Who knew cameras used to look like that?

This week I started a 10 week digital photography evening class at a local college. I have been very fortunate to have been bought a new digital SLR a couple of months ago, and I have been enjoying snapping away, but am keen to learn and know so much more about how to use it and what I am meant to be doing when I take different types of shot. My current knowledge is below basic. As part of our introductory session this week we all had to say why we had signed up to the course. When it got to my turn I muttered something about my husbund using words like "aperture," "shutter speed" and "depth of field" and these being words that I do not understand. Apparently by the end of the course I will be talking Jon under the table with my knowledge. Hmm, not convinced by that one at all, but am excited about the course. I was also relieved to be in the right room as the rest of the students seem to be like-minded ie we don't know much but would like to know more. My initial objective is to get the camera off the automatic setting, and start to understand more of what the camera can do and how to take different types of images. We were shown around the college and looked at their studios and equipment and discussed what we were going to be learning. All looks pretty ambitious for a 10 week course, but I keen to get on with it.

The instructor gave us a whistle stop tour of how camera technology has evolved massively, and we got to have a look and hold a selection of different types of camera. As he said, it's bizarre how emotional you can get over these objects, if you have any sort of interest in the subject.

The first camera we had a look at was an old Japenese twin lense camera. This has two lenses - a top lense for viewing and a bottom lense for focusing. You looked through the top to see the image and it used 120 film and despite it's antique appearance apparently can actually produce a very good print. It was a tired but beautiful object. I was moved by the fact that something so old and dated had, in it's day, enabled it's users to record images, capture moments and produce photographs to treasure, something they had not been able to do before. We take for grantide our snaps on the fridge, images in magazines and our albums of experiences, but once upon a time this now everyday commodity did not exist.

Next we had a look at a Lieca. This is a camera with a range finder, which used 35 ml film. The main advantage was the viewing lense on the top of the camera that you could look right through, rather than down into with the twin lense camera. The slight problem with the camera was that the image is actually slightly offset. I found this camera interesting to look at, but not as facinating as some of the others.

Next up was a Nikon F3. This is a 35 ml SLR. My immediate thoughts were how heavy and big the thing looked, but soon learnt that actually it brought a new dimension to photography as it was a complete system in it's own right. The size and weight is due to the huge battery case that is attached, but this can be removed and you can use the manual winder on. The huge breakthrough this had was that it could be taken anywhere due to the machanical shutter, no matter what the temperature. In fact there is one that has been left on the moon. Despite the many advances in digital photgraphy, in extreme temperature conditions, many of our modern cameras would just seize up and fail to work, a bit like my mobile phone has on ski lifts. The other disdavantage of this type of camera apart from it's weight is the single shutter speed of 1/60th of a second. Still not sure what shutter speed is used for / what the practical implications of this are, but will post once I have figured that bit out!

We then moved on to have a look at the Hasselblad. My initial take on this camera was it was big, and required lots of kit. Certainly not one to fit into your handbag on a girls night out. This took much bigger negatives, and gave the users much sharper quality. The other big advantage this camera gave, is it came with a spare back. This meant you could switch and change films, for example interchange between black and white and colour without having to discard the entire film. The final bit of history we looked at was the Sinar. This was used a much larger negative that the original Hasselblad, but very similar technology.

I enjoyed looking at these old objects and reflecting on the opportunities and limitations that each of them brought to photographers of their time. I also thought about how in my own life, I have seen, bought and yes broken, a few different models of camera myself. My first camera was a blue and white "Le Clic" camera from the Argos catelogue that I was bought as a birthday present as a child. I thought it was the business a the time, and far more trendy than my Dad's Canon. I then went into the disposable camera phase in my teenage years, which to be fair, had it's place as a light weight object which I didn't have to take any responsbility for. Given my record for breaking cameras this is no bad thing. Picture quality poor though from these things, rarely in focus and no ability to adjust your image at all. Even I found them frustrating. I had a fairly good automatic camera at university, although the red eye reduction never worked properly.. and then borrowed a couple of good compact film cameras from Jon, moving onto digital compact (um two of these as I dropped the first one on a rock in Tobago and smashed the screen oops) and now the Canon Digital SLR, which is a big step up for me.

I digress and reminise. The final thing the instructor showed us this week was his Nikon Digital SLR. It's mind blowing really how the technology has moved on. One back pack with your digital body and 3 good lenses (zoom, wide angle and long lense) and you are basically good to go for pretty well anything. A few extra bit's of kit will help. A tripod and a flash gun if you get really keen. No film, take as many as you like and the instant information you can get about your photographs from histograms etc on the screen is second to none. I hope to learn and understand better what all this information means as I progress through the course, but even from my basic starting point I can appreciate the flexibility and accessibility the new age of digital photography can offer. I found the Japanese twin lense camera a lovely object to look at and think about, but am grateful that I have the D40 to practice my shots on.

So, there you have it. Week one and I am in. Photography is so much more than just a record of events. It can be a science and an art, a hobby or a passion, an instantaneos snap of a moment or a carefully planned image. I hope to be able to create at least some images that I am proud of, and maybe that some others can enjoy.

My homework this week was to bring along a couple of pictures I have taken previously, and to say why I like them. Looking through my hard drive of well over 1000 photographs, I am acutely aware by how many there are that are poor, and that I now have to justify to my fellow students why I think they are worth showing. In the end I have chosen these two.





















1. The first is this photograph that I took on our honeymoon in Yosemite of Half Dome. It was taken on a digital compact camera. Firstly I like it because it means a great deal to me personally. We hiked all the way to the top of there, which was a pretty special experience. Secondly I like the way the Half Dome is centred with the expanse of mountains behind. I also like the shadow on the rocks.

2. The second photograph I have chosen is this one taken in Kew Gardens earlier in the year, on my digital SLR. I like it because the beautiful bulbs are in focus at the front, but you still get the effect of them scattered across the grass up to the building. I also think this photograph evokes the sense of peace and quiet you get when you wander around Kew during the week, which is something that I like to do.

Next week we are going to try some night photography. I will be wrapping up and will let you know how I get on.