Easy Answers

In yesterday’s comments Melody asked what so many people have asked before,

What lens do you love-use-can't-live-without…?

A few of you asked the same thing of Kate and I for our radio show, I have gotten numerous emails of the same accord, and there have been a few threads about lenses in our Flickr discussions.

Of all the questions I can think of, the equipment is the easy one. It’s just a matter of pulling out all of the stuff from our bags and listing them for you, right?  So, where’s our list? I am working on it as we speak. It’s my little goal for the weekend; to have a bright and shiny page posted here listing what the contributing Sisters have tucked in their bags. Now that I’ve put it out there, you’ll hold me accountable, won’t you? In return, all I ask of you is to list some of the equipment you use (at least your most favorite stuff) and maybe we’ll list what’s in your bag too!

We’ll show you our list if you’ll show us yours.

Pictured above: a reflected self-portrait featuring my massive (and totally rockin’) Canon 24-70 mm 2.8. Ain't she purty?

Psssst...

Pssst. Did I tell ya? Too afraid to fess up for what it implies for the presumed amazingness of future photos, which is no sure thing.

Santa brought mama a new SLR camera, a Canon Rebel XTi, to finally displace my point-and-shoot, the Kodak Pipsqueak 2000.

It's a revelation, let me tell you. I can take pictures INDOORS! I have a lens that I can open up to 1.8. ONE. POINT. EIGHT. And the best part? It FOCUSES. I am pleased. I am thrilled. I am nose to the manual every night, determined to figure out how to get it to do what I hope it can do. Lots to learn, but learning's no trouble when you're lit up.

I know I’m all Story of Stuffed, but do me a favour and grant me one gizmo exemption.

This thing, she is some beaut.

Mastering the art of the rinky-tink-tink: part one

 

So, what is it that you do to your shots?  The sisters have asked. They’re kinda unique.

Well, I ahh… I umm… see, I move the clicker wheel to ‘BEACH SCENE’, and then I hold the button down halfway so it may (or may not) focus, and then…

Crap, I think, too late, rinky-tink-tinking on my toy piano in a roomful of Steinways. I’ve just outed myself. Next thing you know I’ll give away my ‘BRIGHT SNOW DAY’ trick.

My camera is a glorified point-and-shoot with an unchangeable junior lens, shot-in-the-dark focusing and a complete inability to operate properly in anything but blazing outdoor light. It's all I know, photographically — probably like many of you, too — aside from the 25-year-old Pentax K-1000 I learned on.

So to those who have yet to graduate to the school of digital SLR I say:

1) You are not alone in your periodic camera-directed sado-masochistic abandonment fetish.

2) Between now and the receipt of lotto winnings, we may as well make the best of it.

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It’s frustrating to hit a ceiling — to have a creative drive that exceeds your equipment. I’ve got a baby, a toddler, a recent home renovation and a credit line with indigestion. Canon? Nikon? NTFL (add ‘Not Too F-ing Likely’ to your web-repertoire alongside LOL, SAHM and OMG).

Stretch what you’ve got. If you’ve still got the manual, read it (or go online to find it). Uncover every possible setting, adjustment and feature. Capture the same scene on auto, on preset modes, with flash, without flash, zoomed in, zoomed out. Let no button or switch go unexplored. If your camera offers manual settings, test them vigorously until you can visualize the effects of shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

Learn what works best in your most common shooting scenarios. For instance, when it’s bright out I use the ‘beach scene’ preset mode to overexpose, then tone down within Photoshop after I’ve downloaded the images. Something about that setting, combined with a contrast adjustment after-the-fact, makes blue skies pop.

Such a trick I’d never have learned if I hadn’t moved the clicker off the godforsaken AUTO and taken some risks in the interest of trial by error.

Sure, I flail, and curse, and salivate in front of store windows. Then I turn to my weary, battered Kodak, my pipsqueak, and say Okay kid, it’s just you and me. Let’s see what we can do.