The Chronicles
April 2009
Salutations dear readers and fellow Laurentian neighbors,
Did you know that the word "Photography" comes from the Greek words "phos" meaning light, and "graphos" meaning writing (ref. http://www.photoworkshop.com/photo101 )? Yup, you guessed it, this month we'll be looking at the first step of digital photography - taking a good picture. It is the most important part of the process as a bad picture will always be a bad picture. Before getting into the thick of it, however, I would like to take a moment to point out that I am not a professional photographer. I am what we call a computer "power-user" and so a lot of what I know about photography I have learnt on the Internet and with practice. It's not (too) complicated really, there are "x" amount of rules to remember and apply and ... ta-daaa ... great looking pics every time.
So, let's get started. As you can imagine there is an array of subjects one could delve into when sharing information about taking good pics. I am just going to skim the surface and, to help me do so, I am going to refer you to some very interesting Web sites. They certainly helped me get to know my "Point and Shoot" camera better as well as to determine part of the content for my courses.
This first site organizes the "top 10 beginning photography tips" as follows:
1. Move in closer - 2. Be quick - 3. Compose with care - 4. Be selective - 5. Focus on your subject
6. Experiment in time - 7. Look at the light - 8. Watch the weather - 9. Keep it simple and
10. Be bold ... http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/tips.asp .
This second site is basically organized by subject:
1. Top 10 tips - 2. People and Animals - 3. Nature - 4. Holidays and Events - 5. Vacations and Travel
6. Around the house and 7. Advanced Techniques ... http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=39&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=8223 .
Finally, you also have http://www.megapixel.net/html/articles.php . Take a look at all the incredible information under the "Camera Basics" and "Photography Tips" sections.
Please note that there are tens of thousands (if not millions) of Web sites referring to good photo taking and therefore, and I come back to it again, it is imperative to understand the fundamentals of searching on the Internet.
One final thought before signing off. A project which I suggest to all my clients and which will have you practicing all of the above tidbits is to go around your home taking photos of your valuables for Insurance purposes. Don't forget to take a picture of your camera - by reflection in the mirror perhaps ;o).
Take good care of yourselves,
questions.monamilordi@gmail.com
This article originally appeared in Main Street – The Laurentians' English Language Community Newspaper.
