Greetings from Rural New Zealand
Thought you'd like to know a wee bit about me. I first became interested in photography back in the days of the box Brownie ! Yes, yes, I know, its a few decades ago. I can still remember going to the Zoo and trying to tilt that camera up at the right angle to get a photo of some very large brown bears and the angle of the sun kept hitting it so I either got the air and no bears or the bears in a small corner of the screen and when i tilted it back I couldn't see anything, the screen was bare ! By comparison, coming to grips with digital was a piece of cake.
Anyway, I digress ........ thank goodness things have moved on.
After a series of film camera of the point and shoot variety I decided it was time to get real and get a "proper" K1000 Pentax with a through the lens metering system. It was brilliant !! I took around a zillion photographs of waves on the beach at Great Barrier Island and I thought I had entered photographic heaven ! I can't tell you what a difference the camera made to my life.
Unfortunately, it didn't have the same effect on my pocket ! Film, remember .. ? Cost money, and the number of shots I took it cost some serious dosh !
Ever the optimist, I got into black and white with a slightly reduced budget now :)
That was worse as black and white cost more to develop :((
Solution ? Learn developing ! Naturally, so fiddling about in the darkroom trying to wind up film and haul it out of camera and into developing tanks , was a bit of a drama and it was becoming expensive getting the gear but THEN ..... magic happened ! I learnt enough to dip some photo paper into the developing trays and poke them about when suddenly the image started appearing through the fluid. I was sold ! I thought it incredible - still expensive, still a learning curve but wow ! it was worth it. Even with all those ruined clothes from the developing fluids and chemicals !
If I thought developing was super cool you can imagine what I thought when digital arrived !
What ? No film, no expense, no chemicals, no excitement though, not "real", bit like driving a car that wasn't manual, but I'll give it a go. Hooked of course ! Like you no doubt are fellow photographer, and to think we can edit and switch to black and white at the click of a mouse now.
It gives us control, the opportunity to be truly creative and to concentrate on the important things like being even more creative !
Til next time when I'll tell you my next stage in the journey
Happy snapping
The Digiital Photographer
Follow up 3
Raining Cats and dogs today .....
Hello from New Zealand where it is raining cats and dogs today !
I was planning on going around outside photographing greenery - that's all wet - you'd think that was a no-no for photos but hey, no, there are some great amazing shots going out there, shiny, slippery, dripping with wetness and lusciousness. that's why New Zealand is so green, its all that rain. That's also why we have some amazing opportunities for moss, ferns, tree ferns and I am sure you have heard of the silver fern and I'm not talking netball here.
So, how do you get cool photos in the rain ? Same as you get them any other time - by watching, looking and keeping that "digi-eye'out that's how. One wee tip, less light so you might need to keep that shutter open longer so if it's very dark use a tripod. Yes, I know, its a fag to cart one around but worth it, definitely as it stops camera shake. Nothing worse than getting that perfect pic that would be totally amazing if you'd managed to keep the camera still.
I use a small monopod sometimes or make sure I can prop the edge of the camera up on a fence or post or something handy. Wet and wild can sometimes produce incredible shots but best of all is dew and moss
Until next time
The Digipix Photographer
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