A camera is just a tool, right?

Good light and composition are not dependent on gear.

I get it all the time. I'm out working, and inevitably someone will take a look at my gear and say "I bet that camera takes good pictures."

Well, no, I counter. A photographer takes good pictures. The camera is just a tool. I tell that to anyone who enquires about taking better photographs. I preach it to my students when I teach classes. A photographer understands how to use light and thoughtfully compose an image. A photographer chooses when to press the button and capture a particular moment in time. Owning a nice camera does not make you a photographer.

I might have to eat some of those words.

You can build a house with a hammer and a saw, but you can build one a whole lot more efficiently with some power tools.

For the past couple of weeks, I feel like I've been working with a hammer.

My trusty Nikon D300 wigged out on me. The mirror locked up and the camera essentially became non-functioning. It was my only working body, too, my other one being an old D2Hs with a fried image sensor functioning only as a lens holder. (Useless, unless images with a sickly hot-pink magenta cast are the look you're going for) To simply do my job, I've had to borrow a camera from the Connect Statesboro staff. I'm grateful to them, but it's been an exercise in frustration.

The camera I borrowed is a Nikon D40x, which was the entry-level digital SLR in Nikon's lineup (since replaced by the snazzier D3100). To be sure, it's cable of making fine images within its limitations. But make no mistake: it has its limitations.

Many folks appreciate lightness in a camera body. It's sure a lot easier on my shoulders and neck. But a little heft has its advantages. A heavier body acts as a counterweight against heavier professional-level lenses. The D40 looks and feels downright silly with a 70-200 mm f/2.8 telephoto zoom lens mounted on it. Plus, the camera is made of flimsy plastic. Camera equipment tends to get knocked about in the course of covering news assignments. The build does not inspire confidence.

Like I said, this camera is capable of making good images. I shot a fairly bang-up portrait for the cover of one our monthly publications. Light and composition are two of the three most important elements of good photography. That part never changes, regardless of your gear. The third – timing – is where I consistently have experienced frustration. And, in photojournalism, I can't think of anything more important than timing.

Missed a funny moment while D40 searched for focus

I'm accustomed to a camera responding instantly. I shoot a frame, and the D300 was instantly ready to shoot another. If I needed to shoot a burst of frames, I've had up to 30 or so frames available, at 8 frames per second, no less. Not so with the D40. Sometimes, there is a lag when I press the shutter release. Sometimes I have to wait before I can shoot again. Nikon claims "instant response time" and "3 frames per second burst rate," but I beg to differ.

Plenty of light? No problem. Typical human movement? Sufficient. But news photography frequently requires shooting action in low light. Thank goodness all of our local high school and college football teams were playing out-of-town games last weekend. Still, I was cursing as the D40 struggled to make in-focus, properly exposed images at a Halloween haunted house.

So, if you ever wondered what you get when you spend megabucks on a digital camera, this is what differentiates a model with pro features from an entry-level camera:

• Durable build. When you drop big bucks on a camera, you should expect something that can take a reasonable beating. The camera body itself will outlast the electronics that make it function. (e.g. my D2Hs) Higher end models come with a degree of weather sealing, too, to keep moisture and dust from invading the electronics inside your camera. Not water-proof, mind you. I wouldn't suggest shooting with any sophisticated electronic cameras in a driving rainstorm. But a gentle sprinkle shouldn't make your gear lock up.


• Processing power. A digital camera is essentially a mini-computer, and you can expect the same difference in performance that you would between a $500 computer and a $5,000 computer. Every camera function is dependent on processing power, from responsiveness, to autofocus speed, to image processing, etc. An entry-level DSLR is just fine for most folks. But when you need to make a couple thousand images in one day ( and sometimes I do), you need something more robust.

Those are the main things, but some other niceties come with a bigger price tag. Ergonomics and convenience, for example. Instead of having to scroll through endless menus to change certain settings, pro models have lots of buttons and dials right at your fingertips to quickly make adjustments. You get what you pay for.

Perhaps I needed to spend more time with the D40x to squeeze the most out of its potential. It's the kind of camera that would suffice more many, or most, photography enthusiasts. In fact, it would be a great used purchase for those looking to step up from a point-and-shoot. It's not a power tool, however. (Well, maybe one of those off-brand power tools you can buy at discount stores.)

My equipment breakdown has expedited the approval by our corporate folks for a new D300s camera body, which should arrive in the next day or so. Just in the nick of time, because there are football games Friday and Saturday with playoff implications. Having two camera bodies is not a luxury for a photojournalist, either. Backup is not the only consideration. I lament the countless pictures I have lost because I was switching lenses. To that end, I should get my trusty D300 back from the repair shop fairly soon, too.

I can't wait, because it sure takes good pictures.

Link: Headshots don't have to be boring

SLIDESHOW
Photo focus: Creative headshots
from reuters.com

Usher poses for a protrait in NY.

(REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

Mention the topic of "head shots" to a lot of news photographers, and you just might get a groan as a response. Little postage stamp-sized pics that are used to simply identify the subject of a story or a quote don't typically get the creative juices flowing. Plus, they are overused and over-assigned, as I professed in a previous post.

Unfortunately, some assignments lend themselves to little more. Depending on the notoriety of the subjects, the only access you might get is when they are speaking at a podium or some other kind of heavily controlled environment.

However, I ran across a slideshow on the Reuters news service site that just goes to show how really good photographers can still see things in unique ways.

It's definitely the end of an era ...

Last Kodachrome roll processed in Parsons
(click on headline for story)

I think film will continue to play a role in the future of photography, mostly with those artists who wish to distinguish their work from the masses. The process of shooting, developing, and printing black and white film, especially. There's an organic quality that digital just can't replicate, sort of like the difference between a movie and a live theatrical performance. Or the difference between listening to jazz music on an iPod and witnessing a hot trio in a smokey club.

If you've ever flipped through the pages of a National Geographic magazine published before the 1990s, you are familiar with Kodachrome. The combination of a legendary film and state of the art printing just can't be matched by today's digital images viewed on computer screens.

Heck, you have to drop at least $30K for a digital camera that even comes close to the resolving power and detail Kodachrome brought to the table.

Says Steve McCurry, who shot the iconic portrait of an Afghan refugee in 1985 on Kodachrome:

"It's definitely the end of an era," he said of Kodachrome. "It has such a wonderful color palette ... a poetic look, not particularly garish or cartoonish, but wonderful, true colors that were vibrant, but true to what you were shooting."

Yeah, I'm showing my age, but those of you that didn't pick up a camera until the digital era just don't know what you missed.

Steve McCurry's website

The best light available – in a flash

Low light? No problem - usually. Available light can be beautiful.

We photogs are always thinking about light. I posted, a while back, about the interplay between light and shadow, and how it can make or break a photograph. Some photographers simply have a gift for seeing light and using it to create a special quality to their photographs. Sebastiao Salgado is one of those that comes to mind. He always shoots in black and white, but the light is one of the first qualities that jumps out at you. And it's always available, existing light, sometimes in conditions where some of us would just give up and not even bother to shoot. It's truly a gift to be able to see like that.

I'm a big proponent of available light photography and it's usually how I approach most assignments. By using available light, I can operate less obtrusively. It allows me to become more of a fly on the wall instead of being the center of attention. It's also a challenge, both technically and creatively, to figure out how to use available light to your story-telling advantage. Fortunately, today's latest professional level digital cameras are much more sensitive to light and create higher quality results than even the most sensitive film. (Sorry point-and-shoot owners. These low-light advantages don't yet extend to inexpensive consumer cameras due to 1) cost, and 2) the laws of physics. If you're interested in the technical reasons, try this link: What Is... ISO)

But the amount of light isn't the only consideration. First, there's the quality of the light. Is it hard, creating contrast and deep shadow areas? Or is it soft, with little or no shadows or contrast? You have to consider the direction your subject is being illuminated from: are any shadows working for you or against you? Sometimes the color of the light is a consideration, especially when you have mixed light sources, such as direct sunlight, shade, incandescent light bulbs, or florescent lights. They all have a different hue, and that can cause problems when they are mixed together.

Flash allowed me to make a better portrait by
    filling in ugly mid-day shadows and cleaning
    up a busy background.

So what do I do when the quantity and quality of light are working against me? I gotta break out the flash. I have mixed feelings about flash photography. As I mentioned before, I prefer to work unobtrusively and fade into the background. I feel the pictures that result from this approach and the moments they depict are more honest. Sometimes, I worry about altering the existing scene by introducing artificial light. However, in the interest of professionalism, particular assignments or subjects (often portraits) simply call for some lighting help.

I have a great admiration for photographers who are masters of lighting their subjects. Like I said, light can make or break a photograph, and some photographers are extremely creative in the way they use flash. One of my favorites is Joe McNally, because his background is in photojournalism and the way he works and lights his subjects is closer to what I do than many of the fashion and portrait photographers famous for the look of their images.

W. Eugene Smith (whose quote is the inspiration for the name of this blog) was known for his dramatic use of available light in his photographs. But everything isn't always as it seems. Once, when asked by a student if available light was the best kind of light, Smith responded

"Available light is any damn light that is available! "

 Indeed, Smith often had to augment the existing light by stringing up flood lights due to the lack of film sensitivity in his day. However, once the lights were up, his subjects went about their lives as though they (the lights and Smith) weren't even there.

Unless I'm making a portrait that requires some measure of direction, I try to take the same approach as Smith when introducing flash to a scene.

Unlike commercial photographers who often use powerful studio strobes to drown out existing light, photojournalists usually try to keep their equipment to a minimum and are more interested in balancing flash with the existing light. There are two basic approaches to accomplishing this.

Using flash as fill

Mid-day sun needs help.

You may be familiar with the term fill flash. Essentially, it's using flash to reduce the amount of contrast between the highlights and shadows in a scene. With today's digital cameras, it's a fairly easy operation. Expose for your scene highlights, and the camera will automatically determine how much flash is needed to fill in the shadows. This is especially useful outdoors at mid-day or indoors when the main source of light is overhead. Light from above is notorious for creating deep shadows in the eye sockets and under the nose. You can overdo fill flash. Too much, and your scene looks unnatural. But a subtle use of fill flash can open up those faces in the shadows. 

Fill-flash saves the day.

Even basic consumer point-and-shoot cameras are capable of pretty decent fill flash results, and I would recommend using fill flash outdoors during the middle of the day. Just find out how to take your flash out of the automatic mode, turn it on, and let your camera do the work. You might be surprised at how a little fill flash can really make your photos pop!

Using available light as fill

Sometimes, your light levels are just too low and you need some help to make publishable images. In these cases, the flash becomes your main light. However, you still have to balance it with the existing light unless you want your subjects floating in space. In essence, your existing light become the fill. When using this approach, the best results are achieved if you can get your flash off the camera. On-camera flash produces flat light. You lose any sense of shape and three-dimensionality. Most camera manufacturers make sync cords that maintain full exposure functionality so you can hold the flash off to the side or place it on a light stand. Those cords can be unwieldy, however. My trusty Nikon Speedlight offers an additional option - wireless flash. Thanks to the folks at Nikon and their Creative Lighting System (CLS), I can place my flash almost anywhere and still maintain full control right from the camera. It's a great option to add natural looking light from nearly any direction.

One flash with diffuser dome, camera left, on a stand about 10 feet high, fired wirelessly, creates a soft-but directional light. With the existing light used as a fill, it creates a nice, natural three-dimensional look.

Unbalanced flash = lost in space

Off-camera flash isn't an option for most point-and-shoot cameras. And at low light levels, the built-in flash often overwhelms any ambient light. You've probably seen the results: faces floating in space. Many consumer cameras have a flash mode often referred to as "slow." If your camera has this mode, it will utilize slower shutter speeds to better balance the flash with the available light. You might get a little image blur in the background at times, but try it and see if you like the results.

One more tip - soften it up

Most natural sources of light bounce all over the place, reflecting off of many surfaces, producing a softening or diffusing effect. A bare electronic flash tube creates extremely hard light from a small source. That combination is undesirable because it typically produces a harsh, unnatural quality of light with ugly shadows. There are many tricks to make the light from your electronic flash appear more natural. 

If your flash head can tilt and swivel, you can point it towards the ceiling or a wall. This is referred to as bounce flash. (Gotta give Canon and their tutorials a little love, too) The resulting light will bounce off the surface, producing a much softer, broader light for a more natural look. However, light bounced off the ceiling will still produce the same undesirable shadows as any light source from above, only softer and less contrasty. To combat that, you can attach a "bounce card" to your flash to redirect some of the light forward to fill in the shadows. There are many commercially produced bounce devices, but anything with a white surface will work – even a piece of paper.

Another approach is to diffuse the light by putting something white and translucent in front of the flash to soften and spread out the light. (Don't cover your lens, though!) Again, there are many commercial products that can accomplish this, but you can use anything that's handy, in a pinch. My flash shipped with a white, plastic translucent dome that fits right over the flash head. It diffuses light forward and to the sides. If I tilt the flash head upwards, the light goes in all directions, giving me the benefits of both diffusion and bounce flash. It's about as natural and soft as as you can get from a small light source. In fact, it almost never comes off my flash.

Putting it all together: flash with a dome diffuser bounced off the ceiling and balanced with existing light allowed me to capture a story-telling moment in dim lighting conditions.

Diffusion and bounce flash are problematic for point-and-shoot cameras. Most of their built-in flashes are fixed and very close to the lens. About the only advice I have for you is to try this: Do-It-Yourself - Ten-Second Flash Diffusion. Let me know if it works!

In the end ...

Electronic flash is just another tool in the arsenal. The main objective is still to tell stories, share moments, and make connections.  Personally, I'll take the golden glow of evening light that Mother Nature graces us with over anything artificial. (The light at dawn is amazing, too, but anyone who knows me understands that it's going to take a significant assignment for this night owl to roll out of bed in those wee hours.)

Anyway, I'm done with this lighting tutorial. There are numerous resources by those more knowledgeable and talented than I. For more reading on flash photography, try these blogs:

Joe McNally's Blog

Strobist by David Hobby

Lag is a drag: Tips for shooting candids with point-and-shoots

Can you say "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese?"

Back from vacation. Nine days away from the grind of daily newspaper production. It was nice, but vacation with a 2-year-old can be hard work, too. I've been back on the job a few days, finding my sea legs, thinking about something worthwhile to write about.

One of the things I discovered on vacation, much to my chagrin, is that someone has taught my son to say "Cheese!" when a camera makes an appearance.

Chagrin? That's cute, you say. Right?

Well, first, that "cheese" is really a "chaaaaaaaaaaaaaayze" which results in anything but a smiling, happy face. Second ...

Okay, I'll admit it. I can be a snob. I just can't abandon my professional approach when photographing family and friends. I'm a passionate admirer and advocate of candid photography. Always. To the point that I think some people are afraid of (or annoyed with) me.

Now don't get me wrong. I enjoy great portraiture. There are tons of photographers who have a gift for using light and working with subjects that results in memorable photographs. That takes great skill and talent. But I'll confess it drives me crazy when I watch folks with cameras proceed to line up their subjects and either elicit silly faces and poses, or wait – seemingly forever, sometimes – for everyone to put on their "best" faces.

No cheeseball here. Just a real moment between 

father and son.

If those kinds of pictures constitute memories for folks, that's great. Photography should be fun. Me? I guess I prefer my family photos to be like my news photos – real. Honest depictions of what really happened. Of how people really looked and acted instead of how they behaved for the benefit of a camera.

It can be a challenge, both with family and on the job, when some people freak out at the sight of a camera. But I persist in my candid approach, much to the chagrin (there's that word again) of others. I think it's worth the effort, though. You can win people over when they see the results.

I learned a few things myself about shooting candids over vacation. I borrowed a point-and-shoot camera so I wouldn't have to lug my work gear down to the beach and other locales. That would feel too much like work and I was, well, on vacation.

One thing, for sure, is that point-and-shoot cameras are made to make snapshots easy-peasy, Unfortunately, they are not built to make candid photography a breeze. Internet social networks are saturated with cheeseball pictures, and it's no wonder. These cameras are designed and built for cheeseball. You take the camera out of the box and commence to shooting. It's not long before the complaints start. Why are my pictures blurry? or Why won't the thing take a picture when I push the button? The fact is, the default settings on nearly all point-and-shoot cameras are designed to shoot still lifes – not living, breathing, moving people.

The reason for this post is to pass on what I learned during my getaway. If you want to learn how to shoot candid photographs of your friends and loved ones with your point-and-shoot camera, here are some tips.

Lag is a drag

I knew Jasper would turn and look

when his mother called out to him.

Anticipation is key.

The first thing you must be aware of is something called lag time, and there are two types of lag time you need to be aware of. The first is unavoidable. A brief amount of time passes between the time you see something, your brain processes it, you press the shutter release, and the camera actually makes the picture. If you wait until you see a moment to press the button, you've missed it. So anticipation is extremely important in candid photography. In reality, you must press the button slightly before the moment you want to capture actually happens. How much before? That depends on how fast your brain and finger work together. And it depends on the second type of lag time: shutter lag.

The shutter is the little mechanism in every camera that opens and closes to let light in and make an exposure. There is a small, but measurable amount of time between when you press the button and the shutter actually opens. Many of you may have probably experienced it – you push the button and the camera hesitates before it actually takes a picture.

Cameras differ in the amount of shutter lag, and it is usually commensurate with the cost of the camera – the cheaper the camera, the longer the lag time. Shutter lag is measured in milliseconds with costlier cameras and basically unnoticeable. Shutter lag in point-and-shoot cameras is usually noticeable and often aggravating. Ultimately, you are going to have to get a feel for the shutter lag with your particular camera and learn to anticipate moments.

Red-eye reduction is the devil

Nice moment. Devil eyes.

Red-eye. You know. When your subjects' eyes take on that demonic glow. It's caused by the light from your flash reflecting off the retina. Unfortunately, if you like to capture spontaneous moments, the cure is worse than the ailment. To battle red-eye, camera manufacturers have programed cameras to set off a series of preflashes that reduce the size of your subjects' irises, hence eliminating red-eye. And you've probably seen it in action: a camera-wielder gets everyone in position, tells them to smile, mashes the shutter release button, and the preflashes begin. Some subjects think the preflashes are the actual exposure and change their positions or expressions. The results are pictures with half the subjects still smiling while the other half look like they're already walking away. Sometimes those pre-flashes last so long, I think I can go grab a cup of coffee and still make it back in time for my picture to be made.

Easy fix

If you ever want to delve into candid photography, turn off red-eye reduction. DO IT NOW! That means you will have to explore your camera's menu or (gasp!) read the manual because red-eye reduction is almost always turned on by default.

Besides, red-eye is very easy to remove from your pictures. Most photo-sharing web sites, like Flickr or Picasa, have re-touching options you can perform on-line. Even your neighborhood photo processing lab usually has software that automatically removes red-eye. So don't worry about those ghastly glows when you view your pics in your camera's LCD. It's an easy fix and you'll be glad you captured a meaningful moment, instead.

The Little Green Monster

One of the things people love about today's point-and-shoot cameras is that they can take it out of the box and start shooting pictures. But that's only true to a point. Like I said, the complaints start quickly. Every camera I know of has several shooting modes, and the default mode is the green "A." A for automatic. Set it and forget it. But the automatic mode is limited and not typically suitable for shooting anything that moves. Especially people. So explore some of your camera's other settings. In fact, this may be necessary if you want to eliminate red-eye reduction because the default "A" mode often won't let you make modifications.

"A" is not for action.

Many cameras have a shooting mode especially for action or sports. It is often designated by a symbol showing a person running, or something similar. This is a good starting point for shooting candid pictures because this mode is tailored for stopping action, and that's what you want. Go ahead and try out other modes, too. Experiment and see which ones work best for you. Don't be afraid to leave the "A."

Wait for the moment

Iconic photography pioneer Henri Cartier-Bresson coined a term: The Decisive Moment. This is what he said:

"There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative..."

That's the essence of candid photography. Fill the frame with your subjects beforehand. Find your best angle. Create an interesting composition in your LCD or viewfinder. Then wait for life to happen before you. Just be patient. It will happen. It always does. And the satisfaction of capturing those life moments is worth the wait.

Sometimes, the best face is no face at all

The "face" of a 2-year-old.

Pictures can tell the story of your life, and of those around you. A happy, smiling face doesn't always tell the story, though, does it? Maybe the best way to remember your goofy-but-hilarious friend is to shoot his or her picture being goofy. Maybe the bed-head we wake up with at the beach house is more memorable and representative than the picture at the restaurant with perfect hair and makeup.

I've argued this point with editors in newsrooms, and I'll make the same argument to casual snapshooters: sometimes a face isn't necessary at all. Things like scale, and juxtaposition, and body language are all that's necessary to capture the essence of a moment.

Shoot lots and lots … and lots of pictures

You'll end up with more throwaway pics than keepers. This is simply the nature of candid photography. To get good at it, you'll have to practice. By practicing, you'll develop the necessary intuition, anticipation, and patience to capture the spontaneous moments in life you really want to remember.

Worried about filling up your camera's memory card with all those duds that accompany the money shots? Here's one of the beauties of digital photography: you have a delete button. Use it, too, because everyone's a photo editor, these days. Don't show them the outtakes, or you might scare some people off. Just show 'em the good stuff, and you'll be the envy of all your friends and family.

By the way, my wife Kathryn shot many of these pictures, so you don't have to be a pro to capture candid moments with a point-and-shoot. Just have fun!

Three duds. One money shot by my wife Kathryn.

Tip: Don't be afraid of the dark ...

Shining some light on the subject of shadows.

First year Giants T-ball coach Todd Hall, 
top right, gives some batting pointers to 
Lijah Williams, 6. The low evening sun-
light from behind not only reveals the 
texture and details of the infield, it 
creates shadows which become the main 
subject of the photograph.

Photographers talk an awful lot about light. After all, without light, there is no photography. How light interacts with the subjects and scenes we photograph can greatly influence how viewers feel about a photograph.

However, if you really want to create interest and drama in your photographs, the absence of light is just as important.

Shadows in the wrong place can ruin a good picture. Mid-day sunlight and florescent light from the ceiling can create ugly shadows in people's eye sockets or under their noses or chins.

Don't be afraid of shadows, though. If you really examine the light in your scene, shadows can make your photographs really come alive.

It's the interplay between light and shadow that reveals shape, form and texture. That interplay creates contrast and drama. Shadows themselves can even become the main subject of your photograph.

Rachel Z unleashes her stylistically diverse music on 
the audience at the Savannah Jazz Festival in 2004. The
spotlight from behind creates drama and reveals form 
by highlighting the edges of the subject.

President George W. Bush returns to Air Force One 
after stumping for Republican candidates in Savannah 
in 2003. Seemed appropriate to photograph a cowboy 
riding (flying?) off into the sunset.

If you want to take advantage of shadows, it's important to notice what direction your source of light is coming from. Light from the side, such as early morning/late afternoon sunlight or window light, is great for revealing texture and shape. Side light creates an almost three-dimensional effect and can cast long, dramatic shadows across your photograph.

Using light from behind a subject is most obvious in silhouettes. Silhouettes with pretty sunrises or sunsets are popular, but also a bit cliche. Properly exposing backlit subjects to reveal some detail in your subject without blowing out the background is tricky and requires some practice. But light from behind can accentuate the form of your subject by highlighting the edges.

If you really want to take your photography to the next level, start exploring light and shadow. Don't be stationary. Walk around your subjects and notice how the interplay of light and shadow changes. Pay attention to how the quality of light changes with the time of day.

And don't be afraid of the dark.

Testing brand loyalty

Canon has created a bit of a stir with photo geeks.

I've been a long-time Nikon user and fan, but heck yeah I'd drink my cup 'o joe out of this!

Alas, according to this article in Photo District News, this way cool coffee mug was created only as a a giveaway to photographers covering the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and there are no plans to mass produce them.

C'mon Nikon - capitalize!

Perfect holiday gift for budding photographers

Still doing your holiday shopping, and you've bought a camera for a love one or yourself? Spend an extra $10 for the perfect compliment. My college photojournalism professor, David LaBelle, recently published a book titled "I don't want to know all the technical stuff ... I just want to shoot pictures."

Today's digital cameras have made photography more simple, and more complicated, than ever. All those bells and whistles can make your head spin. But the basics of good photography remain the same: timing, light, and composition, or TLC. In very simple-to-understand terms, Dave will walk you through the basics and help you learn what the pros already know. It doesn't matter if you're shooting with a $3 disposable camera or $1000+ model. Like Dave says, "Good people make good pictures, not good cameras."

You can order the book from Dave's "The Great Picture Hunt" web site, or find it on Amazon. Best $10 you can spend on a budding photographer.

See Dave talk about the basics on Fox 12 TV in Boise, ID:

What's my angle?

"Angle" is a term commonly seen and heard in journalism. Generally, when we think of stories and words, angle is the focus of, or approach to, a story: So-and-so wrote her story from a human-interest angle.

In photography, angle is a more literal term, usually describing the physical perspective from the photographer's point-of-view. Angles are extremely important. Perspective can change the way we feel about a subject. A picture from below can make a subject seem more powerful. A picture from above can make a subject seem more vulnerable. When we view a subject eye-to-eye, we see the subject as a peer and can make emotional connections.

Sometimes people chuckle when they see me lying prone with my face pressed against the floor or ground, or climbing a tree or ladder with my cameras dangling precariously. Fact is, most of us view the world around us from a standing or seated position. The world looks different from ground level or from high above. When photographers explore different angles, it allows viewers to see things in new and interesting ways.

Trying different angles is a great way to clean up busy backgrounds that can distract from your subject, too. Sometimes moving a few inches to the left or right, bending those knees, or stepping up on a chair can make the difference between a busy, confusing photograph and one that really communicates your intent.

So all you budding photographers, don't wear your good clothes when you're shooting -- it's all about the angles!

Convergence of new and old

"Images ... represent a time capsule, a link to the past. To hold an image and look into the soldier's eyes, just as he was the day it was taken, always gives me goose bumps."

These are the words of David Wynn Vaughan, whose collection of Confederate Civil War soldier photographs are currently on display at the Georgia Southern University Museum in the "Portraits in Gray" photography exhibition. In fact, his quote is displayed on one of the exhibit panels and serves as a reminder of the power of photography to make connections, even with those long gone.

The detail in the pictures is astonishing. Truly. We were told about a soldier's button that, when enlarged, revealed the details of a harp imprinted on it. These photographs allow us to meet these soldiers, from all walks of life, face to face. Their eyes gaze out at us from across the ages.

And the earliest photographic technology makes this possible. We would like to think that modern technology has made photography better. That today's images are superior to those made in the past. But it's simply not true. Digital photography has made the medium more accessable than ever. No doubt. But the quality of digital images simply isn't the same. The images reflect the medium - images today are simply a collection of ones and zeroes, a cold, digitized description of light and color processed from tiny electronic photosensors.

The old tin plates and paper photographs from the mid-Nineteenth Century somehow bring us closer to the source of those images - the people depicted in them. Not only are the images something tangible, something we can reach out and touch, but they are created directly from the light reflected from the source. The negative and the print were one in the same.

The original photos in "Portraits in Gray" are too precious to display in public. There is only one, under glass, to show what the oringinals looked like. Through the magic of digital enlargement and printing, we get to gaze into the eyes of people from nearly 150 years ago. Images made with digital cameras today lose detail as they are enlarged. The more they are enlarged, the softer and fuzzier they get. These photographs from another era, on the other hand, simply reveal their details, gloriously, under enlargement. It's a convergence of old and new technology. A convergence of past and present.

Today, photographs are typically viewed on a computer screen or television set, or worse yet, as tiny images on a mobile phone. These display mediums make photographs a snap to share with friends and family, or with people all over the world. But they are simply incapable of reproducing the detail on display at the Georgia Southern Museum.

If you ever get the chance, try to extract yourselves from your digital devices and mosey into a gallery to view some photographs from the past. The details of a Civil War soldier's face and uniform. The incredible range of tones in an artfully printed photograph by Ansel Adams, reflecting the great American landscapes. The faces and scenes from the Great Depression produced by photographers working for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s.

You'll be amazed at what you have been missing on your iPhone or your Facebook gallery.

How photography connects us ...

My blog is intended chiefly for the Herald's local audience, but at times I'd like to use this forum to raise our citizens' awareness about great photojournalism by posting links and embedding media.

This is a presentation by National Geographic Director of Photography and Visuals David Griffin. National Geographic remains one of the best sources to see truly great photography, and no one sets the bar higher for their standards. Here, Griffin demonstrates the power of still photography in its ability to make connections between people and the world around them. It lasts almost 15 minutes, but it's well worth the time. I'm inspired every time I view it and use it as an introduction to my photojournalism class at Georgia Southern University.



On a daily basis, I try go beyond the superficial whenever I'm shooting an assignment for the Herald. It's a high bar, indeed, and my level of success varies greatly.  But it's a great standard to strive for.

At home ...

What does an overworked news photographer do in his/her sporadic off-hours? This one tends to put the camera down, most of the time.

That might surprise some. Don't we live and breath photography? Yes, and no. After lugging around one's equipment for 40+ hours a week, you like to get a breather. It keeps you fresh, and a fresh eye is vital. You're always looking at light and imagining what everything might look like through the viewfinder, but sometimes you simply need a rest.

Of course, that doesn't stop family and friends from designating you as the "official" photographer for events and get-togethers. And you try to oblige. I try to leave my work gear at home. Tossing a point-and-shoot camera in the pocket is more handy.

Some photographers really do live and breath with their cameras everywhere they go. They have personal projects. Favorite subjects not covered typically on the job. Maybe I'm different. I'm not a particularly good landscape photographer. I used to enjoy photographing musicians performing, but the late hours cut into family time. Not surprisingly, the subject of most of my off-hours photography is my son. I try to imagine what the world must look like through the eyes of a two-year-old. It's a pretty good approach for a photographer, when back on the job.