Pricey Cameras Don’t Make Better Photos
By Albert Chi— Some years ago while getting a routine checkup at my dentist’s office, he turned to me and said: “I want to learn photography. How important is the equipment you buy?” He knew I was a professional photographer but was not expecting the answer I gave him, which was, “Not that important.” “That’s not what I hear,” he huffed. “All my friends have spent thousands on photo gear and they tell me that without making a...
Back To Basics: Quick ‘n Easy Print Framing!
By Peter E. Randall— Based on nearly sixty years of experience, I believe there are two major elements to photography. The first part is the making of an image, whether on film, digital or smartphone. The other aspect is what to do with it. Today, internet programs such as Instagram or Facebook appear to be the prime destinations for digital images. This may be momentarily satisfying, but it does nothing for the long-term appreciation...
Here comes the sun…and Solarcan’s ready to grab it!
By Albert Chi— Many strange-looking cameras have been produced but Solarcan may be the weirdest, yet. And, certainly, what it’s made to do gives it a leg up on all the others. Basically, it’s a pinhole camera with a twist (curved to be more exact), made to record the transit of the Sun, for a day, a week, a month—even a year or more. The image it produces shows how, as the seasons change, the sun takes a different path across the sky...
Pictar Pro Makes Smartphone Cameras Smarter
By Arthur H. Bleich– Inside every smartphone camera beats a heart that yearns to be a DSLR. The features are there but, like Sleeping Beauty, they need a few digital kisses to awaken them. Pictar Pro does that and more. Through an integrated software app, it will add of dozens of options that can be accessed with external controls, just like a “real” camera. It doesn’t just make your phone feel like a DSLR (or...
ANURA Pocket Photo Drone Will Capture Spur-Of-The-Moment Images
By Arthur H. Bleich– Jason Lam is a San Francisco designer and builder of Aericam photo drones–the kind used by Hollywood to shoot spectacular aerial scenes that shock and awe. Their prices–in the thousands–can elicit the same response; most require intricate remote control equipment and some even need trained pilots to fly them (from the ground, of course). I wrote about one of Jason’s drones in a photo column about four years...
Wider is Better
By Arthur H. Bleich– Most amateur photographers lust for longer focal length lenses that bring distant subjects nearer. But most professionals will tell you that if they had to choose between a telephoto or a short focal length lens, they’d take the wide-angle every time. First, it’s a very versatile lens, especially for shooting close-up action. It has great inherent depth of field; you can disengage your camera’s autofocus, set the...
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