Like most people over the age of 30, my first camera had a funny plastic like strip inside it - better known as film. Film was expensive. And nearly as expensive, was the process of turning film into prints. This necessitated (for financial reasons) the curiously arcane combination of deliberation and deliberateness. A roll of 24 exposures seemed like luxury. 36 was decadent.
Then sometime in the late nineties and early noughties, film was replaced, as a light sensing mechanism by a digital sensor and as a capture mechanism by memory cards. And instantly, everyone became a photographer. Formerly insufferable slide nights were soon replaced by links to your friend’s best 700 holiday snaps. Because incremental costs were virtually zero, and economic theory being what it is, it stood to reason that there would be an exponential increase in the number of photos being taken. But just because something can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done.
When digicams first came out, some were decent but most were crappy. Nowadays, all of them are pretty much excellent. But no single camera can do all things well. Point and shoots will not give you Digital SLR quality. DSLRs will not give you the small form factor of a point and shoot. An interesting recent development has been that of micro four-thirds camera. The non-technical definition is a camera that gives close to DSLR quality but in a much smaller form factor (basically, they’ve removed
the mirror). And because the lenses are interchangeable, you can get pretty creative. You could mount a 50 year old Leica lens onto a Lumix GF1 or Olympus E-PL1(2) (both point and shoot size) and get some really interesting results. And Sony has just jumped into the mix with the NEX line of even smaller bodies with APS-C sensors (tech speak for really good) and the ability to use a wide array of lenses. And if you have the budget and want a true retro buzz with 21st century convenience you could head down the Leica M path and create classic looking digital shots.
the mirror). And because the lenses are interchangeable, you can get pretty creative. You could mount a 50 year old Leica lens onto a Lumix GF1 or Olympus E-PL1(2) (both point and shoot size) and get some really interesting results. And Sony has just jumped into the mix with the NEX line of even smaller bodies with APS-C sensors (tech speak for really good) and the ability to use a wide array of lenses. And if you have the budget and want a true retro buzz with 21st century convenience you could head down the Leica M path and create classic looking digital shots.
But, randomness is to be avoided at every step of the process. First, think about what you’d like to photograph and get a camera that is suitable (not just the one with the highest megapixel count). Then, even in automatic mode, think about the shot and what you want out of it. Experiment a little (but not randomly) with manual settings – even if it’s just to gain a basic understanding of ISO, aperture and shutter speed (the holy trinity of exposure) and most importantly - edit, edit edit.
I’m of the opinion that serendipity is the positive unintended consequence of deliberate action rather than pure, dumb luck. If you think about what you’re doing, you’re much more likely to get “lucky” than if you simply click away at anything that moves (or doesn’t). And if you exercise some level of editorial discipline, not only will you avoid being the person who sends the 700 photo link, you’ll probably even meet the definition of a professional photographer – someone who only shows the good stuff!
The tools are there. Use them wisely. Happy shooting!
P.S. For those of you in the Bay Area, an excellent Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit commences at SFMOMA on October 30.
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