Bob's Photography Blog

Post processing sounds like an ominous phrase to beginners, but don't let it scare you.  It simply means cleaning up or enhancing your photo.  Like most things in life, it may encompass a whole host of additional meanings, but let's just stop there for now! WHY?  Today's digital cameras have many options and settings.  In years gone by, memory was extremely expensive.  I remember being ecstatic when I was able to buy 1 megabyte of memory for only $100.  But I digress.  Photos can be saved in different formats (RAW, JPEG, BMP).  JPEG is the most commonly used format .  It utilizes complex math to shrink the size of the file.  This allows photography to be something we could afford, allowing us to take more than 10-12 pictures on a memory card.  Of course, there is always a trade-off.  We lose quality when we compress these photos.  Additionally, the sensors in our cameras rely on light to "excite" each pixel.  In low...

Through the history of photography, technology has always pushed the photographer.  The customer, the public, have always wanted more.  Today, we are always looking for better clarity, more digital resolution, faster shutters and less delay.  Will this ever end? Monochrome Sailing - Click for high resolution Most likely not, but that's okay.  As photographers, we always take whatever equipment we have and try to provide the most beautiful image possible with it.  For many, that means more vivid colors and sharper edges.  In a previous post, I commented about rolling my own.  This comment, contrary to what a few have mentioned to me, was in reference to one of my favorite mode of photography - Black and White. Backwater Boating - Click for high resolution In my eyes, the contrast, shading, and shear beauty of well done B&W is every bit as beautiful as the cleanest and brightest color image.  Click on the captions to view my 500px h...

Camera phones are becoming the most popular way of capturing the moment for most people today.  This is primarily because nobody leaves home without their phone.  When we buy a new phone, most of us ask about the camera capabilities as one of the deciding factors in which phone to choose.  "Does it have a flash?"  "How many megapixels?"  These are probably the two most common questions. Taken with my HTC Inspire (Bellagio Fountains - Las Vegas) Websites like "Instagram" have been born from the desire to share our photos with the world.  Some phones have been built with a "Facebook" button on them to instantly post the photo to our walls.  Is there no end to all of this? In short, the answer is no.  As technology continues to evolve, so will the web, our dependency on it, and the equipment we arm ourselves with to "fit in". Are DSLRs going the way of the dinosaur, like the film cameras before them?  Absolutely not.  Wh...

Hello everyone!  Welcome to my first blog!  Today's topic is embracing change. As an avid photographer since the mid 1970's, I have run the full gamut of converting from life in the days of film and darkrooms to fully embracing the technologies of today.  Now instead of bulk rolling my own, I just let my computer suck up all my images wirelessly, copy them to my network drive, and even make backups in the cloud just to ensure the safety and security of my work.  No tedious hours of developing and printing contact sheets to be viewed under a loupe to decide which are worthy of taking the time to print, let alone the expense and aggravation of getting it "just right".  Now I just open my drive and skim through my images full screen on my computer and click my way through them. Taken in 2000 with my "NEW" 1 Megapixel HP C200 Take into account the instant gratification that we photographers get of simply dropping the viewfinder from our eye and seeing th...