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Over the years I have been asked a number of questions about my photography and photography in general. In this section, I hope I can answer some of those questions and also provide some direction and some things to think about. Remember, these answers are my biased opinions on photography and I encourage you to investigate things further. On this page I have also provided links to some books and websites that I have found useful. I hope it provides some useful information. If you have other questions, drop me an email and I will do my best to answer them or at least point you in the right direction. 1. What type of camera equipment do you use? I am currently using both a Nikon F5 and a Nikon N90S (known as a F90X outside of the United States). The F5 is my primary camera body and the N90S serves as a backup and also allows me to shoot two different types of film at the same time. I have found the following lenses suit my needs quite well:
Although they are not the fastest, highest quality lenses produced, they are a nice balance and allow me to carry them with me at all times. Having the best lens out there is useless if you leave it at home because it is too heavy. Having a fast 300mm lens is nice but not when you have to carry it in mountainous terrain. I also carry the following equipment with me in addition to various filters gels and other assorted odds and ends:
2. What type of film do you use? I normally use Fuji Velvia 50 or Fuji Astia 100F. Both of these are professional slide films. Velvia 50 is my prefered film. It gives very saturated colors and does an incredible job with landscapes and architecture. Unfortunately it has problems representing skin tones correctly. I used to use Agfa RSX-II 100 but have recently switched to Fuji Astia 100F. I am very impressed by the colors of Astia 100F and if I had to pick only one film to use, that would be it. Fuji has recently come out with a new version of Velvia, Velvia 100, but I don't like the colors it gives and prefer to use the original 50 speed version. For black and white images, I like Agfa Scala. It is a B&W slide film which gives very nice, high contrast images, but has the drawback of only being processed in a few select labs around the world. When taking pictures, I will keep Velvia 50 in one camera body and Astia 100F, or Agfa Scala, in the other. This allows me to pick which type of film I want to use based on the subject. 3. Why do you still use film? Until recently, I have not felt that digital cameras could produce the same quality images that film cameras are able to produce. I have used a Nikon 995 Coolpix digital for a few years but have never considered it more than a toy for taking snapshots. Recently I find myself using this camera more and more often and have recently purchased a Nikon D70 to replace it. The main reason for my switch has been the convenience that digital offers. When dealing with difficult lighting situations, such as multiple flashes, the setup time can be prohibitive and often involves taking a number of shots, bracketing, in order to ensure I get the image I want. I started using the 995 to check the lighting setup and this convenience, if nothing else, has won me over. The piece of mind of knowing I have the shot I want instantly without having to wait for my film to be developed is also a nice bonus. That said, I do not think digital is ready to replace film yet. 35mm film is approximately equal to 16 megapixels in digital speak. Programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS can upsample an image about 200% without any noticable drop in quality. This makes an image from a 6.1 megapixel digital camera such as the Nikon D70 equivalent to about 2/3 the quality of a 35mm film camera. Of course, it is only a matter of time until the average digital camera produces a better image than current 35mm cameras. 4. How do you feel about digital manipulation? I used to feel that an image should as closely as possible represent how the subject looked at the time the image was taken. I was very traditional in this aspect. In the book Photographic Possibilities: The Expressive Use of Ideas, Materials and Processes, Second Edition, the authors, Robert Hirsch and John Valentino state: But there are no neutral photographs. All depictions have an inherent bias. Photography has three distint kinds of bias. The first bias comes from the people who create and manufacture the commonly used photographic systems, which include the cameras, lenses, films, papers, chemicals, and darkroom equipment relied on by most people to physically produce a photographic image. These companies set up the physical boundaries and the general framework within which most photographers operate. The second bias comes from the prejudices of the photographer, who uses these systems to create specific images. Every photograph reveals the photographer's point of view - a combinationof the subject, the photographer, and the process. The third bias is the life references that viewers bring to determine what a photograph means to them. In other words, the idea of straight photography, that work is created at the time of exposure instead of through manipulation after the image has been taken, is itself an impossibilty. Reading this book has made me completely reevaluate my views of photography and taking pictures. Even the masters such as Ansel Adams performed extensive post exposure processing to get the image he wanted. Today most photographic labs are using digital enlargers and printers instead of traditional photographic equipment. The processing done is no different than what is done through a program such as Adobe Photoshop. The only difference is the degree of processing. It is common to digitally manipulate an image for color balance, and in many cases required to produce a usable image. (If you have used traditional print film inside of a house to take pictures, the lab has color corrected the prints you received from them.) After thinking about it, the arguements against digital manipulation fall away and the arguments grow in favor of using the tools needed to create the image the photographer evisioned. With this in mind, is there any reason not to digitally manipulate an image? 5. I want to learn more about photography and take better pictures. Can you help me? Your first step should be to go out and get a good camera you can learn with. Digital cameras have made this learning process much cheaper than it used to be. You can snap away and not have to worry about film and developing cost. I hesitate to recommend a good digital camera since technology is changing so fast, but you can do much worse than visiting the Digital Camera Review website and read the reviews on there. Once you are equiped, you should also try to learn from a professional in your area. You can check with camera stores in your city for seminars held in your area. They are by far one of the best ways to increase your skills. Of course there is also self-learning. Below is short list of some of my favorite books and websites that I highly recommend: Books:
Websites:
Last but not least, look at what other photographers are doing and try to duplicate their photos. It will give you inspiration and some goals. Of course, your first attempts will be dissapointing, but you will start getting better, and before you know it, well on your way to creating some incredible images. The following websites are some of my favorites and should provide more than enough inspiration for you: |
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All of the text and images contained on this website are Copyright 1997-2005 by Craig Raskin. They are protected under US Copyright Law, and international copyright treaties, and conventions. All rights are reserved and they may not be used for any purpose without the express written permission of the copyright holder. Please contact the copyright holder, Craig Raskin, for licensing information or information on purchasing prints of these pictures or any other pictures on this website. Permission is granted for non-commercial home display. |