never to old to learn
You are never to old to learn, if you want to. At my tender age of three score plus I am still learning photography because I want to. Over the last year I learned to use high and higher ISO speeds and I still have to consult the authoritative works to see what the experts say just to ensure that I am doing the correct things and to fine tune that photographic process. But I sometimes wonder if it is necessary to consult with the "experts" when you have already established some rules based on your practical results. The making of a successful end product. Well if I have time later I will consult not just for knowledge sake, but there might be some hints, tips and tricks that I could top off and sweeten this high ISO photographic cake with.
Coming from the days of film we know what high ISO is all about, notwithstanding the experimental work done on dilute developer and fast films back then. Kodak even developed a 3200 ISO film and chemicals, which produced very good results for certain fashion photographers. But some of us still preferred our ISO 400 film in our own dilute developer soup, which was cheaper and very hard to beat. Anyway, those were the days ... and it was all black and white film then. Times have changed and so have the tools, materials and products. Today it is the digital camera, and film speed is no longer an issue as I discovered, as long as you have the right hardware and software, and both are now high tech and affordable.
Long story short, I recently photographed a National Carnival Queen Show at ISO 1600 under stage light with reasonable results. Reasonable because the images were made expressly for Facebook viewing. If this was a contract shoot for printing, the images would have to be made under a totally different set of shooting conditions that I will not enumerate here. A lot goes into making a quality image, like using a heavy duty tripod, a 15MP or higher DSLR camera, lenses made from special glass ... cutting edge brand name optics as it were, and most importantly control of the lighting. It is obvious that the photographer will be operating in his/her ESP mode too, the next step beyond. Sorry, but you non-photographers will not understand that ... as yet.
High and higher ISO speeds allow otherwise difficult low light scenes to be captured. It is convenient when hand holding the camera, and can significantly help to reduce and prevent camera shake and blur. During certain types of shooting sessions, a monopod can prove to be more user friendly than a tripod, especially if it is during Carnival or some such event. Given the camera technology today, noise may be a non issue, but there is great software available to deal with that. During the carnival a friend of mine remarked that it seemed like more people were using DSLR cameras than Point-and-Shoot. My response was that Kittitians will always go for the affordable top of the line equipment that guarantees them the results they want. The P&S can't deliver so it is a DSLR for them. During the Carnival I also met Facebook friends sporting new DSLRs which they got based on my interaction with them on Facebook. Congrats to them. Welcome to the Canon family.
High ISO is a must sometimes when shooting with long telephoto lenses. I find myself shooting outdoors at 800 ISO, shutter speed is sometimes high at 1/1500 secs, and it is hard to tell the difference between an ISO 800 and ISO 100 image when posted on Facebook. Shooting for print is a completely different story. Every now and then I see prints which, in the old days, would never have made it through the gate, but I recognize that times have changed, people have changed and so has the standards. In time all the old keepers will pass away and the new keepers will determine what is photography and which direction it should take. I don't have a problem with that, because I would now have license to be like a "loose cannon" and foist my brand of photography on the world ... if they can handle it.
[to be continued]
Coming from the days of film we know what high ISO is all about, notwithstanding the experimental work done on dilute developer and fast films back then. Kodak even developed a 3200 ISO film and chemicals, which produced very good results for certain fashion photographers. But some of us still preferred our ISO 400 film in our own dilute developer soup, which was cheaper and very hard to beat. Anyway, those were the days ... and it was all black and white film then. Times have changed and so have the tools, materials and products. Today it is the digital camera, and film speed is no longer an issue as I discovered, as long as you have the right hardware and software, and both are now high tech and affordable.
Long story short, I recently photographed a National Carnival Queen Show at ISO 1600 under stage light with reasonable results. Reasonable because the images were made expressly for Facebook viewing. If this was a contract shoot for printing, the images would have to be made under a totally different set of shooting conditions that I will not enumerate here. A lot goes into making a quality image, like using a heavy duty tripod, a 15MP or higher DSLR camera, lenses made from special glass ... cutting edge brand name optics as it were, and most importantly control of the lighting. It is obvious that the photographer will be operating in his/her ESP mode too, the next step beyond. Sorry, but you non-photographers will not understand that ... as yet.
High and higher ISO speeds allow otherwise difficult low light scenes to be captured. It is convenient when hand holding the camera, and can significantly help to reduce and prevent camera shake and blur. During certain types of shooting sessions, a monopod can prove to be more user friendly than a tripod, especially if it is during Carnival or some such event. Given the camera technology today, noise may be a non issue, but there is great software available to deal with that. During the carnival a friend of mine remarked that it seemed like more people were using DSLR cameras than Point-and-Shoot. My response was that Kittitians will always go for the affordable top of the line equipment that guarantees them the results they want. The P&S can't deliver so it is a DSLR for them. During the Carnival I also met Facebook friends sporting new DSLRs which they got based on my interaction with them on Facebook. Congrats to them. Welcome to the Canon family.
High ISO is a must sometimes when shooting with long telephoto lenses. I find myself shooting outdoors at 800 ISO, shutter speed is sometimes high at 1/1500 secs, and it is hard to tell the difference between an ISO 800 and ISO 100 image when posted on Facebook. Shooting for print is a completely different story. Every now and then I see prints which, in the old days, would never have made it through the gate, but I recognize that times have changed, people have changed and so has the standards. In time all the old keepers will pass away and the new keepers will determine what is photography and which direction it should take. I don't have a problem with that, because I would now have license to be like a "loose cannon" and foist my brand of photography on the world ... if they can handle it.
[to be continued]
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