New Beginnings

The last little while we have been talking about shrinking our gear down due to the sheer weight of it. We have traveled the last couple of years and I’m telling you, after carrying that heavy bag through many airports alone, I was more than ever ready for a change.

Full frame DSLR kits are a chore to carry around, that’s for sure. I had shot Nikons for several years and I love that stuff. I’d accumulated some top notch glass and it I’ll miss that stuff for a long time. Our new stuff is fine quality but it feels very different.

I have to just get past my old gear and embrace the new stuff and get on with it.Nat-Geo hasn’t been calling me wanting my work and at my age that isn’t likely to happen. :) It’s time for me to go lighter and be happy, it’s a hobby, something to be enjoyed, right?

We went to the Micro Four Thirds sensor. Considerably smaller than our full frame monsters, therefore a smaller size and noticeably lighter gear! I DO like that! But what about quality? This photo is a hawk we found nearby and it was posing so nicely in that beautiful light, I even overlooked the choice of perches.

New Tools

One of the things I like about photography and post processing is that sometimes you learn a new trick or tool and it opens new doors for your creativity. I discovered Gradient Maps in photoshop and have found a couple of interesting places to use it. This is using an orange gradient map and I like it. I’m not great with colours but under the correct circumstances I will try out some things.

As always, comments always welcome.

Confederation Bridge in Black and White

I like a good black and white image. The trouble is that not all images work as well as others but I feel that this one works quite well. The use of black and white helps us to look at more, we see the forms, shapes and lines much easier for one thing.

Why should I print Photographs?

In the beginning, photography was a print media for the most part. People shared their photographs as prints, they put together photo albums, we all had them in our homes and from time to time, we would flip through them remembering the times or the people in the photographs. With the switch over to digital, a few things changed with it. People began taking more pictures for one thing, but more importantly, they don't print very much any more. Your town or city has definitely seen a decline in places where you can even print images these days. There is something about actually holding a photograph in your hands and viewing it that just doesn't compare to any computer screen or even projection of the image. To me, the print is the finished product of photography.

Another interesting thing to keep in mind is that some storage medias aren’t going to last forever. For instance, CD/DVDs are subject to possible degradation, especially the cheaper ones. All the more reason to print up some photos! My wife and I have begun to print some special examples for our walls. It looks great and we get to remember great times via these prints. We also have been known to give away a print or two as well. I strongly recommend printing some images, big or small to enjoy, after all that’s what we produce them for, isn’t it?

Photo of the Week # 225

I’m old enough that I have shot film. I remember the days of taking film to the store and having to wait to see my pictures. Back at that time, my pictures were just snapshots but that anticipation of seeing those prints was there just the same. Nowadays, what do we do with photos taken? The vast majority live out their days on a hard drive somewhere and don’t see the light of day. Some get put on Instagram or some other social media to collect likes.

I believe that there is something missing from so many workflows these days……..prints. There is nothing quite like holding a print of your work in your hands, something substantial for your efforts. Lately both my wife and I are taking advantage of our hard work and we have printed out a few of our things to hang in our home. What a feeling of satisfaction comes from that!

Obviously we can’t print out everything we do, we don’t have enough walls, but once in awhile you have that special piece that you just want to see large. Surely you have photos that mean something for various reasons, trips to far off places, family times, or just a special photo that you’re proud of. Why not make up a print and hang it on your wall, or maybe give away as a gift? In my opinion, the print is the final step in the photographic process, don’t just store those images on a hard drive for no one to ever see.