About photography Number 2

[LovelyLadyLux]

WOWWWWWWWWW Fantastic Grandad! Excellent and to say nothing that your beautiful city is offering excellent subject matter!

Were these done on a digital camera? Or with film? I opened a couple of the picture info to see more of the techie details (although I don't really know what I'm looking at) and it said "fujifilm" so was wondering if these were all film or digital?

They are terrific. I particularly like the 'keyhole' picture! Way cool! And the buildings are all fantastic. Colours wonderful!

I'll be there to Visit SOON!!!! :):):)

[Grandad]

You have caught me out LLL, I had not realised that the information was carried into the album.

If you are sharp eyed you will see that some have earlier dates (although some of these are wrong). In one, the old theatre previously an Odeon cinema, is now demolished and the new theatre is under construction. In a few others, for various reasons I found that I had better ones already at home....usually pesky visitors getting in the way.

Camera wise I just have a couple of Fuji finepix still cameras. Both of which I have had for several years now. A little DX10 very small compact and an S6500fd SLR style bridge camera. Nothing fancy, gave all that up about 10 years ago.

[Horus]

AshtreeO wrote:

The stuff that Horus does is a completely different skill in itself - almost another art form that just happens to use photographs to create pieces of art work. I guess it depends what you are really interested in most. For me, it's the whole process of going out with my camera, the experience of whatever event or new place I am photographing and if one photo in 100 is OK I'm dead happy. I don't even care about being technically proficient - if I can capture one good picture - it's worth the time and effort.

I feel I must come to my own defence here and say that I would also put myself squarely in the above category. Whenever I go out or wherever I visit, I will usually have a camera with me, I particularly enjoy taking flora and fauna but find most subjects interesting. If I had to pay the film and developing cost for every bad picture I have taken then I would probably be bankrupt as I take more mediocre or bad than good pictures, so thank heaven for digital camera’s and PC’s I say.

Now saying as I have had an interest in computing since the days when we used to have to build them ourselves from lots of bits, it is not surprising that I use them often. So at this point I should say that I could not paint a picture to save my life and if I had one wish to be granted a talent I did not posses, it would be that I was a good artist. What I have found over the years is that computers have allowed me to fill that desire for artistic creativity by using all types of graphics programs and not just photo editing type programs, as part of my work I often use computer aided design programs to create something that may be viewed on a monitor, but may only exist in my own imagination, so you could say that the wish was granted.

I would disagree that what I do is not just something that “just happens to use photographs” but rather that I take the process another step forward and ‘use’ my photographs after I have taken them, So from my standpoint rather than just taking the original photographs, which I do, as none of the pictures I use are anyone else’s other than my own. Therefore I have already participated in that part of the process i.e. (the actual photography) but rather than just have a folder full of pictures that are viewed occasionally, I will use them to create something new from them, so in my case I have not only the original picture but something else that I have created from it.

Now you say you would rather be outside taking photographs than inside sat in front of a computer.
Well again I would agree with you, but you cannot take photo’s all the time and I am sure that you have other leisure activities and so do I. I love gardening, reading, going out with my camera and of course my computer, but when I am on my PC I tend to be using graphic type programs as that is what I enjoy.

I leave the technical camera stuff to the rest of you as quite honestly I am not that interested beyond taking my own pictures and as I don’t ask for advice on photography then I rarely give it out either. However if asked on something specific like the PSP program them I will always try to help people, I also post a picture now and again to try and keep up the interest in the general topic.

As Grandad will no doubt confirm, I do not really like the photography thread as being only about photography and if it were, then I doubt if I would contribute much to it. I think that most of the hits on this thread are generated mainly by it being so varied in the topics we cover as there is usually a little bit to interest everyone.

[LivinginLuxor]

Well put Horus. In the days of film, the photographer really only had control over the actual picture (very few developed and printed their own photos - and that only allowed minor manipulation), so it was natural for them to make sure that the picture was just like they wanted it to be. For many people, the same rule applies to digital, I'm certain. In my opinion, the taking of the picture, using digital cameras is the first step in a process - a step which allows for much more spontaneity and speed; a step that allows for mistakes. Then comes the post processing which to me is almost as creative as the moment of taking the photo.

[Horus]

I agree with you about the creativity and going off at a tangent, I recall some time back that you yourself posted another variation on picture manipulation which combined a 'fantasy' type picture with an added poem.
I was very impressed with it and had hoped that you would have posted more, they also combined several creative aspects in first of all having to select the right picture and then appending a suitable poem to go with it, I liked the results very much.
It is often very easy to look at a picture creation and just to see the end result and pay little attention to all the other skills that had to come together to achieve that particular result.
If you have more, I am sure that this thread would provide a good platform for your work as many people may not have seen them.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Since I've moved into the "digital" age of taking photos I can see that the "taking" IS really the beginning of a process. I have to be honest and say that until I started this thread a few months ago I had NO IDEA about the editing. I 'knew' that it happened but didn't have clue one how to do it. I'm so swamped and enthralled with it all I don't have enough hours in the day nor does my poor old brain absorb and retain everything I'm trying to read and learn on this topic.

I think the computers and the PSP programs etc. are phenomenal. I'd never ever even thought of how creative one could get taking pictures both outside with camera in hand and then later inside playing with the photos. This is a CAREER!!!! :):):) and I'm entering it like a kid going into Disneyland. There is just so much thrilling to see and learn (and so little time!!)

I think photography moving into the digital age has definitely advanced this art form as it truly IS an art form.....AND you guys have all been GREAT at sharing those little tidbits that have just helped so much! Onward and upwards!!!!!!!

[Kiya]

I took this picture today of a local fisherman collecting his creels, as I haven't manual controls on my digi camera the only thing I changed was the ISO (usually I forget) to 100 it seemed to capture the foreground & background exactly how I saw it with the roll of fog on the horizon.....hooray!
When I viewed it on full screen & zooming to the highest I can of 800% I still see pixels..............my question: with better cameras DSLR etc do you still see the pixels when you zoom to the maximum on full screen??
I'm trying to get my head round what is good quality pictures & what is not.

[Bearded Brian]

Kiya

Although it's not always about the number of pixels your camera has - you need to consider the lenes, the processing chip etc, but basically the more pixels you have the bigger the enlargement can be before you start to see the pixels. A good 10 megapixel camera should give you a good A3 size print or a zoomed in and cropped A4 print.

Brian

[Ashtree0]

AshtreeO wrote:

The stuff that Horus does is a completely different skill in itself - almost another art form that just happens to use photographs to create pieces of art work. I guess it depends what you are really interested in most. For me, it's the whole process of going out with my camera, the experience of whatever event or new place I am photographing and if one photo in 100 is OK I'm dead happy. I don't even care about being technically proficient - if I can capture one good picture - it's worth the time and effort.

I feel I must come to my own defence here .............

Sorry you felt like you had to defend yourself H - my comments weren't meant as a critisism - if anything a compliment to you as you are really talented at your type of art that you do. The point I was trying to make is that people's interest in photography vary greatly - some of us like straight forward photography, some prefer to create fantastic pieces of artwork by using photo manipulation - and others like both.

I can understand LLL's feeling of information overload particularly around trying to understand the ins and outs of Photoshop for example. It can be really quite difficult to grasp and I would definitely recommend a class to learn the basic functions. Even if you're very proficient in computing skills it doesn't mean that you will pick up photo editing skills easily - it's taken me a while to grasp the concept of layers and masks and dodging and burning - and I've only touched the tip of the iceberg as anyone who owns one of the Photoshop Creative Suites will testify.

I personally strive to take photo's that appeal to me and the least editing needed the better. I would like to become more technically proficient in the actual photography process as the more you understand the functions of your camera the more creative avenues are opened up to you - though really it's the process of getting up off the sofa and getting out into the world and trying to see it with different eyes - know what I mean? Yes, for me it's 90% about going out somewhere interesting or beautiful and not sitting in front of the tv or a computer - I do too much of that sometimes!

[Ashtree0]

I took this picture today of a local fisherman collecting his creels, as I haven't manual controls on my digi camera the only thing I changed was the ISO (usually I forget) to 100 it seemed to capture the foreground & background exactly how I saw it with the roll of fog on the horizon.....hooray!
When I viewed it on full screen & zooming to the highest I can of 800% I still see pixels..............my question: with better cameras DSLR etc do you still see the pixels when you zoom to the maximum on full screen??
I'm trying to get my head round what is good quality pictures & what is not.

Lovely photo Kiya - you obviously live in a very beautiful part of the world.

You will probably eventually get to see pixels on most photographs if you zoom in as much as 800% - my camera is 15 mega pixels and when I zoom in I do get to see the pixels - though the test is when you print it out.

It may also be worth checking that your camera is on the highest resolution possible - sometimes the settings are labelled as small, medium and large. Large is usually the highest resolution and you will find that it takes less photos per memory card - the difference between these settings is quite noticable when printed out.

The compact camera that I had for years and years was a Canon Ixus V - I really thought it was the bees knees and it took fantastic pictures - though I never printed any of them out - I came across it the other day and it's 1.3 megapixels - my God how did we ever manage?

[bigken]

"canon ixus" it was my first digital camera but had 2.1 mp , still got it somewhere

[Kiya]

Thanks for your comments BB & Ashtree, my camera has 8.0 mega pixels, 4 x optical zoom & wide 28 mm lens.
I don’t know anything of the processing chip you speak of BB ?
If I were to get a canvas say size 20” x 20” keeping the highest size of resolution 3264 x 2448 & quality set to fine would it be good sharp & clear quality/colours providing I had the settings right before taking picture ?
I have just noticed lately I can only change the ISO if I use “ Program AE” (I’m guessing that means Automatic Exposure) ? setting all the time…..if I want to use any of the 22 preset modes the ISO automatically sets to Auto.
Not the best of cameras but I am hoping to get a new camera soon I’m just at loggerheads on which to choose?

[Kiya]

Hooooray my post uploaded.....have tried numerous times since yesterday

[Ashtree0]

Thanks for your comments BB & Ashtree, my camera has 8.0 mega pixels, 4 x optical zoom & wide 28 mm lens.
I don’t know anything of the processing chip you speak of BB ?
If I were to get a canvas say size 20” x 20” keeping the highest size of resolution 3264 x 2448 & quality set to fine would it be good sharp & clear quality/colours providing I had the settings right before taking picture ?
I have just noticed lately I can only change the ISO if I use “ Program AE” (I’m guessing that means Automatic Exposure) ? setting all the time…..if I want to use any of the 22 preset modes the ISO automatically sets to Auto.
Not the best of cameras but I am hoping to get a new camera soon I’m just at loggerheads on which to choose?

Hi Kiya - I'm not that technical but would imagine that you probably wouldn't be able to print much more than an A3 size print out with your camera and have perfect resolution. I think at 20 x 20 it would be quite pixelated. I think it would also depend on the quality of the printer and the paper too. I have quite a good photo printer but it is incredibly expensive to use it and it only prints up to A3. The quality of paper makes such a huge difference so never go for the cheap stuff. If you go to a printing company it usually works out much cheaper than doing it yourself. If it only costs a couple of quid why not send one of your photo's off to be printed and see what it comes back like? Also you can print out at A3 and if mounted properly can look fantastic in a large frame.

I'm not familiar with your camera but if you can set the ISO on the AE setting I assume this is not a fully automatic setting - but all of the other settings are. AE usually means that you can lock the aperture and also the shutter speed over a couple of photos. Just a point though - all the ISO does is amplify light so if you are in a slightly overcast situation or indoors and don't want to use flash you can increase the ISO to bring some artificial light into the picture. However, the higher the ISO setting the more grainy it looks and that's not usually a good look if you want to print something out. 100 is good for quite bright daylight situations. You will definitely have loads of fun with an SLR - it gives you so many more options to be creative!

[Ashtree0]

Kiya - My best friend Google has found this pixel chart. It tells you what size you can print out at depending on the megapixels of your camera!

http://www.design215.com/toolbox/megapixels.php

[Kiya]

Ashtree Thanks for the link to the megapixel chart, interesting to see what you can & cannot have in printout & quality also good to read others comments.
Since I've been at my photography course I've been taking more notice of my picture quality & have to say with my present camera its not good, been printing out various pictures today at different sizes, when I print a A4 or "print to page" the quality is not good then 7 x 5 or 6 X 4 etc is ok but I'm not 100% happy with it.
I guess ordering a canvas 20 x 20 is out of the question right now & I need to go shopping for that new camera & get some super duper pictures hopefully

[LivinginLuxor]

My present camera is an 8mp. I've printed photos af 1.5 m with no pixelation at a photo shop in Luxor which has a 2m wide Epson printer.

[Kiya]

Ah! maybe I should do as Ashtree suggested take 1 of my pictures to local companies I know & get it printed to the biggest they can do & see what quality it is............trial & error I guess I wouldn't think they would charge me that much

[Ashtree0]

I believe any of the supermarkets such as Tesco do as good a job as any!

[bigken]

Went out the other night to have a go at taking pictures of light trails,this is probably the best of the bunch,will have to try again soon