Class Notes Week 4: The equipment you already own is all you need.
This week was devoted to gear. Learn your camera’s controls; what it can do, what it can’t do and how to make it work to your best advantage.
Week 3 -Intro to Digital Photography
Week 3 The Science of Art. In our third week we discussed how to put to use all the science we learned last week into creating artistic photographs.
Week 2 -Intro to Digital Photography
Week 2: Science vs. Art
In our Week 2 Class we discussed Science vs. Art. All the science behind photography: Shutter speed, aperture settings and ISO Speed.
Week 1 -Intro to Digital Photography
Introduction
Week 1 Intro: Digital Photography. The next six weeks will be dedicated to posting class notes for the Adult Education Intro to Digital Photography class I teach. Whenever I teach the class students ask me to send them copies of the slides and the web links I talk about in class. Starting with the session that begins today, I will post the slides right here after each class and you can come to that week’s post to review them, download them or print them. Free!
Italy
Recently we returned from a 2 ½ week trip of a life time experiencing the culture, food (oh the food…) and wonderful people of Italy. Being a photographer, I tend to look at every new excursion, every vacation, every field trip, as a photo opportunity; not as a participant. I vowed to change that mindset for this trip. I wanted to experience the trip as a person who may never get to do this again and experience every moment -not just be looking for that next great shot. In other words, I was determined to take snapshots to record the trip, not make photographs worthy of an art gallery. In truth, 99.99% of all my photos are NOT worthy of art galleries, but that doesn’t stop me from trying.
I not only learned a great deal about the country we visited, I learned a little about me as a photographer.
New Year; New Goals
Welcome to 2017!
It’s a New Year and a time when many people set overreaching goals for themselves that usually fall by the wayside before the month runs out. I learned long ago that I will not lose 50 pounds before Spring; I will not exercise 4 days a week for an hour; I will not squeeze enough money out of my monthly budget to buy that new $1,500 camera. With advanced age, sometimes comes a little wisdom in knowing yourself and realizing you just should not set completely unrealistic goals for yourself. So, I set small, attainable goals. These are the ones you may actually have a chance to fulfill. Let’s talk about some Photographic Goals you can set for this year –and actually attain them.
Photography: The Great Equalizer
This is the season of hope and love for humanity. We renew our faith and take stock of our families and the love we share. The memories of this season are captured in our photographs for future generations to admire and reflect upon. It’s a time of sharing family history and of retelling the stories and traditions past. Yes, Photography plays a role in this sharing of memories and traditions, but there is much more to it than that.
Filters
Filters cover a wide variety of uses. In the old days of film, filters were used to create effects that would enhance or change the way the film was exposed right in the camera. There were a whole host of filters available for many effects. Today, most of these effects can be created right in your camera, or on in your photo editing software. In fact the software usually refers to these effects as applying a filter. This makes, by and large, the purchase of filters unnecessary.
With a few notable exceptions.
Finding your Style
So far we’ve covered shutter speed, depth of field, aperture and the Exposure Triangle. These are the main building blocks of taking the pictures you want with the effects you have in mind. Once you learn these basics and understand your camera well enough to actually take some photographs and be pleased with the results, spend some time and thought finding your photographic style.
Composition
Photography, like most forms of art and science has rules. The rules are meant to be your guideposts to creating an aesthetically pleasing image. The rules of composition have been around since long before photography was invented; their origin goes way back to the old masters who first put brush to canvas. We have become “genetically engineered” to expect these rules in our art. However, art being what it always has been, sometimes it’s exciting and daring to break the rules.