The Orange Kenworth

A cool Kenworth came into our shop yesterday. It had this striking high contrast black and orange paint job, which really caught my eye. Every once and a while a nice truck like this pulls in. Most of the trucks just have solid color fleet paint jobs with some stenciling. Usually when we get something different like this I snap a quick pic with my cell phone for a keep sake. But this time I used my DSLR and I’m glad I did. I found an angle I really liked and decided to do a photo manipulation to it for printing. Having the RAW files combined with the higher resolutions give me the room I need to be as creative as I want.

Orange Kenworth

Orange Kenworth

 

The Path Ahead

The Path Ahead

This photo has special meaning to me. We were at Avalon, a great scenic park not to far from where we live. I was changing lenses out when I noticed my eight year old had walked up ahead of us. She was just about to walk out of the woods. She was exploring on her own. The way the trees framed her and the contrast of the dark interior of the woods to the bright sunlight at the opening sparked emotion in me. I took many pictures this day but this one was my favorites and for me, defined that day. Just her walking down a path on her own symbolized that one day, in the not too far future that she will be her on her own. Making her own choices and decisions. How my wife and I work so hard to help with her struggles and to support her. One day she will have to walk that path alone, with out having us around to help. Just hoping we’ve made the right choices and give her the tools she needs to be successful. The more I go back and look at this photo the more attachment I put to it.

Have smart phones really changed photography?

 

Lately I’ve read a lot of articles on how smart phones have changed photography. On either how intuitive it is, or how now the lines are blurred between a cell phone and high end camera, or how it forces you to be more creative blah blah blah. This one article on the Verve in particular really pushed me over the edge to even write this. This article is written by pro photographer, James Bareham

“Post process why the smartphone camera changed photography forever, Or how a pro fell in love with photography again” The author makes these comparisons of web shots shot by various cameras and an iPhone. Then proceeds to say how the iPhone is the better choice of camera. Also the sample comparison images were “safe.” The best possible lighting conditions and displayed small in size. No night photos, low light or interior pics were shown, although we know how they would have looked. But stating iPhones are better than dedicated cameras is a weird trend right now. Also in the title, “Or how a pro fell in love with photography again.” To me when you make that statement, it tells me you aren’t enjoying what you are doing now. Maybe the guy is burnt out from doing professional work and found happiness taking candid shots with a cell phone. At least that’s how I read it.

The biggest changes I have seen isn’t what most people are talking about. I believe there are two areas where cell phones in addition to social networking have impacted photography. First is less people are buying point and shoot cameras and secondly less people are printing their photos. Just like the way people used to share their 4”x6” prints a decade ago. They now share them on social networking and are content with viewing them on their 4”x5” screens.Here’s an article  that shows how DSLR sales are up while point and shoot sales are down.

Another thing I see pop up in the cell phone vs camera debate is, “A cell phone forces you to be more creative.” The creativity is up to you, the individual. Not the equipment. Maybe more resourceful to over come lighting limitations, distance ect, but certainly not more creative. Take a look at Digital Revs excellent series “Professional Photographer Cheap Camera Challenge” on Youtube and you’ll see the difference between creativity and resourcefulness. Hands down a DSLR will always give you more creative tools at your disposal. And I’m not talking about included filters that are on some cameras but the ability to control light and exposure. More usable ISO ranges, shutter speed, lens options. Bottom line you still have to compose your shot, and have something interesting to take a picture of no matter what camera you are using. After all a nice photo is a nice photo regardless of what it was shot with.