Tech Savvy
As I contemplate the next steps in my photographic journey, I find myself doing a lot of research and planning. The next four years are going to be particularly crucial. Why? There are two big things looming on the horizon: equipment upgrade and going to Rio for the 2-16 Summer Olympics. Obviously, I’m planning on upgrading first, but international travel is something that requires careful thought. Most tourists would probably stock up on memory cards and batteries. For even hobby picture takers, the planning goes beyond that, especially when space becomes a huge priority.
For those of you who haven’t heard, I’m planning on getting a D5100 within the next couple years. It has enough features to be versatile without being overwhelming. It’s also reasonably priced and will fit well in my hands. I have smallish hands and skinny fingers, so the camera’s weight and dimensions can make a difference, especially since I’m jumping over from an advanced point and shoot to DSLR. That said, I’ll probably bite the bullet with the lenses right away. My biggest priority is getting a good telephoto lens, especially with the Rio trip in the cards. I’d also like to get a good ultra wide angle lens and have even considered a micro. My focus, though, is on the telephoto, and I plan on getting a sturdy lens that might be a little more money but can be used on higher level bodies in the even that I decide on a DSLR upgrade in the future.
My next big purchase has less to do with taking pictures and revolves around storage/backup. My husband and I have lots of travel plans, and I’m strongly considering getting a tablet so I can upload my files to online storage or even a cloud drive. The key is going to be speed, as I’ll be uploading big files (hence skipping over netbooks altogether). I’ll also need a tablet that works well internationally. I’ll most likely forgo a 3/4G connection that is increasingly common stateside unless the market explodes in Brazil. Even then, different countries will operate on different frequencies, depending on how they build their networks. Preliminary research for international use and customization point to an Android tablet, especially the Samsung Galaxy. It’s a bit pricey right now, but I should be able to pick one up on the resale market before 2016.
The other thing about the Android tablets is the capacity for expandable storage, which can help reduce the amount of gear I’d have to carry. When looking at the iPad, I realize there was no SD card slot, which means I’d have to pack a card reader. The card reader I have is pretty light, but I’d rather not have to pack it if I have a choice. Now tests could find that I’d have to pack one, anyway. What kind if tests? Well, the Android tablets only have slots for micro SD cards, which wouldn’t work for typical SD cards for my cameras. Since adapters are cheap (and I already have one for my smartphone’s card), I can test using a microSD card with an adapter in my cameras to see how it works. If it works, I’ll end up buying a couple microSD cards. I considered buying a single 32GB card but then realized that if I lost that one I’d be up the creek. Two or three 16 GB cards will be more money but allows me to have ample backup, an absolute must for traveling.
Yes, I’ve put a lot of thought into my upgrade plans, and chances are I’ll be thinking about it some more. Aside from going to Rio, I anticipate spending a lot of time in Canada and meandering throughout the Americas. Plus, if I’m really lucky I’ll be able to go to the Pacific Rim for my 40th birthday. That would be nice. 🙂 So good photography gear is paramount since I anticipate being on the go a lot for the next decade or so.
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It’s a Family Affair
Not too long ago, I stumbled across an article that shared tips on getting children into photography. It was a really good article and reminded me of the photography history in my family. I have shutterbugs on both sides of the family tree. My dad; his oldest brother; my mom’s dad; and at least three cousins have all dabbled in photography that goes beyond the family/vacation snapshot. Of everyone that’s still alive, I’m probably the most active on the photography front. I’ve even starting tabulating what it would cost to set up my dream DSLR rig. Hey, I want good equipment when I go to see the Olympics in Rio in 2016!
So what about my family of shutterbugs? I admit I know far less than I should. I do know that my dad took many photos with an SLR camera that he used right up until I graduated high school. Likewise, my mom’s dad was the original owner of Kaito (my Yashica). As for my uncle, I have some pictures that he took that were in my grandmother’s collection up until her death. My uncle is an arts enthusiast and has explored many types of visual and performing arts. My time spent in his company has exposed me more to his paintings and percussion-related endeavors. That is not to say that he’s not interested in other art forms. He made a journal for me when I was 10 years old, one that gave me a space outside of my diary to try out some creative writing. Given the age of the photos (taken when my dad was in middle school) and my relatives’ other interests at the time, I’ve concluded that the same man who created my first creative writing journal is also responsible for these photos. They’re actually very small prints, a format not seen today and most likely not having been taken on 35mm film. The negatives are long one, so I actually have very little information on what was used to capture these shots. I’ll figure it out some day.
Why’s that? One of the things I gained from my family was an appreciation of technology. My mom’s dad actually taught me how to use a computer when I was five. He also showed me many of his old slides and some of the older cameras he and my grandmother still had even after the technology was phased out. As a result, I discovered the importance of appreciating the old and the new. This dual understanding came in handy in the middle of the previous decade when digital photography became more widespread among the prosumer and consumer audiences. So while I have not worked with every format ever invented, I’ve developed a desire to learn more about them. This is one reason why I don’t want a Nikon D800 right now. I understand that its capabilities are designed to match that of a medium format camera, something I may not be ready to try for a long time. I will probably spend more time learning about the lost film formats before even considering picking up a D800. It’s a habit picked up from my family, to look at the past before plunging headfirst into the future. With my family’s introductions into the practice and art of photography, though, I know I’ll be snapping photo for many years to come. AS my mother once said, it’s what I do.
Status Update: Black and White
Nikon recently asked their Facebook fans what subjects they like for black and white photography. I must admit I’m kind of “meh” toward black and and white photography, but I have done it. Like a lot of people, I tend to favor black and white more for portraits. The more I think about it, though, I realized that my preference is even more detailed than that. I like black and white portraits of blonds and redheads. For some reason people with darker hair just look more dynamic in color; I just don’t have quite the same enthusiasm for brunettes in black and white photos. I find that darker hair loses so much of its nuance in black and white. Let’s take a look at these two pictures of myself.
Yes, I realize that they are at two different angles (roughly). However, you can see that my auburn highlights (evident in the color photo) don’t show up at all in the black and white portrait (which, incidentally has more light to emphasize the various shades in my hair for color photos). I only used the sun for my light source, thus I do recognize that under the right conditions darker hair’s nuances can be depicted in black and white. Even so, the amount of light needed would infuriate every environmentalist on Earth. With lighter hair, less light gets absorbed. That means less effort to depict nuances in hair.
Now why am I going on about hair when the portraiture is about faces? There are two reasons. First, I am a a bit of a hair junkie. I am the type of person who notices hair before just about anything else, be it seeing someone in person or in a picture. Second, hair can make all the difference in the composition of a portrait because it’s so variable. With black and white, the eye tends to be drawn to the darker shades first, so in a lot of cases hair will be the first thing the viewer will notice. This leads to a harmonious transition to viewing the faces of blonds and redheads. With dark hair, though, the eyes better have it. Otherwise, the hair will hog the spotlight because it’s so dark.
Will I get to capture photos of blonds and redheads to test this theory myself? Probably not anytime soon. I actually have the lightest hair color out of anyone on my dad’s side of the family. My mom’s family trends toward somewhat darker hair as well. The same goes for my husband’s family, and I have more friends with dark hair than not. So if I want to capture any portraits like the black and white number I linked in my previous portraiture entry, it will be a long ways off.
Canon vs. Nikon
The digital camera debate of Canon versus Nikon is one of those aspects of photography that will never go away, especially as each brand continues to develop their lineups of compact and DSLR cameras. As I continue to develop my photography skills, I’ve been paying a little more attention to this debate, especially since I’ll be camera shopping again in a couple years. From what I’ve seen come out of both DSLR’s and my P80, I have to say I’m fully in the camp of Team Nikon.
Even though a lot of things have changed since I started to get interested in photography back in 1999 (and was working with film), I have taken enough photos to observe a greater degree of color consistency with Nikons. Flesh tones, in particular, are smoother even without retouching. When I was using film, I had a Kodak, which was generally true to life with colors, although anything in the blue family came out a little dark. My first digital camera, the Fuji A340 (which will get its own post; I promise), had a default cool white balance that took awesome photos in the winter but could make skin tones look abnormally red. In natural light it worked fairly well, and it had a good flash. However, from the standpoint of color, not being able to alter the white balance proved to be the Fuji’s weak spot. Cameron (my current Nikon) has enough manual controls that I can adjust the white balance with ease, helping me better maintain the authenticity of the colors of my subjects. The photos I’ve seen from Canons (mostly in the intermediate to advanced amateur categories) are more in line with what I’ve seen from my Fuji. In particular, there’s a picture of me my cousin-in-law took with a Canon, and I look like I have Rosacea. I do not have Rosacea. This suggests a lack of user friendly design within the Canon DSLR’s, as my cousin most likely did not change the white balance settings. It is also very likely that she used the camera’s default auto settings, which proved to be very unforgiving with skin tones. Heck, even my grandmother (who was also in the picture and had very good skin tone all her life) had skin flaws etched into photography memory thanks to the Canon. I have also seen a difference in the Nikon’s colors in natural light situations what with brighter greens, realistic yellows and wonderfully spot on brick reds. Okay, all the reds look nice, but when you photograph a lot of bricks like I tend to do, that particular shade of red just sticks with you.
Another thing I’ve noticed with Nikons are the ease of usability. From the positioning of the controls to the readibility of spec pages and instruction manuals, Nikon is all around top notch. The feel of a Nikon (any kind) in my hand is kind of hard to describe other than balanced. The grip comes naturally, and I never ever feel like I’m fighting the camera. I even tried out a D5000 last month, and the only difference was a few extra ounces in comparison to the P80. Granted, some of the Nikon models have controls on the left, which can take some getting used to, but the accessibility is similar to those models like the D5000 and D5100 (my next camera) which have the controls on the right. Another bonus is that Nikon cameras mostly use SD cards, which are easiest for most people to use. When I worked as a photo specialist at Walgreens, I always dreaded having to deal with CompactFlash cards and Memory Sticks because they’re fragile, somewhat corruptable and not at all user friendly. SD cards are pretty consistent with file stability and ease of use, and their use in Nikons eliminates the need to plug the camera into your computer. Since the vast majority of computers on the market include SD card slots, it’s easiest to pop the card out of the camera and insert it into the computer slot. Most Canons continue to use CompactFlash cards, which means the user has to be rather careful when inserting and removing cards. CompactFlash cards also take up more space than SD cards, and if you want to remove the card from the camera, you’ll need a special reader hooked up to your computer. The ultra professional Nikon DSLR cameras (D3s and D700) still use CompactFlash, but it’s not likely that I’ll be purchasing either one of those anytime soon.
Canon versus Nikon is very much like PC versus Mac, XBox versus Playstation, and ACI versus WinTotal (have to give a shout out to all the residential appraisers out there). Those on a particular side are almost fiercely loyal to their chosen team. This gives you an idea on why I choose Team Nikon. If all that text was too much for you, have a couple photos taken on Cameron. Then you should get the picture (pun very much intended).
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