Newsletter

What's My Used Camera Worth?

by George Schaub

As film cameras go down in sales and digital camera sales soar, many photographers
wonder just what their film, and indeed older digital cameras are worth. We
get emails almost every day with such queries, and while we do not or cannot
set the market price for any goods...

For those who have been working with the latest digital cameras--both
integral and interchangeable lens types--you've probably seen an
option called Raw among your file formats. Unlike JPEG and TIFF, Raw is not
an acronym and therefore we don't capitalize it, and is just what it states--the
"raw" image date received by the sensor and digitized within the
microprocessor of the camera. It is not "raw" in the sense that
it is unfettered or unrecognizable, but it does take image processing software
other than what's in the plain version of some image processing programs
to see it. That Raw software converts the Raw image file format to an image
on the screen and allows you to save it to a format other than Raw--such
as TIFF or JPEG.

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When Tripods Are Not Permitted

How To Capture Great Images Anyway

by Jim Zuckerman

Too often, we photographers are forced to take pictures with what seems like one hand tied behind our backs. By this I mean we can’t use a tripod in low light situations. Sometimes this prohibition is reasonable, such as in museums.No...

One of my favorite color combinations is white on white and I want to introduce this approach to using color because the results can be so beautiful.

There is something ethereal and captivating about images that are devoid of the colors that we associate with the spectrum. Images that are primarily white seem pristine, intriguing, and they will complement virtually any type of home or office décor if you are looking to frame some of your photography.

A word that is often associated with wide angle lenses is “distortion.” It is true that wide angles distort what we see, but that’s not necessarily bad. In fact, it can work to our advantage. Photographers who like to capture what they see—or as close to it as possible—shy away from wide angle lens particularly those that are extreme—say wider than 20mm. This is especially true for portraiture, where exaggerated and distorted faces and bodies may not go over very well with the subject. However, as an artist you should have all the tools and techniques at your disposal to create dynamic images, and I would like to suggest that if you have not explored the creative potential for shooting people with wide angle lenses, it’s time you try it.

When I refer to window light, I am talking about the soft lighting that comes in through a window when it faces north or when the sky is overcast. This is one of the most attractive types of light photographers use, and it has been a source of inspiration for traditional artists over the centuries when they painted portraits of people, still life images, and the interiors of magnificent works of architecture.