Life's little (photo) lessons - what are yours?

[chuckroast]

Get closer.

This, so this

 

[chuckroast]

Prefire view camera and removable back camera leaf shutters prior to use, especially in cold weather.

Fire every shutter at least monthly.

Photograph something every week.

Go back to your favorite places. They will reveal new things as you get to know them.

Copy your digital images while traveling to a laptop or cloud storage daily. SD cards fail.

 

[DownUnder]

Go back to your favorite places. They will reveal new things as you get to know them.

Copy your digital images while traveling to a laptop or cloud storage daily. SD cards fail.

I do this regularly. Last week I was three days in one of my favourite places in Malaysia. Rephotographed several sites I've been going to since, yes, believe it, 1974! And saw new things in all those old revisits.

Copying images daily? Well, yeh. SD cards have never failed on me. But I've accidentally (ha!) erased a few in my time. So I know.

Good points overall. This thread rates five stars for the information we are getting, no end of priceless tips.

 

[DownUnder]

Many times, especially if I am out and about doing landscapes in stable light, I'll set the lens to the hyperfocal setting for the appropriate f stop for that light. For f/16 that can mean that a very large area is in acceptable focus and all I need to do is get my framing, snap and move to the next spot. This is especially true with rangefinders but the technique works just as well with (D)SLR & TLR cameras.

For landscapes I would set the lens at infinity and let the close distance take care of itself.

As for hyperlocal focusing, I've done it since 1963. Even with my Nikon D lenses I often focus manually. Ifyou set your lens at f/8 or f/11 and then do hyperlocal, you'll get okay results every time.

As for f/16 I rarely use it with digital. I did a lot with MF in my film days. Now f/8 satisfies almost all my image-making with now and then f/11 when I need the depth for close-ups, or f/5.6 in shade. Never lower or higher, but that's just me. So maybe f/16 is a new trick for me to try.

 

[DownUnder]

if you are out and about and carrying a black-body camera, and it's hot, cover it with a hand towel.

I learned this one the hard way. In my film days, in 40C+ degree tropics. Cooked emulsion isn't fun to try to process.

Also last week in Malaysia,when I was out in the sun in a high-30C day. Luckily for me, SD cards don't need them processing in a Jobo.

Oh. And wear a sun hat (not a MAGA cap, please!). Not really photo-centric, but as one other poster has written, a sun cap/hat can be a nifty lens shade.

 

[Pioneer]

Fire every shutter at least monthly.

Photograph something every week.

I think I have too many shutters! 😀

 

[chuckroast]

Yeah, me too. But it's kind of therapeutic to run through all the hardware monthly 😉

 

[Archiver]

Your daily camera ought to be the best balance of image quality and portability you can find.

For me, this depends on the day's activities, but for everyday carry I can be satisfied with a compact 1 inch sensor camera like a Panasonic LX10 or Sony RX100, or a micro four thirds camera as long as it has a fast lens. If there's any hint I might take personally significant photos, I'll bring a full frame camera with fast lens. This I learned from the regret of not having a camera capable of better image quality with me when suddenly presented with opportunities, and the utter delight of having high quality images when I've been prepared.

As a related notion, listen to your intuition when choosing the gear for the day. If you get a sense that you'll be able to take photos that would be best served with gear X, take gear X. Don't compromise, don't be lazy. Just take. It's like insurance, you might not need it, but you'll be glad if you do.

 

[JeffS7444]

Try a toy camera!

 

[JeffS7444]

Don't do a hands-on demo of a new camera or lens unless you are ready to purchase it on the spot. 😆

 

[ellisson]

Don't do a hands-on demo of a new camera or lens unless you are ready to purchase it on the spot. 😆

Unfortunately, this is so true!

 

[ellisson]

If you like portraits and see someone you've met or for whatever reason have encountered, ask for a portrait(s). Let them have fun with it. I've been surprised at the rate of "OKs" I've had when asking, although I admit to some prior conversation, even with someone that I've just met.

 

[Vince Lupo]

All of my photo lessons can pretty much be summed up in this short video (you'll have to click on the link to see it) and I struggle to effectively put them to use every day!

 

[Rayt]

I still remember the shots I didn’t take.

 

[Richard G]

Sharp pictures:

With slow lenses in morning light and Auto setting keep an eye on shutter speed of the shot just taken. Or better, take one first and see, if using digital. I come home with many blurred pictures some mornings. The corollary in demanding situations especially with film or the M9 where 640 ISO is the highest I set, is either switch to manual and pick the shutter speed you must have and make exposure adjustment in Lightroom. Or, beyond that, bracket for camera holding still. At f1,5 and 1s at an important lecture I had not planned for I shot most of a roll of ISO 100 to get one good acceptably sharp shot of the lecturer.

 

[Richard G]

Lens cap and no picture:

With many in the so called learned professions using AI recording software to generate a summary of the initial interview, and ensure access to every detail, I haven’t taken it up and still use paper and a fountain pen. (The pen gets the same comments as an old Leica.) But quite often the conversation reaches a point at which the next step must be to cap the pen and hold it or even put it on the table. The same goes for a camera. Rarely you may find yourself in an interaction which evolves to something so special that the lens cap in your pocket should cap the lens again not to spoil the moment. It’s counter to many of our inclinations and there’ll be no record of it on film but that’s life.

 

[Godfrey]

All of my photo lessons can pretty much be summed up in this short video (you'll have to click on the link to see it) and I struggle to effectively put them to use every day!

Jay is amazing. Thanks for posting that. 🙂

 

[Godfrey]

Stop being obsessed with the details of camera specifications and functions, with equipment in general. Be in the moment. Get out in the world. Open your eyes and look at the world around you. Walk and enjoy what you see. Reserve releasing the shutter for when something catches your eye and makes you look again. Think, be aware of what you're doing, trying to do. Expect a lot of failures, and keep going.

G

 

[Archiver]

Lens cap and no picture:

With many in the so called learned professions using AI recording software to generate a summary of the initial interview, and ensure access to every detail, I haven’t taken it up and still use paper and a fountain pen. (The pen gets the same comments as an old Leica.) But quite often the conversation reaches a point at which the next step must be to cap the pen and hold it or even put it on the table. The same goes for a camera. Rarely you may find yourself in an interaction which evolves to something so special that the lens cap in your pocket should cap the lens again not to spoil the moment. It’s counter to many of our inclinations and there’ll be no record of it on film but that’s life.

I live dangerously, without lens caps! But I do use UV filters, and keep any cloth-shuttered camera away from direct sunlight.

 

[DownUnder]

A digital photographer's best friend is Recuva.

The free version is so good, it's a wonder the software company behind it didn't go bankrupt years ago.