Ebay Camera Deals

 
  I'm re-posting this video so those of you who missed it earlier can see the great camera deals I've gotten (you can too) at www.Ebay.com.  It's a great place to buy photography equipment at bargain basement prices without having to settle for bargain basement quality.  Now is a good time to buy because with the holiday season fast approaching, there are lots of sellers posting cameras (and just about everything else) for sale at low prices.  Enjoy the video, and until next time, happy Shutter Bugging!

Film Cameras And How To Use Them

Because this class is really based around the SLR type camera, we will focus on the different settings that allow you to be able to take pictures that are geared toward the assigned projects. Some of the assigned projects require a SLR in order to be able to take them correctly. This is not to say that a point and shoot camera won't take good pictures, it just does not allow for control over aperture and shutter like the SLR does. SLR style cameras are available in both film and digital versions, if you have access to one of these it is ideal for this class.

Parts of the Camera: See picture below for locations on most cameras.

Lens- The lens collects the light that will enter the camera and focuses those light rays.

Zoom- allows you to make the image larger (not on all cameras/lenses)

Aperture- Determines the amount of light that will be let into the camera for film exposure, think of this like the pupil of your eye. The larger the opening the more light it lets in, the smaller the less light it lets in.

Body- houses the shutter and film. User controls that are not part of the lens are also located here such as; light meter, shutter speed selection dial, LCD display, levers/motors for film advancement, batteries, etc.

Shutter- located inside the body of the camera this determines the length of time that the light entering the lens will be exposed to the film.

Film advance lever- advances the film to the next frame after taking a picture.

Light Meter- tells you when you have the proper balance of light to expose the film properly

Parts of the Camera



Using Your Light Meter
The light meter is how the camera tells you when you have the proper settings to expose the film properly. There are many types of light meters and can vary greatly in their appearance, however they all have the same function. They range from a simple "needle and lollipop" to the newer fully computerized fully automatic exposure version. I will cover what I consider to be the six basic types of in camera light meter. In all types, except fully automatic modes, you need to change either your f-stop or shutter settings in order to get the correct exposure. **Don't forget that the ISO speed must be set on your camera to match the film speed in order for your light meter to work properly**
The Light Meter is located in the viewfinder of all cameras, some newer ones also have it on the LCD display on the body of the camera.
Type 1- What I call "needle and lollipop", in this case you will have a needle that will move according to how bright the scene is, and a lollipop that will move as you change either shutter or f-stop settings. The goal is to line the lollipop up with the needle, when it is you can take the picture.
Type 2- is very similar to the first type only the lollipop is eliminated in favor of making you put the needle in the middle of the viewfinder between two black markings.
Type 3- In this type you have a red "+", red "-", or greed dot. As I am sure you already figured out, you need to have the green dot lit to take the picture.
Type 4- Aperture Priority Cameras-Now we have entered the AE (Auto Exposure) computer controlled exposure models. In this type of camera you will see the shutter speeds inside your viewfinder. As you change your f-stop setting you will see a different shutter speed light up. the one that is lit is the shutter speed the camera will use to obtain the proper exposure. If you see a flashing "+" or "-" than the f# you have chosen will not work given the lighting conditions.
Type 5- Shutter Priority Cameras- these work the same way as the Aperture Priority models only you choose the shutter speed and the camera chooses the f# for you.
Type 6- Fully AE Cameras- These allow you to choose between, manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, and fully automatic modes. For this type it is best to check your owners manual, as there are many different types and styles of these cameras.
Courtesy of: Glastonbury Public Schools, Glastonbury CT

Film or Digital discussion

Written by Peter Eastway  

Totem Pole. An early morning start found me stumbling around in pitch darkness, trying to find an interesting foreground for the Totem Pole. A patch of dune and a wide-angle lens worked well, the sand ridges leading the eye. As this was the first time I had used the camera and I wasn’t sure what the depth-of-field would be like with the 24mm lens and the larger format, so I set the focus to infinity and stopped down to f22. In hindsight, I could have brought the focus point a little forward. There is simply so much detail in the Phase One files that any error or mis-judgement in technique can be seen, but equally so, the quality is such that the foreground doesn’t need to be tack sharp for the image to work. I have desaturated some of the colours in Photoshop for the result you see here.

Exploring Phase One Digital Backs

Is near enough good enough? Today, the best image quality in the world comes from ‘medium format' digital camera backs. Is it time you moved up in quality? Peter Eastway investigates.

Recently a photographer called me with a problem. He was taking group shots with his digital SLR camera, but found there wasn't sufficient quality in each of his subject's faces when an enlargement was made. The results didn't meet his expectations as a professional photographer.
Being relatively new to the profession with around eight years experience, he had possibly forgotten how professional photographers used to work with film - and how they used to choose different format cameras that were most suitable to the job. It's not that one format was ‘better', rather they had different characteristics and purposes in life. This is the clue to his answer.

History Lesson

Film photographers can avail themselves of three basic formats: 35mm, medium format and large format. Historically, modern photography began with large format cameras and today are represented by 4x5 inch and 8x10 inch models which take sheet film. Medium format, at 6x4.5 cm to 6x9 cm is smaller, but with improvements in film quality over the years, it easily matches what large format used to do. Of course, the same improvements in film quality are also used by today's large format cameras and so large format remains the king of film quality.

Improvements in film quality also assisted the ‘miniature' 35mm format. It was originally embraced by professionals because of the smaller and more versatile cameras which in turn enabled photographers to take their equipment into situations that were seen as very difficult if not impossible with the larger format cameras of the time. News, sport, war and documentary photographers loved 35mm, but studio, landscape, advertising and architectural photographers tended to stay with the larger formats because of image quality issues.

Bigger Is Best

The one thing all professional photographers knew and understood was that bigger formats produce a higher quality result. If your client wanted a photo for a small reproduction size, then you could use your 35mm camera, but if a billboard were required, then you shot on large format. And if your client didn't know how big the photo was going to be reproduced, then you'd shoot with a larger format just to be on the safe side.
Without getting lost in the science of optics and image resolution, a simple fact held true: the larger the negative or transparency, the less the image had to be enlarged, and the less the enlargement, the better the quality.

Even with the fantastic improvements in film quality, enlarging an image degrades image quality. To produce a 20x25 cm (8x10") print from a 4x5" negative requires only a moderate amount of enlargement, whereas to produce the same size print from a 35mm negative requires a much greater enlargement. As the image is enlarged, the grain structure in the image and the shortcomings in lens resolution are also enlarged. Problems are easier to see.

In addition to straight resolution or image clarity, there is also a ‘feeling' of quality found in medium and large format images. Tonal transitions are more rounded and image detail clearer and truer. There is a sophistication in a larger format image that is missing in a 35mm frame.

This is not a criticism of the 35mm format, rather an acknowledgement of its differences. There are many types of photography that are highly suited to 35mm equipment, but with the move to digital cameras, some photographers are pressing 35mm-equivalent DSLRs into jobs they are not really equipped to handle.

Digital Size Matters

Just as different film formats have different qualities, the same can be said about digital formats. The most obvious difference results from the number of pixels. When it comes to digital photography, digital camera backs like the Phase One P45+ lead the field with a 39-megapixel sensor. Nothing comes close to the quality that can be achieved with these backs and, to get the most from them, high quality lenses are essential.

However, pixel count on its own isn't the only reason digital camera backs produce the highest quality. Image quality isn't just about resolution, it's also about tonal and colour reproduction. In addition to the number of pixels, these backs can capture a 12-stop dynamic range, whereas the best you can expect from a digital SLR is seven or eight stops. A wide dynamic range, meaning the ability to capture a wide range of tones in a scene, allows subtle nuances in highlights and shadows to be retained, whereas in cameras with shorter dynamic ranges, these nuances of tone are compressed and lost.

Colour depth on the latest digital camera backs is 16-bits, rather than the 12 or 14-bits found on digital SLRs. Once again, it's the ability to capture a greater number of in-between colours that produces an image of unmatched colour fidelity and beauty.

These significant differences might be glossed over when you look at camera specification sheets, but they translate into the highest image quality currently available to professional photographers.

So, will the smaller sensors found on digital SLRs be able to catch up? It is unlikely, especially in terms of dynamic range. This is a physical issue which is dictated in part by the wavelength of light. Smaller pixel sizes simply can't hold as much light as larger ones, so larger sensors with commensurately larger pixel wells will always be capable of a greater dynamic range. Just as ‘full frame' digital SLRs claim a benefit over the smaller ‘APS' size sensors, so do digital camera backs with their larger sensor sizes outperform digital SLRs.

The Software Equation

The correlation between film and digital continues after the image is captured. The manner in which a film is processed and printed greatly determines its final quality. Inappropriate processing means the high potential of a film exposure may never be seen and the same applies in the digital arena.
When shooting with a digital camera back, images are generally captured in a RAW format and then processed on a computer using special software. Exactly how the image is processed is fundamental to the quality of the final result. Speaking non-technically, aspects such as colour fidelity, colour range, tonal range, tonal distribution and image sharpness are all controlled by the RAW converter software.

There are many RAW converters available, although not all are equipped to process all RAW files. However, having invested in a digital camera back, it makes sense to start with the software written by the back's manufacturer to ensure you get the best quality result. For instance, Phase One's RAW converter software, Capture One, is highly regarded in the profession, for both its own digital camera backs and for processing other manufacturers' RAW file formats.

The Professional Edge

Professional photography used to be ‘special' in that it required technically precise equipment and specialised knowledge to produce a ‘professional' result. With the introduction of digital photography, everyone, whether a photographer or not, believes that they are ‘good' at taking photos and that their prosumer digital camera produces ‘great' results. It can be a leap of faith for our clients if we turn up to a job with the same type of camera they use themselves.

One way to clearly differentiate ourselves as professionals from the snapshooters is to reintroduce medium format and large format photography, not with film of course, but with a digital camera back. And depending on the type of camera you choose to use with your digital camera back, you can shoot with DSLR convenience or large format precision.

In both scenarios the quality of your files will excel and while your clients might not fully understand why your images look so much better than their's, they will notice a difference.

Which brings us back to the question posed at the beginning of the article: how do you achieve high quality in each individual face with a group shot? The answer is to use the right equipment for the job. There is a huge difference between an 8-megapixel DSLR sensor and a digital camera back with 16, 22 or even 39 megapixels.

Peter Barr
";Ansel Adams, America's Saint George of Conservation";November, 2000

 Ansel Adams (1902 -151; 1984) is arguably one of the most beloved figures in the history of American photography.¹ His work bears all of the stylistic qualities needed to guarantee its success: it appears plainspoken and straightforward, and presents the natural world in a crisp, realistic way. But Adams's straightforward photographic style masks his remarkably complicated motivations. His images and published thoughts reflect a complex blend of aesthetic idealism and radical political engagement that is often overlooked. Equal parts aesthete and social activist, Adams hoped that his sharp-focused black-and-white photographs would help persuade Americans to value creativity as well as to conserve and expand American freedoms and wilderness preserves.
Adams, who is celebrated by both elite academics and the general public alike, ended his formal education with grammar school. Since then he has been awarded six honorary degrees, including doctorates from Berkeley and Harvard. In 1979, his thirty-second book, entitled Yosemite and the Range of Light, sold more than 200,000 copies, becoming one of the best-selling photographic monographs ever. Two years later, his mural-sized print of Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico set an auction record for photography, fetching $71,500.00. By 1984, the year he died, his work had appeared in more than 500 exhibitions. Today, reproductions of his images can be found on address books, calendars, folios, screen savers, posters and in more than eighty publications, including his widely read autobiography and two recent biographies - all readily available on the internet.
Adams's fame is not new, but began in the early 1930s, shortly after he decided to commit himself professionally to the medium of photography. Trained first as a classical pianist, he dabbled in amateur photography for more than a decade before deciding to abandon a career in music for professional photography. This decision was motivated by pragmatic and idealistic considerations. On the one hand, in the 1920s, advertisers increasingly patronized photographers because they believed that photographs were more persuasive than hand-drawn illustrations.² For most of his career, Adams was able to earn a relatively steady source of income from his commercial work. On the other hand, Adams was inspired by what he perceived to be the aesthetic potential of the medium. In 1926, Albert Bender, an art collector and owner of a small insurance agency in San Francisco, encouraged this idealism by financing Adams's early aesthetic work. Bender's generosity resulted both in Adams's first published book, Taos Pueblo, and in his first one-person exhibition, at the Sierra Club in San Francisco. This led to his 1930 meeting in New Mexico with the prominent New York photographer Paul Strand. Strand invited Adams to examine a set of his recent negatives, which convinced Adams of photography's potential as a medium of fine art.
Within five years of meeting Strand, Adams emerged as one of the most influential figures in the world of art photography. By the end of 1930, he was writing a photography column for the literary review Fortnightly. Two years later, Adams helped found the photography club Group f/64. He organized the group's landmark exhibition of ";pure"; photography at the M. H. de Young Museum, and authored their manifesto, which argued vehemently against the tradition of making art photographs look like impressionistic paintings or etchings. The following year he met Alfred Stieglitz, the legendary New York art dealer and ";pure"; photographer and opened The Ansel Adams Gallery for creative photography -150; with the idea of becoming the ";Alfred Stieglitz"; of San Francisco. Then, in 1935, he published the first of several instructional books on photography, which earned him a reputation as an effective teacher and exacting photographic technician.
As a teacher and technician, Adams is perhaps best known for testing Edwin Land's Polaroid film technology and for instructing aspiring artists on how to use his own Zone System of photography, which he developed while teaching at the Art Center School in Los Angeles in 1941. This system allows photographers to calculate and control the range of gray-scale tones in their negatives by using a light meter. The objective is to obtain a negative with silver densities corresponding to the photographer's preconception of the scene. For Adams, this usually meant a mesmerizing number of distinct shades of gray, black and white, as in his photograph, Aspens (1958). Further, he encouraged artists to manipulate their images' tones while developing and printing. Adams compared printmaking to a musical performance by likening the tonal values of a negative to the notes on a musical score. Like a musical performance, the print was then subject to variation and reinterpretation over time.³
Adams's technical accomplishments often overshadow the fact that he intended for his photographs to express his radical aesthetic and political ideals. His aesthetic ideals can be traced back through Paul Strand to Alfred Stieglitz. Adams, like Stieglitz, regularly preached a ";pure"; photographic aesthetic imbued with emotion; he claimed that his photographic prints represented what Stieglitz called ";equivalents"; of his feelings.⁴ Adams, too, claimed that art photographers created ";a statement that goes beyond the subject"; and captured ";an inspired moment on film."; ⁵ By way of contrast, he felt ordinary photographs were mere ";visual diaries"; or ";reminders of experience."; Adams elaborated on this idea near the end of his life, comparing his own (and his friend Edward Weston's) photographs to those of William Henry Jackson, who photographed the American West for the U.S. Government's Hayden Geological Survey in 1870:
Jackson, for all his devotion to the subject, was recording the scene. Weston, on the other hand, was actually creating something new-133;. Similarly, while the landscapes that I have photographed in Yosemite are recognized by most people and, of course the subject is an important part of the pictures, they are not ";realistic."; All my pictures are optically very accurate - I use pretty good lenses -150; but they are quite unrealistic in terms of [tonal] values. A more realistic, simple snapshot captures the image but misses everything else. I want a picture to reflect not only the forms, but [also] what I had seen and felt at the moment of exposure.⁶
While Adams espoused Stieglitz's emotional aesthetic, it would be a mistake to link their photographic outlooks too closely. Adams, after all, was nearly a half-century younger than Stieglitz and was deeply involved with the aesthetic and political trends of his own day. The most dominant aesthetic trend in photography between 1925 and 1950 is the emergence of the ";documentary"; mode of expression. This is a brand of often emotionally riveting photographic realism, which is perhaps best illustrated by Dorothea Lange's well-known Migrant Mother (1936). The popularity of the documentary mode of expression during the 1930s and 1940s reflects, to a certain extent, the cynical public's desire for direct, straightforward communication in the wake of the mid-1930s Dust Bowl and the unsettling stock market crash of 1929. It can also be seen to record and celebrate the New Deal social programs, which were designed by Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration to help alleviate the most troubling conditions of the Great Depression.
It is noteworthy that Paul Strand was one of the early practitioners of the documentary mode. Strand studied photography under the tutelage of Lewis Hine, the well-known sociologist-turned-photographer. Hine's work for the National Child Labor Committee helped convince Congress to eradicate child labor in the United States. In 1930, when Strand first met Adams, he was actively following Hine's lead, travelling through Mexico making monumentalizing portraits of ordinary citizens he found on the streets. Projects like these, combined with Strand's outspoken advocacy of America's continued friendship with the socialist block countries, brought Strand to the attention of anti-Communist Republicans in the U.S. Congress. Fearing that he might loose his right to travel abroad, Strand entered into self-exile in France, in 1950. Adams, who wisely chose to keep his political views to himself during this time, nonetheless continued to cite Strand as a significant influence on his work. In the waning years of his life, however, Adams became increasingly outspoken about his political views. In 1983, he told an interviewer:

I think there may be a revolution if there is not greater equality given to all citizens. We have consistently considered the employer, especially the large corporations, as the most valuable part of the American society. We have consistently overlooked the enormous importance of the farmer, the technician, the educator, the artist, [and] the laborer. I'm not calling for a revolution; I'm calling for greater equality to all citizens. If that doesn't happen, something will.⁷

During the heyday of the documentary mode of photography, while other Americans were training their cameras on the disenfranchised and the middle class, Adams was accused of photographing nothing but trees, rocks and bushes. Yet it was during the early 1940s that Adams helped the Museum of Modern Art organize a juried exhibition of photographs called Images of Freedom that ";look[ed] at the people -150; our friends, our families, ourselves-133;. [It asked] what are our resources and our potential strength?";⁸ One photograph from this exhibition, Mrs. Gunn on Porch, Independence, California, 1944, suggests the kind of dignified image of the middle class that he must have had in mind. Similarly, two years later he traveled to Owens Valley, California, to photograph the Japanese-Americans who had been forcibly relocated there following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The resulting exhibition and book entitled Born Free and Equal celebrated the prisoners that he met there and condemned the injustice of the camp. The book's photographs affirm the individuality, dignity, work ethic, and Americanness of the internees while his accompanying texts describe the horrible conditions in the camps and plea passionately for other Americans to correct such civil rights violations. Adams's decision to express his condemnation of the relocation camps in words rather than images reflects his unwavering belief that the visual arts must never condemn life, only build it up and celebrate it. Quoting Stieglitz, Adams often said, ";Art is the affirmation of life."; ⁹
Adams used a similar strategy of combining life-affirming photographs and critical prose in his efforts to preserve America's wilderness reserves, especially in and around Yosemite Valley. In 1934, he joined the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club and began lobbying Congress to stop logging and mining in the King's River Canyon, near Yosemite. By 1938, when he published his first book of landscape photographs, Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail, he sent copies to President Roosevelt and Interior Secretary Harold Ickes. The photographs in the book, he recalled, ";helped swing the opinion in our favor."; 10 In 1940, with the President's help, the canyon became a national park.
It is important to note, however, that Adams's advocacy for the parks began only after he had created a substantial body of landscape photographs, works that were aimed at creative rather than for political ends. Looking back on the relationship between his photographs and his advocacy for the environment, he recalled:

I never did a photograph of any importance for an environmental purpose - All the pictures I've done were done because I was there and I loved the mountains and I visualized a picture. However, I do feel very good about the fact that my photographs have been used in environmental campaigns a lot-133; The pictures of Kings Canyon Sierra, for example, were done well before I became involved in the fight to establish Kings Canyon as a national park.¹¹

After playing a central role in establishing Kings Canyon National Park, Adams became widely regarded as the principal photographer of, and unofficial spokesman for, the National Park system. In 1941, the Department of the Interior commissioned him to create a photographic mural about the national parks. The commission was canceled because of World War II, yet Adams returned to the parks in 1946, 1948 and 1958 with funds provided by the Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. In subsequent years, he was invited to discuss American environmental policy with several Presidents, including Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and received from the latter the Presidential Medal of Freedom. By way of contrast, Adams conducted a war of words with President Reagan. He described Reagan's Secretary of the Interior James Watt's policy of allowing strip mining and timber harvesting in the national parks as an indefensible policy of ";rape, ruin and run!"; ¹²
Adams would certainly be unhappy with the over-popularity of America's National Parks today. In fact, he preferred the term ";reserve"; to ";park"; because the former term suggested that public lands should be ";open to the public and their cars (to a limited extent)"; but devoid of the human comforts and popular camping facilities that threaten their protection and preservation. 13 ";There is certainly nothing amiss,"; he explained with camping, fishing, boating, swimming, skiing, and all the other participation and non-participation sports; people do not have enough of these healthful and refreshing experiences. But you do not play ping-pong in a cathedral, rustle popcorn at a string-quartet concert, or hang billboards on the face of Half Dome in Yosemite (not all of us would, anyway!). You must have certain noble areas of the world left in as close-to-primal condition as possible. You must have quietness and a certain amount of solitude. You must be able to touch the living rock, drink the pure waters, scan the great vistas, sleep under the stars and awaken to the cool dawn wind. Such experiences are the heritage of all people. ¹⁴
Adam's ";pure"; images, technical accomplishments and critical views about the environment are no less relevant today, 15 years after his death, than during his lifetime. At last count, the U.S. Forest Service had carved more than 378,000 miles of roads in America's forests, primarily to allow access for logging and mining. And there are plans to add 580,000 more. 15 Adams realized that America's national parks had been created by an act of Congress, and could be taken away. He also realized that the prints that he selected for this exhibition would travel throughout the country long after his death and be seen by all. As a body of work, these prints illustrate Adams's concern that ";the dragons of demand have been kept at snarling distance by the St. Georges of conservation, but the menace remains. Only education can enlighten our people -150; education and its accompanying interpretation, and the seeking of resonances of understanding in the contemplation of Nature."

Getting Your Kids to Click with Photography

by Tracey Clark

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Tracey Clark is a photographer and mom of two who created the photo blog Shutter Sisters. Her daughter, Julia, is shown above. Read more »

Sorry, Tracey Clark is no longer taking questions.

Photography is a fun and immediate art form that gets kids excited and more in tune with the world around them. The ability to capture something of interest to them in a photograph (whether a friend, family member, something from nature or anything at all), lights an artistic fire within them that will help keep them engaged and captivated by their surroundings.

As a professional photographer and a mother of two sharp-shootin' daughters, I offer these simple suggestions to parents looking to spark their own children's creativity though photography. 

Give up the camera.  Cameras are high-ticket items, so it's understandable that most parents are hesitant to hand them over to a preschooler. But speaking from experience, if you teach your children how to properly handle a camera, use the wrist strap and set a few guidelines, they will rise to the occasion and gain the camera confidence they need to find their inner shutterbug. And if you're still not convinced, consider one of the many cameras made especially for children.

Don't edit the photographer.  It's our nature as parents to want to guide our children. Unfortunately, when it comes to their individual artistic flair, our best intentions to guide them can often influence and even squelch their vision. Since I believe that there is no wrong way to take a picture, I encourage parents to give their child the room to do it their way. Seeing the world through your child's eyes can be enlightening. Give them the freedom to capture what they see as photo-worthy and be prepared to be inspired. Keep in mind that sometimes the experimental or even accidental photos can be the most interesting.

Take it outside.  Since photography is one of the few creative mediums that travels well, encouraging your children to shoot pictures while out and about keeps them busy and entertained no matter what kind of adventure you're on.   Consider bringing your camera:

-  on a neighborhood discovery walk (a favorite of ours)

-  to a sibling's sporting event

-  to an apple orchard or pumpkin patch

-  to a local nature center or wildlife preserve

-  while playing at the park

Click it up a notch.  Even professional photographers can feel uninspired sometimes. To keep your little shutterbug snapping away, consider challenging them to keep photography engaging and fun.  Here are some ideas to help motivate your kids along their photo journey:

-  Offer a specific theme for your child to photograph (using colors, shapes, textures, letters, etc).

-  Write a list of items for your child to find and snap for a photo scavenger hunt.

-  Enrich imaginative play by having your kids shoot photos of a dress-up fashion show or family rock concert.

-  Encourage your child to shoot a series of pictures that tell a story.

-  Get your child to look at the little things and zoom in and capture the smallest details of their world inside the home and out.

-  Have your kids do a portrait session with their stuffed animals or action figures.

-  Teach them how to use the self-timer for self-portraits or group shots.

Put pictures to good use.  The beauty of the digital age is that you don't have to spend the money on every snapshot your child takes. The downfall is that too often our photos remain trapped on our computer. Once the pictures are taken, it's important to parlay at least a few choice shots into something tangible. Simple traditional frames, photo albums or scrapbooks of your child's handiwork will give them something to be proud of.

Unique photo gift items can be found at a variety of photo websites or kiosks at your local convenience store. These are fun ways to honor the work of your little photographer.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to the family fun you can have with photography. Don't be afraid to experiment with your camera and let your kids do the same.  Take tons of photos and learn with your kids as you do. You can develop your talents as a shutterbug at any age, you just have to click.

So tell me, what do you and your little shutterbug like to take pictures of? 

While this blog is devoted to "film" photography, I do realize that some prefer the use of digital cameras.  For that reason I've included the article above.  Happy Shutterbugging!

Getting Depth in Your Wide-Angle Photography is Easy

With a foreground-to-background approach, you can produce a dynamic three-dimensional effect that gives viewers a real sense of place.Unfortunately, the wide-angle's wide-ranging perspective is also what makes this focal length such a challenge. The tendency is to back up to get more into the picture, which commonly leads to either a "busy" look or to vast empty spaces.

Sunset on California Coast © Kerry Drager All Rights Reserved

Move In Close to a Foreground Object

The keys to success? Think FOREGROUND and move CLOSER!Zero in very tight on an eye-catching object so it fills a good chunk of the picture frame while still retaining background features.
How close should you get to your foreground object? The nearest point in my wide-angle scenics is often about an arm's length away or even closer.Incidentally, your foreground border also can help clean up a composition: by hiding a blank sky or by concealing any distracting objects.

Great Depth of Field for Great Wide-Angle Photos

In most wide-angle scenic situations, you'll want everything sharp - from front to back - since a great Depth of Field leads to a great feeling of space. Thus, for maximum sharpness, go with a very small lens opening (high f/stop number).For precise DOF, use the preview mode or program found on many SLRs, check the scale markings on the barrel of some lenses, or use a hyperfocal chart. No DOF modes, guides, or charts? Then set your focusing point just beyond the closest spot in the scene (while also setting the f/stop for a small aperture) or set your focus one-third up from the bottom of the picture frame.Finally: When working in close, even a small camera shift can mean a big compositional difference. That's why I use the "accessory photographers love to hate": a tripod!


Photographer, Kerry Drager

Parent and Child Photography

"The emotional bond captured
in parent and child photography can be profound."

With Babies

Babies seem to be most comfortable in surroundings that they are used to, their parents arms. Have the parent hold the baby or at least have his or her hand on the baby. The physical contact also makes it easier to show the close relationship in the photograph.
If the baby does not respond well to the camera, step away and use a zoom or telephoto lens. Just be sure to close in for the head-and-shoulders shot.

With Toddlers

Again, be sure to close in for the head-and-shoulders shot if you can.
Children are happiest when they are playing, so the fast film and shutter speed will be a necessity to capture the action shots.
Another easy way of showing the closeness between the child and parent is to catch them when they have eye contact with each other.

by: Ted Forbes

Family Portrait Poses

“Anybody can learn how to take great family portrait poses. It is a great way to share wonderful times with those you love”

Photography is a national past time that is available to anyone who has access to a modest camera and the enthusiasm for creating lasting memories. Portraits at home involve all ages in groups or individuals, but the greatest results usually involve two or more family members.
Because you are more often than not intimate with your audience half the battle is already won! Less effort is needed to gain their attention giving more time to catching them in an attractive family portrait pose. Deciding what is it that family members love to do when they are together guides your style? If they are couples you will usually find them holding hands, embracing or kissing.
Brothers and sisters may be playful or at the best of times illustrating everything that is crazy about sibling rivalry. Proud Dads are often glued to newborn while mum stands over the scene with loving eyes. Grandparents could pose apart or together facing the camera while uncle and aunts may need slightly more persuasion to join the crowd. So what is it that will make that unforgettable moment stand-alone?

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Hi everyone. It’s Jonnie (creator of Photography-Tips-and-Techniques.com). Professional photographer Malcolm Boone has written a wonderful book called 'Posing Secrets - The Photographer's Essential Guide'. It covers just about every aspect of posing a subject.
For more about this great book and how it will improve your portraits Click Here!.
Now back to Family Portrait Poses. I hope you are enjoying the article.

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The Secret to Family Portrait Poses

As a stranger or commercial photographer the first objective is to find that magic in placing your subjects at ease. If you are a family member, then as photographer you have an edge. You know your subject and what makes them tick! Take advantage of their closeness and don’t be afraid to shoot tight on their heads.
Unlike the typical style of half or three quarters body in the frame feel free to crop heads to emphasize the relationship. Often directing family members is the worst thing to do and at other times essential for older relatives. Start by directing the poses and talk about family events designed to put them at ease and forget that you even exist. Maybe they are head-to-head, one head tucked into the neck of the other or even pulling at each other’s ears. It will be fun and quickly become obvious to what length any further suggestions are necessary.
Put them at ease and shoot around them rather then staying in one position. The camera can be held vertically, horizontally or at an angle. Successful pictures are not assumed just because they look directly into the camera lens. By changing angle and location relative to their position just be careful to avoid background clutter and always think composition.
A basic rule of thumb to take background out of focus is the use of a lower f-stop – f5.6 for example. In the case of groups dispel the mentality of centering them. It is the beauty of close-ups that keep the risk of interruptions around them to a minimum. Always know where your camera is and for the more committed photographer keep it in your pocket as much as possible. Modern cameras today are compact enough to do just that.
Before you start, select a longer lens setting usually labeled as portrait mode on today’s cameras. Enduring moments can be captured at the least expected times. Such as Dad’s sleepy time with baby when there is little time to plan but more opportunity than ever to catch emotional images.
Take from high and low angles caring little about Dad’s attention that is usually focused on the infant in a dreamy moment. All the time be detailed orientated so that clothes are not stretched and personal effects like jewelry and hair slides do not look clumsy. As you shoot always have composition in mind. Wherever your portraits are taken always remember that harsh light is usually unattractive. Shoot with a bounced flash inside and in shade outside, so your family portrait poses are soft and complimentary.
At the end of your shooting day any final touches can be applied with the cool benefits of software to achieve the best out of family portrait poses. The opportunities are endless in capturing that amazing memory of those that matter most in life!

The Ultimate Guide to Developing Black and White Film

I’ve done several videos in the past talking about how to develop black and white film at home. The process is extremely rewarding and its really not that hard to do.
I realized recently that I hadn’t really put together a good guide written out of all the gear and steps you need to get this done. In the following article, I’d like to give the ultimate guide to start developing your own black and white film at home.
Please note that this is geared to beginners. I will be keeping choices simple. I’ll have more articles expanding on this as we go.

What’s Important

Okay so you’re ready to take the plunge into the darkroom and start developing your own film. What do you need to know? First off, you want to get consistent with everything you do. Every darkroom is different, every water is slightly different, and we are humans so our techniques are all a little bit different. Its much like cooking food – you’ll need to learn the recipe yourself and make adjustments to make it your best. When problems or errors come up, they can be difficult to track down if your process is sloppy. So its really important to keep things the same every time. If you need to change things – change them one at a time. If you do this, it makes it easy to figure out where you went wrong when a problem happens.
What needs to be consistent? Your chemicals, any diluting, your technique and the temperature of your chemicals. I’ll get into all of this as we go.
This process works for any format – 35mm, 120, 4×5 – whatever. I’ll note when there are differences below.
I’ll also put together a shopping list below. Just to be upfront – all of the links here are affiliate links. I get a kickback when you order various items (not all, but most). You don’t have to use these, but if you want to help out with the large amount of material I provide free – your patronage is much appreciated ;-)

Tools You Need

For developing at home, you’ll need the following:
1) Changing Bag – this is a light tight bag you’ll use as your film can’t be exposed to any light until the end of the process.
2) 35mm Cassette Opener – for opening 35mm cartridges
3) Scissors – for prepping 35mm
4) Reels – these need to match the film type you’re using
5) Developing Cans – these need to fit your reels
Kalt Stainless Steel Tank with Plastic Lid without Reel for One 120mm Reel
Paterson 35mm Tank with Reel (Super System 4)
6) Hanging Clips – for hanging finished film to dry
7) Measuring Cups – buy these and only use them for developing – never use them with food.
8) Thermometer – again, never use with food. Buy one for keeping your temperatures consistent.
9) Timer for timing your chemical baths.

Materials You Will Need

(I’ll put a shopping list below)
1) Film (fairly obvious – now get out and shoot!)
2) Developer
3) Stop Bath
4) Fixer
5) Distilled Water (just get this at the grocery store – its cheap)
6) LFN (optional – lowers the water density and prevents water spots)
7) Plastic or glass jugs to store all of the above
8) Clear archive sleeves for storage
*** Note to non US photographers – I’ve had people ask me how to get chemicals outside the US. Most of the sellers here are ground delivery only. You can try eBay or research (Google) photo supplies in your country. Find other photographers to ask as well.

The Process

Film Prep:
Developing your film is easy. Remember film is light sensitive. You need to keep it in complete darkness until the end. We’ll begin with the changing bag. If this is your first time – you’ll be working in the changing bag so you won’t be able to actually see what you are doing. I recommend you get some used film on eBay and practice without the bag a few times until you can do it with your eyes closed – or in the bag. Its not hard, but get a feel for it.
It might be also important to note that its very possible you’ll mess up the first time. Don’t get discouraged! Practice a bit first then give it a try. Get some cheap film that you can ruin trying to learn. Its okay.
Once you’ve figured out how to get the film on to the reel. You’re ready to go. Put everything you need into the changing bag. Get your film on the reel and get the reel into the developing canister. Then you’re ready to rock.
Finally I’ll go ahead and put either tap water or distilled water into the can to pre-soak the film. This is optional and not critical. I just do it because its part of my process – do it or don’t. Remember though, stay consistent.
Chemical Prep:
Figure out how much chemical you need to develop. In my cans for 35mm and 120 its about 400ml. Fill 3 measuring cups – one for developer, one for stop, and one for fix.
Fill a large bowl or sink with ice. Place your (filled) measuring cups into the ice and put the thermometer into the developer. You’ll want to get the temperature down to 20C. You’ll get a feel for how long this takes – for me its about 10 min.
Once the chemicals are at 20C you are ready to develop.
Take a look at the Massive Dev Chart for the proper time for your film/developer combination. Its not always right, but its usually really close.
Now we are ready to develop.

Development Bath:

Pour out the water we set before. Then pour in your developer. Then start the timer for the determined time.
We’ll now use a process called agitation. Agitation simply involves “turning” the chemicals to keep them fresh. Its very slow. This will keep the grain down. If you have a closed container, just spin it around slowly. This is enough.
I agitate the film slowly for the first minute. Then I agitate for 10 seconds every minute. I know people who do 5 seconds every 30 seconds. They both work – just stick with one. Remember – we’re trying to be consistent.
When you’ve reached the development time, pour out your developer then pour in the stop bath.
I agitate 10 seconds every minute – 3 minutes total. Pour out the stop.
Pour in the fixer. Depending on what fixer – read the directions. For a standard fixer, I agitate 10 seconds every minute for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, pour out your fixer.
Your film is now done! You can go ahead and look at it now – its no longer light sensitive.
You’ll need to rinse your film for 15-30 minutes depending on your fixer type.

Final Rinse and Hang

I always do a final rinse with the distilled water. This is important. Your local tap water quality will vary and down her in Dallas there’s lots of “stuff” in the water that will spot the film. To prevent this I agitate in distilled water for 2-3 minutes constantly agitating. You could add a few drops of LFN to lower the water density and prevent spotting. This is optional, but I ALWAYS do that final rinse.
Hang your film with the clips in a bathroom (you should be working in one already up to this point). Why a bathroom? Because showers give off steam which gets the dust out of the air. Its a great, clean environment to develop your film. I hang my film in the shower. It takes about 45min to 1 hour to dry.
Then – still in the bathroom. Cut your negatives with scissors and put them in plastic sleeves. I sleeve them in the bathroom – if you go walk across your house you’ll get dust on the negatives. Its just easier to keep it all as dust free as you can.
Then you’re done!

Some notes:

As you get this process down – consider which chemicals are re-usable. Developers can be, but if you dilute them with water they are not – you’ll need to pour them out every time. Stop bath comes in an “indicator” stop bath. Its yellow and stinky, but will turn purple when its no longer any good. Otherwise you can pour it back in the jug and keep using. Fixers are reusable too. When they start to loose their odor and get cloudy – its time to replace.
Be careful and consider any local laws about disposal. Developer and stop baths are usually weak enough to pour down the drain. Just leave the tap running for 10-15 minutes after to make sure its rinsed away. Fixer is kind of nasty. I get a bag of cat litter, pour it in and then throw it away – it becomes solid with the liter. Fixer can destroy pipes over time if you’re not careful.

Film

There are many options these days of film types available. There are many special use films. If this is your first try, I’d recommend sticking to either Kodak Tri-X or Ilford HP5+. These are classics and very versatile. Once you get your process down you can try different films. Just remember (I sound like a broken record) we’re going for consistency.

Chemical Setups

If this is your first time at this, I’d recommend the following 2 setups:
1) Basic
Developer: Kodak D76 or Ilford ID11
These are very similar. They come in a powered you’ll mix with water into your storage container. Follow the directions. These are very versatile and highly recommended. They look great too.
Remember – there are many developer types. These are the most versatile and you can use them in different ways. Don’t get the developer bug and buy more types than you can handle. Stay consistent.
Stop Bath: Kodak indicator
Fixer: Kodak Rapid Fixor
2) Minimalist
Photographers Formulary sells an alkaline fixer called TF-4. Its amazing. You can’t use a stop with this so it gets it down to just developer and fixer. It also replaces the need for any optional cleaners like photoflo. This is what I use and I love it. I’ll make another developer recommendation as well. Rodinal is great – it gives some grain, but its amazing. So here’s the minimalist chemical setup:
1) Adox Rodinal
2) Formulary TF-4
That’s it! Just follow all of the above, but skip the stop bath.

by: Ted Forbes

Canon Camera Story 1955-1969

The top-class 35mm camera market gradually shifted from rangefinder cameras to single lens reflex (SLR) cameras. Canon launched its first SLR camera, "Canon Flex." The lenses for SLR cameras advanced from the "R" series to the "FL" series. At the same time, the company also developed lens-shutter cameras and 8mm cinecameras in line with the policy to be a comprehensive camera manufacturer offering various types of products. End of the 35mm Rangefinder Camera Era The "VT" camera, introduced in August 1956, discarded the conventional film loading method, in which the film cassette was dropped into the bottom after removing the baseplate (Barnack type), and instead adopted the simpler method using a hinged back cover and threading the film onto the take-up spool. The "T" in the "VT" refers to the "trigger" because the camera incorporated the film advance mechanism with a fast-winding trigger on the camera bottom to improve the shooting speed. The "P (Populaire)" model was released in l959, which was followed by the introduction of the "7" model in March l961 and the "7S" model in April 1965. The "7" series, which had a built-in exposure meter and were impressive in appearance, were well liked by their users. At the time, the era of the 35mm rangefinder cameras was already giving way to that of the SLR. With the interruption of the production of the "7S" in September l968, the tradition of the Canon 35mm rangefinder camera, which started with the introduction of the "Kwanon," came to an end. Development History of the 35mm Lens-Shutter Camera
The development of the high-grade 35mm camera had been the great milestone constituting Canon's mission. Yet during the same period, there was an effort to produce a simpler camera that could be used by anybody. That would be the development of the 35mm lens-shutter camera. It all begun in 1958 when there were heated discussions within Canon as to whether the company should take the route confined to the manufacturing of high-end cameras or whether it should also enter the market for the intermediate-class cameras. Gradually, the voices of young engineers expressing the opinion "we want to make cameras we can afford" gained strength. This resulted in a tentative decision to produce a prototype of an intermediate-class camera before the company's overall policy guidelines could be developed. With this background, the development of the 35mm lens-shutter camera started. This camera was the "Canonet," which swept the entire camera market with the slogan "anyone can buy it and anyone can take pictures with it."	The first domestic shipment of "Canonet" cameras leave the Shimomaruko plant   "Canonet" display and sales counter on the 7th floor of Mitsukoshi Department Store
Although the plan was to market the "Canonet" camera in August l960, its debut was delayed until January l961 because of strong criticism from the competitors complaining that the price of under 20,000 yen was too low to compete with. When the camera was introduced for the first time at the display and sales counter on the 7th floor of Mitsukoshi department store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, the number of people interested in seeing the camera was so great that they overflowed onto the staircases. The total inventory for one week was gone within 2 hours after the sales counter opened. Its sales were so astronomical and its customer acceptance so overwhelming that the February 6, 1961 issue of Shukan Bunshun (a popular weekly magazine) covered the sensation in the article entitled "Go To Hell!! Canonet."
While the boom sparked by the "Canonet" had not quite cooled off yet, the "Canon Demi" camera was introduced in February 1963. It was a compact and lightweight half-frame, or single-frame, camera that permitted twice as many pictures per film. This camera was also a hit with its catch phrase "let's draw our 'Demi' from our pocket." Also released in October of the same year was the "Color Demi," which was popular among users because it was available in three different colors: red, blue and white. With the debut of the "Demi" series, the variety of the lens-shutter cameras increased. The important thing was that the technologies acquired during the development of these 35mm lens-shutter cameras were fully fed back into the products that followed.	Cover of "Color Demi" brochure [Larger image]

Entering the 8mm Film Cinecamera Field Canon's first 8mm film cinecamera the "Canon Cine 8T," was introduced in November l956. The development of the cinecamera began in 1955 based on the knowledge acquired during the 1953 observation tour by President Mitarai to the United States and Europe to survey the camera markets in these countries. During this tour, Mitarai discovered that the "Kodak Brownie," an 8mm film cinecamera of the Eastman Kodak was enjoying great popularity.

"Cine 8T," Canon's first 8mm film cinecamera [Larger image]

Canon obtained some used cinecameras left behind by the Allied Occupation Forces as well as the products of leading cinecamera manufacturers abroad and studied the film drive and exposure mechanisms through repeated disassembly and testing. Special emphasis was placed on the viewfinder technology. Since the 8mm film cinecamera was required to reproduce the image of subject in the exactly same format as shown in the viewfinder, it was necessary to use the "Porro prism" system, in which two or three right angle prisms were combined with the variable magnification viewfinder mechanism of the "IV Sb." With this innovation, Canon succeeded in developing a revolutionary viewfinder that was bright and clear, and produced a real image.

"Canon Reflex Zoom 8" with the built-in high-quality "10-40mm f/1.4"zoom lens [Larger image]

On the other hand, concurrently with the development of the viewfinder, Canon's lens department was working on improving the zoom lens. The history of Canon's zoom lens goes back to 1954. Canon succeeded in developing a high-performance 8mm film cinecamera zoom lens, the "10-40mm f/1.8" with the magnification factor of 4, but it was never marketed because of its large size. Yet, being accelerated by the successful development of the large aperture zoom lens, Canon marketed the "Canon Reflex Zoom 8" in October l954, in a short development period and at low cost. The quick and low cost development was achieved through enlarging the aperture of the "10-40mm f/1.8" to make the "10-40mm f/1.4" and fitting it to the "Canon Cine 8T."

8mm Film Cinecamera with Zoom Lens and New Film Standards

Canon continued to improve the 8mm film cinecamera, aiming to adopt the advanced specifications and functions available in the 16mm film cinecameras. In June l964, the company released the "Canon Cine Zoom 512," which was equipped with a bright f/1.2 zoom lens of with the magnification of 5X, as well as a spring drive mechanism, which had been the popular in 16mm film cinecameras. The "Canon Cine Zoom 512" was cherished for a long time by users who enjoyed making home movies, and fully deserved being called a masterpiece. Eastman Kodak introduced the "Super 8" system in April l964, while Fuji Photo Film concurrently introduced the "Single 8" system. In order to meet the users' needs, Canon developed two types of cinecameras compatible with each film standard. One, the "Auto Zoom 1218 Super 8," which was marketed in April 1968 for the "Super 8" system, was widely accepted and had a good reputation because of its high 12X zoom magnification.

"Cinezoom 512," masterpiece cinecamera employing 16 mm cinecamera's drive system [Larger image]   "Autozoom 1218 Super" with an extremely powerful built-in 12X zoom lens, compatible with Super 8 system [Larger image]

The Next High-End 35mm Cameras are SLRs

The "Canonflex," the first 35mm SLR camera from Canon was introduced in May l959. In June of the same year, Nikon released the "Nikon F." Although the principle of the SLR camera had been known as long ago as the camera, technological problems had been left unsolved for many years in the area of making the camera as light and easy-to-use as the rangefinder camera. With several technical innovations including the pentaprism, the quick return mirror, and the automatic aperture control mechanism, the time had finally arrived for a practical 35mm SLR camera for all types of interchangeable lenses. Canon developed the R-series lens for the SLR cameras. The cameras using the R series lens were called the R-series cameras. Following the "Canonflex," the "R2000" with a top shutter speed of 1/2000 second, the fastest ever for any camera, was introduced in 1960. The "R2000" evolved into the "Canonflex RM," which was released in 1962. The "Canonflex RM" had a built-in exposure meter for the first time, and adopted the film advance system with a recessed lever instead of a trigger. The lever improved the operability.

"Canoflex," Canon's first SLR camera [Larger image]   R-series lenses simultaneously developed with the Canoflex SLR cameras [Larger image]

"Canonflex" and R-Series Lens Several new technical innovations were employed in the "Canonflex," including an interchangeable pentaprism viewfinder, a completely automated aperture control system, and an externally coupled selenium exposure meter. The bright R-series lens included lens having the focal lengths from 35 to 135mm. They were equipped with a fully automated aperture control system called "Super Canomatic." This aperture control mechanism coupled to the main camera body played an important role to connect the camera main body with the lens, and accelerated the development of the FL-series lens and FD-series lens. The "Canonflex" lens mount used a system called the "breach lock mount," replacing the conventional screw system. Since the "breach lock mount" method prevented mount wear caused by the direct rubbing between the camera body and the lens, the optical accuracy of the camera increased. The R-series lineup had about 16 different lenses such as the retrofocus wide angle lens, "R35mm f/2.5," the bright standard lens, "R58mm f/1.2," and the supertelephoto lens, "R1000mm f/11." Included among these lenses was the "R55-135mm f/3.5" zoom lens, which was Canon's first zoom lens for still cameras.

Canon during the Dawn of the SLR Camera Era

Concurrently with the debut of the FL-series lens that replaced the R-series lens in April l964, the "FX" camera was released. The FL lenses and the "FX" camera comprised a new system configuration designed to achieve smooth coupling between the camera body and the lens. In the 1960s, the Through the Lens (TTL) metering system was identified as the challenge for the SLR cameras. TTL metering determines the optimal exposure for the amount of light transmitted through the shooting lens, which is possible because of the unique characteristics of the SLR camera. The advantage of this method was that it permitted measuring only the light in the field of the lens. It was natural for the camera user to have great expectations for this convenient TTL metering. In order to respond to the customers expectations, Canon introduced the "Pellix" in 1965 and the "FT QL" in 1966. Both cameras featured partial-area TTL metering SLR.

FL-series lenses, the pioneer of the TTL metering [Larger image]

Development of FL-Series Lens Although the R-series lenses had excellent characteristics, they had several problems in terms of manufacturing costs and future technical developments, all of which required drastic change. The FL-series was developed to overcome this situation. It was known that fluorite used in the supertelephoto lens would be effective in reducing secondary chromatic aberrations. Yet, the fluorite crystals were too small for practical applications. Canon found the solution by growing artificial fluorite crystals and introduced the "FL300mm f/5.6" and "FL500mm f/5.6" lenses in 1969, both of which used the artificial fluorite crystals.

Time of Changes in Film Standards The domestic film industries that had been undergoing steady growth during the 1960s were suddenly confronted with abrupt changes in film standards. The new film standards were the Instamatic System 126 of Eastman Kodak of the U.S.A. and the Rapid System of the Agfa of West Germany. Canon developed the "Canomatic C30" and the "Demi Rapid" to these film standards. Since the loading methods for these films were not compatible with that for SLR cameras, the development of specialty cameras for these film standards was limited to lens-shutter cameras only. Canon developed its own QL (quick loading) system for loading normal 35mm films and introduced it in the "FT QL" SLR camera.

Birth of Canon Inc. for Further Growth

At the beginning of the 30th anniversary year, 1967, President Mitarai delivered the following New Year 's Address:

"To create the foundations for our company's prosperity this year, we must hold cameras in our right hand and business machines and special optical equipment in our left. At the same time, we must substantially boost our exports."

These words became the slogan of the company from that time on. In fact, in 1960 Canon started entering the fields of electronic calculators and copying machines under a long-term business plan. The sales of business machines and special optical equipment were rapidly increasing. The time had arrived when the company had to shed the image that it was just a producer of cameras.

In order to achieve a great leap forward as a comprehensive manufacturer of imaging and information processing equipment including cameras and business machines, the name of the company was changed to Canon Inc. on March 1, 1969. The catch phrase used in advertising at that time was "Light and Electrons, Connection to the Future." The ad copy indicated the roads taken by Canon in the past, hinting at the roads to be taken in the future, and said Canon was ready to enter a new world.

Photographing Reef Fish

By Richard Smith 

It was during a trip to Cenderawasih Bay on Papua’s north coast in Indonesia that I really got into photographing reef fish. 

This unique bay has been cut off from the outside world by large landmasses several times over the past several million years, and subsequently new species have evolved in isolation. This environment fascinated me as both a marine biologist and underwater photographer. I set out to document as many of the indigenous fishes as I could during my once in a lifetime visit.  

Thus began my love of reef fish portraiture.

Why Photograph Reef Fish?

In hindsight, I have overlooked how rewarding reef fish photography can be.  I often spend my dives searching for small, hidden fishes such as pygmy seahorses, ghost pipefish or frogfish, completely ignoring the beauty of the more common wrasses, damsels and parrotfishes.  While they may be common and often out in the open, that doesn’t make them unworthy or easy photographic subjects.  

Equipment

The beauty of reef fish photography is that specialised and expensive macro or wide-angle lenses aren’t necessary and the standard lens of a compact camera will often do the trick.  I use a Nikon DSLR and my lens of choice for shooting reef fish is the 105 mm macro lens.  This isn’t for the macro function per se, but I find that for many medium sized fish the extra distance from the subject allows you to take shots without spooking the animal. 

The distance from the subject is greater than it would be for macro, which makes lighting something to keep in mind. The trick is to provide enough artificial light to avoid a cyan cast without blowing out the subject. As always, you’ll want to be mindful not to illuminate the space between the camera and the subject, as this will show up any sediment in the water as backscatter.  

Since each individual and species is different, take some time getting to know the routines and behaviours of the fish before starting to take shots.  This gives you time to estimate the distance you’ll be from the subject and position strobes accordingly.  Trying to take photos and then stopping to readjust everything will more than likely spook the fish and send it dashing into a nook.

Techniques and Tips

It isn’t easy to get a good shot of a reef fish, and several factors must be taken into account:

Buoyancy: Maintaining good buoyancy while photographing active fish is paramount.  They will often be much more active subjects than you’re used to and I have found that following them while looking through the camera’s viewfinder is the only way to catch them in action.  This means that you must have a good command of your buoyancy and sense of surroundings to prevent crashing into and breaking the coral or other substrate.

Something Different: There are many different styles of photo that you can take.  For a fish you can’t identify, a more typical ID shot of the full body may be the aim.  For the more common species it’s nice to experiment.  Try slowing the shutter speed to get a little blur into the shot, adding some action.  

Playing with depths of field, by adjusting the aperture, can give nice images. With a shallow depth of field where the eye is in focus, a blurred, pastel coloured, background can be attained. Alternatively, a much greater depth of field can be used, where the background will be darker and much more of the fish in focus. Fish portraits provide a lot of creative control for the photographer

Subject Matter

Set the Scene: A simple fish portrait can be so much more by telling you something about the animal.  Showing the fish in its habitat or behaving naturally gives the image life and the subject a character.

Background: A cluttered background can be extremely distracting.  You can either solve this problem by waiting until the fish swims into an area with a neutral or far way background, or alter your settings to get a shallower depth of field.  Personally, I like the shallow depth of field approach as it allows you to shoot against most backgrounds and lets more light into your shot. You need to be spot-on with your focus though, as you’ll want to get the eye sharp, and a reduced depth of field will make this harder. Apertures between 4-7.1 are prime for this shallow depth of field bokeh technique. 

Fish Posture: I have found that having the fins of the fish in an erect, alert-looking position makes a huge difference to a portrait. It also gives the animal a larger surface to show off its colours.  Unless it’s your aim, be sure not to accidentally crop parts of the fins off though.  

An Insider Tip: Some of the shots in identification books, particularly of new species, are taken of dead fish with their fins chemically fixed open.  Don’t be disheartened if it takes a while to get the perfect shot. With patience, you’ll get there in the end.

Setting Goals: Photographing reef fish opens many new avenues of possibility.  You can set yourself goals, like shooting all the life stages, geographic variants or colour morphs of a given species.  Setting a long-term goal, which certainly some ichthyologists aspire to, of for example shooting all the butterfly or angelfishes in your local dive area.

Reef fishes are beautiful, challenging subjects that are well worth spending some time to photograph.  Whether you set out to shoot a few of the fish that take your fancy or have certain rare species as a goal you can rest assured there will always be a subject for you to shoot.

About the Author: 

Richard Smith is a British marine biologist and photojournalist who aims to inspire a passion for the ocean and raise awareness of marine conservation issues through his images. He has been diving since 1996, which began his fascination with the sea.  In 2011, he completed a PhD in the biology and conservation of pygmy seahorses.  Richard leads marine life expeditions where the aim is for participants to get more from their diving and photography by learning about the marine environment: www.OceanRealmImages.com

LARGE FORMAT

Oh, the Bouts He Has Seen

Matt Weber

 Hunting a moment” is how Matt Weber, 55, describes his approach to photographing New York City street scenes for the past three decades, and many of those moments have been distinguished by the flying fists, stinging obscenities and cheering crowds of the New York City street fight.It is a subject that, whether for real or play, makes for a powerful photograph because it has “motion and emotion,” Mr. Weber said.Mr. Weber began driving a yellow cab in 1978 at age 20, and what he saw through the windshield of his wheezing Dodge Aspen taxi, including a knife fight near the Port Authority, convinced him to buy a $150 Canon. It was a purchase that “saved me from a boring life,” said Mr. Weber, who would often shoot right from the driver’s seat, develop the film at home and then hang prints in the hallway of his building on West 86th Street. Mr. Weber is the subject of a new documentary, “More Than the Rainbow,” directed by Dan Wechsler, which was to be screened Friday night at the Coney Island Film Festival. Driving a cab, Mr. Weber said, he “went from being a taxi driver with a camera, to a photographer with a taxi.” And fight pictures became just one genre of his wide variety of candid city shots. He became dedicated to catching elusive moments that could not be staged or even predicted. All you can do is, like a fisherman, put your time in — skills honed and equipment ready, he said. He also enjoys shooting couples kissing. “It’s the two ends of the spectrum, love and anger,” he said. “Both show people when they’re peaking.”

 by : Corey Kilgannon