What is Digital Photography?

Digital photography is a process that begins with seeing the world, and then works toward an image that tells a visual story of that experience. Expensive equipment and perhaps even talent do not always make for a better story. You may need those if you seek to be rich or famous, and those fancier gadgets sure are fun. But, stories come in all sizes and shapes. Some are a little dark and even a bit out of focus, but they are all unique stories and I would like to see as many as possible.

Well, maybe that attempts to describe my interpretation of photography. The other part - the digital part - means some kind of technology was used to assist in this visual story telling. This typically implies electronics. Today, that usually means computers. So, seeing, electronics and computers all play a part in the process of digital photography.

What better way do describe this digital photography process than through an image? My interpretation of this image is shown in the figure above. We use this overview to help beginners see a bigger picture when learning about DP. You can download a jpg copy of this image from the handouts section of the sidebar.

FREE Photo Editing software

If you need something more than the programs that came with your camera (although you might take some time and explore that CD that came in the box, it could have some real goodies) below are my favorite three. All of them are good, I mean really good, and all are free!

First is Picasa .
This started off as something Google gave away to manage your photo collection and has grown to a really powerful tool for the average digital photographer. It is more than adequate for managing your files, with extra features like the experimental tool "search by color". It has a quick and dirty collection of editing tools, like sharpen, straighten, and fill light to name my favorites. If you do a good job with the camera, Picasa might be all you need to give your photo that last bit of snap. Finally Picasa rounds out its tool collection with a slide show maker, a collage maker, a movie maker (with sound), and of course the ability to store your images on the web via Picasa Web Albums. We use it in many of our workshops and here at the palzot blog.

Irfanview
This has been around even longer that Picasa. Its user interface is a bit more stark than some of the modern software, but it is fast, really fast! Its greatest strength is viewing photos and all the EXIF tags contained within, but it has plenty of image manipulation power too, like resizing, renaming, color depth change, converting to gray-scale, and a panorama maker. Make sure you go to the .net site not the .us one. The current version is 4.23.

Gimp

Now if you need all the extra stuff like layers, selections, channels, cloning, dodging-burning, but don't want to spend any money, than there is the Gimp. Wow! this baby is loaded. It works in Windows XP and Vista, Mac OSX, and Linux and is available for free download at the web site. I just downloaded and installed version 2.6.4 for Windows and all went without a hitch. Everything about this program shouts fantastic, including the attitude of the community that develops and supports it. I am committed to spending more time learning and using this wonderful program. By the way, UFRaw makes a free plugin that allows Gimp to work with RAW images.

Other Gimp links:
http://www.gimptalk.com/
http://members.home.nl/m.weisbeek/gimp/

Leaf Assignment

Find a short easily reached branch - one that is dormant now, but will have plenty of leaves in the summer. It would be great if it was covered with snow. Each week (possibly more often), photograph the branch as it buds, and finally blossoms. You may consider turning on the date stamp when you take the pictures. When May comes turn your collection of stills into a video.
Using your camera this way, not only uses your creative energies but also lets you have some fun with science and nature. This is a great one for kids of all ages.

In my experiment the images were completed by using the "still-mode" on a Sony video camera. A still camera will have much sharper images. You will notice that the date stamp was turned on.

Another iPhone Photo

While walking, I noticed a wild iris and thought this might make for another interesting iPhone experiment. So, I hung out over the boardwalk, got about 6 inches from the flower, waited for the breeze to pause, and took this shot.

Here's the behind the scene story.
I made 6 exposures with 2 of them usable. Four of them were using my Griffin Clarifi close-up lens/case and the two acceptable shots came from these four. This little case is on my iPhone all the time. It offers some protection for the phone and has a close-up lens that slides in front of the phone's lens when needed. I like it. With this tool you can focus as close as 4 inches. Check it out at http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/clarifi?ICID=2.

The cropping was pretty close, to what I wanted, right from the camera, but I was not comfortable with the sharpness. I use an iPhone app known as Photogene. This took care of sharpening and a little tweaking with the exposure. Both these tools work well using Photogene and they can all be done from within the camera.

My point is, that you can tell a photographic story with almost any equipment. Get out there with your camera -everything looks better, when you start making photographs!

Oh, Ya... I know not everybody lives in Florida, and has irises growing outdoors at this time. Well to get you in the spirit of spring too, take a look at the next blog, Leaf Assignment.

Can the iPhone be used as a camera?

Ah... Yes. But, you must remember its limitations. Try photographing things that fall within the exposure and focus ranges of this camera's humble little sensor and lens. Think in terms of limitation not "wow, if I only had my other camera...". I find that a great deal of the wonder of photography comes by depending on your own ingenuity, instead of the equipment.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a gadget freak. I have bought more cameras than I care to admit, and I still have more yet to buy, but every now and then I find it exciting to work with a limited tool. Besides the iPhone is usually with me.

Now, with all this said, every so often I am going to talk about iPhone camera stuff., like apps and accessories, and show you an iPhoto like this one of the flower. At the same time, I would like to know what you think and tell us of your adventures iPhotoing.

Butterflies, Rocks, and an Alligator

Check out the new You Tube video links in the sidebar! You will find a cute little video of an aligator eating a fish. Look carefully, because the fish the gator is eating is eating a fish of its own.

This kind of a video is best done with a zoom lens.

Ave Maria

One of my favorite photographers, dragonfly, recently spent a short time photographing at Ave Maria, just outside Naples, in Southwest Florida. This little community, with it's cultural and academic resources, looks like a great photo adventure. We plan to return for more photographs.

Digital Photography Handouts

This is a list of handouts used in workshops. It will continue to grow as time goes on and will be re-posted as needed. Anyone can download a copy by clicking on the linked name

Digital Camera Checklist - a list of camera features saved in spreadsheet format

The sidebar, Handouts, will contain links to currently available handouts.

Do You Mean Me?

Link to my YouTube videos

Please notice the new YouTube link on the right side frame. The two videos (Quartz Crystals and Ant Journey) were saved using the name of pashzot.

Assignment Calendar - Spring 2009

100 Doorways "Assignment"

The slide show, 100 Doorways, displays a few samples of an assignment I gave myself some years back. The assignment was to photograph over 100 doorways in black and white.

Photo Assignments

Giving yourself a photographic assignment is a great way to revitalize your enthusiasm for photography. By forcing yourself to "look" at the world in a specific way, you will start feeling good about using your camera. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Colors:
Create images that are all black, or blue and yellow, or shades of red

Shapes:
Look for subjects that are circles, or perfectly square, or pyramids.

Black & White:
Take photos of subjects that will have a more interesting mood when you get them back to the computer and turn them into grey scale or even pure black and white.

Macros:
This is my favorite. Look for images that will be photographed at a distance of less than 1 foot, or less than 1 inch.

Architecture:
All kinds of possibilities exist here. Try churches, old buildings, doorways, or skyscrapers.

Hobbies:
Try something that is based on one of your hobbies, or even one that is not your hobby.
Cooking, stamps, knitting are some ideas to get you started.

Moods:
This one is a lot more challenging. Try photographing happiness, sadness, or excitement.

You get the idea. Turn a couple of hours into a photographic assignment. Maybe go out with a few other photographers.

Leave a comment telling us of your favorite assignment topic.

It's not in color.