Contradiction

In the great amount of reviewed cameras and 100% crops you would almost forget that these cameras are actually produced to take photographs. I mean, the family stuff, your vacations, personal projects (be it landscape, abstract, street, whatever), real world photographs. Sure, as a result of all the excitement of a new camera you might photograph more and feel your photography is improving. But you can do so too with your previous camera. Just shoot more. It is all about practising, learning, and improving.

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I once heard National Geographics photographer Ira Block say in a video that the three ingredients for a great photograph are: Good composition, good light, and the moment. When you nailed all three you have a great photograph and when you get two things right you will get a good photograph. Your camera won't teach you this, not your current one or the replacement. No you have to learn this. It is your effort. Have fun!

Photograph by Wouter Brandsma
 
I enjoy the pixel peeping and technical discussion but never lose sight of what these cameras and lenses are for. Still good to have a reminder!

Speaking of family and vacations, here's one of my boys from yesterday with the often-present DS:

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My LX3 is often too deep into my wife's bag, that is why I want a bigger camera. You have to have it with you, but also within reach so you can react on the trigger on time to catch the moment. ;)
 
Of course you are right, Wouter - that what it is all about. I think I'm going to disable the "loupe" option on my photo software for starters.

Your photograph of this young girl, your daughter I believe, and the seal swimming...with the way her head is turned, her cheek catching the light...that curve which is echoed by the submerged seal, the wrinkles in her clothes and the seal's "coat"...well, you nailed it on this one. Everything is in this photo - good composition, good light and the moment. If I were to see this photograph on a wall or in a frame...I would fall in love with it. Yes, I can do that here, but you know there's something even better about seeing a print in real life. This photograph has a magical quality and I can only imagine how I'd feel if this were a photograph of my own daughter. I love it now and how wonderful to have a photograph that is not only wonderful aesthetically but also has such deep personal meaning.

Amin, thanks for posting this one of your sons. Though I've never met them, I always get such enjoyment from seeing them together, most of the time oblivious to your camera. I have so many photographs of our daughter from when she was younger...but they're from the film days. Now it's more difficult for me to capture her in the moment but when I have, those photographs have meant a great deal to me, and still do...especially since at age 20 she's not home very often.

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In total agreement with wouter... its all about the picture not about the pixels.

Cameras don't take pictures...people do.

Buying a new camera or a new lens may inspire you, open up new picture opportunities or make you look at the world differently, but if you haven't got the pictures inside yourself then no matter how much you spend on a camera it won't make you a better photographer on its own. You have to put the work in.

Kevin
 
Wouter, I agree, but we must also bear in mind that cameras are tools, and photographers as artists, since what we're talking about here is improving our mind's eye, find and use the tools that most enable their creative vision. There are a ton of cameras available today and sometimes it takes a while to find the one that works best for us. That said, at the same time we must practice, practice, practice, both getting to know our cameras and improving our picturing skills. And arguably most importantly, listening for and understanding what our personal vision is in our photographic pursuits, and developing that.

Interestingly, my own path has gone from camera wow-factor (my first DSLR really impressed me with the quality of capture), to learning that I really love to take pictures, to understanding what makes a better picture, to really wanting to improve my skills, to thinking about art in general, to using the camera as a way to document ideas and themes or to tell a story (but still take a pretty picture or two!). The actual camera is becoming less important over time. Lately, I've been using my iPhone 4 and CameraBag mono a lot.

No grand theme here - just a family hike in Pt. Reyes this past weekend:

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It actually does seem that people are always finding excuses not to go out and actually take pictures but discuss the probabilities and technicalities of stuff.

How often will you read in a forum regarding a just introduced camera model a thread with wishes and needs for the next upgrade/model etc.

Post an image in any thread and after 5 or 6 entries the thread will automatically disrupt in a Gear thread... well gear argument mostly.

Who really care if the grass is green, greener or less green.... well you know what I mean, an image s an image and I for one don't judge images by it's technical aspects but the atmosphere it represents....

I recently read that the Eiffel tower is the most photographed object in the world ... they are wrong!!!!

It's brick walls and equally boring images to justify one or the other....
 
Wouter, I agree, but we must also bear in mind that cameras are tools, and photographers as artists, since what we're talking about here is improving our mind's eye, find and use the tools that most enable their creative vision. There are a ton of cameras available today and sometimes it takes a while to find the one that works best for us. That said, at the same time we must practice, practice, practice, both getting to know our cameras and improving our picturing skills. And arguably most importantly, listening for and understanding what our personal vision is in our photographic pursuits, and developing that.

Yes, cameras are tools and that is I think also best to describe them. Not the camera, but the photographs makes you a photographer in my opinion.
 
Eye + Moment + Composition

Wouter,
imho, this is a great photo.
I enjoyed it - and stopped studying photokinarumours and highisocomparisons and ... took my little d-lux4 to catch one or two moments.
Thank you!
Mathias
 
It actually does seem that people are always finding excuses not to go out and actually take pictures but discuss the probabilities and technicalities of stuff.

How often will you read in a forum regarding a just introduced camera model a thread with wishes and needs for the next upgrade/model etc.

Post an image in any thread and after 5 or 6 entries the thread will automatically disrupt in a Gear thread... well gear argument mostly.

Who really care if the grass is green, greener or less green.... well you know what I mean, an image s an image and I for one don't judge images by it's technical aspects but the atmosphere it represents....

I recently read that the Eiffel tower is the most photographed object in the world ... they are wrong!!!!

It's brick walls and equally boring images to justify one or the other....

I prefer siding.


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Wouter, nice thought there! Pixel peeping is important to me as I am often asked for 20x30" size prints of images, which are only possible if the pixel level quality of the digital image is very high. It is also an important factor in making me go for certain cameras models and reject some others. But of course, pixel level image quality is secondary, if a photograph is not good in the first place (aesthetics and subject wise), pixel level quality does not matter!
 
Like you I only print large (A3 or A2 sized), but only look at 50%. That gives me a good assumption of how the print might look like in terms of texture and sharpness. And (don't tell my friends) I very often use jpegs instead of RAW's for that without any hesitation.
 
My house is like an exhibition, all walls are packed with prints, every wall in every room has prints..... some are larger other are larger.... the most "packing" images according to myself, and other viewers are ones which have no technical quality what so ever, Pinholes shot on 9x6 film, and a lot of really old digital compacts which according to pixel peepers produce awful quality pics. They all do however have an atmospheric quality, far from sharp, far from limited noise but all with a certain zing to them which has absolutely nothing to do with IQ.
Unless you are actually making an income from photography, and your clients ... the well paying ones I mean, require 1:1 sharp perfect imagery I would always decline doing that, pixel peeping IQ more than often makes the image look like a TV screen, everything perfect, well, organized but no genuine IQ what so ever.
Perfection is so awfully boring .... and I would even classify Ansel Adams prints amongst these "boring images" if you've looked at them 4 times .. its done, over, gone .... take Rudy Burckhardt images (yes he was well known) they are technically shit, but they have the zing.
How many wally do you think Bresson has photographed in his life (add others here) ... it's just the Local "duck shooters" that peep pixels.... and why? I have no friggin clue ...

You tell me you pixel peep because you are asked to produce 20x30 prints .... well I don' even want to get into that discussion because I would find that very degenerative .....

ps. this of course is all and only very, very subjective and just reflects my views... nobody elses.
 
Judging by everyone's photographs, those who have posted in this thread who say they are "pixel peeping" are using that term much more figuratively than literally.

I once heard National Geographics photographer Ira Block say in a video that the three ingredients for a great photograph are: Good composition, good light, and the moment. When you nailed all three you have a great photograph and when you get two things right you will get a good photograph. Your camera won't teach you this, not your current one or the replacement. No you have to learn this. It is your effort. Have fun!
This is the ticket for me, and I can't imagine anyone really disagreeing. Naturally, one person's view of what is a good composition, may not be the next person's, but as a general tenet of what makes for a good photograph - I think it works.
 
Judging by how today's new Sony cameras have lit up the forums (though not here in Serious Compacts) it's more and more about the cameras and less and less about the photographer, and perhaps actual photography skills. Technology is moving forward - is photography moving forward?
 
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