Photography In Digital Form

I recently purchased a new Digital Camera (it is my fifth). With a 10 megapixel version, I expect to get back into some serious photography again.

Back in high school, I was the designated staff photographer for the Yearbook. I worked my senior year with the photo pros of Bryan-Alan Studios in Tampa. Whenever a school function came across that the studio people couldn't attend, you guessed it, I was there. Now with a little training and a lot of practice, I finally wound up taking some really good pictures. And the great thing is that I have a yearbook to be proud of, for all of my troubles.

Years passed, other pursuits filled my time, and for quite a few years I shelved my interest in photography. And then in 1995, I bought my first digital camera. It was laughable when you think it only created a 320x240 pixel image. Any printout over 3x5" would show some major pixelation. But as time past, I kept upgrading my cameras, and developed a year-to-year digital database of my children's teenage years. At last count, my family photo library is over 4 gigs in size.

Now with this new unit, I am back to the days of f-stops, shutter-speeds and ISOs. Most of the cameras that proceeded it were strictly consumer oriented. Considering I intend to use this one mostly for nature photography, the soccer mom specials will just not do. Now whether this one will do the trick, time will only tell.

I have noticed the past couple of years, with the advent of the cell phone and the Internet, there is a new breed of photographer out there. Photography has always been considered an art form. For years, people have spent countless hours and wealth in this endeavor. But now, most who take photos are of the click n' forget crowd. I guess when you have easy access to a phone camera by most people, capturing images becomes more a communication, and less what was once called the art of photography.

But still, if you ask anyone who takes photos for a living, there is art in capturing beauty and drama. And even though the digital cameras of today work different in some ways from film of the past, it's still a matter of subject, composition, color and emotion. Like all art, it is not the procedure that is important, but the emotional reality that rules the final product.

In the future, I'll try to share some of my creations with all of you.