Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Fine Art of Taking Good Pictures

I have no patience for learning the technical side of proper camera settings and whatnots, nevermind proper lighting and background props. Perhaps it's because I've never had a good teacher but more likely it's because I have the attention span of a two year old at times.

Getting a good shot without a flash is near impossible unless you don't mind blur. I've had compliments on my 'great photography skills' to which I respond, "HA! I just got lucky." I want a camera that does it all without me having to comprehend F-stop settings and shutter speeds and ISO settings (whatever that is). I frequently hear hubs saying, "You don't know how to use a camera.", to which I answer, "that's why I want a better, more automated one." Will it make a difference? I doubt it.

I suppose I need to bite the bullet and learn some things about how much light to let in before the camera captures the image. Stuff like that. It might be hard for one to believe I used to shoot film for print (press) and had to know the proper settings, plus understand how to de-screen a printed image, followed by a trip to the darkroom to develop the film. It was a simple matter of "show me, I'll do it" more than a matter of understanding all the rigamore behind it. Too much fluff! although I must admit there were times in my techie prepress career that I had these light-bulb moments where I understood much more than just knowing what to do in order to get the job done. I had to know a LOT.

So, with all that said, I leave you with some sorry attempts to showcase some recent vintage finds I found for pittance along with older vintage finds that might not have been found for pittance (the difference between city and country living).





4 comments:

  1. I'm soooo glad you're back. Nice pictures.

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  2. blush.... thank you.

    The best part, for me is finding vintage treasures for next to nothing. Stuff I don't need but can't pass up. It's an illness to which there is no cure. :o)

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  3. Hey, you've got a good eye for those - love the glassware. So do you hit garage sales, antique shops, or ... ?
    I like colored glass bottles - one day when I have somewhere to put them, I'll start looking.
    Nothing wrong with your photos, btw!

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  4. The majority of my 'stuff' comes from a place called Guy's Frenchys. There's a chain of them in the Maritimes and they bring truckloads of goods from the US. You never know what's going be in there... some high-end clothing with tags still on them, some junk, some treasures and everything so cheap. I bought a Ralph Lauren jacket for about $6 and a silver (.925) multi-strand snake chain necklace (over 20 strands!) for a mere $3. The silver plated utensils pictured above were in a bag with other utensils and priced at $2 - all I had to do was polish them up.

    Oh, I could go on and on with the lovely things I've found...

    4 full length panels of soft yellow shears (brand new) for my screened house at $7 per panel, a used but good quality hammock style chair to hang outside for $6, a vintage twin sized chanille bedspread for $5!! I can't go there without bringing something home. Those pink depression glass bowls were 50 cents each. I LOVE that place.

    I hope I don't end up on that show about hoarder who need serious help.

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