No Lenses, No Tripod... Is that rare?

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/16/2005 10:58:50 AM · #1

I have noticed people are amazed that I didn't use PS till about a week ago... I have no tripod, no lenses, no studio or even light box, just me and my 600 camera. Am I the only one?

notonline

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

09/16/2005 11:03:21 AM · #2

huh

pitsaman

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

09/16/2005 11:05:42 AM · #3

I'm very amazed !!!

LOL

09/16/2005 11:07:43 AM · #4

nope, you're not the only one...and I have no photoshope either so.....all I can do is crop, resize, change to bw or sepia, sharp a little, soft a little, change the saturation, contrast and light...that's all folks!!!!!

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

09/16/2005 11:07:45 AM · #5

I just always have comments like: what macro lense do you use? Sharpen that with ps or ... whatever, is everyone here assuming that we all have great equipment? I know I don't....

troberge

Canon EOS-20D

09/16/2005 11:08:56 AM · #6

I am in the same boat, it just means that we take a lot of photographs with natural light instead! I find it quite funny when people comment on how well I have set up the lighting in a shot! hehe I must say though that the ones that have good lighting set up, do tend to stand out a bit more than mine. I think it just kind of completes "the look".

09/16/2005 11:11:56 AM · #7

I almost wonder sometimes what is even real photography and what isn't. I saw a few outtakes of a sky (normal, blah) then after the person used a ps filter and changed the lighting, WOW! Very high price sellable. Its like when you look at a woman's gordeous long hair flowing in the wind and then you walk up to compliment her and she say, "Oh, they are just extensions..."
Photography is more complex than ameatures know. (darn my horrible spelling). :)

09/16/2005 11:14:26 AM · #8

"amateurs" :-)))
yep, I think we should do some contests where you should not be allowed to modify your picture ..a 'straight from the camera'...this should be interesting

09/16/2005 11:20:36 AM · #9

Good call.... I wonder sometimes what pics would emerge if someone could not use anything but their camera and their finger on the shutter. :)

Canon EF 24-70mm f/4.0L IS USM Lens

09/16/2005 11:26:11 AM · #10

they would be some good, natural pictures :-)
and still, with the digital you can try different shots and see immediately which one you like, what you should change....it would be so different with a film-camera ....
I'm no expert, do not get me wrong, but sometimes I fill that a good photographer is one that is able to obtain a good picture just by setting the camera and then press the button....and no "hocus-pocus" after!!!

Germaine

Canon EOS-7D Mark II

09/16/2005 11:28:53 AM · #11

A long time ago, back when I had my Brownie Hawkeye, someone wrote in Popular Photography that Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson (? spelling) would take great pictures no matter how simple the camera they might be using. If you don't develop the "eye" for good elements and composition, the greatest equipment in the world isn't going to help you.

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

09/16/2005 01:08:05 PM · #12

I sure hope thats true... it would make me feel a lot better about my fellow photographers and myself. :)

ajschel

Fujifilm FinePix X100S

09/16/2005 01:23:54 PM · #13

I have no studio, no lights, cheap lenses, a cheap tripod which never does what I want ;-) but... Photoshop is amazing! Everyone should use it (or a similar photo-editing program), it expands your possibilities seemingly limitlessly (is that correct English?)!

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro Super for Canon

09/16/2005 01:29:57 PM · #14

seemingly limitlessly.... too many adjectives. :) "It expands your possibilities limitlessly". :)

nemesise1977

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

09/16/2005 01:31:33 PM · #15

my Equip
Cannon Digi Rebel
tripod
Sigma 500 super dg
kit lense
Sigma 70-300 supermacro
1 UV filter, 1 Circular polorizer
Me, myself and I
most of my shots are straight out, just resized

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

09/16/2005 01:31:37 PM · #16

Telling a digital photographer he/she can not use photoshop is like telling a film photographer he/she is only allowed to use a cheap roll of film from the corner drugstore (no velvia!), or that they can only rely on that drugstore to process their photos rather than processing themselves or sending to a professional lab. I do agree that some people go crazy with the photoshopping, and I personally am "less-is-more" in my own style, but to do a quality photoshoping job requires some serious skill and artistic talent. I think of those photographers who rely on heavy photoshoping more as merging photography with painting, than "cheating." No one ever criticized da Vinci for fabricating the scenes in his artwork.

Also, you have to realize that point-and-shoot cameras do a lot of internal adjusting to sharpness, contrast, saturation, etc. but dslrs don't because it is assumed that the users of dslrs will be editting in photoshop anyway. (I think there was a thread on this topic before.)

Don't forget that composition, subject matter, and originality are three very important things that can barely be altered (if at all) by photoshop. The biggest problem I have with my own photography is that I don't feel like my photos stand out as original, but a great photographer's (my personal favorite is Chema Madoz) photos will stand out based on subject and composition (techniques can be mastered by anyone, but creativity is much harder), regardless of the level of editting.

Ok, i'm done with this rant for now. I drank a lot of coffee earlier so I'm very chatty right now.

ajschel

Fujifilm FinePix X100S

09/16/2005 01:39:02 PM · #17

Originally posted by CalamitysMaster00:

seemingly limitlessly.... too many adjectives. :) "It expands your possibilities limitlessly". :)

But it just seems limitless ;-) there are limits even to what Photoshop can do (like getting an out-of-focus picture in-focus)...

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

09/16/2005 01:42:06 PM · #18

not funny the link you sent jpeters ....lots of pop-ups ...I had to use task manager to close them all (more than 50 and it wouldn't stop)....and by mistake shut down the simulations I was doing on my computer...thanks for a few wasted hours !!!!!

Message edited by author 2005-09-16 13:43:54.

ajschel

Fujifilm FinePix X100S

09/16/2005 01:44:32 PM · #19

Huh? It just works fine when I click it.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/16/2005 01:45:47 PM · #20

Originally posted by bteodorescu:

I apologize, it is the photographer's official website and I never noticed any pop-ups when I went there.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

09/16/2005 01:46:13 PM · #21

As jpeters said, using PS in digital photography is comparable to developing your own film in film photography. If you don't have the $$$ for PS, there are cheaper options.

If you want to be serious about photography, getting PS or an equivalent is a must (in my opinion).

You should also really have a tripod as it allows you to do a lot of things not possible without.

09/16/2005 01:49:01 PM · #22

Originally posted by jpeters:

Originally posted by bteodorescu:
not funny the link you sent jpeters ....lots of pop-ups ...I had to use task manager to close them all (more than 50 and it wouldn't stop)....and by mistake shut down the simulations I was doing on my computer...thanks for a few wasted hours !!!!!

I apologize, it is the photographer's official website and I never noticed any pop-ups when I went there.

sorry, maybe it's my computer...I'll check

09/16/2005 01:50:35 PM · #23

For a long time I used programs like Paint Shop Pro, Nikon Capture, and some other random ones that if they weren't free, let you use them for a 30 trial period. Once one expired, I moved on to the next. Basically all you really need to be able to do is adjust contrast and exposure. Sharpening is nice, but not completely necessary.

Message edited by author 2005-09-16 13:50:51.