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                                         A photo is worth a thousand words

Your digital BFF

11/3/2013

10 Comments

 
“Poets, priests and politicians have words to thank for their positions”- Sting

You camera should be your friend. As we talked about in the last post, the modern DSLR camera is too complicated. I wrote about how the camera is simple and it is the camera manufacturers that make it complicated. They make it more difficult to use every time they add a new feature, a new menu and a new button. To make sense of it all they give you a big fat manual that we never take out of the plastic wrap because it is too thick and too many words and “why do I need 337 custom settings?”  and “what is picture style anyway?” and “what am I going to do with another French version?”

Painter’s brushes don’t come with a manual and writers don’t get excited about a new word processing program. So why do we get so excited about new cameras? Photography is one of the most technical art forms but it doesn’t have to be so complicated. Most pros approach photography simply, putting creativity before buttons.  This post is all about the importance of having a better relationship with your camera because to really make great photographs and express what you feel and translate that feeling through the lens onto the sensor and into the heart of the viewer, you need to be good friends with your camera. (How was that for a Hemingway sentence?) Your camera should be your BFF. If you talk to most pro photographers they don’t constantly update cameras every time a new one comes out. (Yes, some of them salivate like the rest of us at the bigger better more buttons thing that Canon just announced but most throw down their visa card down for the new lenses). Some of the best photographers in history, like Henri Cartier Bresson, used the same Leicas for years. Yes, maybe he was cheap and saved his money for lattes at the Café de Flore, but I bet the reason he used the same gear was because he got to know it intimately, like you know your favorite cooking knife, fly fishing rod or that sweet spot on your cars gas pedal that likes to go 120.  By using the same gear for years, or at least thousands of frames, Bresson got to know all its little nuances, and by knowing it well he knew how to use it smoothly, easily, quickly. So if you want to become better friends with your camera don’t send it out to the consignment pasture as soon as something newer comes out, hang onto it and get to know how to make it your creative friend like New York fashion legend Bill Cunningham (great film!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYqiLJBXbss)

Next week…how nothing is something 

10 Comments
Diane
11/3/2013 12:18:25 pm

I SO believe so much of what is said here! Yes camera manufacturers continue to add layers of options and features to their latest offerings. How much of that is simply preying on consumerism, creating the illusion that is rampant in any area of technology...that if it is new, it must be better, and therefore I must buy it. It's very hard to resist! That doesn't mean that it's necessary to your art.

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Frank
11/3/2013 12:43:21 pm

Some of the features that manufacturers have are very useful. If my camera had, as an example, bluetooth capabilities or GPS I wouldn't have to spend more money on extra gear. I ultimately hope that each new generation of camera will have a better sensor than the previous, because ultimately that is what is really important in a camera.

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Frank
11/3/2013 12:35:58 pm

My camera is my friend, but I haven't given her a name...yet. I take it for infrequent walks, it tells me the weather doesn't matter. I bought a raincoat for my camera, nothing too fashionable. Most people who start out in digital photography have a limited budget and knowledge. As they learn more about creating remarkable photographs, they learn their camera and lenses have limitations. As they look for better gear, they find the newest and shiniest offerings from the leading manufacturers. Now the game has begun. The newest shiniest gear isn't going to make you a better photographer, but it will remove some of your limitiations.

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June
11/3/2013 02:22:20 pm

Well said Frank
I do agree that as you enter this photography passion of ours, for most of us money is an issue and we start out with bare bones and work our way up.
But I do think once you reach a certain level you do settle down and realize it's all about getting the best image with the equipment you have.
Not saying I still don't want a 800mm canon lens but other then that I'm happy with my gear ;)

Reply
brad
11/4/2013 09:12:00 am

well said June!

brad
11/4/2013 08:42:24 am

good points everyone! frank, your comment about removing restrictions is interesting- i agree- the thing I have seen in the last 20 years is that we have more cameras to choose from more often and since we started teaching have seen a lot of students who's thinking is that it is all about the camera as if the quality of the camera is an indication of how good a photo you will get- good point about sensors- really all I think that matters is sensors and lenses- and maybe how fast it can shoot for sports- the rest to me is mostly fluff. You can shoot jaw dropping images on your iphone- but putting different lenses on your DSLR gives your different ways of seeing. In the end- it is all about what you see

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Diane
11/3/2013 08:45:48 pm

My husband thanks you for your comments I have committed to learn and use my current camera well before making another purchase. There is a need and want I am at the point of want !

Reply
brad
11/4/2013 08:46:01 am

diane, I hope your husband gets you your dream lens for christmas!

Reply
brad
11/4/2013 09:14:22 am

Question: Does everyone feel they know how to use their camera well? If not- what is making it difficult?

Reply
June link
11/27/2013 08:22:40 am


To be honest Brad, I think I knew how to use my camera better right after I first took the beginners course with you.

Since then my photography/career has been so hectic in the past two years, starting a photography business, upgrading cameras, yet still shooting with both.
Dials, settings, menus all in different spots between the two cameras.
Cameras and lenses different weights depending what you snap on what.
Learning Studio lights to work with the camera.
Sometimes I think we strive to grow to fast :(
We try to take in to much in and don't retain half of it.
Not that I'm not happy with a lot of my images, but I yearn to go back to the days when I would spend 3 hours in the bush just shooting leaves and playing with DOF and exposers.
I think I was a better Outdoor Photographer then.

I think that is why I am getting into some night photography , a little alone time and thinking involved again.

I don't think I could let my Boudoir photography go (To many creative things to do there), but I could easily let Family Portraits Go :)
It can easily turn from something you absolutely LOVE to a JOB!

I'm rambling....haaaaa, you know me, nothing short and sweet :)

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