Photographic Artistry » cameras

Wow! Four years of teaching coming to an end

edvydas — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:27:21 +0000

Members of the Art 127 class don't exactly know what to do with Ed as he proceeds to play dead.

My last day of teaching at Richland (at least for now!)

My last group of students (at least for now!)

I don’t know if I’ll be back or not, so I don’t know if I should celebrate, be maudlin, rant and rave or just go out and have a party!

I officially gave notice and was replaced, I’m happy to say my business is active enough that I don’t easily have time to do this.

Four years, eight semesters and I don’t know how many students.

I don’t remember all the names — yep, still horrible with that. But I truly appreciate the fact that many of my students are still shooting and are now even earning money for doing so.

Keenan Adams (Keenan Adams Photography), Valerie Cook (Valerie Cook Photography), Mary Lehman, Jason Smalley, and so many others. They may or may not be doing it full-time. They may or may not be supported by their spouses. But, I’m very proud of all of them. There’s probably others, but not even sure who they are.

Yeah, pretty bad on this keeping in touch stuff. Always have been.

But I also hope they remember me and my classes.

I vividly recall my mentors in photography — Bill Gillette formerly of Iowa State University, Dennis Garrels formerly of United Press International, John Gaps III formerly of the Associated Press (and the guy who asked me the classic question while I was shooting of “why are you taking photos?), Ed Porter formerly of the Sioux City Journal, Tom Gapen of the Los Angeles Daily News and others.

My current “heroes” of Bob Davis, Kevin Kubota, Doug Gordon, Clay Blackmore and David Ziser. Oh, and the irrelevancy and insanity of the boys of TriCoast Photography of Texas!

Each one of these guys has completely different styles and different approaches. They all share a love of shooting from the heart. I’ve attempted, somewhat successfully I’m told, a fusion of many styles. You take what fits you.

Shooting from the heart is what it is all about for me. I have been known to wear my emotions on the outside — and I don’t consider that a disadvantage.

Absolutely no respect for the near comatose and confused!

These last four years have taught me much — and I will miss the semester long classes. I will continue to present seminars via Richland’s continuing ed program and now the Decatur Area Arts Council. So, I refuse to give up teaching entirely.

I’ve honestly learned as much from them as they might have from me. I believe that a teacher who thinks they know it all is pretty much useless. They won’t teach since they actually can’t learn. You need to constantly advance and constantly be challenged and keep striving.

Hated a DJ by the name of Casey Kasem — but loved his message — Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

I also have to give a huge round of applause to adjunct faculty. I definitely know you aren’t in this for the money. I think that when I added up the actual hours spent in class and prepping for class, I’m earning quite a bit less than I would at McDonalds or Burger King.

Yikes.

I’ve always said there is something wrong with a system where teachers are paid less than executives of companies.

Now — I do know that I’ve also created my share of headaches and pains in the ass for Richland. I’m outspoken and have a tendency to protest when I see the need. So — to those whom I’ve offended, I apologize. And get your damn act together! Oh, great now I probably need to apologize again.

So, to all my former students! Thanks for some good times! And some headaches, backaches, worries, stress. . . . Oh, right. . . .

This was supposed to be a good, goodbye!

Lindsey (#1), Abigail, Nicole, Andrea, Charles, Lindsey (#2), Tucker, me, and my wife (who I convinced to audit my final class cause I’m awful at teaching 1 on 1!) Thank to Tonya for taking these pics (now staff at Richland.)

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HDR Imaging — A different way to capture images

edvydas — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:25:24 +0000

When teaching photography classes, I teach the absolute importance of getting exposures correct.

After all, you can immediately tell when there is a problem with an image due to bad exposure. It looks too light or too dark. And you can tell when someone has attempted to correct the problem (or let the “auto” mode on their computer software correct it.) The pictures start getting this grainy appearance. And programs like Adobe Photoshop can only make so many changes to an image before things start falling apart.

But there is one way around this — and depending on whom you speak with, it is either the greatest thing since sliced bread or just another tool of the devil. It is called High Dynamic Range photography (HDR for short).

I enjoy playing with it. What you actually do when creating an HDR image is take multiple photos of the exact same thing at different exposures. And then combine the results in programs such as Photoshop or Photomatix.

Let me explain further — when you normally shoot an image you create a single exposure. HDR depends upon your taking more images — one that is at what can be considered the correct exposure, another over exposed and then another even more overexposed. Then going the other direction and creating one that is under exposed and then even more underexposed. Five photos seems to be the common number but you can create with as few as three or as many as nine.

It does take a special program to combine the images — and I prefer Photomatix to Photoshop for this currently, but some of the changes coming to Photoshop may change my mind on this.

Now — the ideal way to capture these types of images is using a tripod. I have some strange aversion to using tripods (I think I’ve actually lost too many of them) so I try to find ways around this. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But I find that it is possible to create something a bit different.

I’m going to post a bit more on this on my next blog, but here are some teaser photos taken this past week while on our pilgrimage to the annual WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) conference in Las Vegas! And I’ll explain further the remark of “greatest thing since sliced bread or another tool of the devil!”

If you’d like to see more, please visit our main website at EMC Photography or at Flickr

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Nikon, Canon, Sony, GE, what camera do I really want?

edvydas — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:46:32 +0000

Buying a present of a camera – part 3

If you’ve gotten this far, cool! This is the longest of the group – but the best also!

We’re going to take a look at some camera features and who they work well with. And which features really aren’t very important. Now – I’m still not going to name cameras to choose. Read all the way to the end to find out why.

As I get into this, I realized one fundamental thing has changed in the photography/camera industry. And that is simply what is looked at as an advanced feature and what is viewed as a basic feature.

When you talk to anyone who has been in photography for more than ten years you’ll discover most talk about “basic” cameras and are referring to ones that are essentially non-automatic. In fact, students taking classes, like Richland Community College’s Black and White class, will still use a “basic” camera. No automatic features – you have to set everything yourself.

But in the digital age – these basic features are only available on the more advanced cameras. Seems a bit crazy, but if you find manual controls on a $100 camera they are completely buried in the complex menu system. If they exist at all! When you get up into the high stratosphere of cameras such as a Nikon D3x, the manual features are very easy to access.

Mid-level cameras, such as some of the Nikon d60s or d90s and Canon Rebels, have the manual controls visible but definitely not the featured items. I once had a student who had a fantastic camera that immediately gave her all kinds of access to all the manual functions. However, for her the correct camera would be one with NO manual features she could touch. It was not fantastic for her.

If the person you are buying a camera for knows photography and likes to experiment – go for the more expensive cameras. Make sure the manual functions or more advance override functions can be easily accessed.

Go in the exact opposite direction with someone who doesn’t know photography and only wants to shoot the occasional photo.

Do you want video? These days – most cameras have some feature to allow short videos to be shot. Some even allow audio. But, is the person likely to use it? Here’s the catch with almost any video out there, you still need the ability to edit the video to make it better. And is this person going to have the patience to learn it. I personally love video. But, I don’t use it very often.

What kind of lens do you want? Now, here is a good can of worms to get into. One of the catch phrases when buying a camera these days has to do with things like a 10x lens. What does that mean? Well, it means that the lens can zoom from a wide-angle to a telephotos. Make sure it is an optical zoom – not a digital zoom. An optical zoom means the lens moves and actually changes the size of the image. A digital zoom means all it does is crop in closer on the sensor. Digital zooms mean lower quality.

Now – if your gift recipient is one who loves photography, you will have to avoid the ultra small and small cameras. They don’t allow the background to go blurry in a photo so it looks better. There is a pure limitation imposed by physics. What I’m describing is called depth of field, which is how much of the image appears to be sharp and how much appears to be blurry.

If this person loves to shoot sports or portraits, you want them to get a camera that will actually permit them to have the background go blurry. How can you tell a camera will allow you this, you can’t from just the specs. But, almost any DSLR (digital SLR) allows this to occur somewhat easily. Plus, they have the option of getting other lenses that give them even greater control.

Now – final subject, what kind of camera to get? Frankly, I still refuse to answer the question easily. The biggest problem is that in looking at what are the traditional consumer point and shoot cameras you have new versions of a camera coming out about every six months. If not faster.

However, any of the national brands do a pretty good job. Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, GE and many others. And if you buy from a retailer that sells training, get it for the person on that camera!

I teach digital photography and digital photography seminars. But, I can’t teach someone how to use their specific camera in those seminars. Not enough time and too many models.

And – pay for the extended warranty on these gadgets if you can. I’m not a fan of those, but I also know that there is essentially nothing that is fixable in most point and shoot cameras. It becomes a replacement issue. After all, no company is going to pay a tech $35 an hour to fix a $100 camera. It ends up costing more than replacing the camera.

And they do break!

So, here’s the breakdown of recommendations (we’re looking at body only prices as some kits will boost the price of an amateur camera to another range:

Hi-level Professional Cameras (more than $3,000) – this is not a present unless the person has asked you for it or has said that this is what they need. These cameras will overwhelm most users completely. Buying one will NOT improve someone’s photography skill unless they are already skilled to begin with. There is a reason they are called “professional.”

Mid-level Semi-Pro Cameras ($1,800 to $3,000) – this is also not a very good present unless the person has mentioned to you that they are looking at this camera or need one. Again, these cameras will NOT improve someone’s photography skill unless they are already somewhat skilled to begin with. Again, there is a reason they are called Semi-Pro.

Advanced amateur ($1000 to 1,800) – As long as the person is willing to learn and really knows photography, good choices. The cameras have plenty of automatic features, have all the advanced sensors of their more expensive cousins and are very capable of capturing fantastic images. They are also capable of handling many manual features that allow a photographer fantastic control.

Amateur ($500 to $1000) See the comments above as that well describes many of these cameras. Be prepared to sacrifice a bit on the features as these cameras tend to be more automatic models and not manual models. The sensors are more variable in quality than the above group, but still tend to be very good. This is a good range for someone who knows or has begun to discover what is possible and wants to learn more.

Point-n-shoot: ($300 to $500) These sometimes look like digital SLRs but do not have interchangeable lenses. Huge variation in available features and you have to do a bit of searching. These are starting to get into smaller cameras but with many overrides on the automatic features. Usually equipped with very high quality optics and good sensors.

Point-n-shoot ($150 to 300) These are mostly automatic cameras for almost all users. They might have manual overrides, but these are well-hidden in the menus and are not user-friendly. Reasonably good optics and sensors – lots of automatic features allow users to get pretty good results.

Under $150: Pocket-size, automatic cameras. Good for getting candids, not for any type of action photography. Manual features usually not available at all. Good for total amateurs or those who don’t want to learn more than pushing a button.

Now – armed with these categories, visit www.cnet.com, www.wired.com, www.consumerreports.com, or many other sites that list and rate cameras. Read advice, read opinions and then figure out which one you really want to give (or even get for yourself.)

Remember, it’s all about making the recipient happy with the gift and not how much you spent on it.

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Giving a camera gift, Part 1

edvydas — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:52:40 +0000

Buying a digital camera as a present – part 1

As a professional photographer and educator, I always get questioned on what camera I recommend. During this time of the year, the question arises even more often.

I’ve spent many years dodging the question – with the statement of “that depends” followed by saying I don’t know enough about lower price models to be a good judge.

But after having taught as many students as I have both in classes and in seminars – I think it’s about time that I come up with a better answer.

Unfortunately, the answer to the question means other questions must be asked. And even though answering a question with another question is considered a bit rude, I have to ask “who is getting the camera?”

Cameras are like shoes, you won’t wear the same shoes climbing Mount Everest as you would attending a formal ballroom dance. You need appropriate shoes AND ensure they fit you correctly. Why anyone would think that one camera is “the best” is silly.

This also means that I still won’t answer the question directly – but I’m going to give you some working guidelines today and follow it up with some more specific tips in the next few blogs.

And keep in mind – this means you actually have to find something that fits the person getting the camera. No laziness allowed. Which means this is all about them and not you.

So . . .

How well does the person getting the camera understand photography?
How much of “techie” is the person getting the camera?
Does the person understand anything about computers (yes – computers, not cameras!)
What kind of images does the person usually shoot (vacation landscapes, portraits, candid, flowers)
Do they like to print their images? How big do they like to print their images?
1. Do they post lots of the images to the web? Facebook? MySpace? Etc.?
2. Do they give friends pictures or show them off?
3. Do they take the camera everywhere with them?
4. Do they like challenges or do they prefer to take the easy road?
5. Are they willing to learn? (yes, are they REALLY willing to learn and WANT to learn)

Let’s take a look at these one by one (or maybe a bit faster)

Regardless of what a salesperson might say, if you are spending more than $150 on a camera you really should have some concept of photography. Not because you plan to make a career of it, but because you will have to understand all the features that come with the camera. Five years ago $150 would not buy you much feature-wise. Now, you can get so lost in the camera features that you forget to take the picture!

Don’t expect the user’s manuals to be of any real help in learning the cameras. I’ve long since discovered that users just plain don’t get what the manual is talking about. Manuals, almost without fail, assume the person who now owns the camera understands words like exposure, white balance, bracketing, etc.

Sales people are generally not much more useful . I once even overheard a sales person telling a person that bracketing means the camera automatically shoots three photos at different white balances and then chose the best exposure from the three. The customer just nodded. I was a bit preoccupied at the time, so I’ve always wondered if the customer was nodding to humor the salesperson or actually believing it.

Just so you know, bracketing means you have the camera intentionally take one picture at what it thinks is correct and then intentionally shoots two more images, one that is overexposed and one that is underexposed. You can have a different type of bracketing that also involves white balance. But, the two are not related and the camera definitely does not choose the “correct” exposure.

This actually leads to question 2, do they understand technology? Are they willing to learn technology? You definitely don’t need an engineering degree to understand a camera – but you have to have the patience to learn it.

If you know the person can’t program their DVR, then don’t be mean to them and give them something far more complicated. They’ll get frustrated and end up blaming the camera for being a bad camera. And it probably isn’t. Most technological problems arise from the user and not the machine. Yeah, no one wants to hear that line.

Next question – do they know computers? You see, digital cameras and their products are designed to be used with computers. This has been known to shock some of my seminar students.

And if you buy a camera for someone who thinks their computer can blow up the world (Yes!! There are still some people who think that!) don’t expect them to jump up and down about the concept of editing their photos, downloading, uploading, posting photos, etc. If they are having problems mastering email . . . .

Now – if you’ve gotten through all of that, well, does the person who actually like to shoot photos? Look at their walls of their home – are there pictures there? How big or small are they? Do you see any albums? Do they give away photos? Some people think that art on the wall means a painting of someone else’s family or a few weeds strategically placed.

I know several people who have great cameras but don’t use them. No real interest. Or they hide their photos, perhaps thinking they might run away if left in the open. . .

That does not mean you don’t get them a camera – just don’t get the latest, greatest $800 camera out there. They would probably be happy with one costing less than $100 that doesn’t do everything.

Now, as to where they might go with the camera. If you want a camera to go almost everywhere with you, you probably don’t want a digital SLR. They’re just too bulky. Now, they will produce the best images (and we’ll address why in a later blog) but if you want something portable it’s just not a good idea.

Even when working as a news photographer I did not continuously carry a camera on my person. I have to confess, my dates had no clue that I had a full camera bag in my trunk on the off chance that a disaster might occur near me that I would shoot.

On the other hand, I would have loved to have a small digital camera with me at other times.

Finally – and I probably should have put this one as the first – are they willing and interested in learning more? They have to be willing to learn . . . they have to be willing to experience new things. Age is not a barrier at all – I’ve had students from ten years old to 75 years old.

Don’t ever assume they will want to learn . . . there are those who don’t really want to learn. Or think they can’t.

Get them a set of disposable film cameras and they might be just as happy.

In the next couple of blogs, we’ll take a better look at other camera details that will help you decide what you need to get them and why

So, my answer to question of what is the best camera is still – it depends, but I think I’ll now begin to say it depends on who the camera is for and what they will do with it.

That sounds a bit better.