Photographic Assistance

The definitive answer is MR, that it takes time to get used to a new camera: pure and simple. Even if you have two cameras of the same model (not just same make) then there are usually slight differences. When I used to earn a living through photography (back in the days of film) I had a brace of Olympus OM2s. In the end I put a dab of black paint on the pentaprism housing of one so I knew which one I was using.

Hi Midland Red, Yes, Fuji did, in their reply to my email to them. It is all to do with the focal length of the camera lens, which in the new Fuji is deigned for maximum light gathering, not small peep-holes, so as to provide adequate illumination to the 40 times telephoto. So the F setting will only retract to f8, not f22 as is the case with my Sony. The logic is born out by my old Nikon film camera which has two lenses. That camera on the normal lens will go down to F22, but on telephoto will only go down to F11. By me practising using the area focus facility that Pixrobin told me about, my new Fuji goes someway of making up for the lack of F22. Hence the two pictures that I have posted, which are not so bad.

I had a pair of XGMs like that. Very annoying and the Minolta service dept in Milton Keynes could not get them to perform identically, no matter what they tried.

Yes, and Kodak's advert when they introduced their first 'box' camera was 'You press the shutter, we do the rest". In fact you mailed the whole camera back to them after you had taken the 100 pictures on the roll.

Hi all, Hi Pixrobin President Kennedy chimney from just over a mile away, recorded last evening. Also, class 25 or type two waiting at Bishops Heath. Just three feet away. I am really enjoying this. You are spot on Pixrobin. Learning to frame the picture is going some length to compensating for the lack of F22. I am very grateful for your help on this.

Hi Philip I've taken the liberty of doing two slight edits to your images. I rotated the images slightly to make the verticals in centre of frame so they are actually vertical. On the model picture I used the cab handrails as the target. It took only a minor adjustment: 2.6 degrees anticlockwise. It won't, of course, correct the verticals throughout the image as, in the case of the model, you are looking down at the scene. The President Kennedy Chimney image is a classic fault when using a long lens. The pressure on the shutter release button actually causes the camera to tilt. Don't worry it still happens to me too When making any adjustment in this respect make sure the vertical item you are using as a base line is actually vertical. Don't be tempted to use road signs, telegraph poles, or TV aerials. Most digital images require a touch of sharpening, usually slightly less with dSLRs. Some of it can be put down to the complexity of modern zoom lenses but, more often than not, it is due to the in-camera electronic processing that goes on after the shutter is pressed. From my experience Nikon has the edge over other camera manufacturers in this respect - at least on their dSLR models. Two Pentax models I had were diabolical. I have no experience of Sony except what you have shown on here.

Hi Pixrobin Brill!

Online Photographic Courses from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology link.

As I mentioned in the Mobility Scooters thread I have started to teach a couple of young girls about photography. They are both doing a more formal course elsewhere. But, as with most formal courses it is more about the camera and its controls than it is about the content of the image. Personally I have been taking pictures for about 60 years - got first camera at 9 years old - and spent 40 years as a professional with 9 of them as an army photographer. So, perhaps I have a different perspective on photography to that of the enthusiast. My teaching to the girls, and on here, will guide them towards taking pictures that they can sell: not as art, but simple pictures that others may want to use. I am not starting the girls off with SLR cameras. The complicated nature of the SLR deters them from seeing pictures. Of course, when they get to the stage of selling their images to photo-libraries they will need an SLR, but now is not the time.

The first lesson I gave to the lasses was about photographic seeing and organisation of subject within the frame. But, I made two statements first: 1. Every picture should have a purpose. "Why am I taking this picture?" If the image fulfils the purpose then it is a 'good photograph'. This is no way a signal to take just one picture of a subject. You may want to explore the subject with pictures to see how the different images work as a photograph. 2. Don't delete any image. Even blurred or out of focus images can have other uses. (I'm adding one of their images here as an example. Before and after I worked on it. The girls haven't seen this yet.)

This and its like is an essential image of any photographic jaunt. It is not one you would normally show to others but you will be very glad you took it in two or three years time. It gives location and information for use with the other pictures you take in the area. I would normally take only the sign and its information, but this image by one of my students also makes it a saleable picture. If I wrote an article about the area I could use it with the caption, "The local authority has thoughtfully provided information related to the area." It puts the sign in context. Another way of remembering where a group of images are from is to find the location on Google Earth and do a screen grab (Shift+Print Screen) and put that within the group of images too.

Talking of saleability, here's an image that has it in spades - though it would be better with a less cluttered background. At least the subject has been offset to one side. This allows space for text to be overlaid down the left side. Of course it could also sport the caption "OMG!! I haven't done my make-up yet"

On looking at the images that the girls took whilst we were out last, I realise that one thing they need to learn is to 'work' the subject. I asked them to take several images of the same bench but they didn't 'explore' what could be made of it. I went back to the subject this afternoon to illustrate what I mean. Here's the bench in 18 different versions, all shot with a 'compact' camera with the dial set on 'auto'. None have been edited. None would win a prize at the local camera club. All were shot from my mobility scooter so there are none from the higher ground behind the bench (that may have added another dozen or so). Some work, some don't. I could go and shoot more when the leaves have fallen. I could go and shoot more when there's snow on the ground. Every image is slightly different in one way or another. This week only one of the girls was available. I showed her pictures of a violin on one of the big photographic library sites - there are more than 13,000 violin pictures to choose from, and each is different in some way.

I like the last shot, and when the project is completed, waste bin, 'No Litter' sign and Mad Max on his trusty blue steed, the scene will be as good as it ever will be.

One of the things I teach my students is that often you get a better shot if you get below your normal eye-level. If I tried that these days I could get down easily enough - but then I'd be stuck there until somebody came along to pick me up. I got over that problem by buggying 20 yards or so down the hill and then using the zoom lens on the camera to frame the image how I wanted it.