Photos I Wish I Had Made

I don't have many regrets in my life, but there are some photo opportunities that I had that I didn't take advantage of that I wish I had. Some of them I was caught up in the moment, some I was without my camera, and some it just didn't occur to me that I should have documented it until much later. Without question, I wish I had seen the merit of documenting my mom's struggle with leukemia. I think now that it would have been helpful for some families that have or are struggling with cancer to have seen what she endured. And I think it would have given me a way to look back and grieve soon than I allowed myself to do. When you go through that experience in your life, you compartmentalize it and don't allow yourself the really process what you are going through because you are on always focusing on the end result- remission. I wish I had made those images...

"That Camera Takes Good Pictures"

If I only had a dime for every time I've heard that since I've become a photography teacher, I would be retired by now! So I just smile and say "Yes, some really fine images have come from that camera."  The truth of the matter is it's not the camera, it's the person who stands behind the camera that's creating those images. I even have a real-life example of how that is really true. I have a friend that is now a retired professional photographer that once made an exquisite panorama image of the skyline of Rome at sunset on a throw-away panoramic film camera. That image went on to win awards in professional competitions. So you see, for me, it's not the camera but the knowledge of the person making the image that really controls the finished image.
Once you know and understand how a camera works, are aware of lighting, consider composition and depth of field, you can make it work with any camera anyone hands you.
If you feel confident about these things, you don't ever need feel intimidated by those fancy high-end cameras you see around you. Chances are many of them are using the "Auto" setting anyway!
#photography, #camera, #goodpictures

Why real photographers don't use "Auto"

I really, really understand why a lot of people choose to let the camera make all the decisions. There are times when you don't have time to set it up because you are in the moment and there's no time or you will miss the shot. I get it.  But on the other hand, if you do have the time and you really consider yourself a photographer, then as an artist you owe it to yourself to take control of the camera and capture the image the way you see it or want others to see it. Personally, I try to adjust as many things as I can before I take the shot so I don't have to spend 3x more time fixing it in a photo editing program. I usually take a test shot at first to check to see what I am seeing is what will be recorded by the camera. Then I make adjustments based on that to start making the images that I will actually choose from before I go posting it anywhere.
I think you owe it to yourself if you have the skills to exercise your creativity and control the way the camera records the image. I don't want to have to rely on what the camera chooses or Instagram or Photoshop or any other post-production software to fix things in my image that I could have corrected while I'm "in the field" shooting. And I certainly don't want a machine(camera) making the decisions about how my image is recorded.
(Quietly steps down off her soapbox...)

How I became interested in photography

Today I asked my students to blog about how they first became interested in photography.  They suggested that I write my story so I have decided to follow their suggestion.

When I was growing up, my Uncle Rich had a Nikon SLR camera that I thought was really cool. He had extra lenses and he alway took a lot of photographs. I think he even brought back some cameras that he had purchased when he was in the Navy and stationed in the Mediterranean. Anyway, in addition to color images he also took a lot of black and white photos. I loved it when he got out his camera and let my sister and I look at it and even hold it- pretending to make photographs with it.
When I was in either 5th or 6th grade Uncle Rich bought me my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic that came in a yellow box. It was so thrilling to have my own camera so I could take photos of things I wa
wanted instead of using the family Brownie Hawkeye camera. He keep encouraging me to take photos and was always interested in the kinds of images I was making. In college, I finally made the big purchase and bought my first all-manual camera, an Olympus OM-1, for my photography class. He's a die-hard Nikon fan so we always had a friendly discussions about Nikon vs. Olympus. I still have all the cameras that were mine growing up and a couple of them are even in my collection that I display in my classroom for my students to hold and imagine using. Thanks, Uncle Rich for fostering my interest in photography.
Here's a photo of my first camera:

This is a close-up of the flash cube that you had to change after every 4 photos!

It's Monday!

I think a lot of my students had hope for a 2-hour delay because of the freezing rain and sleet we had yesterday.  They are struggling some this morning but we will all have at least one post before
Wednesday of this week when we have our first assignment to post to our blogs.

We are struggling a little with getting everyone started with their blogs. I'm hoping with a little more time and patience on the students' part we will be able to get everyone up and going. This is a learning experience for all of us.