Richard's Place

Is it the technology? Or the talent?

2007-08-15T09:06:00.000-04:00

Modern photography technology is subject to an age old debate - are the pictures good (or bad) because the technology is good (or bad)? Or is it the photographer's talents and skills? This gets discussed all the time - usually following a comment to a photographer something along the lines of: "That camera takes great pictures" or "I could take great photos with gear like that."

I see the answer as a combination of three things - tools, skills and talent. Yes, the better tools are CAPABLE of producing better photos. I have no doubt in my mind that my Canon 5D is versatile, can focus and shoot well under adverse conditions and is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! However, it is also very capable of missing a shot...I keep proving that point- ;)

It takes two more factors to make it all work together - skill and talent. The skill part as I define it involves the knowledge of the technology-it is VERY complex. How I know which combinations of aperture, shutter speed and ISO to use, along with selecting white balance, AF mode and a zillion other parameters is a question of skill. Tons of practice with an understanding of what the different permutations will do to the image in the end.

The talent part relates to composition - the photographer's "eye" - aka the use of light.

Many many photographs (and still lots of mine) are either cliches - similar to shots taken millions of times by thousands of photographers before- and/or merely snaphots - photos taken purely to capture a memory of a person or a place on film with little artistic interpretation involved. Here is where talent will out- can I be creative in my expression? - revealing a unique vision of the world? Can I bring the viewer to a new interpretation of something beautiful? Does the photo capture one's interest? Does it tell a story? These are, in my humble opinion, the questions that are really important and that are impacted only AFTER the technology and skill questions have been transcended. I only hope that 1% of my work reaches this level.

About my Gear

2007-08-14T16:13:00.000-04:00

I often get asked about what equipment I use. More frequently, I get compliments on the equipment which tend to credit the quality of the photograph with the quality of the technology. This happens to most serious photographers. A few words on that in a moment.

Firstly, as I am a gear head - a brief word about the technical side! I shoot with a Canon EOS 5D. That is a 12.9 megapixel digital camera, with a full frame sensor. That means that while it has a LOT pixels, those pixels are also significantly larger than other digital cameras (the only other full frame sized sensors out there are in the Canon 1Ds and 1Ds Mark II). The advantage of full frame over smaller "cropped" sensors is that the larger area captures more detail and better color depth. It also operates extremely well in low light, allowing grain free photographs at very high ISOs. Equally important, is the fact that I put very high quality lenses in front of that sensor. All my lenses, save a few specialty lenses, are L grade. This is Canon's professional grade of lens, and represents the highest quality they make. As I am a bit of a perfectionist, this combination is hard to beat.

Just hoping

2007-08-13T07:50:00.001-04:00

The RS Photo Gallery website is beginning to shape up to my satisfaction. The content is starting to show some variety as I select and load photographs. My customization of the style sheet is also beginning to look good. Not bad for one week's part time work! The important thing now will be to let the world know it is there.

No new shooting this weekend. Too busy doing chores. I did get two prints ready for the University of Miami Law School's charity auction. They requested one of the water lily's and the red flower from the abstract gallery for the event. I have donated 11" x 14" prints of each of them, matted and framed. The auction is in late September or October, and will benefit providing pro bono legal services to people who can't afford to pay for lawyers. I am very flattered to be asked to participate!

Opening Thoughts

2007-08-11T15:36:00.000-04:00

I am opening this blog today to share my thoughts and ideas with you. Most will be about photography, but other posts will be about motorcycles, travel, and life in general.

Richard's Photography

2007-08-10T07:53:00.001-04:00

This is going to be my personal space for thoughts, expressions, and general nonsense regarding photography.