One click. One before and one after… it’s but a moment. Seconds. Five seconds between three shots. I am seeking the best shot. I will edit later. For now, shoot early and shoot often. Does it work? Are they all worthy? Edit? Does it mean to discard bad shots? Does it matter? Hard drive memory is pretty much infinite. But cluttered! Discard and it’s easier to find good images later. Did you mistakenly discard an image that on the “next look” was one that should have been kept? Go ahead make yourself crazy. Meanwhile, I shoot early and often and keep all. There is less anxiety. Edit? I rate my images with stars and look at the “2’s” and upward.
Title?? Digital is free. At least it seems virtually nearly free because storage is so inexpensive. Film cost $$.
So, I shoot multiple images. Click, click, click. Free. Surely, one image will be the “one.” Indeed there are plenty of images with focus issues and so forth. More images insure success?! Not really. But, I still like to think so. So many of my old slides are not quite good enough. It is what I have. No backs. So, I shoot camera, not iPhone, and I shoot early and often.
I fear my argument falls upon deaf ears. The vast majority of images out in the world were/are iPhone not camera. It’s progress. Better? I know I can do better with camera than phone.
Subject? What to shoot in an Indian powwow? There are too many opportunities. What? Which? Does experience help? What will come out looking good in the editing? Wide angle? Detail? Action?
None of it matters. You just go ahead and shoot. Get images are they unfold and present. There are no rules. I experiment as I go along. Only occasionally I know there is a “winner” as I press the shutter. Otherwise, everything is good? Eh?
Three little girls in costume… and holding hands… cute! Automatically! Details: jingle dancer, the bells are in motion. Focus is a problem. Close? Close is ok?
Zoom a little more. A zoom lens is a good thing. There are purists. They frown upon anyone using naught but a prime lens. ? that would be a lens with only a single focal length. Ah! I have bias toward iPhone. Well, there are controversies…. I learned long ago that I zoom to compose my shots and give them more emphasis on the subject I am photographing. And in the course of editing I discovered that I cropped many of my photos. So, why not crop by zooming ahead of time? And so I do. I have a 23-200 and an 80-400 zoom lens. I tend to sit at 200 and 400mm for much of the time. ?? it just works out that way. There is no particular reason.
In this instance I chose a random image from the Indian powwow. The need to zoom is derived from the distracting background and my lack of mobility. I was not lazy. It’s just not polite to be walking in front of the audience and blocking someone’s view. I was not a credentialed photographer for the event.
Specifically, zooming closer and eliminating the tents and distracting people in the background would have helped. I was at 110mm out of 400mm. Depth of field did blur the background somewhat. Exposure was good. Focus was good. Technically this image was sound. But I could have done better.
Or, wait for your subject to get closer. Same 110mm zoom, but now the background is less distracting. Better? Both images are sound. There is a choice. I’d go with the second image.
The pandemic is over. I just got another booster. Omnicron? I’ve lost track. 3rd booster? 4th booster, fifth shot. I now have two CDC cards with all the dates and so forth. We went to the Indian Powwow. Outdoor venue, a large crowd gathered. Not much social distancing. One mask. I did not see another. We did not wear one. Safe? Many in the extended family have experienced Covid infection. No one died. No one was hospitalized. One cousin had a relapse Covid case. Should we fear it? I was just about first on line for the latest booster. So far so good.
The main criticism: centering. I try not to center my subject in the center of the image. It’s static. Eh? You can. We do. But, I find it more interesting to put the subject to one side or another. Rule of Thirds? Put the interest at an intersection of lines. No matter. These shots were on the run grab shots of the crowd and marchers in the line. And the mask illustrates my point no matter where it is in the image.
PhotoCritical 