Photography

I have received a lot of positive feedback both from people following this blog and some of my newfound friends about some of the pictures I have taken.  First, I would like to thank everyone.  It's really nice to see that you appreciate my pictures.  Secondly, I have a few tips and other general things to say on the subject. Photography is something that has interested me for quite some time and I really enjoy pursuing it as a hobby.  I think I enjoy it so much because it is a combination of technicality and beauty.  It is math and art fused into one entity.  The exposure is equally as important as the composition.  A photograph can't be good if one is lacking.  While I have taken classes in photography, that is not where I have learned the most about taking good pictures.  Becoming proficient at taking good photographs comes from experience, and that simply means going out and taking pictures.  In the digital age of photography it doesn't cost anything to take lots of pictures and so it is really easy to practice.  I have shown you a tiny fraction of all the pictures I have taken on this trip.  Others of them were just as good as the ones I put up, but many of them were trash.  Here are a few tips and general rules that will get you better pictures:

1. Composition > Camera.  By this I simply mean that what you take a picture of is more important than what you use to take the picture.  Sure having a higher end camera can lead to better pictures, but only if you know how to use it.  This also means that you can take good pictures with a standard point and shoot digital camera.  Try for just one to take a picture from a different perspective than normal.  Anyone can see a building from eye level.  What does it look like from another building?  Or the ground? Or relative to something else of a different size?

2. Take the time to take a picture.  I constantly see people walking and taking a picture at the same time.  You can't possibly end up with a good picture if you are moving a lot.  It will be blurry and tilted in some way.  It doesn't even take 30 seconds to stop and take the picture.

3.  Fill the frame.  Pictures that leave a lot of blank space tend to be washed out by light and the subject is oftentimes hard to see in detail.  Zoom in or get closer.

4.  Always have your camera with you.  With a point and shoot that is really easy, but sometimes you might think its annoying to carry around.  One night while in Menorca we went out to dinner and were slowly making our way back to the residency.  We were on one of those typical Mediterranean streets that are narrow, winding, and just beautiful.  It was lit by these street lights suspended from the outside walls.  We passed a couple walking the opposite direction.  The woman was on a bicycle and her husband/fiance/boyfriend was slowly pushing her as he walked beside her with his arm across her back. After we passed them, I turned around and noticed that they were the only two left on this street.  It wasn't something I could have ever set up, but I didn't bring my camera.  It would have been the best picture compositionally that I would have taken on this trip, but I couldn't.  Always bring your camera because you never know when the once in million pictures come around.

I have a thousand more tips and millions of things that go through my head before I take a picture and I would love to share them all with you, but I won't bore the majority of you.  If you ever want to talk photography or have questions on anything of that sort please ask because I love to talk about pictures and the art of taking them.

Anyway I will be sure to post about Rome again soon.  We have a site visit tomorrow so that might give me some good content.

Best,

Adam