Back to Basics

Whatever you do, don’t go to Wikipedia and type in “photography.” One can get lost for hours in the articles on the history of photography, types of photography, famous photographers, and a million other things without learning anything about how to take a good photo. I already know that digital cameras aren’t as great as black-and-white film in terms of capturing all of the data of an image (Wikipedia told me this is called dynamic range). I’ve see the history of photography exhibit at the Corning Museum of Glass - sponsored by Kodak, of course. For the millionth time, I know the rule of thirds and that unusual angles can result in interesting photos. So why did I go there first? Isn’t that where we’re supposed to go looking for information?

Here’s my problem. There’s too much information available. I have no idea where to start. Most books are either far below my level of understanding (such as the one with a chapter entitled “Getting Photos from Your Camera Onto Your Computer”) or way over my head. I need a middle of the road introduction.

My husband offered advice: take lots of photos. Similar to Natalie Goldberg’s philosophy towards writing. Keep doing it in large amounts and eventually you’ll figure out what works for you. Most of what you create will be crap but that’s acceptable because it’s in the pursuit of something wonderful. You’re practicing for the day when you’ll finally write a great novel or take a wonderful photo.

That’s not to say one shouldn’t know the technical basics. Writers must learn proper grammar and spelling before they can push aside those conventions in their own works. Same with phtography, I need to learn what f-stops, backlighting, and ISO 400 are before I can identify myself as a photographer. I’m not going to stop taking photos, however, while I learn. Small children aren’t kept from writing until they can identify an adverb phrase and correctly use a semicolon - good thing, I’d still not be allowed to write. Instead my practice will continue as I make my way through the millions of books, articles, blog posts, and Wikipedia entries that will make up my curriculum.

One last thing before I go: do you have any recommendations for books or websites I should take a look at? Let me know in comments. I’m going to need a great deal of help.

An Introduction

I feel there is beauty in our daily lives us that we often ignore. Painted doors, statues, store fronts we ignore because we see them often. We think to ourselves that capturing them in a photo would be foolish; photos are to capture special events or scenes from travels. I have to disagree. While I take many photos of family dinners, school open houses, and public squares in Europe, I find the most happiness in photographing the items others tend to walk past.

That’s not to say I actually know what I’m doing. My photo-taking ability is only a step above cutting off peoples’ heads in group shots. I’m intelligent enough to know that you cannot teach someone how to properly compose a photo. You can point a photographer in the right direction with the rules of thirds or by showing example after example of well-composed photos but, in the end, it comes down to intuition. A photography simply “knows.” Instead, I want to learn the technical side of photography. All that exposure, ISO speed, F-Stop jabber I’ve heard about.

I’m lucky. My husband (here’s his food blog) is an excellent landscape and food photographer. He’s never been published but friends always comment that his photos could be made into postcards. Our home his filled with his photos of Italy, Switzerland, and France. He took his first photography classes in high school using an old 35 mm all-manual film camera and remembers much of which he learned. On several attempts he has tried to teach me how his camera, a first generation Canon Digital Rebel, works but I tend to forget his lessons soon after they end.

This blog will chronicle my lessons in photography. I’ll start using my camera then move to using Matt’s and, eventually, that old 35 mm film camera that sits on our shelf. I would love to get to the point technically where I can use a 35 mm film camera and shoot slide film. Something about the connection to the not so distant pass appeals to me.

While I’d love to say I’ll write weekly or monthly I know that’s not going to happen. I’m a full-time Mechanical Engineering student with other passions (knitting, robotics, family) that will scream for my attention. My goal, however, is to post photos once a month and a photography lesson every other month. I hope you’ll enjoy my little adventure, especially if you’re someone other than my parents.