After a much shorter second day of photography (a 12 hour day instead of yesterday's 16-17), I have a little more time to reflect and to compose some thoughts on the experience I've had at this digital photography workshop. This entry will be long, and I don't see much reason that any one but maybe my dad and Steph's dad would want to read it. For everyone else, pictures will start coming sometime in the next three days, and then, there will be a steady stream for a few days. My hope is that everyone will see a pronounced change (and hopefully improvement) from anything I've ever done before.
Now for my thoughts on the workshop, or at least on the first two days of it. I think that there are three points to emphasize here- the workshop crowd, equipment, and technical points. The three topics aren't fully independent, but for the sake of making it possible to read what follows, I'll try to treat them as such.
The CrowdWhen Stephanie surprised me by enrolling me in a photography workshop for my 30th birthday present, I considered it a once in a decade opportunity to go someplace beautiful, get driven around to great subjects at just the right time of day, and learn a lot about digital photography. In contrast, the two other guys doing the class with me were in the middle of three straight workshops in the Pacific Northwest. After five days on the Oregon coast, they were doing this short three-day workshop, before heading out to the wheat fields of eastern Washington for one last workshop with our instructor. Additionally, they had spent more on equipment than I've spent on post-secondary education (which is saying a lot since I've got 11 years under my belt since high school), and arguably, they had nicer stuff than our instructor.
As a result, there was little question as to which one of us didn't fit with the others. Their
tripods cost twice what my camera did. Throw in the cost of their ballheads, and they've outspent the value of Dave's camera and lenses before they've even opened their camera bag. Needless to say, as we pulled into the first site and I pulled my $30 tripod out of the bag, I was intimidated and feeling out of place. It didn't help that I had to spend most of the morning sunrise reading the manual to Dave's camera. I had already skimmed it twice, but I completely failed to appreciate the important points of emphasis, which left me madly turning pages to learn things like how to meter.
The EquipmentOn our way up the Columbia River Gorge to that first shot, my instructor asked whether I had a tripod with me. He'd sent several emails indicating that a tripod was mandatory for the course, and I assured him "Yes, I have one," before qualifying "but it's about as low end of a tripod as you can find." He laughed and responded, "I doubt that." Three minutes later, as I unloaded my equipment from my bag, he realized I wasn't kidding. I suspect he was growing concerned that I would next unload a $7 disposable camera from K-Mart.
In fairness, since I was borrowing Dave's camera, there was a fair amount of disparity between the nice camera I was using and the considerably less nice tripod I was putting it on. Not quite knowing what to think, he reassured me that for "just $300" I could get an acceptable tripod and ballhead. He even offered to drive me to the local supplier for the upgrade. Not wanting to be impolite, I said that Stephanie and I should probably spend a little time talking about it after the workshop before making the investment (and selling a kidney, I suppose).
Over the next few days, we spent a lot of time talking about the equipment I should really consider buying. Fortunately, you don't have to get equipped like a pro to have fun with a camera. Apparently, all I'd need is that tripod and ballhead, plus a graduated neural density filter ($150)... and a macro lens ($750)... and wider angle lens with "better glass" ($1000) and a telephoto lens ($1000) and probably a new body ($700), but once I got all of that, I'd be good to go. I kid... sort of.
I really think that photographers get used to such high-end equipment that they start to think that they depend on it. In reality, they don't give themselves enough credit. Expensive stuff improves shots, no doubt about it, but over the last few days it's become clear to me that all of the great equipment in the world can't hide certain weaknesses and, even better, that you can shoot some pretty nice shots with a $30 tripod (as long as you've got that $600 camera sitting on top of it).
That said, I do have some opinions about what's really worth dreaming about and what's probably not as important. For starters, the difference between SLRs and high-end point-and-shoots (like my camera) is probably bigger than I imagined. In fact, I didn't take my camera out of its bag the last two days- the things these guys can do to make you a better photographer depends on capabilities that my camera just doesn't have. Don't get me wrong, I love my camera and I'll enjoy shooting with it for the foreseeable future, but I would not have been able to take any of the shots I'll post with that camera.
In addition to the SLR camera, the tripod and ballhead really are worth it. I think that my classmates and instructors were surprised by the images that I was able to get, but even a $300 tripod and ballhead combination would have made my life easier and my shots sharper. In fact, even on the tripod, I got enough movement when I'd push the trigger on the camera that I took every shot with the remote control. Even then, a light wind would move the camera enough to cost me a lot of sharpness.
Finally, a graduated neutral density filter is a must! These are filters that are dark on top and clear on the bottom. On a sunny day, they allow you to get sufficient exposure on the foreground without blowing out a subject like a snowy mountain in the background. I'll post a really nice shot of Mt. Hood that will demonstrate the value of this investment.
Technical ConsiderationsFar and away, the greatest value of this class to me has been learning how to take advantage of the capabilities of an SLR camera. There's no way that I could convey that in a single blog entry, not even one as long as this one. However, there are a few critical points worth emphasizing.
While not really specific to taking an image with an SLR camera, it's worth noting that we
never take a shot off the tripod. Motion control features are useless to these guys.
Second, we never use program modes. There are only two modes of shooting here- fully manual and aperture priority. Nothing else. In this regard, I'm extremely fortunate that I took a one day, $25 workshop through a Raleigh camera club last year. Without that class, the information would have been coming too quickly for me to get anything out of this course. There are important tricks here worth using (like focusing at a large aperture opening while using the depth of field preview, but then shrinking down the aperture to take the shot), but I can't really cover all of them here without this getting pretty dry.
Third, we aren't supposed to use automatic metering. I often did until the last set of of shots today, when I finally had the confidence to use everything I've learned, and I must say, it makes a big difference on certain shots.
Finally, a few simple tips worth remembering.
First, focus the efforts of focusing in the column 4/6 of the way down an image.
Second, shoot waterfalls at F13 and then bracket from there.
Third, check your histogram after every shot, and whenever you can get away with it, underexpose. It adds detail.
Fourth, never erase your images. Always reformat the card. Similarly, never download images from the card in the camera. Everyone claims that these practices increases the likelihood of a file being corrupted.
Last but not least, I've often wondered when to do a black and white shot versus a color shot. My instructor pretty much only goes black-and-white when colors detract from the image, such as when he has overcast skies that have to be included in the shot. I'll post one image that demonstrates how nice a black-and-white picture can be in that situation.
Copyright Nathan Montgomery, 2008
Copyright Nathan Montgomery, 2008
