You Never Know

Sometimes life hands you some pretty neat surprises. I received mine this year with an interview with PhotographyBB magazine. I've only been a forum member for a short time but already it feels like home.
Dave the owner and operator of this site also creates this wonderful online magazine. I was chosen as featured photographer for the "Holiday Issue". I have had one photo published in Photosho magazine prior to this but it does not compare to this interview.

The interview includes some of my life background, my camera gear, some of my advice and many of my favourite photos.
Please visit me at the magazine and read my interview. You can download all 11 copies of PhotographyBB in PDF format. I guarantee that each magazine holds surprises and tons of techniques for the beginner or the professional photographer.

http://www.photographybb.com/magazine

AS I SEE IT

Where Are Your Photos?

What do you do with all your photos? If you are like me I tend to keep the original, keep a fixed copy; sharpened, adjusted levels etc. and a final copy that is framed and perhaps signed. This can create a lot of photos. Burning to CD can be costly once you start getting into the 1000s so I turned to DVDs. You can store more than 3000 pictures on a DVD and less than a third of that on CDs.

I do keep my stash of DVDs and CDs close to me so when I do get in the mood to see my shots they can be quickly accessed. Sometimes doing this brings about some very neat surprises. Take the shot of this smoking water drop for instance. I was going through my latest DVD and spotted this little gem. Not sure how it escaped me the first time? So keep your photos close at hand and make it a point to browse them often...you may be in for a neat surprise.

AS I SEE IT

Don't Be Afraid

When trying something new we often get afraid but with photography you have to always be trying something different. I've never been successful at water shots, or so I thought. Today was just one of those days when I took the chance. I carefully thought about what I needed and of course the answer is light and lots of it. I opened the curtains, turned on several lights and booted up my flash. With a big swallow I put it on Macro and began shooting. I took many shots and was surprised that several were okay...but just okay. What makes this shot good is the pattern the water took; it's not just a stream or a drop but it is a combination of different shapes, sizes and forms. Now that I'm not so afraid of not getting it right I can work on a better background and a sharper image.

UPDATE: I have just been informed that all that extra light to aid with the flash wasn't necessary. In fact it could have taken away from the photo. Well guess I'm just going to have to try again. A photographers goal is to keep trying and improving no matter how scary that may be.

AS I SEE IT

Noise is Okay

High ISO...you know you're in trouble...or are you?

Sometimes you just need to take the chance of shooting in low light with a high ISO. The new P&S are not all that great when it comes to shooting with a higher ISO but that shouldn't stop you. There are times when a little noise isn't too loud in a photo. For example the shot of the lamp post was taken at the beginning of sun set. Sure it has noise but in this case as in many it does add a different feel, and it feels okay here. In this particular case it is more of a result from compression than noise but to most of us amateurs it looks the same. Should you choose to shoot with a lower ISO in low light you'll get a blurry shot and in most cases I'll take the noise over the blur.

AS I SEE IT

Photography At Any Age

Getting into photography at a later age is a huge challenge. When you reach a certain age things start to slow down and that include your reflexes and learning curve. Owning a SLR can be out of the question as you get older; the learning curve is very high not to mention the cost. A great alternative can be a higher end point and shoot. Today the P&S are indeed clever.
I was given the Canon S5 IS 12x zoom for my birthday...what a wonderful gift. Of course I was very intimidated by all the buttons and settings; I previously had a Sony pocket P&S.
I think these high ends are as close as you can get to a DSLR without all the expensive lenses. This camera boasts a super macro that is superb and 12x zoom that is to die for. As with all high zoom P&S it has it's limits but it is my favourite feature.
Back to the challenge: there are so many different settings from full auto to full manual with some funky stuff in between. For those who are memory challenged they have a save your setting, setting. But I keep forgetting to use it? So even us older folks have an alternative to the SLRs.
AS I SEE IT