Novo's Photo Blog

So you bought that new DSLR, now what?

2012-02-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

If you are new to the DSLR world you are probably thinking- "What have I gotten myself into? This thing is complicated! I don't even know what DSLR stands for!" Relax, it really isn't that complicated and yes,there are few things you need to understand about the camera. We'll explore some of those things as we go along on this blog. For now...

First things first, DSLR is an acronym that stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera. They leave the "C" out of the acronym, don't ask me why, they just do. The acronym DSLR is a shorten method of saying, I have a camera with a mechanical mirror which moves inside the camera and a pentaprism that directs light form the lens or optical view finder onto a digital light sensor in the back of the camera. The sensor absorbs light through eighteen million pixels (yours could have more or less) to create a usable image. Whew, that's a lot of stuff, and I even managed to leave some out- it has an on-board digital processor, a shutter and a single lens. The lens can be taken on and off and is replaceable by another lens with the same mounting. Some of you are probably asking yourself, "What did he just say?," and "What the heck is a pentaprism?" Here's what I said, you have a very flexible, highly accurate, and fun digital camera. I'll let you look up pentaprism in the dictionary. Hint, it has five sides...

So, now that you have your new camera all unpacked and ready go, what's next? I'd start by reading the quick guide that comes with most new cameras. Try to get a basic knowledge of how the controls are laid out and some of the functions of the camera. You'll probably operate the camera in one of the many programmed modes until you get use to the camera and all it's functions and capabilities. Hey. that's okay, a lot of folks rarely venture to far away from that big green square on the mode selector knob known as "full auto" combined with "auto-focus." The camera is smart enough to give you some of the best pictures you've ever made in the automatic or one of the programmed modes, provided you do your part. The beauty of these modes are they let you concentrate on "your part", that of composition, lighting, and the details of color and shapes, worry free!

As you get more experienced with your DSLR, you'll start to get a feel for it's capabilities and the creative freedom you'll gain with it. You'll end up wanting to understand more about depth of field, time of exposure, ISO and how you can manipulate them on the camera yourself to create the effects you want. You'll probably end up reading everything you can find on the topic of photography and more than likely join a photography group of like minded folks that want to make great pictures. But to suffice for now, here are couple things that you truly need to understand about your new camera and digital imagery- 1) Once you buy the camera, the images are free. 2) Every picture you make isn't going to be perfect! 2a) If you make a bad picture, you can always erase it and try again! 3) You aren't being graded by anyone but yourself as you start out with your new camera, so go out and have fun!

More to follow...

Two old friends...

2012-02-13T21:56:00.000-08:00

When I think of making pictures I automatically think back to the days when film was king. Today, it is much easier to photograph and edit than it was when I first bought these two cameras. Processing slide film was actually fun! Getting prints was sometimes a chore, but it was an art form as well. The chemicals were messy and you had to have a ton of equipment to do it right but over all, I think it was a labor of love and an art form. If you didn't want to hassle with it and you knew of a good photo shop, you'd have someone else develop your prints for you. Funny, I have a friend of whom I don't remember ever having a roll of film processed by anyone else but himself. The guy was consumed!

Today your dark room is setting behind a computer, manipulating the all the pixel and adding any special effects that you want. Today it seems that photography is more about the manipulation of RAW and JPEG files, and doing things that we could only dream about in the darkroom. This is an art form as well, just different. You can do so many incredible things today if you have the right software tools.

As for me, I'd rather spend more time behind the camera than I would behind the computer. I try to concentrate on making great pictures that need as little editing as possible. My day job keeps me behind the computer more than I would like as it is. But sometimes it's a necessary chore to sit and edit the pictures you truly want to keep and post. I'm just not motivated to spend more time at the computer than is absolutely necessary.

When I look over at the shelf next to my desk in my home office, I see these two cameras setting there looking back at me. I sometimes think I hear them talking to me, saying- "When are we going to get out and have some fun? The digital cameras go out all the time! Don't you like us anymore?" Occasionally, I'll get up and head over to the refrigerator and look for an old roll of Fuji 35 or a roll of 120. If I'm lucky I'll find what I'm looking for, load up and head out the door. It's great to go home once in awhile!

It's not the camera...

2012-02-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite writers online is Ken Rockwell. The thing I enjoy most about Ken Rockwell's blog is the fact that he tries to inform folks that it is not the camera, it's the artist. He and others have taken award winning photos with the most basic of equipment. This is a lesson that I did not get for a long time. I was always chasing down the newest technology or gadget thinking that it would somehow be the magical pill for making better pictures. Believe me, I've spent a good bit of money on some camera equipment over the years.

Anymore, I find myself going out the door with the most basic equipment that I have and less of it. I've just recently put my old Nikon FG film camera back into operation. A good picture does not require a $6,000 dollar digital camera with a $2,000 dollar lens (ok, maybe the lens will make a difference but that is another story)! A good picture requires a good eye for knowing what a good picture is and good light to make the picture happen. Here's an example, my wife took this picture of our dog Lucy (some of you may have seen it on our Lucy the White Boxer Dog Blog) with nothing more than her I-phone 5 mega pixel camera and the desire to make a creatively good picture. I think she succeeded, what do you think?

I on the other hand have taken some incredibly bad photos with a very expensive Nikon. I won't display the bad, you'll just have to take my word for it!

Making the right shot requires patients and knowledge of what makes a great picture. You need to think about the color, shapes, lines and how light may affect what you are trying to create and capture. In reality you must think of yourself as an artist painting a picture, except your canvas is film or a digital image. You create pictures, you don't take them. Making a good picture requires you to dive into your "right brain." The side where your creativeness lives. I've seen folks who didn't know a thing about a camera, other than look through the view finder and push the button to make it go click, take some amazing photos. It's all about capturing what your mind sees in the imagery in front of you and painting the picture with the camera. So, don't get caught up in all the mega pixel and ISO race in the camera technology world. All of it is sales hype to get you to buy the latest and greatest new equipment. Practice the artistry side of things first and then decide what camera best fits your goals and desires in making the best picture possible.

More to follow...

The Start of a New Blog

2011-10-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

With all things there has to be a beginning. This is such a beginning, my newest blog on my favorite subject - photography. The picture displayed here is of just one of the many cameras that I own. My intent for this blog is simply to post interesting images and information on the subject of photography. I've shot just about every type of film camera and have begun a new journey into the world of the digital photography. Writing about the subject helps me learn more about the topic. Forgive me if digress back to my roots of film from time to time.

The thing that I have come to realize is making good photos requires a basic understanding of a couple key ingredients regardless of the media. These ingredients are an understanding of the equipment you are using, composition,lighting and exposure. Almost every photo webpage or blog you go to will reinforce this concept. Some will attempt to complicate the issue with vocabulary, but when it comes down to it,understanding how to adjust the settings on your camera,composing your picture, light and exposure are the skills you need. We will explore all of the basics as we progress on this blog.

In my day job, I work as an instructional systems designer. This is a fancy way of saying I'm a teacher in the real world, not a school teacher, rather a trainer of the teacher, supplying instructional materials to others to train with. I tend to apply one principle to every topic I teach, "keep it simple - stupid" or the "KISS" method of instruction. Why make something more complicated than has to be right!

Well this is the first post... let's see where we go with this!