The advantages of a DSLR camera are huge compared with most other cameras. The new compact smart cameras are smaller and lighter and great for point and shoot but the DSLR gives the photographer full control of the camera.
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A way with words #ramble
It’s Sunday morning once again and so I’ll share my thoughts with you once again. I did more posts this week because I set the 64 Million Artists challenge and had more readers. What’s on my mind this week? Well, I got a lot of divisive and offensive comments on our history page last Sunday and so had to deal with that. I came up with a simple rule and promised anyone that broke it would be banned. I have a way with words and managed to pack all the rules of the page into a couple of no-nonsense sentences.
Does creative thinking need a purpose? #art
I’ve been thinking about creativity and art in general. I want to use my photography more effectively. Art can be like science, it can be for a specific purpose or it can be like blue sky research. You can just create for the sake of seeing what the result might be. Even creative thinking can be like blue sky research going off at tangents until a particular tangent looks like it is leading somewhere. The search for something new can be quite random.
Unacceptable beliefs and behaviour #racism
I was saddened to see the reports this week from Bulgaria where the England football team was subjected to vile abuse from fans with far-right beliefs. I’ve experienced abuse from people with similar beliefs. I’ve even been harassed in the street twice while I’ve been taking photographs by someone who was described as a ‘patriot’. Those fans need to be banned from football. I’m not sure how you change their beliefs. In China, they would put them into re-education camps. In this country, the rise of right-wing and left-wing extremism is encouraged by an irresponsible media. Even the soaps on television are hour-long dramas of constant confrontation. We are promoting the politics of confrontation. Both the far-right and the far-left have beliefs that are unacceptable to decent people.
Developing my skill #photography
I took up photography just over 10 years ago and mostly shot landscapes with my little Fujifilm S5600 which served me well. I’ve come a long way in 10 years and had pictures exhibited in several exhibitions. I have gone from shooting in scenes modes with a bridge camera to using a full frame Nikon on a manual setting. I am still learning, of course and I’m now trying to set my white balance better in certain situations. That is a matter of practice and experimentation to get just what I want. I will keep developing my skill and I think I will never stop improving.
My own exhibition #art #64millionArtists
The challenge from 64 Million Artists this week is My Own Exhibition. I set the challenge this week! The challenge is to create your own exhibition using sculpture, photographs, drawings, paintings and poems that you have created. I’m going to create my exhibition right here on my blog. If you would like to join in the weekly challenges you can at Do, think, share. I need a good picture for the centre-piece of my exhibition:
Challenges and images #ramble
It’s Sunday morning once again and so I’ll share my thoughts with you. I run the History of Wednesbury page on Facebook and since Brexit the nationalists insist that the page is political even though I only promote tolerance and liberal thinking. That sort of idealism challenges the liberal-minded but it is best to just ignore them and not feed the trolls. I have at least encouraged them to moderate their language by banning one for using obscenities.
Dial M for manual #photography
Some photographers always shoot in manual and in raw. This is the sign of a true professional and they can even denigrate other photographers who aren’t so clued up! Is shooting in manual better or necessary? This week, I dial M for manual and look at the possible uses. Most of the time, however, I shoot with my dial on aperture priority and I shoot in jpeg.
Images of a daring highwayman #ramble
It’s Sunday morning once again and so I’ll ramble on and share my thoughts with you. Yesterday, I read a lot of history from some old books that have been added to the internet archive. It’s interesting to see how our community has developed from when the Romans were here. I came across a little history from the 18th century when Richard Turpin, legendary highwayman, was said to have passed this way and used a local coaching inn. I posted a little information about that on our history page. Those images of a daring highwayman are featured on a frieze opposite the town hall on the Morrison’s building and are an important part of local folklore.
Publishing on social media #photography
I photographed a Safer Six event in Wednesbury yesterday and I had to cover my camera at the beginning and shelter under a canopy to take the first few shots. I took a few shots at a narrow aperture to get the flavour of the event and when the rain subsided went wide-open for some close-up shots of the dignitaries and stalls. The shots were intended for publishing on social media but sometimes I do send photos to the local newspaper.
Is art an antidote to conflict? #life
It’s Sunday morning and so once again I’ll share my thoughts with you. What’s on my mind this week? As always photography, but I’ll be lucky to shoot any pictures today, it’s a bit wet out there! I have ordered more printing and my next two art cards will be of the Fountain in Tipton and the Red Lion in Darlaston. Maybe they will start selling them in the libraries for me again. If I can only recover my printing costs I’ll keep on doing them. Maybe I’ll do some for West Bromwich next?
The quality of the light #photography
The quality of the light greatly affects the nature of a photograph. I have photographed artists on stage under coloured lights and obviously a blue light make the artist look blue and a pink light gives the scene a pink glow. I photographed the Tipton Canal and Community Festival on Sunday which had more or less finished because of the rain. The dark clouds gave the scenes a dark greyish look. You can alter the white balance to compensate for the greyish light and of course you can compensate for the lack of light by increasing the ISO and shooting some wide aperture shots but the images have a greyish tinge and I would have preferred a sunny day!
GiffGaff
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