Still not too late

Still not too late to start taking the online beginning digital photography class here you can begin any time.  I would like some feedback if you would like to leave it on whether you would like all the lessons up to go at your own pace or would you like them put up one week at a time over 10 weeks.  I am trying to make this class the best for the students and would love feedback or if it is even worth me doing it.  I would love the feedback of my readers.  Don't want to leave a comment on here email it to me I will get it too. Well I will leave you for now and for now I will leave the lessons going up one week at a time until I get some feedback.

Beginning Digital Photography Lesson 1 History and Definitions

The History of Photography

The History

The early cave paintings attest to the fact that man has always wanted to record himself, his activities and the environment around him. This art, until very recently, has been reserved for the talented individuals, not the everyday, ordinary person. Painters of great renown abound throughout the centuries and have left remarkable pictorial histories of our journey through time. While the camera was not invented until the 19th century, the two basic elements of a camera had been well known for hundreds of years.
The first element of a working camera known by the ancients is the effect of a lighted area separated from a dark area with only a pin hole opening between them. An inverted (upside down) image of the lighted area will be produced on a flat surface in the dark area. As early as the 1400's it was documented that inserting a lens in the hole would produce a crisper, clearer image. This technology, called "camera obscura" was often used by artists to sketch objects more quickly and ease the difficulties of depth perception. The image was allowed to be projected on a piece of paper inside a dark box and the artist would trace outlines of the projected image.
The second known element of a working camera was the existence of materials capable of permanent change when exposed to light. These light sensitive chemicals were experimented with for centuries but were not used to coat a flat surface until very recently.
Putting these two pieces of knowledge together proved difficult. Early in the 1800's, the first experiments took place attempting to make images on paper surfaces that had been coated with light sensitive material. The process worked, but a lot of logistical problems needed to be solved. The first major problem was making the captured image on the chemical coated surface permanent. This problem was finally solved with the Daguerrotype image and made a huge impact on the world when it was announced in 1839. However other difficulties remained to be solved.
The Daguerrotype image would appear and the exposure process arrested, but the image was easily lost as the surface chemicals could be damaged. Additionally, the exposure time was longer than practical for common portraiture, which was much in demand. As with all new ideas promising great fortunes, minds work furiously on the glitches preventing practical use.
Photography took many twists and turns as people experimented with chemicals to make the image capturing more practical. As the rage for Daguerrotype reigned, the discovery was being made that latent images in reverse color were revealed to be present after only short exposures. These paper negatives could then be washed, chemically treated and used to make positive paper prints.
This was a major turning point in the development of the photography processes. No longer did people have to make do with the results of a one time process which took up to a minute of sitting absolutely still. Now, the implications were plain to those excited few who realized the possibilities. Exposure time was cut down dramatically and multiple copies of any image could be produced as easily as the first. If multiple copies of a Daguerrotype were desired, then multiple sittings were required.
When this process was perfected enough for common use, for the first time ever, portrait studios popped up all over the place. For a very small cost, people could get their portrait made. Finally we begin to see photographs of poor and working class people who could now afford a family portrait once in a while.
The well known stereotype of the photographer buried in his portable dark tent had its start around the time of the Civil War, or mid-1800's. This tent not only consisted of the camera equipment, but a portable dark room as well. The photographers had to process their photos right on the spot. The portable dark rooms, with the chemicals and equipment, were easily collapsed into moderately large suitcases. While this allowed the propagation of professional photography, the amateur still had to wait for further improvements.
By the 1870's, the wet developing process gave way to a new innovation called the gelatin dry plate. No longer needed were the chemicals on site in the now famous photographers tent. Treated plates could be taken out to the field, exposed, and brought back to a dark room for later processing.
The camera mechanisms themselves were also going through a revolution. It was becoming possible to have the exposures take less time. The shutter releases were mechanically rigged instead of manually opened.
It was during this time of dry processing that Muybridge perfected processing of action images and mechanically rigged cameras to take his pictures. He could not have put his rows of cameras into action if each had to individually be processed on the spot.
The final revolution of the 1800's took place when a man named George Eastman developed the idea of converting the preprocessed plate into rolls of sheets that were mounted on a roll holder inside of the camera. After each exposure, the roll would be forwarded by a special key, and after the roll was fully exposed, the whole camera was mailed or brought back to his plants for development. This camera was called the "Kodak Camera." Now every man, woman and child could become an amateur photographer!
The innovations which have evolved from this point on have made picture taking easier, improved the ability of professionals to specialize, and of course, include the introduction of color photography. Every man, woman and child can now take pictures with confidence, knowing that good quality cameras do as much of the work as we want them to, and developing labs can do the processing for us. We all have the option, however, to do the processing ourselves. Many dark room kits are available for beginners at moderate cost, and make great gifts for those intrigued enough to follow in the footsteps of the men and women who labored to make photography what it is today.

There are literally hundreds of glossary definitions for photography terms but I have slimmed the list to what I feel is the most important and pertinent for a beginner to know.  Terms that will lead to better technical knowledge of photography. Here are what are deemed the top ten and then I have added a few at the end just for good measure.

Photography
From the Greek the means "painting or writing with light."

Rule of Thirds
A way of breaking the the viewing plane into a grid into which you would place your subject in this grid in a manner that would give depth and interest to your photo. 

Digital Imaging
The new evolution of the art of photography where images are scanned into an electronic format

Shutter Speed
How fast the camera's shutters open. Determines how long the film is exposed for. 

Focal Length
The distance from the optical center of a lens to the image plane when the lens is focused to infinity

SLR
Single Lens Reflex; a camera with one lens (as opposed to Twin Lens Reflex like the Rolleiflex) that involves a mirror and prism that the viewer looks through (as opposed to a point and shoot or rangefinder where the viewer looks through a separate viewfinder.

Golden Rectangle
An image ratio (width vs the height) that makes the most pleasing, balanced impression on the viewer. Panoramics are long and skinny; square negatives often make it hard for the viewer to recognize the central focus of a composition. A 35mm format is pretty close to a golden rectangle.

Aperture
The variable opening produced by the iris-diaphragm through which light passes to the film plane. Measured in f/stops.

Depth of Field
The range of acceptably sharp focus in front of and behind the distance the lens is focused on.

Sunny-16 Rule
A guideline that states that you can expose a normal scene, lit by bright sunlight, at an aperture of f16 and a shutter speed equivalent to the film speed (ISO or ASA) being used

ISO
International Standards Organization; the number represents the film's sensitivity to light. A higher ISO number indicates the film is more sensitive and requires less light for a proper exposure.

 Resolution
A word with many meanings. In digital imaging, it most often refers to the number of pixels per inch in an image file. It can also refer to printer resolution, digital camera CCD resolution, etc. In traditional photography, if refers to the ability of a lens or photographic material to reproduce small details and is measured in lines per millimeter

Flare
Image degradation caused by stray light which passes through the lens but is not focused to form the primary image. Often caused by light bouncing off internal air-to-glass surfaces.

Fill-Flash
Exposure consisting of a combination of flash and "available light" balanced to produce a pleasing mix of the two.



Assignment:
This assignment is a 2 part assignment.
Part one is easy search your personal photo archives and show off the photo that you feel is the best photo you have ever taken and explain why.
Part two out of the definitions above pick the one that you knew little or nothing about and explain how you feel it will best help you in your journey in learning to take better photos.
Assignment Due Sun Oct 3rd by 6:00 pm Central 

You can email all assignments to basicandbeyondphotography@gmail.com if you would like to make your photos available for the entire class you may set up either a flickr account or a photobucket account and provide your user name in the lesson comment area so the entire class can see how each others growing.  I know this is a lot of work for the class and I apologize it is my first but I really just want to teach others about photography and this is the most cost effective way to do it.  If it comes that this is popular enough I will set up a more effective way and more user friendly way to do this.      

   

Sept 24 post #2 Beginning Digital Photography Class information

Hey all I have had some interest in the details of the class so I thought I would go ahead and get some information up.  Since right now I have so much time on my hands.
I plan for this being a 10 week class I have 10 lessons lined up with assignments due 1 week from assigned day. Only people that request a grade will see one other than that you will get constructive criticism. I would like to take 2 field trips if there is enough interest in taking them.  Proposed field trips are for the Portrait lesson and the Landscape lesson.  For the Portrait lesson I can have models available or you can bring your own.  For the Landscape we will be hitting the country in search of great landscapes.
The syllabus for the class is as follows:
Lesson 1: History and Definition
Lesson 2: Light Using it to Your Advantage
Lesson 3: Composure the Technical side of Great Photos
Lesson 4: Learning How to use Your Flash
Lesson 5: Portrait Photography
Lesson 6: Still Life-Telling a Story
Lesson 7: Close-ups
Lesson 8: Landscapes
Lesson 9: Sports
Lesson 10: Bringing it all together.  When is a Hobby more than a Hobby.

This class is geared to those who shoot with point and shoot camera's or mid level camera's.  This will not make you a professional but hopefully by the end you will be taking better photos, be happier with more of them, and deleting less.

Sept 24 The days seem to get Crazier

So for the last 3 weeks I have been hobbling my way through life on a cam walker good enough it helps with the pain and I can still go to work.  Well my Dr. not happy with the fact that after 3 weeks I am not getting better she sends me to a ortho foot specialist and bad goes to worse in 30 minutes flat.  I now get to be laid up for 2 weeks trapped in country hell with only my dogs and the silence to comfort my pitiful butt.  I have learned some valuable lessons with this experience that I feel compelled to share with everyone.  1. Crutches were invented by the devil himself. You simply cannot do anything while walking on them including walking.  2. To get around you must reduce yourself to implements that are otherwise reserved for those of age. (AKA The wheeley walker pictured.) 3. Sleeping in a cast is the most horrible thing you can experience due to the I will wake you every hour itching that happens in the middle of the night. 4. Showers are no longer something quick they are an expedition you must prep for in advance with all necessary supplies at hand cause no one is around when you need help. 5.  When you take an otherwise active person and force them to be inactive it is NEVER a good thing.

So in light of my ailment I figured I would take the time to keep my blog up to date for 2 weeks sharing my new trials along the way.  All I can say is at least my toe nails are pretty and match my cast.  I will be researching new learning material and posting new tid bits on here as I find them I will also be handing out assignments and ways to post them to share with others I only wish teaching photog could have been what I chose to do to begin with as I love to help others take great photos.  Each assignment will last 1-2 weeks depending of the difficulty of it.  If you would like to be graded let me know otherwise I will only give constructive critisism not any grading.  No one fails my class if you try that is worth it's weight in gold.  Your assignment in the meantime is to set up either a flickr account (free) or a photobucket account (free) if you plan on participating in class assignments please send me the link to your account and any guest password that I would need to look at your assignment photos.  Send your links and/or passwords to basicandbeyondphotography@gmail.com

Today's photo tip: Artistic Intent  Borrowed from website Best Photo Lessons Online

Why do you want to take pictures? You may want to share with others how you see the world around you, you may want to document your life and that of the people you love, you may have a desire to create images that blow other people away. There are so many excellent reasons to get into photography and why you do so is up to you.

I've put this section first because when I learned photography - it was technique first and art second. That is a time honored way of learning photography. But now that I've done it for 30 years I think it was a backwards way of learning photography.

Photography is an art and you are the artist. If you're thinking you could never be an artist I have good news for you - you already are. Even just taking the time to read this page you've shown you have the desire make images that give you pleasure and can affect others - that is art.

Now comes the fun part - think about why you want to take pictures. Write down a list of:

1 - Things you like about photography. Do you love the moment of seeing the images in prints or on your screen? Is it the challenge of making the photo? Is it the sharing the images with your friends? Is it the memories you get when you look at your photos later? Whatever it is you like about taking pictures, write it down.

2 - What you want to achieve with photography. Do you want to remember what your kids are like at each stage of their growing up? Do you like flowers or architecture or mountains and want to document them? Do you want to show the human condition? Do you want to pursue a career in photography? Write down what you want your photography to do.

3 - What subjects you want to shoot. Flowers, dogs, kids, models, food, people's feet, whatever. Write down those things you find catch your eye or make you wish you had your camera when you see it.

4 - How you feel about those subjects. Do you love it, hate it, feel afraid of it, laugh at it, wish it was yours? This is actually the most important section of the lesson. When you understand what you feel towards something, you'll find your photography of it improves automatically.

Now grab your pen and start writing. Once you're done, put it on the wall, throw it into your camera bag or put it somewhere you can easily review it. Add or change it as you grow as a photographer. But once you have the list, you have a great tool to make your photography better.

You may have noticed the link in top right corner for the book "Drawing on the artist within" by Betty Edwards. I highly recommend this book for learning about bringing out your inner artist - it is a very, very good book which taught me a lot.

Sept 10 2010 Reflections of crazy days in the life of a photographer.

So with the anniversary of one of the biggest tragedies to happen in the US coming tomorrow I thought I would reflect on blessings.  Blessed that I have a family that loves me, that I have a roof over my head, that I have food in my cupboards, and that we have brave people willing to put their lives in danger to keep us safe at night.  One of my favorite sayings from all the conflict is "If you cannot stand behind our armed forces feel free to stand in front of them"  sacrifice is what they do and we should be honored that there are still those out there willing to do it for all of us.  So in light of the anniversary tomorrow if you know someone in the military, police department, security of any type, fire department, or emergency services give them a big thank you and think of them when you lay your head on your pillow at night.  As these represent those helping in New York the day the towers fell many of which lost their lives in the line of duty.  Leaving behind children, spouses, and grieving loved ones.  Just remember Freedom is Never Free someone pays for it even if it does not impact you it filters out to you. 

9-11 We will Never Forget!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today's photo tip:Since a lot of people I know have just had or are having babies this is for you.

Newborn Photography Tips for Beginners

by Natalie Johnson

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1. It can be exciting photographing a newborn so compose a list of shots you want to take before you pick up the camera. Grab these ‘safe shots’ first and once you have this selection in the bag, start to get creative with new angles and ideas.
2. The best lens to use when photographing any type of portrait is a fast 50/85mm prime lens. Operating at wide apertures (small f number) will allow you to work in darker environments and capture stills with the focus on your subject and a blurred backdrop to remove distraction.
3. If you’re uncomfortable operating in manual mode then plump for Aperture Priority and opt for a wide aperture of f4 or f5.6. Focus on your subject’s face and include a section of the backdrop into the frame. This is where an interesting or colourful background can make the scene more dynamic. Alternatively position yourself at the end of the child and focus on the feet – throwing the rest of his/her frame into a creatively blur.
4. Attach a zoom lens to vary the composition of your shots; catering for up close cute pictures of feet, hands, nose or ears for example and then span out wide to grab contextual portraits or ones that reveal the entire length of the child.
5. As with any portrait pictures you’ll want to use even light. Avoid flash at all costs – not only is this disruptive to the calm atmosphere you want to create but it can rob the image of texture and tone. Position the cot or child near a window (using a white sheet or curtain to diffuse if it is a particularly bright day. Remember to exposure for the face.
6. Declutter the scene of distracting items such as nappies or bottles and incorporate soft blankets for interesting colours and texture. Consider placing props such as a loved toy or teddy to emphasis size.
7. Black and white images can carry more emotion that their colourful counterparts so experiment when photographing or editing images post shoot. Some cameras offer this as a menu choice but so you don’t restrict yourself it is advisable to shoot in colour and desaturate or select a B&W option in an editing program later. Play around with curves in Photoshop or the Presets in Lightroom to control contrast and brightness of the shadows, midtones and highlights.
8. As newborns grow at such a daunting pace, many proud parents choose to photograph their tots at periodical intervals to chart the change. A collection of these images printed in a photobook can make a wonderful gift for a family member.
9. To emphasis the petite proportions of your newborn try taking images with the parent. For example – baby’s hand on mum and dad’s hand, or the baby’s feet in between the fathers. Use a wide aperture and ramp up ISO if shooting in low light environments.
10. The best time to shoot an infant is arguably after he/she has had a feed and has been put down for a nap. The noise of the shutter shouldn’t disturb them and means you can move their little hands and feet delicately without resistance or movement.

Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/newborn-photography-tips-for-beginners#ixzz0z9IQSz2H

Sept 1 2010 Crazy Days in the Life of a Photographer

 All images are property of Basic and Beyond Photography.  Un-authorized reproduction of photos contained in this blog is punishable by law.

So I started a Photo 365 project about a month ago and let me tell you I suck at it. I get so involved with my life I forget to take a photo everyday or am just too busy to sneak it in.  I can manage to everything else done but that one simple thing. What is even worse is I cannot manage to update my blog more frequently than once a month or once every other month.  When will the insanity that is my life slow down?  I have on the flip side been delving back into the world of art which seems to be very good for my sanity.  Creating is something I have always had a knack of doing if only I could get paid to do that full time I would be in Heaven. 

I want to share a little conversation my young one and I had a while back really I think under all that video game playing the cheeky little chap is quit bright if only life were a video game he would be the #1 high score.  So he says to me "Mom why are you always taking pictures?" to which I reply "So I can remember things that we have done and help others remember too" after a few moments to ponder my reply he says, "Isn't that what we got brains for."  Needless to say I was speechless I guess my roll of film is out on my photographic memory.  Will have to remember to pick up another roll.  You just gotta love a kids honesty.

Well I will move on to the part of my blog I have been told people look forward to the most.  Today's photo tip.

Today's photo tip: See Better or as I call it Seeing through the Lens

See Better

Written by: Digital Photography

Seeing with Better Eyes

The psychology of seeing and how it affects composition
Your eye (and lens) sees something, but your eye is connected to your brain …. which interprets what you see….. it adjusts color
balance, ignores un-important things, tries to “edit out” those things you don’t want to see. You now must re-program your mind so that you really do see everything.


Here’s a simple case in point:
The Classic cars are in town and you see one you like and take a snapshot. You see the yellow car…. but not the meter on the left, the power lines above, or even the yellow on the bottom right…… your mind ignores those distractions for you.

Here’s what you must learn to do: Eliminate unwanted distractions …. either by cropping them out during printing (like I just did) or move in closer and crop them out with the camera and lens.

Or…… you could think about what you really want to show …. walk around, crouch down, look at it harder …. and then shoot.
The point is, you must concentrate and think harder about what it is you want to show… and force yourself to see how to eliminate those things you don’t want to show.
This should become habit…. you should practice doing this with everything that “catches your eye”. Your eye WILL begin to see better … and you will begin to think about the lighting, the angle, the “feel” of those things as you look around.
Sometimes you might feel weird or cursed because of the way you “stare at” – study – things, but it is essential that you develop this habit if you really want to get better. To become a true, serious amateur or top-notch professional you need to be constantly studying subject matter, light, composition, etc. AND figuring out how you want that shot to look in print.
One of the reasons I was considered a first-rate riot photographer was that, even in the middle of a riot – with all that noise and hate and physical violence and constant threats to myself – I forced myself to concentrate on:
HOW THIS PIC WOULD LOOK ON THE PAGE.