Category Archives: Photography

A photographer asked me, “What is a Good Photograph?”

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A photographer asked , “What is a good photograph, and how do I take it?”  That was two good questions I received from a young photographer in my shop last week. The “how to” part was the easiest answer and I talked about taking some classes. However, the response to the first question wasn’t as simple an answer.  I suggested that a good photograph includes proper composition, exposure, and an interesting perspective, but that was, again all “how to” stuff. That question and the discussion that followed was so very much like what I wrote about in  post I made in September of last year, I wrote the following at that time and hope I won’t  bore those that already read it.

A good photograph is one that makes us have a connection with, or think about, the subject.  Or, it could help us understand what the photographer feels about that subject; and can, if successful, evoke some kind of mood, whether good or bad.

When I see a photograph that I like, because of my nature and because I have been studying photography and other photographers for years, I begin dissecting it and try to figure out how the photographer made it.  When the photograph is good I am aware that the photographer had an understanding of the equipment and the subject he or she used to make the picture.  However, I sometimes have to stop myself from doing all of that and just enjoy the photograph.

As I mused about the question of a good photograph I thought it might be of interest to include quotes from some of the great photographers.  On the subject of a great photograph Ansel Adams said, “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”  He continues,  “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”  And then he says, “Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions.  Ask yourself: “Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print – my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey – from the subject before me?” “

I also like his short quips,  “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”  And “A good photograph is knowing where to stand.”  Then he reminds us, “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”

The famous photographer, Elliott Porter, maker of spectacular scenic colour images, commented, “You learn to see by practice.  It’s just like playing tennis; you get better the more you play. The more you look around at things, the more you see.  The more you photograph, the more you realize what can be photographed and what can’t be photographed.  You just have to keep doing it.”

Irving Penn, known for his editorial photographs in Vogue magazine, stated, “A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it.  It is, in a word, effective” and in a lighter mood he said, “Photographing a cake can be art.”

I read the words of these famous photographers and think how each one has inspired me to work harder at making photographs that go beyond just a documentary of a particular subject.  I do extend my knowledge with continual viewing of other photographer’s images, and by reading, taking classes and practice.

Modifying light and keeping photograph’s exposure believable.

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A few weeks ago I wrote about modifying light instead of using the direct light from a camera mounted flash.  This is a topic I have discussed many times in my years writing for different publications as I strive to persuade photographers to add flash to their portrait photography.

It seems my comments are having some success because since my blog of May 5thth I have had more than one photographer tell me they had started using light modifiers like “shoot through” and reflector umbrellas. That is a good thing, however, I’m now receiving questions like, “Now that I’m bouncing and softening the light, how come the background doesn’t look right?”

Like any photograph, inside or outside, a photographer needs to take into account how all elements in the image are exposed. That’s the reason I prefer using the manual mode on my camera. It makes it easy to set the exposure where I want to make that subject look like it fits into the environment.

Here is an example that might help readers.  A week ago I photographed a couple in a wide field alongside the South Thompson River. They wanted the white, silt cliffs that jutted up from the grassy flatlands to be visible behind them. The sun (when it poked through the clouds) was bright and cast unflattering shadows on their faces.

My goal was to have the correct exposure for the cliffs, the sky, and, of course, my subjects.  It was slightly breezy; therefore, my wife held onto a stand with a 33” umbrella and wireless flash I used to provide a fill light that would get rid of unsightly shadows on my subjects.

Indoors or out, I always start with the shutter speed. If I need it to be faster I bump up the ISO. Usually I try for 100 ISO, but sometimes I need a higher shutter speed and a wider aperture and that’s when I adjust my ISO.

I first decided what exposure would give me a nice sky and scenic white cliffs. In this instance I metered the exposure and then underexposed by two stops to give me a bit of a darker appearing landscape. Then as my subjects were positioning themselves I fired the wireless flash from different positions until I saw that the light on their faces appeared in the way I wanted it.

My exposure and flash modes were both set to manual. Using manual exposure gave me consistent control over the ambient light. To find the proper exposure for the flash I just moved it closer till I was satisfied with what I saw in my camera’s LCD.   I had balanced the light. There was a nice dark sky, the white cliffs were shining and had defining shadows. My subjects were separated from the slightly darker ambient light without any shadows at all on their faces.

The ambient light kept changing quickly as clouds moved in and a storm approached so I switched from manual flash to TTL flash, and because of troubling wind removed the umbrella from the stand, and instead used a small diffuser cup on the flash to modify its light.

With the camera in manual mode, the shutter, aperture, ISO, distance of the light to the subject, and power of our light source, all controls flash exposure. Things change with the incorporation of TTL flash.  Used together, the TTL camera and flash controls and calculates the flash exposure, and adjusts the power of the flash to deliver and determine the correct flash exposure regardless of the photographer’s choice of shutter, aperture, ISO, and subject distance.

How a portrait looks does have a lot to do with how the subject(s) are posed, but I think light and how it is applied is just as important. Using flash, on or off camera, to modify light gives a photographer more control than just using the sun, or relying on a high ISO. In addition photographers must also experiment and learn how to balance the background, or ambient light, with that flash.

The location really does not matter, whether inside or out, as long as there is enough ambient light to expose the subject. Pose the subject in front of a window or on the lawn. Then add enough light from another source to achieve the final goal of having the background, the foreground, and the subject exposures all together appear to be balanced and not looking artificial.

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The Vancouver Camera Swap Meet for Photographers

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Every year at this time I attend one of my favorite events, the Vancouver Camera Show and Swap Meet. It was held again this past weekend and the Vancouver Camera Swap meet welcomed both vendors and buyers for a very enjoyable day.  Put on by the Western Canada Photographic Historic Association, and organized by Siggi and Brigitte Rohde, this long-running show has now reached its 36th year and makes the claim of being the largest (and maybe the best) in Canada with well over 1,000 people walking through the doors of the Cameron Recreation Centre (adjacent to Lougheed mall) where it was held.

A large photography and sale like the Vancouver Swap meet brings out an amazing diversity of photographers and what could be better then spending a day surrounded by a vast array of cameras, photography equipment, and talking with other photographers? I’ve been attending over 20 years and for me it’s a great place to sell photography equipment, and it’s a fun day of meeting old friends and making new acquaintances.

My wife and I drove from Kamloops the day before and stayed overnight so I would be fresh for an early start the next day.  As I entered, there is a buzz from other vendors busy setting up, talking, buying, and selling to each other.  I greeted lots of people I have known for years, and then prepared my table to be ready for the swap meets’ early bird shoppers who pay a premium to shop exclusively starting at 9am.  By 10am with the regular admission I was busy showing, demonstrating, explaining, and, of course, bargaining with photographers looking for whatever desirous item they had spotted and hoping for a deal that was just as sweet.

Every year I go wondering what the latest trends are, or what is popular with photographers I will meet there. This year I noticed a change in those I am accustomed to seeing. Many long time sellers and attendees I have known from previous years were absent and were replaced by a much younger crowd. The easy answer might be, like me, they are growing older. But I think it also might have to do with photography’s changing times, and for those that want to hang on to the “good old days”, so that modern technology and how young photographers are using it might be quite unnerving. In previous years I could expect to be accosted by aging “experts” that shuffled up to my table. They usually weren’t there to buy anything, and mostly were only there to show sellers and buyers how much they know, and how much experience they had. This year most of those I have become familiar with over the years were noticeably absent and, in spite of how exasperating some were, I missed them.

Young photographers stopping by my table introduced (for me anyway) a new way of doing photography. I had brought many older, manual-focusing lenses expecting there might be some individuals keen about “retro” equipment and interested in using older cameras from the 1970s and early 1980s, but that didn’t seem to be so this year. This year photographer’s would lay adaptors for different lenses on the table and try different manual lenses with each. They were using modern digital SLR cameras and the adapters allowed them to use the old lenses. And where I would have chosen a focal-length lens like 70mm or longer and stood back to take a portrait, these innovative photographers were selecting 28mm and 50mm lenses, and then moving in very close for portraits of each other when they tested out the lenses.  Photography is certainly not a static medium and is constantly changing.

In my opinion, an occasion like the Vancouver Swap is a perfect place to meet other photographers, learn what others are doing, and of course find excellent deals on many kinds of photographic equipment. Whether buying, selling, or just having a good time with other photographers, other than actually taking pictures, I couldn’t recommend a better way to spend one’s time.

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Photographers – Don’t just add light, modify the light.

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For some time I’ve been advising photographers to use a flash when they take pictures of people, whether indoors or out. Yes, I understand that those with a few extra dollars in their pocket can purchase expensive cameras that can capture images in low light using a higher ISO, but using additional light is much more flattering.

While sitting by the window in a coffee shop last week a friend casually snapped a picture of me using an ISO of 9000. I was impressed at the clarity and colour. Hmm… maybe a bit too clear and colourful for my old face.  Nevertheless, my comment was, “Nice picture, too bad you didn’t have a reflector”, which brings me to my topic this week – light modifiers.

Readers know what harsh sunlight looks like on our subject’s face in a photo, or winced at the loss of detail caused by the direct light of a camera-mounted flash.  A flattering photograph isn’t just capturing or adding light, but modifying its path to the subject. That might be as simple as bouncing the flash off the ceiling, or a wall. The pop-up flash might work at parties, but mounting a flash on the camera gives more power, control and pleasing results.

When outdoors without a flash a popular and easy to use light modifier is a reflector. Place the subject out of the direct sun and direct the sun in a controlled way back to the subject using a reflector. Reflectors come in all sizes, shapes, colours and surfaces. Silver is a cool, gold has a warm cast, and white is neutral. I prefer the compact folding reflectors that fit in my camera bag. Reflectors are great outdoors, and are perfect with a bounce flash for that multi-use basement studio.

More and more photographers are using wireless flash. A small hotshoe flash mounted on a stand can be aimed at the ceiling, a wall, or a reflector, for much nicer light than if pointed directly at the subject.  But the wall, ceiling, and reflector only give a broad indirect light. Yes, it is better than a bare flash, but not very controllable.

Enter umbrellas, softboxes, beauty dishes, and all sorts of contraptions that modify and control the light.  I like bouncing and reflecting light in some conditions, and these give photographers more control as they reshape, restyle, alter, modify, direct, and soften the light from our little flashes.

Umbrellas come in several types. Choose a shoot through or reflective, large or small. The reflective umbrellas are available with different surfaces – silver, gold, white – each has its own way of changing the light. For example, I like the soft broad light reflective umbrellas give when photographing several people or families.

Many portraitists seem to prefer softboxes. Whereas umbrellas give more control than a flat reflector, a softbox directs and controls light much better than an umbrella. Softboxes also come in many sizes and shapes depending on use – rectangle, square, octagon, etc.  When viewers see that soft shadowed “Rembrandt style” lighting in a portrait, they can safely assume the photographer used a softbox.

For photographers that want more luminosity than umbrellas and softboxes there is the beauty dish. A beauty dish provides a glowing kind of light, very directional, easy to control, and when used with diffuser it has an attractive smooth light.  There are, of course, many modifications to each of those I have mentioned. Again, it depends on how a photographer wants to apply light to a subject.

My set up isn’t always the same. For example, the flash above and behind me might be either in a softbox or a reflector umbrella, the sidelight could be a small shoot-through umbrella or bounced off a reflector, and backlight directed at the background with only a small dome diffuser covering it.  That’s one quick, effortless setup that I can easily carry in two small bags – one bag for light stands and light modifiers and one for the flash units and my camera. The point is that the light I use is more controllable and attractive than a pop up flash, the sun, or relying on a high ISO.

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Close Enough for a Good Photograph

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Reflections on the Medium of Photography

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This morning as I sat on our front deck I could feel a warm summer like breeze. I drank my coffee, I was reading, and I mused on how much fun spring photography is.  I like to take scenic pictures anytime, whether winter, spring, summer or fall and I feel that with each season’s change comes excitement.

The night before I had been moving some books around in my overflowing photographic library, and I came across an older stack of little booklets distributed by the Hasselblad camera company, and thought I’d review one in particular entitled “Black and White Photography” by Ansel Adams.  I enjoy looking at his photography and especially reading his essays and thoughts on photography.

So as I sat enjoying my coffee it was from that booklet that I chose to read about what Ansel Adams had to say about photography, and I began to reflect on the exciting medium of photography so many of us are passionately involved in.

I don’t know about my regular readers, but I am continually composing pictures of everything, whether I have my camera or not. I see light and shadow and put subjects together mentally in a photograph thinking about what would work in my composition and what wouldn’t.  I also enjoy looking at other photographers’ work, and I thumb through books and choose websites that have photographers’ galleries. Of course that is a great way to learn, but I like looking at photographs and reading what other photographers have to say about photography.

Here is a quote I borrowed from Hasselblad’s “ Black and White Photography” booklet printed in 1980.  While discussing the Art of Photography, Adams explains, “Photography is an analytic medium. Painting is a synthetic medium (in the best sense of the term). Photography is primarily an act of discovery and recognition (based on intention, experience, function, and ego). The photographer cannot escape the world around him. The image of the lens is a dominant factor. His viewpoint, his visualization of the final image and the particular technical procedures necessary to make this visualization valid and effective – these are the essential elements of photography.”

Currently, it is an exciting time period with continual leaps being made in camera technology and both Nikon and Canon have just released spectacular new models. However, I have concern that so many photographers spend so much time talking about equipment and the acquisition of it and that they often forget to think about the photograph.  A friend that I hadn’t seen in months stopped by the other day and all he could talk about was the latest cameras and hoped he had the money to get the newest Nikon.  When I asked him if he had been out doing any interesting photography all he said was “I haven’t really had the time,” and turned the discussion back to camera equipment. I was disappointed that he was more interested in the equipment than about photography.

The latest cameras and lenses are really fun to talk about, but one needs to leave some time to talk about personal photographs made with their cameras and also find more time to actually make those photographs.

In the Hasselblad booklet Adams also discussed black and white photography, but the information on black and white printmaking isn’t applicable to current digital technology. Personally, I really enjoy converting images to black and white, and so for those that are also interested in converting their images to black and white I recommend readers try the computer program Silver EFX pro by http://www.niksoftware.com.

For those who don’t know who Ansel Adams was they should go to http://www.anseladams.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams. Those readers curious about Hasselblad cameras should go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasselblad.

I enjoy almost anything about photography. Talking about it, reading about it, looking at other photographer’s work, and of course, pointing my own camera and releasing the shutter to make my own pictures. In closing here are the words of one of Adam’s contemporaries, Edward Weston. “Photography suits the temper of this age – of active bodies and minds. It is a perfect medium for one whose mind is teeming with ideas, imagery, for a prolific worker who would be slowed down by painting or sculpting, for one who sees quickly and acts decisively, accurately.”

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Planning a Photography Excursion to the tulip festival.

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Now that the February blahs are over, and March has come and gone bringing warmer days (regular readers know how I feel about March, “Ides of March. 15 March 2012”), I am thinking about planning a spring photography excursion.  I am hoping the weather will be cooperative as I don’t enjoy photography in the rain, and don’t want to get my camera equipment wet.  I think I should include some protective rain gear in the event of bad weather.

I would like to go on spring excursion heading west and south and that should give me the best opportunity for photography that will not include snow or cold temperatures.  I want to go somewhere along the coast I think, as spring comes earlier along the west coast and I should have my choice of flowers, landscapes, or any possible wildlife.  A friend phoned last night from Vancouver saying there was green grass, and flowers, and the temperature was 12 degrees, and expected to get warmer.

I just received an email reminding me of the spectacular blooming events along Washington State’s northern coast.  I could attend the 29th Annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival from the 1st to 30th of April.  I know I could link up with other photographers going there from BC, or I could just head to LaConner or some other town on the coast of Washington, find a place to sleep, and join the festivities.  I am not so much a flower person, but like so many other subjects I photograph, I think multicolored fields of tulips would be an interesting photographic challenge. Choices ranging from extreme close-ups to landscapes would be just plain fun.

I don’t tent or RV so I will start browsing the internet for reasonable lodging. I have found fun places to stay in the past by checking out lodging websites, however, I have also ended up by chance in neat places just by going where I want to be and looking around.

If this brings up the question, “Have you ever had bad luck finding a place without advance reservations?”  Oh, yes!  I remember pulling our tiny Suzuki Sidekick off the highway at a roadside rest stop late at night because every hotel and motel was full.  My wife, Linda, and I tried unsuccessfully to spend the night sleeping in that cramped car. Morning came early (4am) and because nothing in the nearby small town was open we drove off tired and hungry. We finally ended up gobbling donuts and coffee hours later at a Tim Horton’s, then later collapsed on a sandy beach beside a lake and slept much of the day away.  Oh well, we will never forget that excursion!

I like to plan and organize such events to include preparing the vehicle, so when the time comes I will ensure the car is tuned up, and the winter tires are changed.  I like lists because I always forget stuff, and so I’ll begin making several brightly colored checklists of the items I will bring, and then I will start looking forward to the photography excursion, and have fun just thinking about the pictures I want to take.

That brings up the best part of planning.  What camera equipment do I bring?  I could bring every lens and camera I have, but that’s just silly as I wouldn’t have any room for a change of clothes.  Too much of the time I over pack my camera gear and end up stashing equipment in the car because it isn’t being used, so I will make an effort to minimize this year.

I don’t like to venture very far with only one camera, so I always carry a backup camera.  Cameras can malfunction and I don’t want to take the chance of reaching my distant destination and not being able to do the photography I went there to do.

Next on the list are the lenses I think I’ll need.  If I attend the tulip festival I’ll need a macro lens for close-up photography and a wide-angle lens for those colourful, flowered landscapes. There will be other opportunities and I’ll bring my 70-200mm and for wide low light opportunities will include a 24-70mm f2.8.  And very important, I will pack lots of memory cards.  By now the camera pack is getting full. That’s three lenses, two camera bodies, and I haven’t yet included my infrared camera that I think I’ll also bring. Oops, there is also my wife’s camera gear. Add her camera, macro lens, and favorite zoom lens, a 70-300mm.

Of course we will take our tripods, that’s a given.  Ahh, the decisions we must make. I just think it is so much fun.  The planning and anticipation of any photographic excursion is as much fun as the actual trip.  Whether I make it to the Washington coast or have to pull back my plans and stay closer to home, I will soon be venturing out camera in hand.

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Photography in Peace River Country

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                                                                                               My wife and I were called away by unfortunate circumstances on a rush trip. The kind where one just points the car, accelerates to 120kpms, selects cruise, and settles in for a long, non-stop drive; in our case, 11 hours from Pritchard to Grimshaw.

In spite of the long hard hours of driving, for a photographer the changing scenery was nothing short of great. We were heading for the northern community of Grimshaw, Alberta. Although I prefer the changing mountains and exotic coast of British Columbia, Alberta is just great. To my eye Alberta seems wide, flat, and pretty much endless without many “bumps” in it’s vast landscape. I remember hearing a joke that “ya can watch your dog run away for a day”. However, my wife informed me that due to the curvature of the earth that we can actually only view 18 miles to the edge of the horizon, so I’ll change that to watching the dog run away for 18 miles.  As I was driving along, watching the western sun slowly going down, it seemed to be in much the same way as I saw it many times while sitting on a sandy pacific ocean beach, I realized that old joke could sometimes be true.

Peace River, which is the major community before Grimshaw, is different. The flat plains suddenly drops and the road leads into a lush, large river valley with lots of bridges. This was the place that would be a perfect to resume my project of photographing bridges.

After all the family welcomes, and catching up with relatives, people had to get away from the food and drink for a while. Some went skeet shooting, some to visit friends, there was last minute shopping, or in my case a cruise around Peace River. Fortunately my niece’s boyfriend, Logan, volunteered to drive me everywhere and anywhere I wanted to go. He had lived in the region all his life and he said “I’ll take you to some cool bridges”, so we bundled into his big pickup.  Those that are familiar with Albertans know that they don’t like the price of gas but won’t give up owning a big four-wheel drive pickup, which is standard operating procedure.

Photographers and non-photographers seem to deal with their worlds differently. Logan was sure all we would do is stop at some viewpoint and I would hang a little camera out the window and snap a picture, however, I loaded my 30lb camera bag containing two DSLR bodies, five lenses and two flashes into his truck. Then when we stopped I got out and told him to leave me, do the chores he had mentioned he needed to do and come back in an hour. “What? You want to be left?”  Yes, photographers and non-photographers do deal with the world differently.  I am a wanderer that has a hard time concentrating on one subject. Sure there was the bridge and I photographed that with both my 16-85mm and 18-200mm, but there was the ice on the river, some old buildings, a boy and girl sitting on a log, a guy sitting in a gazebo playing his guitar, more large chunks of ice, and lots of other stuff that beckoned to me. About 30 minutes after I was dropped off I got a call, and I told them they could find me at a snow-covered park about a mile away.  I was having fun.

Reminding me we were out to photograph the bridges of Peace River, Logan hustled me back to his truck as we headed off, and I thought about how fortunate I was to have such a patient guide. And he had his own stories about every bridge we visited. At this writing I am sure, even with his help I would need several more days to photograph all the bridges. And to do it properly, I would need to take into account that some look better with early morning fog, some with late afternoon light, some in the winter and many deserve the summer.

The next morning I sat my laptop on my in-law’s kitchen table and showed the people the images I had worked on the previous night.  I expect there is a lot more to photograph in Peace River than just bridges but that’s what I focused on this time. Next time who knows? I am easily distracted.

I will say this for those photographers that are looking for a unique experience, northern Alberta certainly has its own distinct charm, and if hospitality is important then this definitely is an area, as one old photographer friend puts it, to put on your “bucket list”.  The 11-hour drive was painful, and next time I think I’ll stop more and overnight at some scenic location. I talked to a family friend that said there’s been an increase in the wolf population in recent years and on my next trip I hope to convince him to help me find some to photograph.  I am easily distracted.

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Cleaning Photographic Sensors and Protecting Lenses

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I have been talking to photographers that have new DSLRs (digital single lens reflex) cameras from Christmas, and some that have even upgraded to newer models.

Those that are now out and about doing photography and tromping around in the already dry and dusty backwoods and fields nearby are wondering what they can do about the small black specks that are showing up in their pictures.  Those tiny specks mean there is dust on the camera sensor and it needs to be removed. My quick statement is don’t get upset, you don’t have to send the camera to the manufacturer’s repair centre. Dust is no big deal.

There has been lots of confusion, fear, and misinformation about removing specks of dust from DSLR cameras. I even had a fellow tell me that removing the dust would void a camera’s warrantee. Well, yes, that is so if he did anything to damage his camera’s sensor, but in most cases cleaning the sensor is pretty easy, takes only a few minutes, and since one rarely needs to come in contact with the sensor there isn’t much chance of damage.

Even those cameras equipped with vibrating sensors that are intended to remove dust from the visible shooting area could still have dust accumulate in the chamber behind the lens mount and it takes almost no effort every now and then to just blow them out with a large blower.

Many photographers (and I was among that group) thought it was OK to go on using old blower brushes, that have been languishing in the bottom of our camera bag for the past several years, which are designed to get dust off a film camera’s reflex mirror. However, what we discovered is that we were blowing years worth of old dried up bits and particles from a deteriorating blower onto our sensors. My advice is to discard them. Modern blowers like the Gittos Rocket Blower are inexpensive, work great, and are a good addition to everyone’s camera gear.

As I just wrote, it is easy. I give my camera a quick once over before every important photography event.  My personal method is to remove the lens, and turn the shutter dial to the lowest speed until the word “bulb” appears. Then hold the shutter release so the shutter will open showing the sensor. I hold the camera mount side down and using my large rocket blower, blow into the opening in every direction. Then replace the lens that I have also gone over, blowing off dirt and dust with the blower. Next, go outside aim at the blue sky and make an exposure. (I put the lens on manual so it doesn’t hunt for something to focus on.)  Then I check that exposure on my computer, and if there is still dust visible, I do everything again.  Please note that many cameras have a cleaning feature that will lock the shutter open. Check the camera’s manual to use that. I guess I am just lazy; selecting “bulb” is quick and easy.

There are special brushes and procedures for cleaning sensors that have particles that are stuck. I have two brushes from http://www.visibledust.com. However, during the years I have been using digital cameras I have rarely needed to use them. For those that do worry about continually doing photography in dusty locations and want the latest cleaning technology check out VisibleDust’s website.

There also are photographers looking for accessories like protective filters and lens hoods.  Protective filters have come a long way. At one-time photographers attached UV (ultra violet), or skylight (or haze filters) onto our lenses to not only prevent scratches on the front glass, but to change the way the light affected the film. There were several levels of UV and skylight filters depending on how much one wanted to reduce the blue light of early spring or high mountain locations. Today’s digital cameras and post-production programs easily correct the colour balance of different lighting conditions, so photographers really don’t have as much requirement for the colour correcting filters that were a must when using film.  I think those old filters aren’t used so much as filters as they are for protection of expensive lenses from damage.

Depending on where one receives advice they may be told not to put them on lenses because they aren’t up to the “quality of our lens glass”.  I recall the quote that has been around for as long as I have been making pictures, “Don’t put a ten dollar filter on a thousand dollar lens”.  That sounds like good advice, however, it usually comes from those who have a lot more money to spend on new lenses than I do.  However, I keep protective UV, skylight (or haze), or clear “filters” on all my lenses as I have seen too many photographers walk into my shop with scratched lenses that they cannot afford to replace.

As I write about these things, I urge readers to consider providing additional protection (other than a padded case) for lenses. For that, another useful apparatus to protect lenses is a lens hood.  The lens hood not only takes the front impact of a dropped lens, it blocks the glare from the sun and other reflective objects.  I recommend using a lens hood because of that light-blocking feature.  Light coming from the side, above or below can either cause a flare, or actually reduce contrast in pictures. Some lenses come with lens hoods, and that’s great because it means they are fitted so they don’t vignette (darken) the corners of wide-angle lenses.  Most lens manufacturers have lens hoods that are optionally available for an additional cost, but also there are non-specific, inexpensive, rubber hoods that fit the front of the lens filter threads. The rubber type folds back out of the way when it is packed away in a tight fitting camera bag.

I recommend that readers purchase lens hoods, filters, and blowers. The protection from dust, scratches or even broken lenses is worth the investment.

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Some thoughts on Post-Production and photography

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During the time period of film photography people rarely commented on the fact that professional images were manipulated or retouched.  Photographers used oils, dyes, special pencils, small paintbrushes, and airbrushes.  These tools were used to open eyes that were closed, to whiten discoloured teeth, to improve hair and clothing colours, to remove and replace backgrounds, and to turn black and white images into colour photographs. To increase the contrast one could select special filters, paper, or chemicals. However, in all my years of using film to make photographs I do not recall anyone being critical of that post-processing by saying that the work done by photographers to original images, after shutter release and processing negatives, removed that image from the realm of photography.

I bring this up because last week a friend stopped by and told me that after showing some of his work to a local camera club, that he was criticized soundly because he advised members that when he made the original exposures he always kept in mind how he would finish the photos using PhotoShop. He said that he always “tweaked” his studio photography and was surprised that it bothered some people.  Personally, I think it is that “tweaking” that help make his images so good, and they are very good photographs in my opinion.

Since the introduction of digital many photography contests and exhibitions exclude images that have been post-processed. I do understand that those organizations want to show the photographer’s talents at capturing an image and not retouching skills. However, it must be very hard to apply that restriction when many of the latest cameras can post-process (reprocess might be a better word) the original images in-camera using computer software supplied by the manufacturer.

There are those that consider themselves purists and loudly denounce programs like PhotoShop, although I don’t know what a purist really is in this technological time, because most images are no longer made on light sensitized material and are now computer generated image data files.

Photojournalists are expected to capture the truth about some event or subject and should not be altering the original image in any way.  But artists?  The work in question was studio photographs of custom motorcycles, which in my view easily fits in the realm of photographic fine art, and, certainly, not photojournalism. I suppose it depends upon whom the photograph is for and who the viewing audience will be.

I do not usually work as a photojournalist, and those that do get my respect when they are able to pull interesting photographs out of what are sometimes are pretty crappy conditions for a photographer.  In my opinion, those photographers that don’t work for magazines or newspapers should include post-processing as part of photographic methodology. It’s all about making the best possible photograph for others to see.

My portrait clients expect that I will post-process, and I usually tell them I intend to. I try to light in a way that not only looks good at the moment the shutter clicks, but makes it easy for me to enhance in post-production. I employ not only PhotoShop, but I also use other programs made by NIKsoftware.com and OnOnesoftware.com. And personally, I would never let anyone see images of mine that were not post-processed, because I know I can improve and enhance them in post-production.

My point is that photographers have been retouching their photographs for years, perhaps since photographers started making pictures for the pleasure of others. Now it is just easier than ever before, and so is taking a photograph for that matter.  There may be instances where the way an image is produced should be limited to how the camera’s sensor captured it, but I think something must be left to the photographer’s vision, and producing that vision might need a little help from post-production programs like PhotoShop. There is nothing like a well-executed photograph hanging on a wall for the enjoyment of all to see.

My website: www.enmanscamera.com