digital photography: If you take a photograph and nobody sees it, does it really exist? - 05/08/12 06:02 AM
One could hardly argue the fact that the meteoric advances in technology over the past two decades have affected photography as much as or more than any art form.
Technology has not only changed the way in which we TAKE photographs, but even more so, we now have the ability to instantly distribute images across the globe for the perusing pleasure of anyone that cares to have a look.
And even though I have published thousands of images on the Internet, I have tens of thousands more that remain as nothing more that aligned electrons on a memory card.
So my … (16 comments)
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digital photography: Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall…Seasonal photography! - 05/02/12 05:51 AM
In the age of digital photography, we all accumulate a lot of photographs. And if we use those archived stock images as accoutrements for our marketing, it can be easier to select the right photo if it is properly categorized.
One of the basic categories that I use to pigeon-hole a picture is the season of the year. I have found that it is important to employ the correct season of the year in order to enhance the message and to minimize the distraction of an out-of-season image.
If you want to stray from the season, there had better be a … (5 comments)
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digital photography: What is you photographic intent? You need to know before you release the shutter! - 12/15/11 07:44 AM
The proliferation of photography due to the digital explosion has had both good and bad consequences.
On the good side, digital photography is inexpensive, relatively automatic, and easily instantaneously shared with as many eyes as you can convince to look at it.
On the bad side, all of those same reasons have led to a plethora of poor photographs prodigiously promulgated publicly.
A good photograph can be the result of one of two possibilities: It can either be the result of winning the “digital lottery” in which one takes as many chances as possible and hopes that there is a winner, … (46 comments)
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digital photography: Creating a stock photo archive can be a powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal. - 11/02/11 08:19 AM
Digital photography is one of the most powerful developments in marketing history. The ability to capture nearly any image imaginable free of cost opens the art up to anyone willing to invest the time to take, identify, and store a myriad of images.
One of the tricks of the trade is to create a personal archive of stock photos. This repository of original images allows the marketer instant access to royalty free images and eliminates the anxiety of worrying about copyright infringement.
The key to building a good library of stock images is simple: Don’t just take photos that satisfy your … (32 comments)
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digital photography: What is the life expectancy of a digital camera? For me, it’s about five years. Or less. - 08/09/11 08:28 AM
Back in the days of film, a good quality camera could be used indefinitely. As long as the shutter worked, a lens could be attached and the camera could be used to take photographs that were indiscernible from any newer camera.
But in the digital world, durability is no longer part of the picture. (Pun intended!) Like any other technology, even the best digital camera can be rendered obsolete in just about five years.
This short-cycle from cutting edge to obsolete has me in the market for a new camera even though I purchased one of the best a scant few … (48 comments)
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digital photography: Photography is the capture of light. And every now and then nature presents an incredible opportunity! - 07/26/11 07:58 AM
Perhaps it is due to the fact that I have been taking photographs for over forty years, but whatever the reason, I always take special notice of “the light” every day.
Photography is essentially the capture of light through lens, and in the days of film a clear summer day was not to be ignored, because good light led to great photos!
Summer heat and humidity, and transpiration from the leaves on the trees usually produce a persistent haze that makes long range shots challenging.
So when you get a relatively haze-free day combined with big, moist cumulus clouds that are … (17 comments)
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digital photography: The digital photography expectation is contemporary. How technology has changed the way our brains interpret imagery. - 03/14/11 08:01 AM
There was a time not too long ago in which photography was a slow and cumbersome process. It took a lot of logistical planning and a careful meting out of precious film frames on worthy subjects.
The time lag between taking the photographs to publication could take anywhere from a few weeks to even years, as the film had to be processed and converted into a format that could be printed and shared.
So if a photo seemed out of season it was no big deal. Our thought processes were not honed to expect that a photographic depiction was current.
… (19 comments)
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digital photography: Remembering the days of “counting the frames!” How digital photography changes the creative process. - 01/08/11 07:32 PM
I was going through some old film photographs this afternoon trying to locate a frame that will be used on a sign in the Sumter National Forest.
The process of locating the correct film frame is very time consuming. There are no thumbnails or search functions, and my organization skills are somewhat questionable.
So I am manually looking through box after box of transparencies and print negatives. It’s actually kid of fun, because I haven’t seen many of these photographs in years.
Although I have thousands of film photos, it’s small potatoes compared to a single 16GB SD memory … (10 comments)
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digital photography: It’s glorious to be in the studio when Nature paints a picture! - 11/07/10 07:51 PM
Digital photography is an interesting medium. The camera’s sensors react to light in a very precise and predictable manner, and the internal programs can automatically produce a decent image.
In many cases, all that is left for the photographer to do is to see the shot and take it! As a nature enthusiast, I have endeavored to capture all of the splendor of the natural world that I can, through my lens.
I have learned over the course of many years that sometimes it is neither exotic locales nor unique phenomena inspire awe and wonder and a great photo!
Sometimes it’s … (11 comments)
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digital photography: The world is a very distracting place, so forgive me if I seem lost in thought. - 09/01/10 08:45 AM
I have never been one to suffer from tunnel vision. When I am traveling from place to place, I take full notice the world that is around me.
Whether I am in a back alley or a National Park, I notice the all of the details that are around me.
And while some of the beauty of the world is obvious at first glance, at other times, the aesthetic value of a glimpse must be cognitively recognized to be fully appreciated.
Perhaps I have a touch of AADD. I am so easily distracted.
There is so much to see in … (16 comments)
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digital photography: The success of digital photography is predicated on the availability if inexpensive storage media! - 08/04/10 10:00 PM
I don’t think that there is anyone out there that will say that the quality of digital photographs has not increased exponentially over the last decade.
From the fuzzy low resolution images that were the domain of a few ambitious pioneers at the turn of the millennium to the crystal clear and razor sharp mega photos of today, the technology's success has become intricately intertwined with that of another key technology:
The continued decline in the cost of storage media has allowed camera engineers to pack more and more digital punch into each photograph.
The cost of storing a quality image in now about … (10 comments)
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digital photography: Digital photographs and archeology. Will current technology pass the test of time? - 07/01/10 07:48 AM
If there is one thing that has always troubled me about digital photography, it is that most of the trillions of virtual images in existence today are fettered by the electronic shackles of contemporary computer code.
And since technology changes faster than an unleashed puppy runs, it will only be a fewas years before many digital formats and protocols are abandoned, and the photographs associated with them will be orphaned.
Photographs that were meticulously fixed to glass plates over 150 years ago survive to this day as real images, needing no more interpretation than average eyesight and cognitive thought processes.
But … (20 comments)
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digital photography: The digital camera dilemma: When is it time to upgrade? - 05/13/10 07:36 AM
I have been a photographer for many, many years. My trusty old Nikon SLR 8088s film camera served me for nearly twenty years, and it still works perfectly today.
But when professional quality film started becoming more and more scarce, I finally went digital in 2006. I chose a Nikon D80 SLR because all of my lenses and filters still function beautifully on the standard D-Mount, and the photos are excellent.
But digital technology evolves at a staggering rate, and my four year old camera is already ancient. And although it still operates as intended, advancements in digital photography have almost … (35 comments)
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digital photography: The “Photo” in Photography is light! And the “Photo” depends on exploiting it. - 03/16/10 07:16 PM
If I had one and only one tip to pass on to a budding photography student, it would to look at the world around us from a different perspective.
And that would be to look at photography subjects not as objects or collections, but to observe them as assemblages of various degrees of light.
As the eye moves from reality to the focal plane, the brain must perceive the nuances of both shadow and reflection. It is not instinctive, but rather, it is a skill that can be honed with practice.
Morning and evening light is the best, as the lower … (16 comments)
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digital photography: Another night of going for the green ... in photos of course. Proper staging can lead to a superior presentation. - 06/11/09 07:53 PM
I really like doing these photography themed articles! I get a chance to present my art to a broad audience and relish the possibility of getting feedback on my work.
There is an enormous amount of satisfaction that goes along with visualizing an image in your head and then converting it into electronic reality. And then it's time for the second tier of the presentation, which is, grouping the pictures in sets which accentuate their essence.
The proper staging of photographs can add to the impact of the complete gallery. There is added dramatic value in a good image arrangement.
Sometimes … (18 comments)
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digital photography: When science meets art there has to be some give and take, and a secret or two to boot! Taking photographs in the digital age. - 06/03/09 06:37 AM
I was recently asked by a friend, Michael Thornton, if I enhanced my photos in any way. That's a fair question, and one that I gladly will answer!
I have been taking serious film photographs for over thirty years. During that time, I learned by trial and error with lots of expensive film, the secrets of light and how to capture it, and the wonderment of transforming a 3D image onto a flat plane.
One of the most amazing things about transparency film is that a "real" image is forever captured and locked into the emulsion layers, and the art in … (30 comments)
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digital photography: Texture in photographs. Another not so wordless weekend! - 04/25/09 11:04 PM
Sometime a photographic subject can appear quite ordinary in real life, but it can take on an entirely new dimension in a photograph.
Often it's not the subject itself that is of interest, but a singular attribute can be very appearing. One of those attributes that translates well to the flat plane is texture.
These photographs of otherwise rather mundane subjects come to life by exploiting texture. You can almost run your fingers through the coffee beans and smell the aroma!
Texture photos translate well into posters or computer background. The simple forms do not overload the senses, and consequently, they generate … (23 comments)
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digital photography: What I hate about digital photography ... oh, for the days of film. - 04/15/09 07:10 AM
First of all, I have to tell you, that I was dragged into digital photography kicking and screaming. But the truth was, film was getting harder and harder to find, and I had more than one store clerk tell me that it was "obsolete."
So, in October 2006, just before a four day excursion to the great Smoky Mountains National Park, I purchased a Nikon D80 camera body as a secondary camera to my trusty 8088 film camera.
I was not surprised that my twenty year old lenses fit the camera body. After all, Nikon's bayonet mount has been a standard … (27 comments)
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digital photography: Am I selfish because I won't let just anyone use my photos without permission? - 03/24/09 07:11 PM
I had an interesting comment by a regular reader on my post earlier today: Sometimes, it's best to see your own area through the eyes of a tourist. The reader noted that I watermarked all of my photos and had a lengthy copyright notice in the footer of the article.
He wrote the following:"Great pictures Richard. . .just wondering why don't you want to share those beautiful pictures with others? You have your name all over them and your disclaimer at the bottom is almost telling me to be very careful or I may get charge for reading your post?
I … (44 comments)
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digital photography: Photographs and planer geometry. It's part of what it means to have an eye for a photo! - 02/24/09 07:49 PM
One of the most elemental concepts of photography is often one of the most overlooked principles in many photographs. And that often misunderstood concept is the planer nature of the photograph.
In photography, you are actually capturing a three dimensional subject and transforming it into a two dimensional plane. And the simple truth is that not all subjects translate well as depth is removed from the formula.
So the savvy photographer seeks elements that will enhance the apparent depth of the finished picture. Proper use of light and shadows is one way, as well as including both foreground elements and distant … (19 comments)
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