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Below are the three most recent Here's a Thought . . . commentaries
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HT2093 - Serious Projects with an Unserious Camera |
For most of my life, I've owned only one serious camera at a time that I've used for all my serious work. Curiously enough, I've almost always owned another camera or two that I consider less serious, approaching toy-status. Looking back, I'm surprised how many good and interesting projects I've made with those secondary cameras for the simple reason that I had them with me when an opportunity arose.
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HT2094 - How Our Equipment Sees the World |
So much of what we see is a function of how our equipment sees. For example, cameras record a specific aspect ratio that we do not see ourselves. Exposure, leading lines and optical perspective, horizontal tilt, and focal length all come to mind. |
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HT2095 - A Bit of Reverse Engineering |
I rarely hear anyone in photography discussing the absolutely necessary reverse engineering that is required when choosing our gear. That is to say, the gear Needs to fit the end result. So many times I've seen reviewers on YouTube judge a camera without ever once mentioning what their output objective is. This makes no sense to me. |
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| HT2096 - Lessons from Other Disciplines |
Photographers need to acquire a set of technical and aesthetic skills to help them create interesting photographs. In my experience, the best photographers also cultivate some ideas from other disciplines, too.
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HT2097 - A Quantitative Audience, or a Qualitative One |
This is a bit of a false question because it is possible to have both, as Ansel Adams has proved. But for most of us, and for most of our work, it seems that we can have a quantitative audience via digital means or a qualitative one in the gallery. |
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HT2098 - The Sharpest Aperture |
I wonder if any of you remember the Photo Lab Index and its wonderful PLI Lens Test Chart? I've been using the PLI lens test chart for decades now for a very simple bit of knowledge that is incredibly useful. That is, with each and every lens, which is the sharpest aperture? It's not always obvious, and it's not always found by simply stopping down a stop or two. If you don't test, you'll never know. |
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HT2099 - The Sharpest Aperture at Various Focal Lengths |
Yesterday I proposed that every lens has a sharpest aperture and that we have to test for that rather than rely on assumptions. This gets more complicated with a zoom lens which may have different results when testing for the sharpest aperture depending on the focal length you are using. |
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HT2100 - Photographing Snow |
Here in upstate New York where I am this month, the snow has finally arrived and my camera has emerged from temporary hibernation for some snow photography. Interestingly enough, something as simple as snow can present us with some of the most complex challenges in determining exposure. Worse, your cameras automatic exposure settings and snow will vary likely be wrong |
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HT2101 - Image Stabilization Oddities |
The implementation of image stabilization has been one of the greatest advances in the history of photography, at least in my humble opinion. There are a couple of things about image stabilization, however, that I find curious and useful to remember. |
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HT2102 - The Multi-exposure Image |
For some time now I've been an advocate of the multi-image presentation like Seeing in SIXES, or Trilogies. A variation on that idea has just as much potential and that is the multi-exposure image. Most digital cameras these days have the ability to do multiple exposure capture, but I hardly ever see anybody use this aesthetic. I wonder why? |
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HT2103 - A Spark of Imagination |
When we look at one of our own photographs, there is always a spark that ignites in our thoughts. We remember the moment of the shutter release, or perhaps the moments we processed the image. That spark is a reaction to our artwork. Viewers, however, have a different spark — or none at all. That is our artmaking challenge. |
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HT2104 - The Fleeting Wow Factor |
Sometime in the last couple of years (I can't remember when) I saw that a photographer was doing a workshop on how to increase "the wow factor" of your images. I worry that wow factor has become an overriding concern for photographers, but I understand why it has done so. Relying on the wow factor to catch the attention of your audience can be like telling the same joke over and over and over again. Once the punchline is known, the joke loses its appeal. |
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HT2105 - The Technical Plateau of 2016-2018 |
Like so many of you, I jumped on the technology bandwagon in the early 2000s with my first digital camera. Every year after that, I found important reasons to upgrade as the technology improved. Strangely enough, all of my current cameras — which do everything I could possibly imagine — all come from 2016 or 2018. It appears as though the technology has reached some sort of plateau, at least for my needs. |
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HT2106 - My Slow Surrender to the Technology |
In my youth, there was only one way to engage the camera, full manual mode. Manual focus, manual shutter, manual aperture. With digital cameras, I started using Aperture-priority and Shutter-priority more regularly. More recently I've found myself trusting Program mode. I feel I'm ever-so-slightly slipping to the Dark Side. |
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HT2107 - The Second Reason to Use a Tripod |
When asked, I bet most photographers would say they use a tripod to stabilize the camera for sharper pictures. That's true, but that's just the first reason to use a tripod. I find using a tripod helps with more precise framing which ultimately requires less fussing in processing. To help with precise framing, I use a geared head on my tripod. |
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HT2108 - Silent Mode |
In my youth, one of the primary reasons for using a rangefinder camera was that its leaf shutter was so much quieter than a reflex flopping mirror. I was recently photographing on several occasions using silent mode on my digital camera. It makes the quiet leaf shutters of a Leica sound like a thunderstorm. |
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HT2109 - Everyday Stories |
So much fine art photography I see these days is about the extraordinary. Spectacular landscapes, exotic locations, beautiful models, extravagant events. Is this an attempt to offset Henry David Thoreau's idea that we live lives of quiet desperation? Perhaps there is some value and merit in everyday stories that don't require extensive travel or specialist gear. |
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HT2110 - What Photography Is Like |
Stieglitz told us that photography is like painting because it belongs in a frame, displayed on a wall. I would propose that the actual content of photography is more like poetry. It's highest use is when the photographer observes and then comments on Life. |
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HT2111 - Sometimes, I Miss My View Camera |
I suspect a lot of you have never used a view camera, but there are certain aspects of the view camera that are just lovely. My pace was slower, which fostered a special moment with each exposure. The isolation generated by the dark cloth reduced the hubbub of the world to just me and the image. There are times when I miss that. |
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HT2112 - ISO Fears No More |
One of the driving factors in choosing a camera format was the fear of high ISO in small sensors. I debated a long time before I settled in on micro 4/3, primarily because of ISO fears. With today's noise reduction capabilities, those fears seem so cute and quaint. I cringe now thinking about all the images I lost because of my fear of high ISO |
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HT2113 - Memorable |
I think there's no doubt that one of the characteristics of the best photographs is that they are memorable. Do we remember them because of their exquisite tonalities? Do we remember them because of their spectacular color? Judicious depth of field? Tack sharp details? Or does a photograph become memorable for reasons that have nothing to do with technology, but everything to do with the heart? |
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