And the September Photographer of the Month is . . .

Gilbert Portugal!    Congratulations, Gilbert!! 

At our club meeting on Wednesday night we asked if anyone had any photo tips they would like to share. I took a chance with sharing some that I use, but first I’d like to talk about the camera menu. This is the most important thing that a person new to digital photography or that is switching brands or just upgrading their current brand to a later model can learn. You will find all kinds of good info in the menu that will make the camera work for you. The book that comes with the camera has all of this written in it but it is very hard to read and even harder to understand. I think they were all written by someone that speaks some language that is spoken by a tribe that was just found last week in the deep jungles of New Guinea. On top of that it was translated by someone that never learned to read in any language. After two nights and 9 cups of Starbucks double whatever coffee, I finally took the damn thing and threw it in the dresser drawer along with the rest of the manuals that I have managed to collect over the years. I than found out that camera manufacturers have a PDF file available on line for free that is much better to read, but still not perfect. After two more nights of more Starbucks coffee I was finally getting the hang of the camera, of course by this time my brain had exploded.

I longed for my old 1969 Nikon F. The manual had 5 pages that told you how to put the film in, where the aperture ring was, and where to change the shutter speed, it was not as thick as the Orange County Yellow pages. Kodak packed a sheet of paper with every roll of film that gave basic exposure information which I finally figured out after I had spent 150.00 dollars on film and processing. I finally took that PDF file and threw that in the same drawer with rest of the instruction manuals. Remember I’m a man, we only read instruction manuals after sitting in the emergency room for 9 hours waiting to get our thumb sewn up after we used the brand new electric carving knife on Thanksgiving Day. The reason why they make kids wear helmets when riding their bikes is because dad had some extra stuff left over after putting the bike together on Christmas Day, and the front wheel fell off the first time they rode it. Another 9 hour trip to the emergency room, thank God you can’t fall of a camera.

I found out that the best way for me to learn my way around the camera menu was just to sit down and start going through the menu line by line. I found out that every line had a sub-menu, and that had more lines, and more sub menus. The first time I found the clock, I was then able to set the time so the files would have the correct time on them, this is very important when you are using two cameras. This is very important when loading files in Lightroom, because you have files that are now out of order, and you know how you shot them. I also found that this camera has a built in level. I never use it but if I have to level a table or something I don’t have to run out to the garage, I can just use the camera. Cameras are so sophisticated now that they can tell where the closest Starbucks is while driving across Kansas, oh no that’s my iPhone.

I spent many a night with the TV watching me while I got familiar with where things were, and how to get to them fast, I now have my camera set so that I can to get to any of the important menu items in just a few clicks, I know were the exposure compensation button is, and more important which way to turn the dial to up or down to get what I want. Instead of reading the paper with your morning coffee, grab the camera and go through the menu, every day. Don’t forget to save those newspapers that you didn’t read, you can always read them on Sunday afternoon and catch up on what happens doing the week.

Every time you see something new take a picture, and see what that does, if you like it fine, if not delete the image, remember those pixels are free. They don’t care if you throw them away, they just come back empty.

When you learn your menu you are now on the way to telling the camera what you want it to do, instead of it telling you what it wants to do.

Keep shooting. . .

Some people think they don't know enough about photography to write critiques. This isn't true. To
write a useful critique, you need only three things:
- a reasonably decent monitor to view the photos
- at least one functioning eye
- a desire to help by writing honestly and constructively

And the August Photographer of the Month is . . .

Phil Olson!    Congratulations!! 

I have been passionate about photography since high school. Many people may not remember them, but I actually saved S&H green stamps to buy my FIRST camera - a Brownie 20.  I distinctly remember taking my first photography class in college. I used a twin lens reflex Yashica-Mat EM. It was the first time I processed film myself and I had no idea that I was supposed to be in the dark room (no light).  I opened the film in the lab and loaded what I had shot for the week’s class and processed it.  I was shocked when none of the photos came out. It was not fun!   Next, I went on an all expenses paid tour on Southeast Asia for the government for about two years. It was an experience that allowed me to learn how to shoot many different things. But the most fun I had during that two years was shooting my new Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SLR (and I had someone other then myself do the processing!).   It wasn’t until later in life that I discovered digital photography. And I decided it was time for and upgrade from film to a digital IE Minolta DiMAGE 7i. Buying a digital camera however, did change my approach to photography. I still shoot like I’m just shooting film snapshots. It has been years now since I restarted my photography hobby. I have graduated to a Canon DSLR shooting most of the time full manual, RAW.  I really love shooting architecture and structures, but I have also learned that if I want this hobby pay me, I need to shoot people as well. And once again, I’m discovering and learning new things about photography. I just finished shooting my first wedding and it was a truly rewarding experience.