The Camera

As I've previously noted,  Chase Jarvis says,

The Best Camera Is The One That's With You.

This is a statement that have been echoed by many photographers (and probably your parents) and thanks to technology we now have cameras in our phones and ones small enough to fit in your pocket or purse.  So, you don't have an excuse to say, "I wish I had a camera."  Indeed, some of the smart phone cameras are getting quite sophisticated and even allow you to do post processing.

In fact, today's point-and-shoot cameras can even recognize faces!  (Believe it or not, some can even wait until someone has finished blinking.)  Some very powerful processing goes on behind the scenes.  What I mean to tell you is that even when you leave the camera on automatic, it can do an amazing job of getting a good (or even great) picture.  Here's where you say, 'well hold on there partner, I've seen some pretty bad pictures.'  Very true and in these very pages we'll try to walk through some of things these cameras can do (and can't) and how to trick them into doing what you want them to do.

Before getting a digital camera, my Mom used to cut of the tops of the heads of people when taking her pictures.  (She still does.)  Of course, that's trendy now.  Who would have thought that she was such a trend setter?

For the moment, let's assume that you don't currently have a digital camera.  An oft asked question is, "What kind of camera should I get?"  Searching the web is not always the most beneficial way to start.  There are all sorts of rants and raves on what brand is best.  Face it, everyone has an opinion, and so do I, "if it works for you, it's good enough."  That's no help.  These are my recommendations:

If you have a good friend that has a point and shoot digital camera, ask them how they like it.

You can tell a lot about how a person likes their camera if you ask them to show it to you and how to use it.  In fact, if you can borrow it take some pictures with it, with them showing you how.  That way you can see if it's too complicated or if your fingers have a hard time with the controls.  Is it too big or too small?  This is important, because if it's too hard to use (even in automatic mode) you won't use it.  You might even ask them how they download the pictures from their camera to their computer.  (We'll talk some more about that later.)

What if you don't have a friend or (gulp) relative with a digital camera?

This is where a good camera store comes into play.  A good camera store can help you select a camera that will work for you.  They will spend time with you showing you different cameras.  What you should expect from a camera store is good customer service.  What they expect from you is that when you have found a good camera, you will buy it from them.  You will pay more money for a camera purchased from a store, but you are also buying some of their time.  Some stores run classes either for free or for a small fee.  It's in their best interest to treat you well with the hope that you will purchase more stuff from them.  That's just good business.  However, and I do feel strongly about this, don't use their time to select a camera and then buy it from the web.  That's not fair.

There are many cameras out there and the turn over rate, that is the new models that come from the manufacturers is just astounding.  My first digital camera was a Kodak which barely had the resolution of a web cam, something just over 1 megapixels.  The next one I owned was a very simple and small Canon SD-20, which was about 5 megapixels.  I've posted some of the pictures that I took with that camera on this blog (and will post some more).  I really like that camera because it was so small that I could put it in my pack to go mountain biking or hiking.  The case was small enough to hang from my belt.  The only downside to this camera was that the screen on which you viewed your picture was the size of a postage stamp.  I recently saved up to purchase a new point-and-shoot that had some of the new innovations which included a zoom and a bigger view screen.  This was a Canon S90.

It really doesn't matter what camera you get or what the zoom is, or even how many megapixels that it has, as long as it works for you.  You might even look at a older model or used just so you can get started.  I can hear someone saying, "but, but, I need some guidance..."  Ok, I can give you a slight push, but remember, as Captain Barbossa said regarding the code, in Pirates of the Carribean,

...the code is more what you call "guidelines" than actual rules.

They are:

• Get a camera that has 5 or more megapixels.  (More is not necessarily better.)
• Optical zoom is more important than digital.  (More optical zoom is better.)

I'll talk about these items in succeeding posts.

Getting Started

Where to begin?  First, and probably most important, is:  "Do you have a digital camera?"  I'm sorry if I mislead anyone, I was thinking of a digital point-and-shoot when I began this blog.  (See my notes below.)  So, assuming that you have such a camera what should you do?  Pick up your camera and go out (or in) and take a few pictures.  Go.  Right now.  I'll wait.  Really.

Have you taken a couple of snapshots?  I'm serious, even just one photograph counts, of anything that pleases your eye.  Did you say to yourself, 'but there's nothing interesting out (or in) there?'  Alfred Stieglitz, the famous American photographer, supposedly said,

I have found my subjects within 60 yards of my door.

This is an amazing statement.  Think about it for a moment.  Our lives tend to be centered around certain locations:  home, work, school, and so on.  And, due to the wonders of the human eye, the wonderful and interesting things become part of the background and effectively invisible.  Part of your job as a photographer is to look again with a new view.  I won't lie to you, this isn't easy, but it's not impossible.

You only need to look at what you've seen before in a new way.  Your subject may be a person, animal, flowers, or just junk, like old bottles.  You might notice it because of the light, or seeing it from a new angle, or something else.  Remember that the only one that you need to satisfy or impress is yourself.  That's right, this is for you.  Worry about other people's opinion some other day.  For me, photography is a very personal subject.  As I walk or drive during the day, I try to look at things as though I was looking through a camera.  To see how the light, early in the morning, brings out the details in surfaces.

There's a couple of things that I think are important when you start:  Only show your work, if you want to, to people that will actively encourage you.  The pictures you take are for you first.  If the photo captures what you saw or what you wanted to see, then you did your job as a photographer.  (There are times when a constructive critique are useful and beneficial to your growth.)  The second is, print your pictures.  Put them up on your walls.  This comes as sage advice from my Mom.

Finally, I mentioned that I intended this blog to be about digital point-and-shoot cameras, but it really doesn't need to be.  You'll just have to be a little more patient to get the results of your work back from the processor if you use film.