I have a penchant for taking pictures. This was only discovered when digital photography became available to me. Before that the cost was a bit prohibitive. Now a good camera can be had and unlimited pictures taken for a few hundred dollars. No need to know how to do the f-stop thing or how to develop the film. Opps, no film. Just allow the computer to process those binary numbers.
I really enjoy taking pictures of just about anything. Especially the grand kids. Lots of shots of them. I must say I have some excellent shots. Also a lot that are less than stellar. No matter. I would have to say I'm not much of an art critic. I like what I like without regard to artist or author. I have pictures that I have taken that I believe would fall into the artsy category. I have some portraits of the kids that are as good as those you would get at the mall.
I do dabble with some programs for altering your pictures. Photosuite being the primary program. I have used Picassa and photo shop. I find it useful for cropping the pictures,adding text and improving the visual quality.
I have learned some things about photos. Discovered there is a difference between black and white and gray scale pictures. The majority of the old photographs from my Mom are gray scale pictures. If you scan them as black and white they do not appear correct. We always called them black and white but that is not correct. I'm still not sure why that is but I really don't care. I have a couple tin type pictures and they appear to be black and white. At least that is the way they scan. Sephia is another. That's like the photos taken in old west days.
We have all heard a picture is worth a thousand words. True but I would add the words cannot be read without being written down. What I mean by that is writing some sort of time and/or description of what the picture represents. I am fascinated by the writing on the back of old photographs. I have some from my Great Grandmother. She describes in detail just what it is you're looking at. A wealth of information. On some she tells not only who the picture is of but the exact location including background buildings. IE: The white roses on the fence belong to Archie Robertson. The picture was taken at least sixty years ago but I know the roses were white and on whose fence they are. Little details.And it is the details that pique my interest.
I have said this before but it bears repeating. Write something on the back of your prints. I know it sometimes seems like,why bother, I know what it is. True, and others as well, but what about twenty years from now ? What about fifty ? I also have several very old pictures that the person is not identified. Probably some family member, but who ? No way to know for sure. Same with some scenery. Very pretty but where was/is the location ?
I just think it is wonderful that we can capture everything nowadays. Photographs,audio and even video readily available to everyone. What a wonderful thing we can leave for future generations. I would love to hear the sound of my Grandfathers voice. He passed before my birth. Or hear my Great Great Grandfather speaking of the civil war. We rarely consider the fact that yesterday is history and tomorrow the future.
We started by scratching images on the walls of our caves and have come this far. Let's not waste the opportunity. Your kids may not be too excited about it and your parents may think your nuts. What do you think your great great grandchildren would think ? They just might be a little excited, don't you think.
I really enjoy taking pictures of just about anything. Especially the grand kids. Lots of shots of them. I must say I have some excellent shots. Also a lot that are less than stellar. No matter. I would have to say I'm not much of an art critic. I like what I like without regard to artist or author. I have pictures that I have taken that I believe would fall into the artsy category. I have some portraits of the kids that are as good as those you would get at the mall.
I do dabble with some programs for altering your pictures. Photosuite being the primary program. I have used Picassa and photo shop. I find it useful for cropping the pictures,adding text and improving the visual quality.
I have learned some things about photos. Discovered there is a difference between black and white and gray scale pictures. The majority of the old photographs from my Mom are gray scale pictures. If you scan them as black and white they do not appear correct. We always called them black and white but that is not correct. I'm still not sure why that is but I really don't care. I have a couple tin type pictures and they appear to be black and white. At least that is the way they scan. Sephia is another. That's like the photos taken in old west days.
We have all heard a picture is worth a thousand words. True but I would add the words cannot be read without being written down. What I mean by that is writing some sort of time and/or description of what the picture represents. I am fascinated by the writing on the back of old photographs. I have some from my Great Grandmother. She describes in detail just what it is you're looking at. A wealth of information. On some she tells not only who the picture is of but the exact location including background buildings. IE: The white roses on the fence belong to Archie Robertson. The picture was taken at least sixty years ago but I know the roses were white and on whose fence they are. Little details.And it is the details that pique my interest.
I have said this before but it bears repeating. Write something on the back of your prints. I know it sometimes seems like,why bother, I know what it is. True, and others as well, but what about twenty years from now ? What about fifty ? I also have several very old pictures that the person is not identified. Probably some family member, but who ? No way to know for sure. Same with some scenery. Very pretty but where was/is the location ?
I just think it is wonderful that we can capture everything nowadays. Photographs,audio and even video readily available to everyone. What a wonderful thing we can leave for future generations. I would love to hear the sound of my Grandfathers voice. He passed before my birth. Or hear my Great Great Grandfather speaking of the civil war. We rarely consider the fact that yesterday is history and tomorrow the future.
We started by scratching images on the walls of our caves and have come this far. Let's not waste the opportunity. Your kids may not be too excited about it and your parents may think your nuts. What do you think your great great grandchildren would think ? They just might be a little excited, don't you think.
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| The picture was painted by my son and entered in the Delaware State Fair. That was over ten years ago. It hangs in my attic next to my scoop net used for crabbing. I made the simple frame for him. |
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