Try black and white for emotional and visual impact

When inspiration and creativity seem to be hiding in the bushes it can be difficult to break out of a photographic rut. As the days go by and the images get duller, enthusiasm starts to wane. These are the times when we need to dig deep and do something different to break the patterns of habit. Going so far as to make breaking the pattern a habit can reduce those lackluster photographic spells to a bare minimum.

One of my personal “pattern breakers” is to shoot a day or two of black and white(yes, with digital). The best way to do this with a DSLR is to set the camera to record both RAW and .jpg files set to “black and white” mode. Some older DSLR’s and most compact digital cameras won’t have this feature and it will be necessary to shoot only black and white .jpg files. While not as good for ultimate image quality, .jpg’s serve the habit-breaking purpose of this exercise just fine.

Actually shooting in black and white mode, rather shooting in color and converting after the fact, serves more than one purpose. Obviously the most immediate reason is to get an immediate, on-the-camera-back preview in black and white. The effect of traditional black and white colored filters is visible right away.

A second reason for shooting in black and white mode is to really make the break mentally away from color and into a different thought/vision space. This is very important for creativity and thought stimulation. You will find yourself making images in black and white that just would not work in color. This is one of the points of the exercise.

My favorite tool for making the final image is Adobe Camera Raw when starting from a RAW file. It does a great job and makes it possible to fine tune every color density range. If Camera RAW is not an option, my next choice is color channels. Channels is similar to Camera Raw but with fewer color range adjustments. As with color editing, everyone will eventually develop their own personal favorite “look”.

There are many reasons that black and white photography has never gone completely out of style. When all of the color is taken away, what is left can have much more emotional and visual impact. Color can be used for impact but can also be a great distraction from what the photographer is really trying to communicate. Think of becoming proficient at black and white photography as adding another language to your visual communication portfolio.

New Techniques to keep creativity alive

Keeping photography “fresh” is all about maintaining an open mind to new techniques. This often means applying already-used techniques in new ways or new situation or to new subject matter. A willingness to experiment this way is the key to maintaining creativity. No one has difficulty falling into a rut. Getting out of that rut requires some effort.

The hardest part for me is taking the time and effort to try something new. For me, creativity requires periodically and consciously coming to a complete halt and taking the time to think and speculate about new possibilities. There has to be a willingness to suspend judgments about the possible outcomes. The time must be taken to execute the new ideas and process the results.

This is the way the standard catalog of photography techniques is expanded. It is how the accepted range of subject matter is enlarged. Occasionally setting time aside for experimentation and to just play around with new ideas is what keeps creativity alive.

The photo illustrating this article is a good example. I went to the local park as usual with the intention of getting my morning walk and perhaps some wildlife or nature photos. For the past few days I have been thinking of changing my profile photo on FaceBook. While on a boardwalk through a forested area, quite dim under the foliage and just after sunrise, I decided to take a few minutes to experiment. For my usual nature shots in these conditions I would use a DSLR at ISO800 on a tripod without flash. I took out my compact Canon G10, set ISO200 and f/5.6 with built-in flash “on”. This gave a meter-recommended shutter speed of ¼ second. Holding the camera at arm’s length, I took a dozen shots while spinning slowly in place. The result was three “usable” photos and a new technique that I will continue to use in a variety of situations and subjects.

I have used camera motion during long exposures before, primarily for panning moving subjects but also to render more dream-like and abstract images of trees. Flash combined with slow shutter is also not a new technique but previously I always had the camera locked down on a tripod combined with second-curtain sync. The result is some new creative excitement and thoughts about how to apply this technique to other situations and subjects.

The types of digital cameras

The most basic digital cameras are those built into cell phone. Many do not even think about their phone being a camera, but some of the newer phones actually produce quite good image quality at five mega-pixels or more. The biggest problem with phone-cameras from a photography standpoint is the total lack of control. ISO speed, color balance, lens aperture and shutter speed settings, file format of the image file and amount of compression used on the image file are all handled by the phone with no input from the photographer. For quick record shots to immediately send to a friend by e-mail or to post to Facebook or Flickr, they are adequate and obviously much better than nothing. For more serious photography they can also produce quite good images as long as their limits are known and worked within.

Next up the image-quality scale are the compact digital cameras. This type of camera has a built-in lens, often a zoom, a small image sensor with correspondingly tiny individual pixels and often lacks an optical viewfinder. Compact cameras cover a very wide range, from barely above cell-phone functional to nearly DSLR quality. The huge majority are in the middle of this range. They offer zoom lenses in the 3x to 6x range, some exposure control(compensation and/or aperture priority but often not full manual settings), often a choice of ISO speeds and usually include some sort of anti-shake mechanism. The best of the compacts also offer a hot shoe for more powerful flash, near DSLR-like control of settings and the choice of saving image files in RAW format for better image quality.

Compact cameras should produce image quality more than adequate for any on-line use and print publication at up to full page sizes. Careful attention to shooting techniques minimizing noise/grain and maximizing sharpness/detail will really pay quality dividends with these cameras. Images taken with my personal compact camera are used regularly to illustrate my on-line real estate column and web sites.

A new type of camera occupies the next rung of the ladder. A real name has not yet been decided but they are being called “compact interchangeable lens”, “micro four-thirds” or “electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens” cameras. They use a sensor much larger than most compacts but about half the size of most DSLR’s. Lacking optical viewfinders, they rely on built-in or accessory electronic viewfinders or just on the camera-back LCD. Because there is no prism or reflex-mirror housing and a smaller sensor, these camera bodies can be made nearly as small as a compact camera with small, light-weight lenses to match. Because the sensors are much larger than those in compact cameras image quality can come close to matching that from DSLR’s. My feeling is this class of camera will really catch on with the public.

DSLR’s are the traditional 35mm film camera in digital form. Sensor sizes range from APS-C to full-frame 35mm, giving large individual pixels for optimum image quality even at higher ISO values. Bright, sharp optical viewfinders occupy the top of the cameras, with some also offering “live view” on the camera-back LCD(emulating compact cameras). All of the functions offered on traditional 35mm film cameras plus many more are available on almost every model. The result is a comparatively large and heavy camera body and accompanying lenses. In practical use, this type of camera is still the most versatile, offers the greatest choice of lenses, flashes and other accessories, and produces adequate image quality for up to 16”x20” prints or even larger.

The final type of digital camera is the “medium” format. Again, these are digital versions of the former film cameras. They are generally considered professional-only because of the high price of the bodies and lenses. Much larger and heavier than DSLR’s, usually only those needing extremely large prints or the ultimate of image quality even consider them.

My personal choice is a combination of camera types. I have a cell phone with a 5MP camera which works fine for a quick snap of a restaurant dish for an on-line review, to record dings/scratches on a rental car or to remember a house for sale. I use a compact camera for on-line illustration shots and whenever a DSLR is too conspicuous or just in the way. My DSLR is still the workhorse because of its versatility and image quality. But I always have at least one of them with me and I will use whatever camera is handy to make the best shot possible.

Compact digital cameras

*Why own a compact digital camera?
Even though I have taken the route of simplifying my DSLR outfit to the bare minimum I still own a compact digital camera as well. There are several reasons for this. The most important reason is for an emergency back-up in case the DSLR goes down. Another is there are times and places it is just not as practical to carry the larger camera, even if only the body and one lens. There is also a down-side to using a compact compared to a DSLR.

*Size, weight, carrying ease and visibility
Sometimes it is just much easier to carry only a compact camera. It might be a windy day on the beach with blowing sand and salt spray or it might be storming with blowing rain or snow. A compact camera can be carried in a pocket and is ready to shoot when pulled out and be quickly protected again. A DSLR is either exposed on a neck strap or in a much less accessible case. Replacement cost in case of damage from the elements is a factor, too. In some areas it might be much wiser not to make a show of carrying camera gear, even if just cheaper “amateur equipment, and becoming a possible target of thieves or hostility. Carrying just a compact camera is less conspicuous. It can be taken from a pocket and a photo taken without bringing it up to eye level and quickly removed from sight again. For “street” photography a compact can be carried hidden in one hand and frames exposed on the fly. A compact is also much quieter than a DSLR so observers don’t know when or if exposures are being made. It can be very liberating to wander around looking for images without a larger and heavier DSLR outfit hanging from the neck or attached to a tripod.

*Image quality
Image quality from compact digital cameras is not the equal of DSLR’s but steps can be taken to maximize that quality. The smaller cameras mostly suffer from a smaller sensor which means smaller individual pixels. Image quality suffers much more as ISO speeds increase than it does with larger sensors. As with a DSLR, always shoot at the lowest practical ISO to get the best image quality. Zoom lenses with very wide focal length ranges tend to suffer much more from linear distortion and aberrations at both the shortest and longest ends of the zoom range. Longer range zooms on compacts are always much slower, too, limiting the usefulness of the longer focal lengths unless a tripod is used.

*Desirable features
When selecting a compact camera I look for a good image stabilization/anti-shake function as a tripod or monopod will not usually be used. Either easily accessible manual exposure or exposure compensation is a must to correct for backlighting or other exposure difficulties. I prefer a zoom in the 4x to 6x range to minimize both image quality fall-off at the focal extremes and speed loss at the long end of the range. I much prefer a zoom range starting at 28mm equivalent or shorter for versatility. It is usually much easier to move closer to a subject than to try to back up through a wall to fit more into the frame. The ability to shoot RAW files is a huge plus but not an absolute deal-breaker. Fitting into a pocket rather than requiring a neck strap or case is high on my list and another reason for choosing a medium-range over a longer-range zoom. A hot-shoe for accessory flash when needed is another plus but also not a deal-breaker.

*What to expect
A good compact digital camera, which includes most of the models currently available, should provide more than adequate image quality for on-screen and web use and for prints up to 8”x10”. Most will start having image-quality issues at larger sizes including softness and noise(grain) as compared to similar shots from a DSLR with a larger sensor. Color and noise problems can be more obvious if RAW shooting is not possible. Using the quality-enhancing techniques outlined in the “Most basic equipment” series will minimize these problems when using compact cameras, too. Just don’t expect to use a compact at maximum focal length and ISO800 for 16”x20” prints for the dining room wall – you will be very disappointed with the results. For images to post on a web site or Flickr or to e-mail to friends or to make 4”x6” prints to show, no one will know what kind of camera was used.

Using the most basic equipment-Part 2

This is the second of a four part series exploring photography using nothing but the most basic of equipment. I will discuss the best parts of using a minimalist camera kit. In part 1 I talked about some of my reasons for doing this. A discussion of what I miss most about not having a full-blown, “professional quality” camera system will follow in Part 3. Finally, in Part 4, some of the “real” reasons for perceived quality differences between “cheap, entry-level” and “top-of-the-line professional” equipment are discussed.

Using only one camera body and two zoom lenses has been an enlightening experience in many different ways. I was always anxious about equipment failure and “needed” to have at least one back-up camera body “just in case”. There was the feeling that not having a wide enough or long enough or fast enough lens should not ever be an excuse for missing a shot. Rain or heat or snow or blowing sand and salt spray were not reasons not to use the camera when there are a couple of spares if one develops a problem. For most lens focal lengths I had both a “standard” lightweight and a “professional” f/2.8 version. The result was a full 45-pound backpack plus tripod that went everywhere with me.

The very best part of using only a minimalist two-lens kit is its weight. My back and neck thank me every day for the change. Now a half day hike along the beach requires only a medium-sized fanny pack to carry everything. The whole enchilada consists of one body, two zoom lenses, one polarizing filter(conveniently fits both lenses),  a shoe-mount flash and either a carbon tripod with ball head or a carbon monopod with tilt head. I also carry a Canon G10 compact digital camera in its own shoulder pouch and a pair of Nikon 10x25 Trailblazer waterproof binoculars. Well under ten pounds for everything and nothing on my back. Freedom!

There is also the freedom from choice, which was unexpectedly quite liberating. No more deciding between the “old” Minolta Maxxum 7D or the “amateur” Sony Alpha100 or the Sony Alpha700 camera bodies. The new Canon digital Rebel body produces better image quality at higher ISO’s than any of them. No more choice of Minolta 16mm fisheye or Minolta 17-35mm “g” lens. Gone is choosing the Minolta 75-300mm f/5.6 or the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8. All of these lenses produced  approximately equal image quality. The two zooms in the new Canon kit are just as good or better and also very lightweight.

I have recently added a set of automatic Kenko extension tubes for macro work and a Lensbaby “Composer” just to have fun. I had a Lensbaby “3G” for the old Minolta/Sony kit and loved it. The “composer” is smaller, light, easier to pack and carry and does almost everything the “3G” could. It all still fits in the fanny pack or cargo pants.

After the first year the anxiety about equipment failure went away. I realized that these newest cameras, even though very compact and light-weight, were pretty tough and fairly well sealed against the elements. The main reason for previous camera break-downs was dust or water intrusion causing either mechanical or electrical failures. I am pretty hard on my gear and have no problems after two years. No dents or dings(polycarbonate is amazingly resilient), no worn-through paint(that polycarbonate again), no intermittent electrical problems(lighter weight and tougher shell mean less internal shock from a fall) and no dirt inside the mirror box or prism, which surprises me more than anything else.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed the experience of finding ways around the new kits limitations. Sort of a re-learning of some of the basics of photography and an acceptance of the focal lengths available. Having so little to use made me realize how little is really needed. It has certainly changed my thinking about what other equipment I would like to have and why I want it.