The point is whether or not you use modern tecknology for getting lazy or for
realizing photographic vision. If you are concious of light no old mechanical camera
or separate light meter will ever make you able to put the exposure value accurately
to the camera for demanding slide film like Velvia. You have shutterspeed setting in 1
stop increments and slide film like Velviua need 1/3 stop accuracy. You then have to
brackett and you could then just as well use the camera on fully automatic and
brackett from there. With print film the issue is somewhat different and there you can
really get away with sloppy metering and even sloppy shutters.
The fact remains that modern cameras makes it possible to nail exposure more
accurately than ever before. If a photographer fails to do this, then it tells more
about the photographer than anyone else.
P�l
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shel Belinkoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 4:09 AM
Subject: Learning To make a Photograph
> There's been some discussion here about how many of us have felt
> that our photographs are not of the quality we'd like them to be. I
> have some thoughts on that, which, I hope, will lead to further
> discussion and help a few list members improve their skills and
> creativity.
>
> I firmly believe that using AF gear and automatic metering does not
> help one to really learn about making photographs (notice I said
> "making", not taking). Recently I've returned to using 100% manual
> cameras - they don't even have light meters. The first thing I've
> become more conscious of is light, and the quality of light. Not
> that I didn't think about it before, but now I must pay more
> attention to it. I've been using a hand held spot meter and paying
> careful attention to what's in the shadows and where the specular
> highlights fall. My negs are looking a lot better, and my ability
> to read the light has improved to the point where using a meter is
> no longer as necessary as it had been.
>
> There are those who will argue against my position, and that's all
> well and good. However, to those people I'd say go out and start
> shooting with fully manual cameras again, eliminate the use of TTL
> metering and eschew autofocus and zoom lenses. It'll be some work,
> but in time I can almost guarantee that your pictures will improve.
> Why? Well, when you better understand the light, you'll get better
> images. But more than that, you'll be able to concentrate more on
> composition rather than being distracted by lights, needles, and a
> plethora of information in the viewfinder, and the need to fiddle
> with knobs, dials, and buttons to put the camera into the correct
> mode. You don't need all that stuff to make a photograph.
>
> And when you better understand focus and DOF - by focusing yourself,
> which I believe you can do more critically with a fully manual
> camera - and you start to understand where the zone of sharp focus
> is, you can begin to become more competent and creative.
>
> Stay away from zoom lenses with variable apertures. You never know
> for sure what the aperture is, or the focal length is, and how can
> that help your creativity in the long run. Sure, those lenses make
> taking a picture easier, and built-in meters make taking a picture
> easier, and autofocus makes taking a picture easier, but it doesn't
> always help you to ~make~ a superb photograph.
>
> Grab a fully manual camera, a prime lens, and go out and practice.
> Shoot every day. Process the film quickly and review the results.
> Learn from your mistakes, and go out and shoot another roll, and
> another, and another. Don't rely on the latitude of the film to
> carry you through. Learn to understand what the perfect exposure is
> for each frame you shoot, even if it means that you have to work
> slowly at first, and perhaps miss some "great" shots. Most of our
> great shots are crap anyway.
>
> When I returned to a fully manual camera I was surprised at how lazy
> I'd become. Somehow it seemed easier to let the camera's meter set
> the exposure, but then I had to think about the metering pattern,
> and how that might effect the exposure I wanted. How much simpler
> it is to read the light first and then just concentrate of shooting,
> and finding the best way to capture the subject.
>
> Look at photographs. Not the crap in most magazines, but carefully
> examine the work of the great photographers, regardless of their
> style. Look at the work of photo journalists, those who do
> documentary work, fashion photographers, and the like. Look at
> their prints whenever you can rather looking at their books or
> photos in magazines. I'm willing to bet that there are people on
> this list who have never seen a photograph made by Gene Smith or
> HC-B, or Helmut Newton, or photographers of their ilk, other than in
> books or magazines. Look at the work of less experienced
> photographers, too. Go to galleries and exhibitions. Examine the
> prints not only from a contextual POV but from a technical
> perspective as well. Are your prints as sharp? Do your prints have
> the detail in the shadows? Are your highlights blown out? Why is
> their print less/more grainy than yours - you both use the same
> film?
>
> Be critical of your work, and of your gear. Don't settle for pretty
> good. Your reach should exceed your grasp. Think about making
> large prints instead of those 4x6 mini lab photos. Why? Because
> you'll never be able to tell how good your photography is by looking
> at those itty-bitty images.
>
> Of course, you can settle for mediocre pictures and great family
> snap shots. But if you want to excel, you must push yourself, sort
> of like a fighter training for a title match. What's good enough
> for a club fighter isn't always good enough to move up a few
> notches.
> --
> Shel Belinkoff
> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> "... there is no point in pressing the shutter
> unless you are making some caustic comment
> on the incongruities of life" - Phillip Jones Griffiths
> -
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>
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