Since doing the model photo shoot last Saturday I have been experimenting some more with manual camera settings. I took some photos at the Monon Trail yesterday. Just to be able to capture images that made sense while fiddling with f stops feels like an accomplishment.
This morning I set up some still-life on the piano bench. This image shows how natural light from the window and lamp light on the right gave it two color temperatures. I suppose this can be used creatively although mostly I might want to blend the light sources more subtly.
This image was shot with only the thin light from the cloudy sky outside. It still shows highlights which can be a problem to avoid hot spots when printing the images. Not that I've even gone much into printing the images so far.
When I decided I wanted to start a new career in digital imaging I had no idea I would need to learn to accomplish this. Foolishly I didn't think it was going to be much of a feat but I learned otherwise. I had shot with point-and-shoot cameras until I acquired a Minolta in the 1980s and discovered SLR photography. The Minolta showed me to appreciate color, lines, textures and shapes. It seemed so easy.
When I lost the Minolta on a trip to Niagara Falls, my interest in photography dropped close to nil. It was not until I started taking trips to Europe that the interest slowly came back. Canon had started to sell hobbyist cameras with professional features. I jumped on the wagon and bought a Canon EOS Rebel. I credit that camera with first instilling the idea that I could make a profession of photography. Looking back now I feel foolish for thinking this was something I could do! Hindsight might be wisdom but seeing what we've learned points to the many other lessons that lay ahead.
At first I used automatic focus modes to learn about composition and perspective. I was interested in shooting videos then so acquired studio hot lights that led to my shooting models. Learning to use hot lights was a major feat. Now I want to add flash and strobe lighting. It seems one thing leads to a dozen others. I have a feeling what I have embarked to do is equivalent to going back to college! Why am I surprised? To become professional in any endeavor one first has to acquire the language. We don't think of this until we have stepped into Alice's world of talking animals and infinitely adjustable sizes.
The gamut of what I had to learn ran from what seemed as simple as using my Manfrotto tripod to learning about exposure and what constituted an f-stop. Learning to shoot with manual settings this weekend was another milestone.
For years I've admired virtuosity among young musicians competing in the proliferating world of competitions. A young pianist or vocalist at IU Bloomington or any of the many other top-notch music schools in the country acquire impeccable technique. This does not come without a price. I am now just beginning to realize this. Technique is basic but beyond that is a whole, new world. After learning to capture images, after learning how to process and display them on the Internet, there's a stage beyond suggested by Alexey Brodovitch's exhortation to the young Avedon: "Amaze me."
A final image when I tried different metering modes on the camera:
This is a cheap porcelain statue 2 1/2 inches tall. Special effects in movies often employ miniatures to create fantastic worlds. This involves blowing up the images so the miniatures have to be created with consummate detail. Otherwise they would appear as this did.
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