tingilinde

kit for photography

Unless you have a specialized need (like available light photography of difficult subjects or printing large enlargements), it may be that a minimal camera is sufficient.  There is a school of thought that living under the restrictions of such a camera, in the hands of a good photographer, leads to excellent photography and that learning with restrictions in a good thing and perhaps optimal.  

Mike notes some comments from a professional photographer.

Pros, of course, know how to find interesting images.  There is a lot most of us can learn with nearly anything and the combination of the low image cost of digital photography combined with the portability of a very small device that travels with you can be powerful.

Now if I only had the discipline to learn the art properly...  A friend noted that her high school had a fine arts requirement for graduation - everyone had to take one term of a music or art class - she took photography and it shows.  This happened about 20 years ago - it probably couldn't happen in a contemporary public high school with the obsession on testing and a very limited number of subjects.

 

 

 

 

360 gigapixel snapshot

British Telecom made this panorama mosaic of London from the top of the BT Tower using four Canon EOS 7D cameras that took 48,640  frames spread over three days.  

trying moving around and zooming in...

Amateurs can get invovled in photography like this (although likely not this ambitious) using a digital SLR and a computer controlled mount and stitching software from Gigapan.

 

the sony rx1

There are any number of good camera blogs.  Many of them tend to dive into the hardware - some in great depth.  Not that anything is wrong with cameras, but with time I've become more interested in those that are written by people who are more passionate about photography than cameras.  I'm more interested in advances in the user experience that might begin to approach an old used 50s era Leica rangefinder I used for awhile.

One of the cameras that interests me is the Sony RX1.  It is pocketable (well - mostly) and is also has a "full frame" sensor (one that is approximately the size of a 35mm film negative).  A remarkable technical achievement, but it also appears to take great photos and is quite user friendly.  While there are a few warts, it is clearly a desirable camera to carry around ...  assuming you can afford one (I can't, so price is a big wart for me - donations are welcome:-)

bmupix - one of those blogs authored by Bjorn Utpott who happens to do good photography (he's an architect) - has an interesting review.

But in the end interesting photographs can be made with nearly anything.  I've seen serious pros create wonderful images with cameras that no self respecting camera nut would even touch.  And these images are better than the best the camera nut has ever taken...

 

 

photography with low end cameras

It is the photographer rather than the camera.  Greg notes the work of Kevin Russ

Kevin Russ | A Traveling Photographer from Max Monty on Vimeo.

Years ago I spent some time with a well-know fashion photographer who used very simple gear.  One of his classic editorials was shot with $10 Kodak Instamatic cameras in the early 1970s when he was on a photoshoot in Tahiti and his equipment failed to arrive in time.  Really stunning work.

lighting for video conferencing

Most people who use desktop video conferencing don't pay any attention to audio or video quality.   (I can't say I'm careful, but I know better).  There are any number of things you can do for audio quality (a good podcasting microphone or better can be had for $100 or so), but video quality often comes down to lighting.

Here is a DIY on the cheap project using $26 worth of kit ...

How to Light An Interview for $26 from stillmotion on Vimeo.

making good use of the camera in a smartphone

Smartphones travel with a person giving many photo opportuities - assuming you know how to understand and use a more limited device.  That said, some are better than point and shoot cameras of three or four years ago - and some people make good use of them.

In the end it is the photographer rather than the camera.

That said, I would love a very portable "good" camera to carry with me at all times.  Something like the old 35mm Leica range finders.  At this point the best candidate is the Sony RX1, which is a bit spendy for me (I'll take one as a donation however)

Instead I should probably learn how to become a better photographer.

 

 

saturn and the moon

APOD rules

astro(naut) photography

Sara points out an interesting talk by Don Pettit...

Donald Pettit speaks at Luminance 2012 from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.

first person video

The notion of putting a video camera on some doing as they participate in a sport or some other activity to share with others has been made popular by GoPro.  Recently they updated their line and the NY Times has a bit of of high level commentary (although there aren't any Mach 5 jets:-)

I suspect there will continue to be a few brilliant videos and a lot of very amateurish skate board shots.  But I doubt it will spread to the mass market as most people don't participate in activities that regularly generate interesting video - we simply don't have much in the way of fascinating motion around us to share.

 

how to photograph colored salt

Normal high speed photography technique, but a clever idea - dye salt and put it on an acoustically driven membrane...