Thursday, April 24, 2008

Get Creative With Digital Photography

It's true that old-fashioned film photography is an art form. In fact, in this day and age, that's about all it is, which is somewhat ironic. After all, film photography started off in 1837 as something very few could enjoy or do. As it is turning out, people who enjoy film photography are again becoming an exclusive club.

The artistic expression available through film is astounding. If you've never taken a film photography class, you should. It will ultimately make you a better photographer as you will have a full understanding of the art form in general.

However, unless you plan on investing in a darkroom (water, light, equipment), or if you plan on spending quite a bit of money at photo processing labs, you might concentrate most of your efforts on digital photography. In the long term, it's generally less expensive than film, since you print only the photos you want. Also, it provides quite a bit of artistic expression of its own.

Digital photography has Rodchenko Photography been looked at by film buffs as not being artistic. That simply isn't the case any longer. With the advancement in software programs such as Adobe Photoshop, the digital photographer can take their art as far as their knowledge of the software will take them.

The creativity involved with digitally manipulating an image isn't Crime Scene Photography to expensive programs like Photoshop (though the price of software will be far less than the cost of setting up a darkroom).

In fact, many digital cameras designed for kids and young adults now come with features that allow changes to be made to the digital photo while it's still stored in the camera. The picture can then be uploaded to a computer, in some cases wirelessly.

There are easy photo sharing websites that allow the photographer to manipulate the photo after it's been uploaded to the site. These usually allow for straightforward changes, such as adjusting contrast, taking out the dreaded red eye, cropping, rotating, etc.

Also, digital photographers have the whole world wide web at their fingertips. This isn't to say film buffs can't scan one of their photos in and get it out on the Internet. But let's face it, showing your work to the world is a whole lot easier if the image is digital from the start.

Once the image is on the Internet and has been enhanced, it's easy to share it with whoever you want. This is another advantage digital creativity has. In the blink of a camera's shutter, you can send your artwork around the world to friends, relatives, potential buyers.

Of course, such ease has its pitfalls as well. Unscrupulous types can copy your image, unless you take precautionary steps such as digital or visual watermarking.

Creativity is a very personal thing, and each person much express his or her self in their own particular way. However, given our busy world, and given the relaxation and contentment that creative expression provides, it's not a bad idea to pick an art form such as digital photography, one that allows you to express yourself quickly and easily

Matt Smolsky develops marketing programs and has written articles for a variety of clients, including Hoorray, a new website for hoorray easy photo sharing and hoorray easy photo printing.

Photographing Springs Blossoms

Spring is a wonderful time Cozumel Photography year. The weather begins Photography Matting warm and we get an extra hour Rare Photography daylight to enjoy some outdoor activities. Everything is coming alive...trees are starting to blossom, flowers are beginning to bloom, baby ducks are swimming on the lake.

One of the most breathtaking sights you will ever experience is Washington, D.C. in the Spring. Springtime there is known as National Cherry Blossom Festival Time. It's the time of year when the over 3,700 cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin burst into bloom. Located near the Jefferson Memorial, East Potomac Park, and the Washington Monument grounds, when they reach their peak, they are truly spectacular. For a couple weeks the Basin is surrounded by huge, soft, pink and white clouds.

This year, the peak bloom date for the blossoming of the Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin is predicted for March 27 to April 3. There are several festivals to enjoy during the springtime in D.C., but the best part of all is photographing the event. Early morning is a great time to get some of the best pictures you'll ever see of these phenomenal trees. There is little more awe-inspiring than seeing the Jefferson Memorial framed by the beautiful and delicate cherry blossoms.

Head out with your camera case loaded, including the very necessary tripod. Arrive before sunrise, so that you'll be set up as the sun is rising. The sunrise shots of the memorial and blossoms is priceless. The tripod is critical for those longer exposures. Other perfect times to shoot the blossoms, and get totally different effects, are just as the sun is setting or as the moon's rising. Again, use your tripod to keep your camera totally motionless. By walking the area, you can find many lovely and unique places from which to photograph the cherry blossoms.

When selecting your camera case, consider using your backpack since you'll be doing a lot of walking. If you're shooting film, take plenty. If you're using a digital camera, make sure you have plenty of memory cards with free space available. A zoom lens and a wide angle lens are also useful accessories for photographing these beautiful locations. When photographing, take into consideration that many of the blossoms are white or pale pink, and, if shooting at the Jefferson Memorial, it's very close to white. This can trick your light meter, so you may want to use manual exposure compensation.

The pictures and memories you'll come away with make this a trip you'll want to experience at least once. The images will be in your memory forever and the pictures will be yours to share forever.

Suzanne VanDeGrift of has developed this article for M-ROCK , manufacturer of m-rock exceptional quality backpacks that give direct and easy access into both top and bottom compartments without removing it.