Here is the story behind this photo I sent to the local contest. I did not win anything, but thought you might be interested in knowing about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
beauty of some places is their similarity to other well-known places. To some
this photo may look like it was taken in Paris, but it was taken in Krakow,
Poland. I love the depth of field in this photo. I stood in the middle of the
plaza, framed my shot symmetrically, and took it. The buildings on either side
seem to keep going.
I
had just gotten a Canon EOS Rebel XTi a month or two before the trip, my first
manual digital camera, so I was still playing with all of the settings. I discovered
a feature called “monochrome,” and decided that black and white photos in
Poland would be appropriate. Turns out, I was right, and very happy with the
results.
The
best part about a digital camera is that you can take some pictures in color
and others in black and white on the same memory chip! The challenge is that
you have to remember to change the setting back. I often forgot to change the
setting back – either way – and got pictures in color that I wanted in black
and white and pictures in black and white that I wanted in color. I found
myself taking a picture before checking the setting and realizing my mistake.
I
decided to stop taking black and white photos and take only color when I
learned I could remove the color from the photo later with image editing
software like Photoshop. That way, I had the photo in both color and black and
white. Unfortunately, you can’t go the other way around. Once the photo is
taken in black and white, it’s in black and white.
I
wasn’t used to carrying a bulkier camera and I had a difficult time producing
clear photos. Steadying my arms was difficult since I didn’t have a tripod with
me. Even with the lens on autofocus, I
still got a few fuzzy photographs.
But, mistakes can make the best pictures! Even
though the photo was out of focus, I knew immediately that it was good. I like it
slightly out of focus because the subjects look softer and more romantic that
way. I shared the digital image with my travel mates, and they loved it. I felt
proud and excited about this picture and it gave me confidence to continue
experimenting with the various settings on my camera the rest of the trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Complete story from, Moments in Time Captured Forever; You Don't Need a Good Camera to Take Good Pictures.
Prints available at: DebraRubyPhotography.com
