Professional Photography : cameras

The DIY Urge is Alive and Well in Photography

Eileen Fritsch — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:16:00 GMT

Because modern photographic equipment is so technological, many assume there is little you can do yourself to solve problems, and that every “solution” must be bought. But this is not the case.

On Digital ImageMaker, I recently wrote about the GigaPan Epic, a motorized camera platform for shooting panoramas and creating gigapixel-resolution images by stitching. That got me thinking about the do-it-yourself (DIY) mentality in general.

The Epic motorized platform is designed to enable people to mount compact point-and-shoot digital cameras on the platform and shoot huge panoramas. It does this brilliantly. For Digital ImageMaker, I reviewed the base model for point-and-shoots. But the company that makes GigaPan Epic also offers a more expensive model, with an adjustment that lets you mount a somewhat larger camera, including some compact DSLRs.

When I looked more closely at the basic model for point-and-shoots, I saw that it would be quite easy to adapt the unit so it could hold a larger camera. After a little bit of thinking, it took me about a half an hour to solve the problem. I simply used a $3 piece of aluminum, a hand electric drill and a device to tap a thread in a hole. Click here to see the solution I devised. This adjustment allowed me to mount a Canon 350D which I had converted to shoot infrared. Thus, I was able to use the Gigapan to do infrared panoramas, such as the one shown here.

But the DIY mentality doesn’t end with shooting. For my inkjet printer, I’ve built a small angled platform that allows me to readily feed sheets of aluminum that I’ve pre-treated with an inkjet-receptive coating.

Other devices I have built include a small-but-useful macro light that I assembled from some batteries, a couple of bright white LEDs and a switch.

Being willing to try building things myself has solved a number of photographic problems without requiring me to spend a lot of extra money on new accessories.

On the Internet, an active DIY community exists within photographic circles. One I have found fascinating is the active community of camera software hackers. It turns out that some Canon digital cameras have firmware (the software built into the camera that controls its processor) that can be modified. These modifications can open up new functions that Canon never intended for that model, such as RAW file capability, intervalvometer functions (setting the camera to take an image every so often), and much more. The CHDK software acts as an add-on to the existing firmware.

One can only imagine what wonderful things would result if camera manufacturers would open up their cameras to add-on software in the same manner as your computer or iPhone. It would be even more wonderful if they would make it easy to add this new software.

YouTube has wonderful videos on all sorts of DIY endeavors. For example, one clip I found amazing showed a Japanese photographer who has modified a scanner to act as a camera. Click here to see the YouTube video of the resulting scanner-cam. The resulting images have been posted on Flickr. There are in fact many people actively converting scanners into cameras.

Other creative do-it-yourselfers have experimented with inkjet-receptive coatings and inkjet-transfer films to create stunning works of art on different types of metals, marble, wood, and fresco materials. The best known in this field is the trio of great artists: Dorothy Simpson Krause, Bonny Lhotka, and Karin Schminke, who form the Digital Atelier. Bonny has even created her own inkjet-receptive coating that she shows how to use in the DVD training courses she sells on her Digital Art Studio Seminars website.

Certain areas of photography seem more DIY-oriented than others. Areas such as astro-photography and macrophotography have a long tradition of DIY solutions to various problems.

Studio lighting is also an active area for DIY projects, with people making their own lighting rigs and light-modification screens, etc.

Panorama photographers have often made their own rigs. But perhaps the biggest single area of DIY activity is pinhole photography. Many of us have done something in the area, either by drilling a hole in a DSLR body cap and mounting a piece of aluminum foil or by making a whole pinhole film camera.

Indeed many companies that now provide digital-imaging products started as DIYers working at home in their basements or garages. When they found out there was a small market for their inventions, they went from there. Indeed, many companies start out in the garage, including corporate giants such as Hewlett Packard and Apple.

The reward that comes from doing it yourself is not just that of saving a bit of money. When you do things yourself, it makes your photography different from everyone else’s, either because you can do something they can’t, or you are doing it in a different way.

Another benefit is the opportunity to recycle items that might otherwise end up in a landfill.

Plus, there is the satisfaction that comes from making something with your own hands. This is important to those of us who spend a lot of our time working on the computer each day.

Personally, I get a huge sense of satisfaction from identifying a problem, finding the solution and making it work.

If you are a DIY-oriented person, don’t let the technological sophistication of modern devices intimidate you and stop you from trying a project or two. You don’t necessarily have to get engaged with the electronics or software to make meaningful improvements that can help your photography as well as other people’s work. Give it a go.

Bit Depth Basics: More Than a Numbers Game

Eileen Fritsch — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:58:00 GMT

By David Saffir

One of the most under-appreciated features of newer-model DSLRs is their ability to capture images with greater bit depth. Bit depth is a way of quantifying the amount of color information in each recorded pixel. It is also a key component of high-level image quality. In this post, we’ll look first at the numbers. Then, we’ll talk about what these numbers mean in terms of dynamic range, color fidelity, and highlight/shadow detail. These are key attributes that influence the quality of the final print.

Not long ago, most cameras functioned in 8-bit mode. Then the higher-end DSLRs became capable of using 12-bit capture. Now they are up to 14-bit, which is a huge benefit to photographers. If you don’t understand bit depth, these may sound like incremental improvements. But they are actually exponential improvements.

To see what I mean, let’s start with a brief review of the numbers. It is simple but non-intuitive:

· There are three primary colors (or color channels) in each captured digital image: red, green, and blue.

· Bit depth describes the number of tone gradations (or intensities of color) provided in each pixel. Most digital images are captured and/or stored in 8-bit, 12-bit, 14-bit, or 16-bit mode.

§ An 8-bit image has 256 tone gradations in each of the three color channels;

§ A 12-bit image has 4,096 tone gradations in each color channel;

§ A 14-bit image has 16,384 tone gradations in each color channel; and

§ A 16-bit image has 65,536 tone gradation in each color channel.

Another way to look at the depth of an image file: A 16-bit image file is twice as big as an 8-bit file.

The major benefit of working with high-bit images is increased dynamic range— the range of tones and detail that the camera can record from the darkest dark to lightest light.

One software company, DXO, now provides public access to its database on camera performance. Here are some examples of the differences between 12-bit, 14-bit, and 16-bit capture:

· The Nikon D2X captures images in 12-bit mode when shooting in RAW format; its dynamic range is rated at 10.9.

· The Nikon D3 captures in 14-bit mode; its dynamic range is rated at 12.2.

Dynamic range is measured like f/stops: an increase of one step is a doubling of dynamic range. That’s a big, big difference.

There is also a noticeable upside in image editing, and in the appearance of the final print.

Figure 1 above is a screen shot of a 16-bit image being edited. Note that the histogram is smooth and even, and shows no breaks or lines.

Figure 2 above shows a screen shot of an 8-bit version of the same image. Note the white lines running vertically in this histogram. These are sometimes called drop-outs, and they show information that is lost when the image is edited . These losses can result in color distortions, posterization, color aliasing, and more.

We lose information every time we edit or manipulate an image. So, the more image information we have to start with, the more information that is available to us as we progress in our workflow.

It pays to set up your workflow to protect as much image information as you can for as long in the process as possible. Most printer drivers can handle high-bit images without difficulty. In my own workflow, I only use 8-bit images for web publishing, e-mail, and the like.

Image-editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom are now set up to use high-bit images. And Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop provide pretty much the same editing tools for 8-bit images and high-bit images, making workflow choices easier for the photographer. This is all good news for those of us who love creating the most detailed and beautiful prints possible.

What’s re-complicating printing workflows right now is the fact that Adobe Photoshop Lightroom uses a bigger color space—ProPhoto RGB instead of Adobe RGB. But we’ll leave a discussion of printing through Lightroom to a future post.

If you have any specific questions about bit depth, I would welcome your comments.

Working a Subject or Location to Get More Shots

Eileen Fritsch — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:28:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

When you are shooting, no matter what your subject, it is important to make the most of what you have. You should strive to get as many different types of images as possible while you have the time and opportunity to work in a given location or with a particular subject.

Whatever your type of photography, you will have a subject. That subject could be:

a person or a group of people if you’re a portrait or wedding photographer
an object or set of objects if you’re a food, still life or commercial photographer
a building or interior if you’re an architectural photographer,
a location if you’re a landscape or travel photographer

And whether you’re a full-time photographer, semi-pro, or amateur, there are always limits on your time. So it makes sense, purely from a time perspective, to make the most of any shooting that you do. Beyond your time, there is also the time of your subject or client to consider.

Plus, you must take into account all of the possible ways the images you shoot today might be used in the future. It can be very frustrating to discover, long after a shoot, that you do not have the right image.A big difference between amateur and professional photographers is the number of images they shoot. Typically, a pro will take many more images of a given subject. No matter what your subject, do you take as many images as you could?

Let’s look at some ways to vary what you are doing so you have more images to work with.

Use more than one lens.
Different focal lengths provide different perspectives and allow you to get closer to or further away from the subject. They also give you other things, such as close focusing with a macro or tilt and shift with a TS lens or a Lensbaby. But do you always make use of all the possibilities? This is where several camera bodies come in handy. You can switch lenses quickly just by grabbing a different body. This is particularly true in situations in which there is changing light or a lot of movement.

Vary the lighting.
When possible, do you vary the lighting? This could be shooting with and without reflectors, fill light, changing the angle of the light, modifying its qualities with scrim or such. Or, you can move around the subject so that you explore not only how the subject itself looks from different angles, but how the subject responds to light from different angles. In some cases you can return at different times of day or even times of the year. Don’t forget shooting at night.

Use your camera controls.
You can vary the depth of field, choice of focus point, or shutter speed to remove, reduce or enhance motion effects and much more. How does the subject respond to different amounts of image noise by varying the sensitivity? Would bracketing be useful? Are there any special capabilities of your cameras that you could try?

Go multi-spectral.
Digital cameras, and film cameras with the right film, can do more than just capture the visible spectrum. You can shoot ultra-violet and infrared. You can use filters or later processing to remove or modify parts of the visible spectrum. Some subjects respond extremely well to such treatment. I shoot most of my landscapes in infrared.

Vary the point of view.
The point of view is where you shoot from. You can shoot from ground level, up high, above, below (with some ingenuity) or anywhere in between. Often we just shoot the world from eye level, but this is so limiting. Force yourself to try different positions and see what the result is.

Expand the subject.
Even if you have a definite idea of what the subject is, shoot around it. Expand the scene by shooting what is going on further afield. For example, instead of just shooting an interior, shoot the view out the windows. Shoot the environment of a portrait subject especially if you’re shooting outside of the studio and in the subject’s office or home. Look for reflections of the subject in other surfaces.

All the above are just some examples of different ways of working the subject. The reality is that there are an infinite number of images that could be shot, so you will never get them all. The goal is to get more than you do now.

But why is having more better? Here are some reasons:

Future uses, especially collages and montages, may need a particular type of shot;
Changing ideas may mean you need a different image than you thought, even now;
Your creativity will improve the more you work a scene, leading you to see new possibilities;
A client will really feel they are getting their money’s worth;
It is better to do it now rather than reshoot later.

It is far better to have more images from which to choose than later wishing you had shot something you did not. This is especially true in the digital age when the cost of capturing an image is so low and the range of possible uses so high.

Shoot more.

Remembering Film

Eileen Fritsch — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:08:00 GMT

By Marc Aguilera

If you've been shooting digital for awhile (or if that is all you've ever known), try shooting some film while it's still available. There is something different about shooting film that you miss if you're totally absorbed in digital.

Although film may no longer be the predominant method of image capture, the glory days of shooting and scanning film aren't that far behind us. Those of us who started out shooting film still have lots and lots of negatives and transparencies that we regard as integral parts of our archives.

I have many images on film that I would never be able to recreate digitally. One of the best characteristics of film is the texture and grain of the emulsion - how an image records on a particular brand of film. I was always partial to Ilford Pan F and Kodak Tri-X Black and White Negative Film (which happily I can still buy).

I learned about all of the subtle characteristics of different films when I worked in a pro camera shop in my younger days. We sold everything photographic, for both amateurs and professionals. Our store even sold used camera and darkroom equipment. So, I had access to many types of film and some great gear, including large-format cameras and lenses I could never afford at the time. I even shot the BW slide film from Agfa called Scala. I loved that film.

When digital imaging entered the scene, I got involved in the new process of scanning film. I worked with expensive drum scanners such as the Scanview Scanmate and the Crossfield Magnascan. Over time the prices of high-powered scanners have fallen so much that I now have my own 4800-ppi scanner that scans everything from 35 mm negs and transparencies to 8 x 10 negs and transparencies as well as flat artwork. You would think that my scanner would sit idle but actually it gets lots of use. Now that I co-own a design agency there is always a need to scan something.

When shooting film you have no instant verification of either the exposure or the composition. (I suppose you could use a Polaroid back, but it's never the same thing.) When I shot Ilford Pan F I had no idea what the neg would look like or if the capture was even in focus. Plus my beloved camera was mostly manual (I shot the rugged Nikon FM2 – a lifelong favorite) with a built in light meter that told me if the exposure was right on or over/under exposed by giving me a red led +,O, or -sign.

There was always a bit of mystery until I developed the film and printed a proof sheet. Watching the images appear in the darkroom was a magical process that I really enjoyed. Now, I am so grateful to have had "my time in the darkroom." Looking through my proof sheets today I feel a real sense of nostalgia that I miss with digital images. There is something about the material aspect of a proof sheet that I like.

All of the images shown below were shot on black-and-white negative film then scanned on my desktop scanner. Of course, I have used Nik Software to do some tonal editing, but we'll leave that for another post.

For now, if it's been awhile since you've shot film, I urge you to go ahead, buy some film, unpack that old film SLR (or borrow one!) and start shooting! You will be glad you did. (Let me know how it goes. I would be interested to hear more about your experiences!)

Testing Your Own Gear is a Great Idea

Eileen Fritsch — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:18:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

How can you take great images when you don’t fully understand your own equipment? Let’s look at how to go about this and why.

You might think, “I read all the reviews before I bought my gear, so why should I test it as well?”

There are some things you need to understand about equipment testing:

Many reviews are simply not very good;
Lab reviews may not reflect your shooting conditions;
Even field reviews may not reflect your usage;
Equipment varies enormously.

Many reviews are just plain no good. The people doing them may not really understand photography or even what they are doing. The review may be rushed. Many people writing reviews of cameras and lenses are not photographers (or not very good ones).

Reviews done purely in the lab or the office (as many are) will not reflect real shooting conditions in the field. Every photographer uses their gear differently, so your particular usage may give quite different results.

When a magazine (print or online) does a review they almost always get only one lens or camera of a particular model to test. Almost all camera equipment (with the exception of some German lenses) is manufactured using the concept of tolerances. So if a lens element is supposed to have a focal length of 200mm, it may be manufactured with a focal length tolerance of 2%. What this means is that the actual focal length of the lens element may be anywhere from 196mm to 204mm. If all other lens elements have the same tolerance figure, then in a lens with five to eight elements the overall optical design can vary significantly. The same idea of tolerance applies to mechanical components, electronic components, etc. The result is that significant variations from body to body and lens to lens can exist on the same production line. So the lens you get, for example, can be anywhere from exceptionally good to exceptionally bad and still fall within the manufacturer’s tolerance values.

By doing your own testing you will discover exactly how it performs, for you, in the conditions in which you actually shoot, and in the way you actually use it.

Let’s look at how to test a camera body and a lens.

Testing Camera Bodies: With camera bodies we are interested in testing two main things: image noise and vibration profile.

To test image noise, shoot multiple sequences at each ISO setting of the subjects and in the lighting conditions you typically use. Why does this matter? Because the perception of noise varies greatly depending on whether the subject has broad areas of smooth tone or lots of detail, and on the overall lightness of the subject matter (noise is more obvious in darker than lighter areas). Put the camera on a tripod, start at the lowest ISO setting and shoot two sequences at each ISO setting, one with noise-reduction on and the other off (make sure you know which is which). Evaluate the results zoomed to 100% in various parts of the image. Then determine the maximum ISO that you can accept for different light levels and subjects. You can also decide whether the camera’s noise reduction gives you a better result or not.

To test vibration, you again want the camera on a tripod. Use a long-ish lens and frame on some subject with a lot of detail. Use the highest ISO and an aperture to give you a shutter speed of around 1/30 or 1/60 of a second, in aperture priority. Use a cable release or the self-timer. Steadily shoot while reducing the ISO so you get a sequence of shots at the same aperture. Then evaluate the sharpness in the center of the image when zoomed to 100%. What you should find is that there will be a certain shutter speed (or several speeds) at which there is noticeably less sharpness. This means you have found the shutter speeds at which mirror slap (in a SLR) and/or shutter movement vibration has lowered the image sharpness. If you don’t find this, try again at a range of shutter speeds higher or lower than you were using. Continue to use the same aperture in order to avoid introducing new variables that could affect the accuracy of the test.

Testing Lenses: With lenses we are interested in determining the sharpest aperture and how sharpness varies by focal length with zoom lenses.

To determine the sharpness characteristics, set up the camera on a tripod pointing at a scene that has a lot of detail, all at roughly the same distance and covering the frame from edge to edge. Use a cable release or self-timer to shoot a sequence of shots at each aperture and focal length. Use the ISO to make sure you avoid any problem shutter speeds that you determined earlier. Examine the center and corner of the images at 100%. Determine which aperture gives the sharpest result and if there are any that are so blurred you consider them unacceptable. You will also see how the sharpness varies by aperture. If you are a numbers type of person you can shoot resolution charts, but I find many photographers prefer to actually see how the sharpness varies on a subject they are familiar with.

You can use similar approaches to test other gear. For example, test your flash for evenness of coverage by shooting a white or even-colored wall at various zoom settings.

Once you know how your own gear actually performs you will know which apertures, focal lengths, lenses, ISO settings and shutter speeds you prefer. You will also have fewer negative surprises as you examine the results of your shooting.

Happy testing and happy shooting!

Photokina Report 1: The Designjet Z3200

Eileen Fritsch — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:17:00 GMT

By David Saffir

I had the good fortune to attend Photokina 2008 in Cologne Germany. As always, it is held on such a large scale that it defies description. Take it from me, the whole thing seems bigger than Rhode Island. According to a final report issued by the Photokina Press Office, this year’s show featured 1,523 exhibiting companies from 49 countries. The show was attended by 169,000 people (including 6,000 journalists) from 161 countries.

Attending Photokina has reinforced what I posted previously: We truly are in a golden age of photography, with more choices and tools available at more reasonable costs than ever before. New photography products were everywhere, ranging from cameras and lighting systems to printers, inkjet papers, and more. For example, Nikon’s lineup of cameras now includes the D90, which features over 12 MP and video recording, plus some new lenses including Perspective Control models.

Plus, in addition to announcing new products of interest to photo labs and retailers, HP introduced the new Designjet Z3200 and HP Artist system for fine-art reproduction. I have also had a chance to test the Nikon D3 combined with the new 105mm Macro VR lens, along with the HP Artist system. This lens is very sharp, with great technical characteristics, and superb color and contrast.

The Designjet Z3200 is a new model in many ways, but primarily it builds on the success of its predecessor, the Z3100. Technical changes and upgrades include:
·         easier loading of sheet media;
·         direct user control of the paper feed; and
·         improvements in the user interface in the software HP supplies to run the printer.

The speed of the printer has increased significantly, which should make this machine even more attractive for those who need higher-volume output. Most interestingly, the printer now incorporates a new ink formulation for the red channel, called Chromatic Red. It provides a wider overall color gamut. In images that include a range of red tones, you can definitely see improvements in saturation and color vibrance, along with increased detail throughout highlights, shadows, and transition areas.

The Designjet Z3200 includes support for more than 50 types of HP large-format printing materials, including HP’s new Baryte Satin Art Paper.

In a case study HP’s site, photographer Albert Watson shares some of his observations about the Z3200. He notes that, “One of the most important things to a photographer is the translation from the eye to the film, the film to the screen, and the screen to the paper. The translation the HP Designjet Z3200 achieves is amazing.”

The Designjet Z3200 is at the heart of the remarkable HP Artist System, a breakthrough end-to-end digital fine art reproduction system that I’ll discuss in more detail in my next post.

The Symbiotic Relationship Between Photographers and Their Equipment

Eileen Fritsch — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:26:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

Now that Photokina 2008 has come to close and lots of great new gear and software have been announced, I was reflecting on the relationship between photographers and their equipment.

Photography is one of the most technologically oriented and demanding art forms. This isn’t just a product of the digital revolution. It was just as true of a Nikon F or an 8x10 view camera and the related darkroom processes as it is of the new Nikon D3, HP Designjet Z3200, and Adobe Photoshop CS4. (You can see my lengthy review of Photoshop CS4 on DIMi). Yet the nature of the relationship between photographers and their equipment is often misunderstood.

Better camera gear, printers or software will not automatically make your photography better. An old axiom states that cameras don’t make photographs, photographers do. And this is certainly true. The best gear in the hands of an inept person will not make their photography any better at all.

On the other hand, our gear can place limits on what we can do. It is impossible to shoot macro without gear that lets you get up close and personal. Shooting birds can be very tough if you don’t have a long lens. And shooting panoramas can be hard without the right software to help with stitching.

So the truth lies somewhere within these two positions. Changing gear will not make your photography better by itself, but will open up new vistas for you to exploit. Photography is a technological art form and so new developments open up many new ways of doing things.

Over the history of photography, there are many examples of how new advances have opened up new ways of shooting. For instance, the development of sufficiently sensitive plates and films meant cameras could be handheld. That progress has continued with in-lens or in-body image stabilization, which pushes spontaneity and low- light shooting to new levels. Incorporating HD video capability in DSLRs continues the progress that began with the incorporation of fast shutters and high-speed flash. All these advances have given photographers various ways to control how they capture images and work with time.

It is this symbiotic relationship between photographers and their gear that explains why photographers have such as strong concern for equipment. Strangely, sometimes this concern takes the form of a deliberately low-tech approach, such as the popularity of the Holga. But it is still a focus on equipment, even if the focus is on simplicity. At the other end of the spectrum, (but with the same concern for the appropriate equipment) are the people who embracing computational photography for things such as panoramas, HDR images and more.

That key phrase here is appropriate equipment. Most photographers aren’t concerned simply with new equipment, but with having appropriate equipment. Part of every photographer’s challenge is to discover for themselves just what equipment is appropriate for their personal form of photography.

No two photographers see the world the same way. No two choose equipment with the same priorities and no two use their gear the same way, even when they have identical gear.

We all have unique vision and we all strive to create a unique style in our photography. The gear we use and how we use it is just one part (albeit a core part) of finding this personal voice.

The Golden Age of Photography: Part Two

BlogArchive — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:29:00 GMT

By David Saffir

I just finished teaching the three-day Imagemaking for Photographers workshop on the Central Coast of California. Our students included a mix of professionals and serious amateurs. Skill levels ranged from many years of experience with digital to “I bought this thing (a digital SLR) three months ago, and….”

We performed our field work in a number of environments under a variety of conditions. We shot at night, at pre-dawn twilight, in full sunlight, at sunset, and in canyons in deep shade. We shot still life, landscapes, and wildlife. We supplemented the field work with midday classroom sessions on camera setup, image preparation and correction, and printing.

Several things greatly impressed me during the seminar. First, the knowledge level of photographers is not only improving steadily, but the tempo of this growth is noticeably faster. I believe this can be attributed largely to the rise of social networks on the Web and increasingly easy Internet communications. For example, automated feeds from blogs such as this one have streamlined my daily reading. This has given me time to do other things (like shoot!).

Something else that struck me was that the newer DSLR cameras are extremely well made and produce images of extraordinary quality. Plus, they are much easier to use. Shooting at high ISO, cameras from both Canon and Nikon handled noise issues very well, including low light and night photography. Many of the students own these cameras.

The improvements in the cameras, along with parallel improvements in software such as Adobe Camera RAW, make it pretty straightforward for any photographer to shoot RAW and like it. Not one photographer in the class was using JPEGs. All saw the RAW file format as an advantage—both in image quality and creative options in image development.

Last, but not least, I was impressed by how far printing technology has come. In the workshop, we used HP Photosmart Pro B9180 printers. Images printed on a variety of media showed excellent color rendering, shadow and highlight detail, and dimensionality.

What I find most exciting is that the combination of these improvements in digital imaging hardware and software has made it far easier for photography students to concentrate on creativity-exploring ideas, and producing images that speak from the heart. As I saw for myself, this remarkable progress beyond the early technological hurdles of digital photography isn’t just a theory—it’s real.

New Toys or Careful Investments?

BlogArchive — Tue, 01 May 2007 11:38:00 GMT

By Wayne Cosshall

We all fall into ruts sometimes or experience low points in our lives. Some of us self-medicate with retail therapy, enjoying the emotional lift that comes from buying something new, whether it’s something as small as a book or more expensive, such as a new car, camera, or printer.

We may be sad about the time we spend doing things we don’t like. So sometimes we seek a quick fix to our feelings by buying new toys. This is a trap, because there are some problems that spending money simply can’t solve.

To break free of this cycle, we must find ways to minimize the time spent on things we don’t want to do so we can maximize the time we can spend on the things we really love want to do.

I have found it worthwhile to sit down and list exactly what it is that I want to do. For me it is:

Spend quality time with my wife and daughter
Take pictures and make art
Teach people and help them grow and develop
Develop businesses
Read on a wide range of topics
Work on myself, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually

Combining some activities and accomplishing several goals simultaneously is the key. Sometimes, spending money offers a solution.

Once you understand your priorities, purchasing new technology can free you to do more of what you really want to do. For example, when I recently bought a new laptop to replace my old black Apple Powerbook, I discovered its built-in WiFi connection enabled me get a lot more writing done late at night after everyone else had gone to bed.

If one of your goals is to take more pictures, what equipment would you need to buy to enable you to take pictures on more occasions than you do now? Would it be a more versatile single lens for your dSLR so that you could take your camera more places, more conveniently? Or, maybe you’d prefer a tiny, compact camera with a decent resolution and a good lens to carry all the time.

Years ago, when I was starting to plan an exhibition, I researched the cost of having my images printed as Cibachromes. I soon realized that I could easily buy a Cibachrome roller transport processor and add a color head on my enlarger, and still have change left over. So I bought the processor and did that exhibition, as well as the next few exhibitions plus a lot of other prints.

Later, I did the same with my first large-format inkjet printer. With the cost of prints at the time, it was easy to justify buying the printer because I could continue to use the printer for follow-on commercial jobs and other exhibitions.

There will be times when it’s not smart to try to do it all yourself. But if you understand your goals, sometimes it is. A side benefit of both the darkroom purchase and my first (an subsequent) large format printers is that I spent more time working with my own images, which greatly assisted in making my photography better.When you look at the cost of something you’re considering buying, try to determine the equivalent cost to you of not buying it.

If you’re thinking of buying a printer, this might be pretty easy.

Calculate the cost of the printer, media and the value of your time to learn how to use it efficiently.
Find out how much it would cost to have someone else output your prints at the size and quality level you desire.
Do the math to see how much you can save by buying a printer to output your own prints.

If you’re thinking about buying a compact camera, you can try to put a value on each good image you produce and make a conservative estimate of how many good shots you’ll get from the camera in a reasonable period of time.

Giving more thought to each new device before you buy it, moves you away from retail therapy and into the realm of careful investment. Investing in yourself can be a smart thing to do.

This shot of reflected trees in a pond with coins at the bottom wouldn’t have been captured if I hadn’t invested in a compact camera to take with me when it’s inconvenient to carry a full camera kit. For this shot, I used the Pentax K10D that was in my briefcase when I was taking some of my students to a gallery.

When Prints Mean Something...

Eileen Fritsch — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 15:10:00 GMT

By Francis Hills

As a studio photographer, I get to shoot a wonderfully wide range of people. For me, it’s one of the biggest perks of what I do.

Recently I spent 3 days shooting 23 women for a layout in New York Moves magazine, a publication for which I’m a regular contributor. Each year, the magazine honors a select group of 'Power Women' that New York Moves believes have helped define New York through their contributions in various fields of work. I shot last year’s 'Power Women' editorial and was delighted to be asked to this year’s winners as well.

Mehret Ayalew Mandefro
Founding Director, TRUTHAids
©Francis Hills

The magazine’s staff and I decided we wanted to portray the women in a different way. Rather than formal portraits, we thought it would be more interesting to go for a more relaxed look: capturing moments of fun, introspection, pride, or reflection.

Saranne Rothberg
CEO, Comedy Cures Foundation
©Francis Hills

Typically, I shoot high-res digital with the latest auto-focus Hasselblad camera. But for this shoot, I borrowed an older-style, manual-focus Hasselblad V-series camera. And of course, instead of shooting film, I chose to use Hasselblad’s new 503 CWD digital back, which was designed specifically for this older-style camera.

This 500-series camera is made especially to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Victor Hasselblad. It has a 16 MP digital back and the image is square—just like the film it historically captured. It seemed appropriate.

Shooting with this setup allowed me to capture a more classic portrait. But it also meant I needed to take a bit of extra time and care (hey, it’s manual focus after all!). In addition to the extra dimension from shooting square, I digitally converted the pictures to black and white. The results were so wonderful. And that’s where my new HP Photosmart Pro B9180 came into play. The B9180 is such a revelation for me. It has quickly become a workhorse for my shooting output, and I’ll tell you why...

After each award winner was shot and we selected the best image, I printed out the chosen picture on the B9180 so I could give each of them a copy to take home with her. Each sitter seemed genuinely surprised and grateful by the gesture. The black-and-white prints from the B9180 had such depth of tonality, they glowed!

Liz Cho
Eyewitness News anchor, ABC
©Francis Hills

Think about it: Each Power Woman was in my studio for no more than 20 minutes, yet she was able to walk out with a final print. How great is that?

To make things even more special (and taking a photo shoot one step beyond the norm), the magazine staff and I decided to use framed prints as the actual awards to be presented during the ceremony. Each woman’s picture was framed along with a card inscribed with a one-word definition of what each woman said power meant to her.

At the award ceremony last week in New York, it was such a thrill to see each woman receive her framed portrait--an award that I’d printed on the Photosmart Pro B9180. We all make many prints of our pictures. But we don’t often get to see our prints presented as awards.

I feel so proud that these awards will hang on their walls and will have a significant meaning for each woman. Isn't it wonderful that these prints actually mean something? It is to me.