visualvoice.org

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.”. . . Scott Adams - The Dilbert Principle

 

How does one write a newsletter that appeals to all readers, maintains interest, is informative as well as entertaining, covers the ranges of topics from beginner to prosumer (new fangled word for advanced amateur) and can entice everyone to pay a thousand dollars a year to subscribe (just kidding about the subscription fee, but if I could get a hundred, or so, of you to volunteer the subscription fee, then I could quit  my day job and live happily ever after)?

 

First of all, by way of introduction, I consider myself a prosumer.  I am not as good as some, and I am better than others.  My good friend, Dr Tom Gallien has nudged me, no make that pushed, no make that shoved me into writing this.  Tom does exceptional work (check out www.molliebiscuit.com for proof), is an exceptional teacher and mentor.  He is teaching a course at his local college, which I envy his doing.  Tom and I are working together on a workshop in the Smokies for next year.  Just by taking a few days off to scout out the area, having no one to show off to, as in most workshops, and with a schedule all of our making, I personally found I learned more in just a few short days than in most of the workshops I have attended.  But this is not where I wanted the newsletter to begin, so I will save the workshop for a later volume. 

 

Tom (aka Uncle Drifter)  and I discussed where this newsletter should begin, and the logical answer is at the beginning.  The hard part comes in defining the beginning, but here goes.  I think that today’s photographer must possess the following:  A desire, a knowledge/skill and a wherewithal to do photography.

 

The desire is inherent.  You cannot pick up a camera and think that you will just go out and become a great photographer.  You can become someone who uses a camera to make pictures, but without the fire in the belly, you are going to pull up way short of what this art (and I do mean art - a subject we will also deal with later) is all about.  My undergraduate degree was in art (from the finest university in the SEC I might add), with emphasis on photography.  The fire was not there and I set my art aside for almost 30 years.  A few years back I picked up an old Canon AE-1, took a shot of a sunset, had the film developed, and the flame flickered a bit.  My graduate degree was in Technology (also from a fine Southern University), so when digital came along, my art and technical degrees convinced the right side and the left side of my brain that they could actually get along and work in harmony.  The rest in history, or so they say.  This artistic technology relit the fires and rekindled the creative outlets that I have always had, but seldom used.  Fast forward to the point in my life where I receive Social Security updates every quarter, and I find there is just enough time to fit one more thing I want to do in my life before it is time to quit.  It is something I dream of doing.  It fits my philosophy of “we do what we do so we can do what we want to do.”  Tom is a dentist.  I am an IT Director.  These are merely job titles that enable us to do what we want to do.  Do not mistake desire for passion.  Passion is a meaningless word that every photographer throws around nowadays to describe themselves.  Desire is the fire within. 

 

Today’s photographer, particularly those of us who gave up the film for the digital, must obtain and retain so many skills beyond the “basics.”  Not only must we understand shutter speed and apertures, composition and color, we must take our art another step farther with the understanding of the histogram and white balance, RAW images and file management, Photoshop and Bridge, Epson and ink profiles, the difference between archives and archival, PSD and TIF and the compression factor of JPGs.  We must decide between Nikon and Canon, laptops and desktops, thumb drives and multimedia storage drives, gigabytes and (yes for some of us) terabytes.  The darkrooms have been replaced with the desktop computers, dual monitors, external storage and backup systems.  The chemicals have been replaced with inks designed to be around for a hundred years, even though we won’t.  We created our art using something called PhotoShop that really does about a gazillion things more than you need for it to, but it makes you feel good to say you use it.  There are forums and magazines, DVDs and videos, iPods and workshops, all designed to teach you to be a better photographer.  I will say I have fallen prey to this newfound industry, as I have spent many dollars to think that one more class or one more book will make the difference between a wall hanger and an award winner.  Regardless of how you do it, you must do it.  Desire is free.  Knowledge costs a bit.

 

The last element is the wherewithal.  I will be as blunt as I know how to be.  This is a very expensive hobby!  If you try and get by on the cheap, your work will show it.  Your basic entry fee will be the camera.  Both Nikon and Canon (I don’t look at other brands that much, as they just are not major players in this game) start around $500 - $600 for the basic body and a lens (maybe 18mm-55mm zoom lens).  I personally do not like the bonus lens they package with the camera.  No reason - I just don’t.  I prefer to put my own suite of lens together.  As a minimum, I want a wide-angle lens, somewhere in the neighborhood of 18-35mm (remember that digital sensors add a factor of 1.5, so a 100mm lens on a digital camera is actually prorated at 150mm).  My second choice of lens would be the medium telephoto, usually a 70 - 200mm zoom, that can also double as a macro lens.  My final choice would be the super zooms, or those that reach out to at least 400mm.  You will appreciate this lens when photographing the grizzly bears in Alaska.  If you can afford it, add image stabilization for sure for your longer lens.  That said, if you go out and buy these three lens, even those that do not carry the Nikon or Canon logo, you just set yourself back by around $2,000 - $3,000 dollars, give or take a few dollars.  Yes you can get by with less, but eventually you will work your way up.  Just remember - do not fall prey to the belief that one more lens is going to make you a better photographer.  It is going to make you a poorer photographer.  Capitalize on what you have to become a better photographer.  Then as you get better and master what you have, add to your arsenal.  But also remember, you have to carry all this stuff around and it gets awfully heavy after a short while (if you don’t believe me, try lugging it up to the tower at Clingmans Dome).  At this point, I have just touched the surface.  You will want to add flash, camera bags, tripods and tripod heads, compact flash cards and card readers.   You will want a laptop or digital media storage device (The Epson P5000 is a good choice) to store your images in the field.  I’ve just added another $2,000 - $2500 to the bill.  You will want a desktop, 4Gb of RAM, a 160Gb hard drive, two monitors (one for the image, which must be calibrated to match what you see on the screen and what comes out in print, and one for the tools), an external hard drive and you might as well throw in the printer, say an Epson 2400.  Ink cost $12 - $15 a cartridge and there are nine cartridges.  Hey, Cha Ching!  We’ve just upped the kitty another $4,000 - $5,000 and we forgot the cost of PhotoShop, plus all the stuff that you will want to learn Photoshop, so just chip in another thousand to be safe.  I’m not gonna do the math because I was an art major and art majors do not do math very well.  You do the math, because this hobby (I now call it an avocation) is strictly going to be a relationship between you and your bank account.  There are some things you can do to offset these costs (have a good CPA) but if you think you can sell your art to make a living, I would strongly advise you not to quit your day job.  You will have a lot of people tell you what a good photographer you are.  If compliments were cash, I would be a millionaire.  Nuff said about that. 

 

So desire, knowledge and wherewithal are my three key ingredients.  Yours may be different or you may add something to the mix.  That’s ok, but I think anything you come up with will eventually lead back to one, or all three of these ingredients.  That said, welcome to the newsletter, In Focus.  It is a start and if you don’t want to get it, let me know and I will take you off the list.  If you want to spread this out to your friends, that is ok too.  Just remember the subscription fee (a man’s gotta try).  For some of you, this edition will be ho hum, mundane and boring.  Well you have to start somewhere, so just be patient and wait until we catch up to the considerably serious stuff.  If you have burning questions, please let me have them.  I have enough friends that we can get your answer pretty quickly and accurately.  If you want to share something with all of us, such as a tip or two, please feel free to do so.  If you want a discussion topic, let us hear it.  If you have found a great, legitimate source for photographic equipment and supplies, such as great OME ink at www.atlex.com, let us know.  Conversely, if you get ripped off by one of the on-line providers, please tell us (boy have I got a great story to tell about on-line rip-off).  Since I am the owner, editor, author, opinionator and coordinator, we can make this into anything I want it to be.  So lets have fun and share those images. 

 

The next chapter is due out when I have time to do it.  In the meantime, you can’t take a great image with your camera(s) in the bag.  Go out and shoot, even if for practice. . . Dwain!