ragman

9 Camera & Computer:

In this section I include a little about my camera and my equipment. I would however stress the type, value, brand of equipment is not important.

I have two cameras ~ a good one and a real one. My good one is a Nikon D300, and it is a seriously good one. I started with an F2, an F2AS then progressed through various F2 models to the F3 (which I never really felt at home with), then on to a brace of F4s. 9 one for colour slides and the other for black and white film.

Lens wise, I started with two lenses a 50mm, and an 80-200mm. I used the 80-200mm for the start, but when I really wanted to learn about photography and the characteristics of a lens, I decided to use the 50mm to get to know it. After a few years, I moved on to a 35mm and this was my staple lens for quite a few years.

When I felt I had known enough, I progressed to a 28mm for the next while, then on to a 24mm, before arriving at the ultimate lens ~ a Nikkor 20mm. and it has been my trusty constant companion. During this time I went through the above-mentioned cameras, but the perspective was the important thing, and I and the 20mm became one. It is important to have a constant.

When I progressed to digital, I started with a Canon 300D for reasons of price and availability. At that time Nikon didn’t have a comparable affordable alternative. I must say the Canon and I didn’t see eye to eye, and with that my photographic progress seemed to downturn and regress, but that was probably due to the digital transition.

When I could afford it, I moved to a Nikon D100, and although purchasing a Nikon 24-120mm VR lens and a Sigma 12-24mm lens with it, I was back in tandem again with my trusty 20mm. Since then I moved up to a Nikon D200, and only recently acquired the Nikon D300. One advantage of a DSLR is you only need one body as the need for slide transparency and black and white film is gone.

I find the lens to be far more important to the camera, but the underlying thing was I needed a constant. I don’t carry a bag, just one body and one lens, and some cards. I don’t use a tripod, as I feel it restricts my creativity, but that’s a personal opinion, not a piece of advice expecting others to follow.

I have one body, one set of parameters and settings, one lens. Therefore that constant gives you control and confidence and you are not changing from one lens to another lens, or having to consider exposures or apertures or F-stops or whatever.

I use the manufacturers programme mode setting P ~ why? ~ Because those guys at Nikon know more about their camera than I do. I do know all about manual exposure, appropriate apertures etc. but on balance when I am out capturing images there are four C’s involved capture, creativity, composition and controls.

The composition is in my head, I don’t need to think about that, the controls I preset so I don’t have to worry about them, so all I have to worry about is concentrating on are just capturing ‘the moment’, and creating the image in my head.

(BTW, the settings I currently use are; colour space is sRGB (because 90% of my images will be converted to black and white using RGB) and also for monochrome, saturation is set at plus one, contrast is set at plus one.)

My other camera, which I now call the real one, is a Lumix Leica, 10.2 MP, 20mm wide angle lens, and using always on 16:9 ratio. It is always in my pocket, and is probably now responsible for most of my recent successful images on Redbubble. It is light its compact and it’s always right.

I have just purchased a Dell XPS, with 4 GB memory and a 160GB SATA hard drive, and a 15.4” widescreen. I have a Seagate Free Agent 500GB back up drive for backing up all my image files. My editing software consists of Adobe Photoshop CS4, which I don’t use much, and Nikon Capture NX2 which I do use for all my images as everything on the Nikon is shot in RAW.

I must say that apart from converting my captures to black and white, I actually do very little Photoshop work, and most are as is.

I would also emphasise the continuous need for backing up your files. The process of my files is as follows. I still keep negs or what Nikon refer to NEFs, and these are raw files which I keep untouched as original negatives. The NEFs are converted to TIFF files if they are for printing, and also to JPEGs for posting on Redbubble etc. and also for slide shows and lectures.

The other component software I use is ProShow Gold for slide shows, presentations and lectures etc. and if you are not into ProShow image ~ music slideshows or AVs then I would definitely recommend it.

Personally speaking I believe the camera is just a tool, the camera is not in control, it cannot dictate, it cannot record what is not there, it cannot record a mood, it cannot provide a 10 a.m. daylight if it is 10 p.m. evening.

But we must use our cameras; and not rely on what we have already captured as being sufficient; Dorothea Lange said ‘one should really use the camera as though tomorrow you’d be stricken blind. To live a visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable. I have only touched it, just touched it’.

And bring it close to us, as part of us; … Dorothea Lange continued ~ put your camera around your neck along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the body that shares your life with you.

I know others will go into great lengths and depths concerning the merits technically and functionally of a camera; but I don’t; instead I hold to the views of Ernst Haas and Edward Weston.

The photographer’s most important and likewise most difficult task is not learning to manage his camera, or to develop, or to print. It is learning to see photographically – that is, learning to see his subject matter in terms of the capacities of his tools and processes, so that he can instantaneously translate the elements and values in a scene before him into the photograph he wants to make. – Edward Weston

The camera doesn’t make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE. – Ernst Haas,

Camera and eye are together a time machine with which the mind and human being can do the same kind of violence to time and space as dreams. – Minor White