Selecting A Digital Camera

Why wouldn't I want a camera? That's the question you should be asking. Cameras are beautiful objects to keep and to hold, and each one is unique. You could have two of the same type of camera, and there would be no guarantee that the picture would be the same. This is why I want to start hoarding them, but, me being fifteen and without a job and all, it is a rather difficult thing to be able to do.

Photography is just a hobby of mine and I wouldn't say I am extraordinarily good at it either. I use my camera(s) for multiple things throughout my week, let alone month or year. I use them for the obvious reasons like special events and holidays and things, but I also like to go into the creative aspect and take a close up of a leaf, or lay on the road or on my back in the middle of the woods and take a photo of the trees, or stand for over half an hour in my drive way tossing rocks into a fairly large puddle. It can be tedious, but I love the end result and being creative can change your aspect on some things and it let's you perceive things in different ways.

The camera I decided to use (considering I have loads of non-existent money stored in a bank somewhere) is the Fuji X100T. I'm usually not a huge fan of the Fuji Film company, but I like the features and look of this camera and would be thrilled to have it at my disposal. This camera has an optical viewfinder, which is always a soft spot for me, and has a retro feel and look to it. It takes retro like pictures as well which is why I  chose it over the Panasonic LX100. It takes a picture without drawing too much attention and without making a lot of noise which other cameras tend to do. This makes it much easier to be discreet about taking someone's picture. Sometimes the best portraits are ones the subject doesn't even know about!

The review I read makes me yearn for this camera even more. It goes on to say how the Fuji developers had made the X100T with a large sensor an no anti-aliasing filter, which makes it great for capturing detail. I have also really wanted to get into street photography, and this camera is said to be the perfect one for both street and wedding photographers. There is also a new function called Classic Chrome, which is used to recreate the look of slide film with muted tones and deeper colours  and I'm just really in love with this camera.

I found the Fuji X100T at a number of websites and stores, ( Henry's, Vistek, Amazon, and the Fujifilm website to be exact) and at every site but Amazon the prices were all the same. Amazon is selling this camera for $1 650.45, while everywhere else was selling it for $1 499.99. I know I would most likely buy this camera for the latter.

I might get depressed now that I found this camera and know I will never be able to have it, but if you, random person other than my former classmates and teacher who happens upon this blog, have the money to attain a camera of this price, you should definitely consider buying it (and then send it to me free of charge)!

Digital Photo Editing Examples

Church Photo: 

~ First we cropped the photo because we felt that it was taken in too high of a point of view and also to isolate the church a bit more.

~ Then under "Vintage" we selected "Dexter" because we wanted to add the old look to it.

~ This is also why we added the border.

~ Under "Tune image"we adjusted the contrast and shadows because we wanted to make the darker objects and sections of the photo more prominent.

~ Under "Details" we adjusted the structure and sharpness for much the same reason, also because we just liked the look it gave it.


Portrait Photo: 

~ Under "HDR Scape" we picked "Preset 1" because we liked how it enhanced the photo and made the colours appear more vibrant.

~ Under "Black and White" we selected "Neutral" because, although slightly contradicting to the last filter, we liked how it softened the vibrancy a bit and black and white portraits are just beautiful to look at.

~ Under "Details" we adjusted the sharpness to make the features stand out a bit more.

~ In the "Selective" tool, we made the face the central point and adjusted the brightness, contrast and saturation for this point.

~ Went under "Tune" and adjusted the contrast to make the shadows stand out a bit more.

Bee Photo:

~ We cropped the photo because we wanted to isolate the bee.

~ We went under "Centre Focus" and selected "Blur" because we liked how it blurred the edges and sides of the photo which isolated the bee even more.

~ Under "Retrolux" we selected " Voyager" to give the image that old film, slightly damaged look.

~ In "Tune Image" we adjusted the saturation to give it a more faded look.

~ Also in "Tune Image" we adjusted brightened the shadows and adjusted the contrast to make the photo a bit lighter.

Camera Technique Video

This is our Camera Technique video which we made with the use of Animoto.

Camera Techniques

The Rule of Thirds

This is an interesting technique that I myself have used before but didn't realize that I was doing it. I myself just found that when you move subjects to the side of the picture instead of in the centre, it gives the picture a better look and is more pleasing to the eye. Especially if said subject pops out from a dull scene or flat landscape. I like this technique and find it very important for creative photography.

Fill The Frame

This is definitely an important technique that can sometimes be hard to accomplish, especially if you are taking action shots. What she said in the video was right though. It makes a better, more eye catching picture and leaves little room for distraction in the background. I like this technique and think it could be used in many ways for many different subjects.

Framing

I have never used this technique before and I find it a very interesting one. It seems really cool and makes certain aspects of the picture stand out that never originally would without the use of it. I never really thought about framing a picture by using elements around the subject before, and will most definitely be using it in the near future.

Point of View

This is one technique that I am very familiar with and use quite frequently. It is not uncommon for me to lay on the ground and look up at something or on my stomach to get a different kind of perspective on the whatever it is I am taking a picture of.  It is a very important technique for creative photography and I will continue to use it a lot.

Level Horizon

This technique, to me, is just common sense. You need a steady, level camera if you want a decent picture, especially if you are taking landscape shots. It is an important thing to be able to do, and tripods can help with that if you are incapable of keeping your camera level on your own.

Digital Awareness Campaign

Here is a link to the Digital Awareness Campaign Rationale that our group has written about the poster we created. (See below). We decided to choose the issue of too much screen time.