Look Around You For Your Images

by E-NewsCast Team
November 21st, 2011

I am a member of a camera club and often get involved in discussion about photography. Amongst the great photographers and enthusiasts I occasional hear muted cries from fellow members bemoaning these lack of photo-taking opportunities.

The comments are usually in response to seeing some great pictures taken by a fellow member.

“If only I lived in a place like yours” is the regular cry. Or perhaps “I wish I lived near to some beautiful countryside like you”. There are alternatives centring on not having willing models, lack of good weather or perhaps inspirational difficulties.

The truth is far simpler. Great images are rarely born from a lucky break, although they can be. Living near to a good photo opportunity helps but doesn’t guarantee success

Inspiration is the key. Nobody said that people have to take photographs of things close to them. There are ways and means of travelling further afield. But

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Digital SLR Camera Reviews – Best Picks

by E-NewsCast Team
November 20th, 2011

A digital single lens reflex camera is an incredibly versatile and flexible piece of photographic equipment that can help you take the best photos of your life. There are several brands to choose from today that all have interchangeable lenses, allowing you to choose from a wide variety of shots from wide angle and closeups to telephoto images.

But before you decide that a digital single lens reflex camera is just what you need, first consider how you plan on using it. If you mainly like to take snapshots of your family and friends and maybe some special events like weddings and anniversaries, you probably don’t really need a camera as sophisticated and complicated as a digital SLR. In fact, a compact digital camera with a fixed lens will probably do the job just fine. So you can save yourself the added expense and steeper learning curve associated with dSLRs.

But on

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The Art of Copying

by E-NewsCast Team
November 19th, 2011

Your grandma just left you an oil painting and you need a few copies; one for appraisal purposes and two for your siblings who would love to have a copy, too. A trip to the professional photographer involves a set up fee, print cost, and a negative that is unavailable for sale. The painting is too big for a flat bed scanner so digital copies are not feasible. One solution is to copy it yourself.

A good 35mm SLR camera with a normal lens will probably focus to two and one half feet. Even better is a six or eight megapixel DSLR or EVF camera. Use an ISO setting of 100 or slower. Critical is the correct use of lighting. Allowing the surface texture to show in your copies prevents displaying the true color and values of the picture. Ideally,

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Picture Framing for Photographers – Part 1

by E-NewsCast Team
November 18th, 2011

Imagine being able to frame all your own photographs just as well as a professional. You can save enough money to easily pay for all the necessary tools, and the convenience of being able to do it yourself frees you from having to get someone else do it. If you’re an amateur a mount cutter, a frame clamp and a hand-operated frame joining tool is all the equipment you need to make professional looking frames. These days the tools are easy and safe to operate, inexpensive, and give you a good result. Picture framing can be divided into four areas. Cutting the bevel mount, cutting and joining the frame, mounting the photograph, and fitting and finishing the job. The tools required to perform each one of these functions are as follows.

1. Mount Cutting: A hand-operated bevel mount cutter is essential for all photographic work. The most important feature of modern

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A Camera is Like a Woman

by E-NewsCast Team
November 17th, 2011

The Canon 20D – a semi-pro camera. Much reviewed, much used and much admired. With such expectation, I bought it but within minutes, horror of horrors, I hated it with a vengeance. In womanly terms, it was a hag on a broomstick.

But wait no longer – what is this, that’s yonder coming, fair of cheek and sleek of hair, with a smile to die for and a body worth caressing? Why, it’s the 20D (again) with a renewed brisk turn of step and a glint in its eye and an owner who’s profusing undying love and eternal wonderment. So, what changed…?

Well, of course, it’s no good taking a camera straight out of the box and snapping away, with all that diffused backlighting. Noooooooooooo, sir. One must get used to the controls, handle the machine with care and (very important, this) READ the flipping manual! Otherwise, random knob-twiddling results in random

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