a few things and brought up a few more.

Photo Hosting:  I think, for now, I’ll continue to host my photos on Flickr.  When I get my pro account later this year, that will give me enough space and freedom to not worry about the 200 photo limit imposed by the free account.

Lightroom vs Photoshop:  For now, I’ll stick with Lightroom.  With 98% of the post-processing power I need and the ability to store, import, catalog and maintain all of my photos in one application, I don’t feel the need to rely on Photoshop CS5.  Maybe that will change during the year, we’ll see.

Where to Hold the Project:  This is one of the new things that I thought about.  I’ve thought about housing it completely in Flickr, but quickly dismissed that as I want more control over the “presentation”.  Because of that, I think I’ve also pretty much eliminated most of the online free services as well.  And since I’ve already spent a bunch of money simply getting the camera, I don’t think I want to spend any additional money for monthly hosting fees.

So that brings me to hosting it myself.  I can do that simply enough, right here in this blog, but honestly this blog has started to become all about photos and not about myself, or tech, or any of the other things I set out wanting it to be.  No, I think I want the 365project to be a completely different entity.  This means a sub-domain and the software to do the posting.  To start off, I think I’ll simply create another WordPressblog and use a different, minimal-type theme in dark and dedicate it solely to presenting the photos, thoughts, inspirations and struggles of the project.

Doing it this way, I honestly think it’ll only need one plugin – the Flickr Gallery.  Again, time will tell, but I think that’s where I’m starting.

When to Start:  Speaking of starting, that’s the next thing I need to decide.  I definitely have to wait until the new site is up, but that really will only take a day or two.  Should I start Sept 1?  Should I wait until 2011?  I’m still wresting with that, but I don’t think I want to wait until next year.  I’ll think about that a bit more.

Workflow:  I still need to decide on this.  My biggest concern is backups and how/where to store the photos long term.

I’ve got a lot to think about still, but I’m ready to get foundation built.  Stay tuned here for links to the project site.  I really hope this works out.

Project365

0
1 year ago
by Kevin in

So I’ve been thinking about starting a Photo 365Project - basically taking a picture a day and posting it.

I think this will do a couple of things for me.  First is will get me familiar with my camera.  This should also have the side effect of making me faster because over time I’ll be fussing less with camera settings.  Second at the very least, taking one picture a day should improve my photography skills.  Additionally, and the primary goal of the 365Project, it will allow me to remember things that have happened over an entire year.  And finally it will (hopefully) get me in the proper mindset to finish SOMETHING that I start.

That last thing alone is worth me doing the project.  You see I’ve always had the ability to start something – put a lot of effort into it and then loose intrest in it.  My hope and goal is that this project will not be one of those things that slip to the side.

I’ve got to get a few things in order first – like my photographic work flow.  I need to be able to assure myself that all the work that I plan on putting into this project will not go up in smoke with a power blink at home.

So I need to sort a few things out and then I’ll start.  But I need help from those of you who are still watching this blog.  I’ll need you guys and gals to encourage me and better still, nag me when I fall behind in posting the pictures.

First thing on the list:  Find a way to allow this blog to host the images.  After that I need to decide on Lightroom or Photoshop for post-processing.

Go to Top