Photo notes

First off I am not, nor do I consider myself to be, any kind of photographer. I mainly take photos to keep track of where I have been and for fun. Any decent photos I do take I consider to be a happy accident.

I take some photos with an Iphone 6. There are a couple of reasons for this. Taking photos with an Iphone will tag locations. I ususally remember where I take photos. Sometimes I get back from a trip and have to think about where exactly I took a photo of something interesting. I can check the location (providing there was no dead zone) on my cell phone for reference. I usually take photos with the camera and then one with the cell phone as the camera does not have GPS.

The other reason I sometimes use a cell phone is that I do not always have time to get the camera out of the bag, check if the lens is clean, then take a shot. A cell phone is just quicker. Sometimes the iphone takes better photos in certain situations.

About six months ago I bought a new Sony 20mp digital camera. I got it on clearance and it did not cost me much. I use something inexpensive for a variety of reasons. I can be a bit absentminded and I can see myself putting the camera on the roof my car and driving away. I have done stuff like this before. If it gets stolen I will not get too upset. I also do not know what I am doing. Using something that I do not have much invested in allows me to figure it out before I get something more expensive.

In my opinion if you want to take photos sometimes you have to get off your ass and look for subject matter. You need to find something that interests you. Then finding that shot can take some work. A walk, a hike, a drive, climbing, some kind of effort. You might get some exercise and learn a few things in the process.

Over time I am slowly getting an idea about using light, framing, perspective, and the like. I delete a lot of stuff. Some I mentally argue over before keeping or deleting. I look at a lot of photos on blogs and Instagram trying to learn how others do things. That can be a bit intimidating, some people out there are pure magic with a camera and possess more talent then I ever will. A digital camera allows you to make a lot of mistakes at little cost. I have friends and acquaintances that have expensive cameras and multiple lenses and get a lot of use out of them. One day I will splurge on better stuff. I want to figure a few things out first.