Monday 23 February 2009

My 16 things about photography:

1. I started my interest in photography after my first travel alone, after rather several rolls taken by a small Canon I borrowed from my father.

2. I like photographs because it is a lot easier then painting.

3. The first camera I bought myself was a Nikon FM10, when I decided to take photos more seriously.

4. I did take some short courses about photography, in Hongkong and in Paris, like 'reportage by photo'...

5. I use more often with a Panasonic DMC-LZ5 now. Obviously I am not a professional.

6. I like digital camera for it is more economy and ecology.

7. I like mechanical for I find it easier to control technically.

8. I love color, but I prefer taking black & white if I have the opportunity to develop and enlarge them myself.

9. Photographing is a solitude activity.

10. I need time to feel the place and people in front of me before I photograph them.

11. I don't like to be photographed. Not a fair game, i know :P

12. I think some basic photography techniques are required even though we are just amateurs, of course, if we are not satisfied by simply clicking a button. In other words, I think it is hard to take nice photos if we don't possess at least some basic techniques.

13. When I showed my first travel photo album to my father, he critiqued and said "I don't even know what you are photographing!!" . The second time I showed him another album, same comment! Well as usual he is not easy to please ... Until the last time, many years ago, when I have carefully selected and presented my photos in my own layout, he admired and said, "is that you who took those pictures ?" I guess, 'presentation' has done the job.

14. There are several things that a good photographer requires, I think : talent, technique, observation, heart, mood, patient, then the last but not the least, respect to the others.

15. Successful photos are not always counted on the gamme of cameras or power of lens used. Many famous photographers have left us brilliant oeuvres taken with standard 50mm lens.

16. I remember one of the teachers once told us: you don't 'zoom' to your object, you 'go' to your object.

17. (extra) I have recently discovered this site via blogger Hongkie. Their blog articles give often nice tips in photography, written by 10 different professional photographers.

Other bloggers' 16:
- Laichungleung

6 comments:

laichungleung said...

1. When I was really really young, I lived next to a neighbor whom I considered a genius. He painted and did a lot of crazy inventions, like printing his contact prints and making movies out of a Mooncake box. Up to this day, I still have no idea. He was an influence.

2. The photography process is easier in general but then it's

3. The first camera I really bought with my own money was a Nikon FE with a 50mm lens. I still use them now and then. It's just a piece of engineering marvel.

4. I took one photography class in college a thousand years ago. The dark room was all I learned. But after that I haven't gotten a chance to enter a dark room again.

5. I have no experience with Panasonic camera.

6. Yes, it's convenient.

7. I like cameras that I can control, at least aperture and shutter speed.

11. Pictures look better without me.

16. I agree. I think the 50mm is so underrated and overlooked. I love my 50mm f1.4.

michelle said...

laichungleung: thanks for sharing!!
week point of my little Panasonic is that i cannot control any aperture neither much shutter speed.
"pictures look better without me" i don't believe you :)

Haricot 微豆 said...

I have a Canon PowerShot A570 the features of which I still have not fully mastered or understood. It could have turned into just another PhD (push here dummy) camera, but I refused to give up and am now fairly efficient with setting my own shutter speed (for night shots) and apertures (for close ups). I am definitely not a professional, just an amateur who enjoys fiddling around with pictures and videos.

michelle said...

Haricot: i'm not sure mastering all features of my numerique neither... anyway, most of them are simply automatique :(

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing & the link! i've been meaning to drop you a comment forever but these few weeks have been really crazy - between the new photography blog & moving (we just moved to a new house), plus reading & playing with my son, I hardly have any time. that's why my own blog is kind of dormant for so long...

hopefully, i'll have some time to share my "photography 16" in my blog soon!

michelle said...

hongkieatlarge: you are welcome! and look forwards reading yours 16 soon :)

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