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digital cameras

It all depends, I guess.

The old guy that tried to instruct me in photography was an ex-WWII photographer. Standard issue was 4x5 and occasionally, for special photos 8x10. He could spend well over an hour setting up lighting and composition before pulling the first slide. Lots of composition on that ground-glass screen.

I'd expect a sports or news photographer to shoot lots of film, as there's no real opportunity for careful composition. I guess that's why the Rolleiflex and Graflex Stroboflash were so popular with that crowd (remember lugging around the pack with the two 225V batteries?).

But look at the painstaking work that say, Ansel Adams or Imogen Cunningham took to get their shot. Eisenstaedt was a bit different--his knack was capturing the candid moment--hence his use of the 35mm Leica. I guess if you're photographing fashion models, you shoot a lot of film too. Used to be that the standard gear there was a Hasselblad with a big film magazine.
 
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Stone said:
I've never had that problem with SmartMedia cards. :)


These are the words of a not-too-good professional photographer. :) I did professional photography for many years. I learned really early to make every shot count. If you understand light & shadow as well as depth of field and composition you can take a very good photo every shot. And, when you have a group of very good photos to choose from you're way ahead of the other type who justs wastes film and hopes he might get lucky. There's really no comparison. :)
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As to the SmartMedia Card, my experience was most likely due more to the camera than the card itself. But it did leave a bad taste for me.

As for take lots of photos - I probably didn't express that quite correctly.

He had told me to not be afraid of taking bad photos. Sometimes the 'bad' one is the best one. He taught me to experiment, try different angles, try different exposures, and to learn from it. That means take lots of photos. And, yes, I guess I do mean - don't be afraid to waste film. If you are afraid of wasting film, then you will be afraid to take the photo.

A lot of people were more afraid of the expense of having the film developed and thus would refrain from taking a shot that might be a good shot. My parents were that way - they would use a 12 shot roll of film for several family events - one or two shots per event.

While you may had learned to make every shot count, I learned to experiment, which was a lot more fun. But then my photos are seldom planned - I just photograph what is happening. I compose on the fly. And things happen quickly - what would be a superb photo at this moment may only be mediocre compared to what may occur in the next moment. So I take both photos - I don't wait, hoping the next photo will be better. And one photo will be a 'waste'. So be it.

A few years ago, I took candid photos at a friend's wedding (I wasn't the wedding photographer). One of my candid photos the bride has framed hanging on her wall while all the professional photos are in the wedding album. It's a photo of the groom holding his baby niece and she is yanking his glasses off his face. The bride is standing behind laughing and enjoying the moment. The wedding photographer will never get that shot because he is concentrating on taking shots that he can include in the album.

At another wedding at a very warm country church, they had pedestal floor fans to provide some air movement. While the wedding party was busy doing the standard group photos at the front of the church, I noticed that the flower girl was sitting on the front pew and had lifted her dress so that the fan was blowing on her legs. I ended up with a great candid, by chance, photo.

When my daughter got married, she told me to make a 'pain of myself' and to take all the photos I wanted. Normally, she hated photo taking. I introduced myself to the wedding photographer and told him I planed to take photos and hoped he didn't have any problems with me doing that. (I have had problems with photographers getting angry at my taking photos at 'their' wedding.) He instantly said that it was my daughter's wedding and that I should let him know if he was getting in my way. Since we were photographing differently (me looking for candid and quirky shots, and him looking for shots he could sell), we didn't have any problems. And I got some great shots along with some not so great. But that's life - it happens fast.

I still say - take lots of photos - don't worry that they may be bad - don't be afraid - and last, but not least, if you are not taking the photos for money, enjoy the experience - do not turn it into work.


One other item that always bugs me - when people say they have a motorized drive so that they will always get good photos. While it is true they will get a series of photos, it's almost never going to be the perfect photo that could have been taken. Example: Let's say I have a motor drive that will do ten frames per second and that I have the shutter set for 1/100 second. Then I will have ten shots that cover 1/10 of the second and will have missed 9/10 or 90 percent of what occurred during that second. If I'm using a faster shutter, then I miss even more of the second. While I now have ten shots, I may have missed the split second of the smile, the foot kicking the ball, the swimmer's body entering the water at the perfect moment - all of which requires that you anticipate what is about to happen and then snap at the right moment.


Bill
Smithville, NJ
 
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There are not really any bad photos. There's just the ones you like and those you don't. And it doesn't matter who took them.

By trying to make every shot count I am not precluded from experimenting. It just makes even those experimental shots above average. When you apply long proven techniques to your endeavor it's helpful, even when you're experimenting. Whether or not it turns out to be something I can use or even like is another story. But experimenting is surely half the fun of photography. I just prefer the controlled experiment as it tends to yield better results.

Whether I'm shooting for work or fun I just like to do it the way that I know will give excellent results.
 
Stone said:
There are not really any bad photos. There's just the ones you like and those you don't. And it doesn't matter who took them.

By trying to make every shot count I am not precluded from experimenting. It just makes even those experimental shots above average. When you apply long proven techniques to your endeavor it's helpful, even when you're experimenting. Whether or not it turns out to be something I can use or even like is another story. But experimenting is surely half the fun of photography. I just prefer the controlled experiment as it tends to yield better results.

Whether I'm shooting for work or fun I just like to do it the way that I know will give excellent results.
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That's certainly a valid point.

When I'm out for fun, though, I burn through memory cards. I mess around, and every now and try new things. I'm still getting used to the Canon, so I really work it out.

When I'm being paid, however, I do things properly.

I always turn all rights over to the client, however, and agree not to distribute the images for any purpose. That doesn't leave me with much to show. LOL

I dump it all onto a DVD and a flash drive, give them hard copies, and I delete the files. I'm big on privacy.

Most of the shots I take end up lost on some HDD or another. I screw around, and eventually forget about them. Most of the favorites I keep aren't actually all that good, but I like them. The shots I posted have many problems, from a photographic point of view, but I still enjoy the files.

Hell, I don't even print any of my own stuff. I've got a strict design rule here; and that disallows the display of any photograph in my home.
 
Found some. I tend to prefer darker shots for my own enjoyment. My eyes are a bit different than most, so it's just more pleasing to me. I know others don't like it, though.

IMG_1597_zpsou6nt0ev.jpg


Hows this one for traditional composition? :D

Desolate2_zpsovvkrn9f.jpg


Edit: I also know water, long roads, and sunsets are cheating, but I'm doing it anyway. LMAO
 
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Hi, we always use our Nikon DSLR 5100 rather than a small digital camera that we have. Photos are very well good enough in our DSLR:)
 
Oddly my "new" (Refurbished) Fuji X-E1 with a pair of XC lenses arrived a few days ago.

http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/refurbished-digital-cameras/fujifilm-x-e1-refurbished.html

I must says after reading the manual and taking a few pictures it seems so easy to use compared to my previous job, a Fuji Bridge Camera. It doesn't quite have the extreme Zoom of the bridge camera, but the controls seem much more logical, and the buttons seem in the right place. I will post a few pics when I have some I would be happy to share.
 
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