How many have bought a system camera with the dream of taking great pictures. Pictures that everyone talks about in the family, and maybe even are sold to the newspaper or others who want them on the wall.
By: Henning Harsem
The dream breaks for most people quite quickly, as they experience that a system camera is quite so advanced, with a little too many buttons and choices for one to fully understand it in one night. So then it will be "AUTO" then, because it will not be so bad. But, then you think - it does not get much better than the phone, so why in the world spend time learning this?
Many, far too many in my view, leave the opportunities to develop as a photographer with those thoughts. I would like to help so many more people see the joy of mastering a system camera. But then you have to be willing to spend some time, because yes - there is a part you have to understand before you master and can use the opportunities. I often compare this to wanting to be good at playing an instrument - piano for example. No matter how expensive and nice that piano is, the first exercises are not so much to brag about. You do not sell the first exercise somehow, because you hope the piano is so good that it can not actually make a sour tone. But some people believe that "if I only get one new camera, the pictures will be so much better" - bigger mistake can not be done.
The road to mastery is long, and it is only the dream of becoming really good that can take you through the hours of training that are needed. Now the goal must not be so high then, but if the goal is to "play" in the Christmas party, or to take the pictures of a wedding this spring, then it is good to be confident in what you do. It's very little fun not to succeed.
So to be safe in the use of your camera, and take control of the settings, there are many paths to the goal. First, YouTube has basically everything you need, but also so much you do not need. Otherwise, there is a lot to gain from taking a course. But still, as with piano playing, it's practice that makes you master - practice and practice, spend time getting what you want to achieve. Then it's up to you how good you want to be.
To me, photography has become a passion, and I spend all my free time getting better, sharing my knowledge, because it also makes me better - much better in fact, planning trips, following new equipment, dreaming about the possibilities and the perfect photo. The picture you remember from the time you pressed the shutter button and followed all the way through finishing, printing and framing. When it hangs on the wall like a perfectly framed print, then there is nothing that surpasses the joy of photography.
The pictures of my dream
This picture is one of them. The moment when the fox emerges in the sunlight among the twigs on the spruce. This was not something I planned, but I saw the opportunity just so early that I managed to get ready with the right focal length on the telezoom. As the fox "luckily" stops and turns towards the sun, I just manage to focus on the fox and start the engine that takes 10 pictures per second. The first two pictures hits before the fox becomes aware and runs away. Whao, it was ecstatic. I felt far into the spinal cord that the first pictures hitted. The joy did not diminish when I took the pictures on the big screen when I came home and saw that yes - that's right. The sharpness is there. For me, this picture has stood out as one of my dream pictures.
I also want you to have this joy, so do not leave your camera lying around - take it out and dream about what images you want to create. If you want to share the joy with others, then contact a camera club in your local area - it will further increases the joy.
Are you wondering what would have been the difference in the picture of the fox if I had used a mobile camera or "AUTO"? With a mobile camera I would not have the necessary zoom to give the right view, and with "AUTO" the focus would be on the spruce twigs in the foreground. As a result, the fox would become as blurry as the twigs are now. So this picture would not have been possible without some knowledge of system camera.
Good luck creating your dream photos!
All photos taken exept the fox are from the photo gallery of Wix.com.