Photography

And God said, "Let there be light...," Genesis 1:3 - and it is a good thing He did because without light there would be no photography. None at all. All photographs, whether using convention film or the latest digital gizmo, use light to make the picture. Still camera, movie camera, TV camera - they all depend upon light in one form or another.

My first camera was a Baby Brownie manufactured by Kodak, and first released about 1952. There were several models of the Baby Brownie, but it was always black and white pictures using Kodak 127 size film. I took some great pictures with this little camera. It had two controls: a shutter release and a film wind / rewind knob! I tend to make things last by looking after them, and I've only had about four or five cameras in between the Baby Brownie and my present two, a 35mm Minolta Maxxum SLR and a Konica-Minolta 5D digital SLR that share several lenses. I find I am using the film camera less and less, but the digital era poses some special archive considerations.

The 35mm gives great pictures that, if properly processed and cared for will last a long, long time. With the digital camera, you get a "file" that has to be preserved. To look at the file, you have to maintain the proper hardware and software to look at your "file," and even then there is no guarantee how long it will last, even if burned to a CD. In fact, there is increasing evidence that burned CDs may only last years, as opposed to pressed CDs which can last virtually forever.  On the other hand, there are no film or processing costs!

I enjoy taking pictures - not so much the hundreds of baby and Christmas pictures we all have, but actually going out in the woods or a field and photographing nature using the light God has provided. I've learned to understand depth of field, shutter speeds, f-stops and so on, but for the most part, I still take poor pictures. To make matters worse, I know why - because I have not yet mastered the proper use of light. But I'm grateful for the few good nature shots I have been able to get! Photography is the most fun when you take a trip and the sole purpose of the trip is to take pictures and you focus (no pun intended) on what you are doing.

Go to my photo page and you can see a few of my favorites. Feel free to download and use as desktop wallpaper. There's nothing special about these pictures except that I like them: they are places that I know that bring favorable memories.

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