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11 Oct

Posted at 10:23h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

The term " Nifty Fifty " was coined a few years ago to make what was the standard focal length for the 35mm camera seem new and exciting for the DSLRs of the time. That's what advertising writers do - they attach adjectives to things and adverbs to actions and hope that you are interested enough to buy the gear. In the case of selling 50mm lenses they were trying to get another lens into the gadget bag to supplement the ubiquitous zoom lenses of the time. Whether these were kit inclusions or outside purchases, the price and design factors at the time meant that most zooms had moderately small maximum apertures and many had variable ones as well. The one-camera amateur might not ever really need more than the kit zoom but the lens makers needed more than one-lens sales. The choice of the 50mm length was a fine recollection of the film era - from the Leica Elmar onwards this focal length was considered the standard view of the world for the format and a great deal of effort was...

08 Oct

Posted at 09:12h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Note I didn't say " photogenic " avocados. The average Hass avocado is anything but beautiful. The tree is nice to look at, if a trifle straggly sometimes, but the fruit looks like a dark green version of Konrad Adenauer. But the end result of a good producing avocado is wonderful on toast. And if you have enjoyed the fruit you may be tempted to grow the seed into a new tree. Here is where it starts to intersect with the photo world; the advice you get about growing the blessed thing from different people. Camps of zealots contend over the best way of germinating the things and the best soils, fertilisers, watering regimes, etc. You could be forgiven for thinking it was a camera club meeting when someone asks about the best camera to buy...

04 Oct

Posted at 09:41h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

I need help here - I need to talk to someone who breaks their camera on a regular basis. Not that I want to do the same thing - indeed I do all in my power to prevent damage to what is a delicate instrument. But I need to find someone who adopts a more adventurous attitude. Because I want to find out whether the half-case for a camera is a good thing. I may also need to talk to someone who travels extensively or who moves in more elegant circles than I. There may be clues to the half-case there. At present I'm stumped. And I'm in the fortunate corcumstance of being a half-case owner. I didn't get a no-name off FleaBay or out of the secondhand market, either. My half-case for the Fujifilm X-T2 came from Camera Electronic. I was fortunate in that there was a case available new long after the X-T2 was superseded  - it had hung round on the bargain shelves. A bit of money came my way and I bought it. Now I have to figure out...

29 Sep

Posted at 06:35h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

And suppose it was the only photograph I had - of you or anyone else. The first photographs were such marvels that they set the civilised world - France, Germany, the United States - ablaze with wonder and interest. Even in backwater Britain, in the wilds of London, people clamoured to take pictures, to have their portrait taken, to possess images. And for some of them there could only be one image - the cost of the thing was far too dear to have more. The might have a daguerreotype in a union case or an albumin print in a paper slip - or just a tintype button. The face in it might be bleached out, or dim, or reversed. It might be blurred and it would almost certainly be serious, if not sombre. And it was very important to the person in it and the people who knew them. It was proof they existed for some period of time. The saddest portraits were those of people who had ceased to exist - young or old. Funereal and post mortem images being much...

27 Sep

Posted at 09:38h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

A friend of mine has commenced making a series of dance videos that go out over the internet on the Instagram site. They are little video clips taken in her own studio. I hasten to add it's a dance studio, not a photographic one. They are colourful and musical and have a keen following - but they are lit with an LED system that is normally associated with video conferencing. This is apparently a ring-light tube that encircles a camera or mobile phone. It's bright enough and the auto white balance of the recording device seems to be able to cope pretty well with the colours and the contrasts. But the problem is that there is no life to the light...

24 Sep

Posted at 12:14h in Education by [social_share]

Sports photography captures the essence of sports, the breath of the environment and the life that everyone gathers to experience. It is also the unique insight to showcase perspectives that are somewhat challenging to see otherwise. Think about the 2021 AFL Grand Final taking place in Perth this year. There will be roughly 60,000 people anticipating seeing something special on the 25th of September, 2021. As an attendee, we are limited by the location of our seats. As a sports photographer, we are limited by our imagination. The camera unlocks our potential to capture something that is yet to be seen. Sports photography, in general, is known for action that can take place in a matter of milliseconds. A snapshot in the making, however, are we ready to take a photograph?    Sports Photography Essential Camera Features   Cameras with autofocus features date back to the 1970s. So much has changed since then, and we live in a time where technology is breaking ground every so often. In addition to this, sports have been evolving too. Athletes are stronger and faster - as a...

22 Sep

Posted at 08:37h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

When you not, you not. And thank you to Jerry Reed for giving us one of the best explanations for photography there is. We've all experienced the streak of good fortune or creativity - of inspiration, facility, or felicity that leads to rapid success. We've picked up a camera at a wonderful location to see a wonderful scene and pressed the wonderful button as fast as we could. With any luck, the results have not corrupted in the memory card. Equally, we have all called forth the wellspring of inspiration, only to find the water table has lowered so much that it can't be found. The wisest of us have realised that the time for photography was not then, and gone home. I've spent entire weekends not being the wisest of us...