Annual Appeal

That Time of the Year

Each year at this time, we pause a moment to think about all of the things for which we are thankful, a pause button when Chrisley comes on, instant replay, and of course fried Snickers.

Then we have to sober up and face reality once again.

You cannot create great art without a store of great images. Where to find those images? Well if you are like Gary Ostrom and you have an Eidetic memory you can simply call up all the images stored in your brain an arrange them in the most creative and visual way possible.

And the rest of us can struggle through back issues of National Geographic hoping to find something which will fit with the landscape in our minds...

Or we could just fire up the computer and look at all of the images stored in the file where you have been keeping all of the photographs you take every day so that when you need something to work with you have a wonderful, visually stunning, handy reference right there.

What do you mean you haven't been taking pictures. All artists must be photographers or fall on the mercy of a photographer who happens to get published in some magazine where you can copy their work and get slapped with a Copyright violation lawsuit.

There just is no excuse for not making your own memory file with photographs of your own taking so that you hold the Copyright and will have to sue yourself for a violation. You can even (shudder) use your phone.

Of course if you do the images won't be so visually stunning or complexly composed cause the forty megapixels in that tiny little camera are not the same as the big fat megapixels in a proper digital camera. I know the Constitution declares all men to be created equal, cause women are superior and don't need any silly old declaration to support their right to be right and to let you know how the cow ate the cabbage although I never understood why a cow would eat a cabbage when there was plenty of good ole grass hanging around. But the right to pixel equality is not a Constitutionally guaranteed right and the only way you can get bigger pixels is to get a better camera.

So I'll say once again, there is no reason for any artist not to have a memory file filled with pictures from a real, top-quality, megapixel camera. Now that often means a DSLR but there are some very good fixed lens and super zoom cameras around and they can do in a pinch. But there's the deal, technology marches on. For the same price as a very good new super zoom or fixed lens camera you can get a Tom Swift and his Electric eye shutter, Wily E Coyote Acme certified, Captain Marvel Ovaltine super spy decoder ring DSLR a few generations old and have a machine which will always be able to make better pictures than you will.

The likely suspects are, the Pentax Kx, the Nikon D90 and the Canon Xsi, all twelve megapixel cameras using memory cards, rechargable batteries and built in electronic flash units so you never have to shoot in the dark. In fact the cameras have such ISO flexibility that in most cases you won't have to use a flash to shoot in the dark.

Yes, I know you don't know what an ISO is and that won't be a problem cause the camera will and it will set the ISO for you so don't let a few letters intimidated you unless they are IRS on an audit letter.

So why a DSLR and why fat pixels and why so many and why so much and why all this fuss and feathers?

A Pixel is the basic unit of digital photography and in many cases the more you have the better they will produce and image, but, com'on you knew there was a but coming, some pixels are not the same as others. The pixels in your phone, while they are handy and better than not having a camera are not so great for making an image, cause they are eensy-yeensy wittle thangs and they just don't have the puch of a big fat DSLR pixel.

How many do you need?

The basic answer is as many as you can get, but in the real world, the manufacturers will offer you so many pixels you won't have room for them on your computer. Some of the new Canons and Nikons have fifty megapixel sensors! That takes up more room than an SUV trying to find a parking space at Fred Meyer!

And if you shoot RAW that means even more space. (No you probably won't shoot RAW cause that's for photo geeks, but you might so I told you anyway.)

No for most things, even if you want to print your photos instead of using them as a memory file, twelve megapixels will do just fine.

Why twelve? That's enough to do highly detailed 11x14 prints or use a templates for textiles, mugs, mouse pads, sweatshirts and reuseable bags and you will want to do that cause all of those things will promote your art and you can never have too much promotion.

So why not just use a point and shoot camera which will fit in a pocket and not have enough controls to launch the next space shuttle of to shoot “Mad” Mike Hughes off to prove the world is flat? Because you can do so much more with a DSLR and still have the money to buy your canvases.

Technology is wonderful and moves at the speed of light. What was yesterdays whiz-bang, super cool, nerdalicious product is today's boat anchor. Which is bad for fishes but really good for you. The amazing, ground-breaking camera of a year or two ago is worth...less than a lawn mower today.

Yes, you can be just like the photo-journalists they show in the movies, with a long lens and a battery packed body banging against your photographer's vest and you won't have to lie to the Thing On the Couch or the Long Sufferin! You can even get a Nikon D90 or D3100 for less than two hundred and fifty bucks! Kids that's the High-Priced Spread we're talking about.

Now owning a Nikon does not make you a photographer, it makes you a Nikon owner but you weren't packing for a trip to Afghanistan anyway.

So let's think about this, for less than the price of a brand name super-zoom you can go Full-Monty and have a DSLR, a Nikon, Canon, Sony or Pentax DSLR.

And then you will be equipped to make the most of those opportunities and save all of the good moments for later when you are staring at a blank canvas and wondering why you ever wanted to be an artist!