A Haven for Vee

Friday, February 22, 2013

Low Information Photographer

That's me. I'm so proud.

Really, though, you people are driving me batty! You have so many things to share and so much to teach me and some days it's all I can do to get the laundry done.

For example, this morning I read my comments from yesterday's post and Veronica mentioned something about "silver birch" and I thought to myself: how romantical...I would certainly prefer to call the white birch chunk a silver birch chunk. Would you believe this led me on a search lasting over an hour? And just when I thought I had it all resolved, John came along and said, "I love working with yellow birch." Yellow birch?! Don't get me started! <  *thud*  >

Then, Lorrie, who is my twin in cameradom ever since she bought a new camera and started taking even more amazing photos than ever before and I copied her (That's right. I asked her what kind of camera she had and, when my Canon was in the shop being repaired for a month, I bought a camera like Lorrie's), shared her secret. [That sentence is a hot mess.]

This is really quite clever by half, if I do say so myself, because when I see an exceptionally beautiful photo (Who am I kidding? All of Lorrie's photos are exceptionally beautiful) I can ask her what was going on there.

*This* is what was going on there:


Ah ha! Bracketing! I knew it all along. (No, I confess I had forgotten, but I had tried it *here.*)

This was my subject corner more or less...


and these are the three consecutive pictures...



















Which one would you choose as the best one?

~~~

Yes, in answer to your question...we are getting ready for the third weekend storm. The town was by to make room for more snow just this morning.


So two questions, maybe three:

1. Are you a low information photographer?
2. Does your camera have a BKT setting?
3. Did or will Storm Q affect you?

42 comments:

  1. I choose the second picture. We had our storm last night. It was not as bad as predicted.

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  2. Oh dear. What is BKT? I'm way behind on the learning camera curve option. We have been warned about a storm rolling through. For us down here at almost sea level that means lots of rain and wind. The mountain passes will get the worst of it...
    Stay warm this weekend!

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  3. My camera may do many things that I haven't discovered. I'm mostly a point and click photographer.

    We have LOTS of ice. And grandkids staying with us because school was cancelled. It's going to be an interesting day.

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  4. 1. Are you a low information photographer? Hehhhh, lower than low.

    2. Does your camera have a BKT setting? Huhhhhhhhhhhhhh?

    3. Did or will Storm Q affect you? We are expecting snow.

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    Replies
    1. "Blowing my own horn" time here!!!

      Look at how neatly, I replied to your questions?!?

      Aren't I mahhhhhhhhhhvelous?!? ,-)

      Neat... Clear... Concise... Easy to read... Easy to understand...

      -chuckle- Sometimes, I do love me. -gigggggling-

      Running, ducking and hiding...

      Delete
  5. And which one do I prefer, of your 3 absolutely lovely pics???? The FIRST one.

    It seems to have just the right degree of lightness and darkness, to my eye. Gracious but those photos are lovely! So, so, so lovely! Sorry, but I don't have the words to tell you, how delightful they are to me. Just believe it.

    Now, how about...? -gigggles- Take another photo of the same subject, in a wider range. Crop it to be a long, narrow pic, which you prefer for your Header. And Voila! A lovely, lovely new Header Pic possibility.

    I know... I am never, never, never satisfied! -grin- Ahhhh, but that is part of my charm. -cough- -gag-

    Hugs,
    "Auntie"
    Mmmm, watch out for the coming Full Snow Moon, on 2/25th. It's already cutting a swath, in Pretty Blog Land.

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  6. I am a low information photographer when it comes to my newest camera. I'm raising my hand here. There are things that I don't understand and I haven't gotten far enough (or motivated enough) to learn yet. And I'm the first to admit that photography is a never ending quest. There is always something to learn! I'm much further along than I was 2 or 3 years ago, that's for sure. But I still have challenges, most notably color balance in editing.

    OK, I had to actually pull out my cameras and see if there was a BKT button on either of them. No, I don't see one. I "think" bracketing is something that I have to set up only through the menu screens. So what does that tell you? However, my hands & mind have memorized/synchronized to the point that I can adjust exposure compensation on the fly. And I know exactly when exposure compensation is needed when I size up a scene. If it is really a contrasty scene, I'll quickly look at the histogram and check my "blinkies" (which show whether I have overblown highlights or too dark of areas, thus losing detail. Usually, I try very hard not to blow highlights because that is the part of a photo that people visually see first and there is no detail to recover in such an area. OK, you're probably fogging over at this point. So let me sum it up for you. Exposure compensation is one of the most significant things I have done in the past couple of years to improve my photos.

    Of your 3 images, I prefer the second one. I would tweak it with some levels adjustment in editing, but it gives the richest color representation of the three. And since it looks like you took 3 images on a tripod, I would combine them all into an HDR (high dynamic range) image. I'm taking baby steps when it comes to HDR work and plan to get into it more in the next year or so.

    No storming here except for a lot of rain last night!

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  7. Oh, Vee, I posted a comment and blogger said there was an error. Rather than re-creating the entire thing. . .

    What is a BKT?!

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    Replies
    1. Diane, and here I thought I had explained it very well. =D

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  8. Replies
    1. Nikon P7100

      Just above a point and shoot, I think, but I love it.

      Delete
  9. Wonderful header!

    I am so low it is ridiculous. But my camera was given to me about five years ago when a bloggy friend bought a new one.

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  10. I would choose the first photo.
    Yes, I am a low info photographer. I do know about bracketing and do that a lot just to get the hang of this digital camera. I could't tell you if there is a button on my Canon, but I don't think there is. I don't plan much when I take pictures. I am very impulsive and shoot from the hip.
    The storm!!!! haha.. they were saying we were going to have the worse storm of the year. All the new channels were creating so much drama. We got an inch or so and the temp is 35 so no big deal. It is winter in the Great Lakes for Pete's sake. I will snow! We're used to it.

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  11. OK, I'm going to show my camera ignorance here. I finally found the BKT buttons on both of my big cameras. Obviously, I don't use them, thanks to using the exposure compensation button and checking exposure readings on the histogram. And I don't need to use the BKT button unless I'm doing HDR work, requiring multiples of the same shot for digitally combining.

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  12. You just made me giggle with the "thud" comment! ROFL!

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  13. Aw, thanks for the shout out, Vee. I consider myself a low information photographer, but I'm moving on up to medium low with the help of my book. I prefer the middle photo of the three you took because I think the background being slightly darker than the bird provides a nice backdrop. As someone else said, I would also tweak a little of the highlights and shadows in Picasa or whatever editing program you use. I've found that adding a bit of shadow and highlight does wonders for most photos. But my goal is to try and take such good photos that I don't have to do that.

    Donna mentioned Exposure Compensation as a way to improve photos. I played with that yesterday, too, and my, what a difference it makes. It's the button on the right of the camera top with a dial from -3 to +3. It was cloudy here yesterday and although I was shooting right next to a window, most photos were a bit dark. Our book says adding exposure up to +1 is usually sufficient unless you are going for a very overexposed look. There are three notches between 0 and +1 and each one provided a visible difference to the photos. Something else to try! If you get bored during the storm, you can practice photography.

    Stay safe and cozy.

    Oh, and Donna's remarks about using the BKT button for HDR work is something our book talks about, too. But I don't have Photoshop and I don't think Picasa and Photoscape allow for layering photos, which is required to do HDR work. So much to learn. Such a little brain to absorb it all. Sigh. I feel like Pooh.

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  14. You're right Vee - just visiting other people's blogs is a learning experience in itself and if one can take the time to process the information they share then it really is a fantastic way to learn from other bloggers. I didn't know that term but often do the same thing to capture a moment - especially when taking sunrise or sunset pictures. Hope your storm is not too bad - we are surrounded by months of snow but thankfully there is no snow on the forecast today and the hoar frost is brilliantly shining in the sunshine.

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  15. I do wish I had a camera which was like a DSLR and could take pictures more quickly in succession than mine does....Though I am sure a more educated photographer could do much better with mine than I do....

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  16. Ohh how I wish I had a grown up camera!!! don't have any of those settings!! One of these days....
    Have a good days!!

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  17. I like the second photo best. I don't think my camera has a BkT setting although there much I don't know about it yet.
    It is snow again here. Just hope the wind doesn't come up.

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  18. I would choose the second photo as well. I am in the midst of learning a lot about photography. Hopefully my pictures will improve.

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  19. So.....what kind of camera is Lorrie's?

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  20. Hi Vee
    Well I'm a shoot by the seat of my pants kind of gal. I've taken photography classes but I swear the information goes in and out within a matter of minutes. Had no idea of a BKT setting, it could be hiding but so far none of the letters that I can see say this.
    We're to get a tail end of rain/snow from the storm but nothing major.
    I like your second photo for colour and clarity.
    Judith

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  21. I totally understand about not getting laundry or other things done. It's so hard to tear myself away from all the wonderful information and photos I see online. As for my photography, I am a very low info person. I've had this camera probably 2 years now and still haven't read all of the manual. There are many features to this camera and I don't know much about any of them. I just leave it on Auto most of the time and shoot. I mainly bought it for the zoom capabilities.

    We just had a winter storm dump about a foot of snow on us. Don't know if this storm had a name or not. I called it a few names but I doubt they were the ones the weather service gave it. :)

    Have a nice weekend!

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  22. Oh, I definitely fall under the category of "low information photographer. Woefully low. I set a goal for myself this year...to learn to use my camera (almost one year old). So far...well, let's not talk about how far I've gone in accomplishing this goal. But it is only February...

    Can't answer the question about the BKT. :p

    We are not in the path of the storm. Just another weekend of rain, rain, rain. Not that I'm complaining. I use up all my complaints in the summertime, complaining about the heat and humidity.

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  23. Vee, I am so with you! I really don't know the first thing about photography. I am using a small digital Nikon camera and it's pretty good. It does offer different settings and I am playing with them. But I really would like to have a professional one some day (although, I would need major education on it. But, I am willing. I am still trying to figure out the correct way to "link up" to parties (feel so inadequate sometimes). I use a Mac and it's a little different. I am trying to find a tutorial on how to "linkup".

    Have a wonderful week and keep warm.

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  24. Oh Vee I am a no information photographer lol. I love your bird house in the corner, and the little paper bird. So cute. We are expecting rain this weekend, snow will be much further north. I don't know why weather folks are naming every storm now since the infamous Sandy.....Q......really? xo

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  25. Oh dear - I think i'm the lowest of the lows!!! I have this idiot proof button called "auto" lol!!!! I too took a quick course when I bought my Canon PowerShot SX30. I haven't played around with the settings much and really should learn more about it. I'll just bet it has the BKT setting!?? <*thud*> is right or is it <*dah*>?
    A streamer off Lake Huron just went through here this afternoon causing whiteouts and icey roads again. There's a very strong East wind and the birds are swarming around the feeder - all bad signs for stormy weather it seems. Stay warm and cozy. Off to check out my camera!

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  26. Oh boy, I study and practice and decide I finally have my Fstops and ISO and all completely figured out then three days later I am staring blankly at the dials and buttons again. My brain just WILL NOT retain the information. Without doing all settings properly only the middle of this 1/8 big snowflakes are in focus. Grrr.

    Totally understand how silver birch could send one off to "learn about it land". Aka google!

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  27. I am an 'auto' photograher...no f-stops for me. I need a manual every time I want to try to customize anything (and my manual is for several models back...since my current camera manual is only on the computer). Now...I'm off to see if I have a BKT button. This is the first I've heard of it.

    Have a wonderful weekend.

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  28. I’m so glad you’ve discovered your camera’s potential Vee. I’m a big Canon fan myself. I’ve been photographing and selling thru stock agencies and to magazines for millions of years and have gone thru so many cameras but the ones which never let me down are the canons. (And my father’s leicas...they just keep on going thru all the abuse I’ve put them thru.) It’s terrific fun to play and discover new settings and functions. So much to discover...so much to photograph! :)

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  29. It is wonderful how you keep learning. I want to learn and one of these days when things settle down here I am going to go back to learning how to make the most of my camera. I know it can do so much more than I give it a chance to do.
    I'll go look for that BKT button.

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  30. I"m definitely low information -- on cameras and computers. Unfortunately, my little Canon has a scratch on the lens. I'm afraid it will cost more to fix than to buy a new camera. Any suggestions on what to look for?

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  31. I'm a point and shoot photographer if it looks real bad I delete it otherwise it's ok, only had the camera since last November, I have a book but that makes no sense what so ever, a friend lent me a camera for a couple of months before that, up to that stage I have never owned one in my life.
    We have wind and rain in Australia but no snow .
    Merle.......

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  32. Vee I am a "fly by the pants" photographer, which means I basically point, shot and run...and very often my NYC photos were taken as I was moving along..lol My Nikon was good at freezing the moment, so I was lucky with it, but it is still broken and I decided not to have the camera store fix it as they wanted over $300! I saw an online fix I might try otherwise V told me he'd treat me to a new camera for my *big* birthday coming up. Don't YOU have a BD coming up soon? Please write to me and tell me when! BTW: I like you photo #1 as I like its brightness.
    We had 8 inches of snow yesterday but most of it is gone already from the streets and sidewalks due to the hot sun..it just seems to stay on the grass or in shady areas. Snow is good for the spring flowers, so I don't mind.

    Have a good weekend!

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  33. I have my first cold of the fall/winter, and so am a bit foggy. I am very low information,Lindsay is high information and I need to practice more!

    You take very nice photos. I was going to say #1 because it was a bit brighter but after reading Donna's comment I realized that it is a bit washed out and that #2 has better color!

    Nighty Night!
    Deanna

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    Replies
    1. I preferred the first one myself washed out color or no. Sorry about the cold. We're beating them back here with many doses of Echinacea.

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  34. 1.Yes 2. I have no idea 3. No
    Look at all the info you have in your comments! You could gather it and write a BOOK! I like the second one...shadows, moody lighting. Of course I'm sitting in a SUN box right now...our lanai is BRIGHT in the early morning light! Sweet hugs!

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  35. I like #1 but I'd probably fine tune it in photoshop or picmonkey anyway. I still use my camera on auto. My daughter gave me a book on how to use my camera for Christmas but I just have had the time to mess around with it yet.

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