Posts Tagged ‘photography’

The Magic of Digital Photography

April 19th, 2010

Digital photography is helping to revolutionize the way we view our pictures and the way we are able to capture the most breathtaking images.

Digital photography is becoming more affordable every year, and the technology to make fabulous photos is well within the reach of the average consumer.

Digital Photography is more than just using a digital camera; it also entails some post processing in an image editing software to the image you captured with your digital camera. Digital Photography is a process where pictures are taken to a computer disk or memory card rather than film.

Digital photography is one of the late 20th century s most innovative technologies. Digital photography is a radically different kind of photography, because the photographer can finally see what the film sees.

You waste nothing; there’s no film required, and because you only print the pictures you need, digital photography is cost effective and environmentally friendly.

First of all, the general claim about digital photography is that it makes photography easier; and that’s wrong already. And this is where it is getting interesting because, basically, the argument is that digital photography is better because you don’t have to wait. Although the resolution of digital photos is not nearly as high as photos produced from film, digital photography is ideal when you need instant, low-resolution pictures.

For many people, the biggest advantage of digital photography is that it eliminates the need for picture processing. Almost all of the cost of digital photography is capital cost, meaning that the cost is for the equipment needed to store and copy the images, and once purchased requires virtually no further expense outlay. Lastly, digital photography is the future, there’s no getting around that, and the sooner you start shooting digitally, the better equipped you’ll be to evaluate and handle new technology as it comes out. After all, digital photography is just another tool of modernization showing the advancement of photography in an ever-changing world.

The age of digital photography is here and here to stay. With more than 64 million digital cameras sold last year alone, digital photography is more popular than ever. Once of the best of the long list of advantages of digital photography is the immediate ability to view the scene through the digital cameras LCD screen.

For me, digital photography is also the greatest gift ever and the best thing since sliced bread.

For more on digital photography visit

www.jacksworldshop.com/TheCameraAuction

Steve Harris

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Is Digital Photography Better Than Film Photography?

April 15th, 2010

The world of photography has been changed forever by the arrival of digital cameras. Millions of people are getting involved in photography for the first time, thanks to the economy and convenience of digital photography. But the question is still often asked. Which is better: film or digital?

I use film, but if someone asks me whether they should buy a film camera or a digital camera, I almost always recommend digital. The answer is not so simple if someone asks me which is ‘better’ – film or digital?

The answer comes down what you mean by ‘better.’ Photography is many things to many people, so the merits of the medium depends on what you expect to get out of it.

In my business (a nature photography gallery), the single most important criteria is the quality of the printed photograph. For me, film still provides superior quality enlargements, even though darkroom printing has all but died out. These days, I get a high-resolution scan from the original film, and print my photos digitally. This process gives me a better quality enlargement than a print from a digital camera. I am talking about BIG enlargements here – A2 and sometimes larger.

So why do I recommend others to switch to digital photography (if they haven’t already)? Simply because not many people make their living selling framed photographs. Let’s face it, how many of us will ever print a photo larger than 8×12 inch (20x30cm)?

These days, in fact, how many of us ever get around to printing our photos at all? The day of the photo album has passed. Today most photos will only ever exist as digital files. We can share them in emails, insert them into websites, use them as screensavers…for many people the idea of actually printing a photo is little more than a novelty.

So in the age of digital photography, what does film has to offer? Well, not much, except for the high cost of developing and printing (don’t forget you have to pay for each exposure, even the bad ones). Then there is the long delay between taking the photo and seeing the result. Finally, if you want to use your photo for any practical purpose, you will probably have to scan it to turn it into a digital file anyway.

So, is digital photography ‘better’ than film photography? In the modern world, which demands speed and convenience, yes. With your digital camera you can take all the photos you like at no real cost, and see the results instantly. You don’t have to pay to print photos you don’t want, and you can simply delete your unsuccessful images from your camera.

That’s not to say digital photography is perfect; far from it. I have already mentioned that your digital files are not as good as film for very big enlargements, but there is more to it than that. The quality of a digital print is a little ‘flatter’ than a photo printed from film. It may have plenty of colour and detail, but in ways that are hard to explain, it lacks the illusion of three-dimensional real life that you can get from film.

In the past, most digital photographers would laugh at me for suggesting such a thing. I suspect that was because after investing a small fortune in their new technological treasure, they were reluctant to admit that their new toy was not perfect in every way. Today, however, even the most committed digital convert seems willing to admit that the digital revolution has, for all its advantages, brought with it a level of compromise in quality.

Is there a solution? Of course there is, and it is called software. Whichever editing program you use, it is quite easy to ‘tweak’ your photos to a standard that is as rich and three dimensional as a photo printed from film. These programs have become a fact of life for many photographers, but not everyone likes to use them or even knows how to. Then there are the grumpy old purists (like me) who feel that a well-exposed photo should not require enhancement to bring it up to standard.

So where does all this leave us? Is digital better than film? For my purposes, no. For your purposes, most likely yes. If your priority is not large, high quality prints, there is really very little reason to stick with film (other than nostalgia).

If you are shopping for a camera (SLR or compact), make it a digital. Just as important, take the time to learn how to use it. Photography is still about focus, aperture, shutter speed, composition and lighting. The digital vs. film debate means nothing if your camera is always switched to auto for taking snapshots. Oh, and get to know your computer…you’re going to need it.

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Abandoning your Film Cameras for the Power of Digital Photography

April 12th, 2010

My introduction to digital photography was probably a bit more dramatic than most people’s. To get the full picture – so to speak – let’s travel back in time to the salad days of my life as a fledgling photographer: six years ago!

Although digital photography was available even then, they had as yet to come into their own, or rather into my hands. Naturally enough, this meant that I was still lugging around my film SLR – that’s single lens reflex to all those out there who’re sitting around scratching their heads.

Anyway, along with my trusty camera, which I had spent a fortune to get by the way, I was also lugging around everything else that I needed along with it. Spare lenses, extra film, batteries, filters, basically the whole works. Having said that, even though I’m now almost fully digital through and through I still do carry most of the same things. The only thing that’s radically different in digital photography is the lack of film rolls.

I now don’t carry with me rolls and rolls of film, and I don’t need to wait eternally to reload the camera either. Instead I have learned to do a quick change of my memory cards even under the direst of weather circumstances.

Speaking of dire weather conditions it was on one of these days that I was introduced to digital photography.

The one great thing about digital photography though, was that I get to see the pictures I take immediately I take them. The small viewfinder that accompanies just about all new digital cameras is perfect for determining in an instant whether you need a reshoot or not. Of course the screen is generally too small to see too much detail but it works for the most part.

And if you really want to go high tech and see right then and there whether your photograph came out okay, all you need is a laptop computer. With digital photography your shooting abilities will increase manfold as you now also have the ability to store more shots as well. All you need to do is to transfer the pictures to the laptop and you have a newly emptied memory card just waiting to be filled.

If you’re somewhere in the middle of deepest Antarctica or somewhere equally cold of course, then you won’t want to spend time fiddling with all these gadgets and might only want to get back to blessed warmth. But digital photography as option is always open for you to take if you want to take the time and effort to empty out your memory cards while you’re out in the field shooting away.

For my part I prefer to have the laptop with me only on certain trips that I take. Like the ones where transportation and storage are easy and where I don’t have to lug the silly thing along with me everywhere I go, along with my digital photography equipment! You might of course feel differently about that, but as I like to say, each to his own. First things first though, you need to decide whether you like digital photography or not.

For many a professional photographer, the difference between choosing digital photography cameras over film cameras, is somewhat akin to the preference of manual transmission over automatic transmission cars for the professional driver. Although to a very great degree digital photography and manual photography are both the same, and they both yield almost identical results, in the end when push comes to shove, the manual car will always give them more power and control when they need it most.

And that’s why you’ll still see quite a lot of professional photographers hugging their old film SLR’s to their chest, refusing to part with it. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the inability to change and adapt as much as it is the knowledge that film cameras – for the moment at least – will yield far better results when push comes to shove.

For the beginning photographer though, digital photography is as good a way as any to go, and if you’re mainly an enthusiastic amateur, you’ll get along fine with your digital camera. It’s when you start going up in the stakes that you have to make a decision whether you want to upgrade with digital photography all the way, or whether you want to go for the film camera.

Then again, before we end this article, I just have to point out that technology is advancing in quantum leaps and bounds, and that there’s a huge possibility that you will see more and more people abandoning their film cameras for the power of digital photography.