Apogee Photo - Home

Spread the News ~~ Click on this "Share Button"
 Send this Article to Your Photography Colleagues, Friends and Family
Spread It Around the World Instantly

Apogee Photo Magazine

FIRST CLASS PHOTOGRAPHY:

Lesson two

by Willis T. Bird

What are these white lines? Pictures of animals in enclosures can be done successfully when you put your camera lens as close as possible to the bars of the cage. This way they become a blue that is not too noticeable. You must also make sure your on camera flash does not fire or it will light up the bars as you see here. (Photo by Wanda H.. Bird)

You've taken some photos, and now you're ready to share them with other photographers to learn more about this art you've begun. However, you may be nervous about making mistakes in front of people who know more than you do. Never fear. Once you get to know other photographers, they can clue you in on the hard lessons they've learned over the years. All photographers--from the great Ansel Adams down to humble me--have made their share of blunders when it comes to cameras.

Before the advent of the SLR (single lens reflex) camera, in which you actually look through the lens, you could take some fine shots of blackness by leaving the lens cap on while you were snapping the shutter. However, the SLR was the original WYSIWYG ("what-you-see-is-what-you-get") of cameras, and it cured a lot of problems. Prior to the SLR, there were only view and rangefinder cameras, which, unfortunately, allowed you to clip the heads and legs off your family and friends. You could scalp your loved ones without even knowing it. The only way to be sure you weren't decapitating your subjects was to become accustomed to your particular camera through practice, practice, practice. Today, many cameras still use the same method of focusing, so you still need to be careful. There's no easy way to overcome the risk, although modern viewfinders are marked to help you.

Be sure to pay attention to the background. Here the background not only is distracting but makes it difficult to see the subject. Pros use a telephoto lens with a wide open aperture to throw the background out of focus. (Photo by Willis T. Bird)

My favorite goof-up story involves a great blue heron. Herons are much more difficult to approach than an egret is. One day, at a wildlife refuge, I had my tripod set up with a 300mm lens. I spotted a fine great blue in some reeds and made a few preliminary shots from a great distance, because I wanted to be certain to capture at least a shot or two before he took off. Holding my breath, I approached a few more steps, set down the tripod, and took more shots. I continued to stealthily close the gap between this huge bird and myself until only his head filled my viewfinder. I was getting shot after shot of this beautiful creature, and I was as close as I had ever been to one! Suddenly, a cold shiver ran up my spine. I realized I had been shooting quite a number of pictures. I had better see how many shots were left on my thirty-six-exposure roll of film. To my horror, the counter on my camera read forty-four! My worst fear was realized as the great bird gave a laughing squawk, rose from the reeds, and flew out of sight. I had, in my haste, not connected the film to the sprockets in the camera properly, so the film had never advanced. I didn't have a single picture of the heron. He seemed to sense the joke on me, since he let me approach him so closely. This experience happened far into my photographic life, so I knew better. I had simply been careless.

Here is another common problem with backgrounds. In this picture your camera measured the light in the background, not the subject. This can be solved by using the spot meter option, if your camera has it. Or learn how to use the meter lock and measure the foreground first, lock the meter and recompose and then take the picture. If you want both the background and the subject to be exposed properly, use fill-in flash or supplemental light such as from a reflector. (Photo by Willis T. Bird)

You must take whatever time you need to do it right. Otherwise, you'll pay dearly for your mistakes, as I did. Fortunately, many cameras nowadays will self-load, but you still must take care to follow the directions. The secret is to double check everything and learn your camera--no matter which one you have. Of course, you'll make your own blunders, anyway, but don't worry about it. Mistakes are part of the game.

A really good way to learn more about photography is through a camera club. Some are better than others. Many encourage young people and offer special projects to help you. Many will take you on in a one-on-one teaching assignment. Even if you go merely to listen, you'll pick up tips you can use. You'll discover there are many opinions as to what makes a good photo, and the opinions don't all agree all the time. That's okay. You'll soon form your own opinions.

One fun, challenging, learning activity I've seen clubs and even schools sponsor is a scavenger hunt. Participants are given one roll of film and a list of items. They're asked to shoot pictures of as many items from the list as they can find. When all the film is processed, the group votes on which photos best represent the items listed. A player must use his imagination and, yet, be selective in his choice of shots, since he has only one roll of film.

Another school project might be to photograph all the old houses in your town. We're losing many of our old historic structures. Creating a record of these could be of real, long-term benefit to the community.

See if you can think of your own project to do for your school. Film is the cheapest part of photography. The more exposures you shoot, the better photographer you become, if you pay attention to your results. You can read all you want, but you'll truly learn by doing. Don't keep your creations to yourself, though. Share your hobby with as many people as you can. People love to look at photographs.

To sum up, don't worry about making mistakes. Just learn from them. Seek information and help from other photographers, and don't be afraid to share your work. Photography is fun as well as educational. Go for it!