Photographers who inspire me - Part I

People aren’t born famous or great. They build themselves up over time and develop their skills after every success and every failure.

No matter if you’re an artist, athlete, musician, doctor, or scientist, finding inspiration is important. Why, you ask? Because if you’re not inspired, you won’t be motivated to improve and achieve the best.

There are so many photographers who inspire me. Some of them are more iconic photographers of the past, and some of them are influencers and vloggers of today.

I find inspiration in all kinds of photography, which makes it hard to choose a “specialty” if you will. Many photographers choose to focus on one type of photography because it makes it easier to market yourself. If you “specialize” in everything, it isn’t specializing, right?

But I digress.

These are (some of) the photographers I find most inspiring.

Ansel Adams

This one seems a little cliche, because who isn’t inspired by Ansel Adams? This guy is known for his landscape photography. He was born in 1902, so obviously he only shot with film. The technical skill involved in shooting with film is so intimidating. It’s something I want to learn some day. To be a photographer back in Ansel Adams’ days, you had to understand every technical thing because you couldn’t just fix it later on a computer. The way Ansel Adams was able to see and capture light was just extraordinary. He wasn’t able to capture the colors, but instead he captured patterns and textures. If you look up his work, you will see what I mean.

Elliott Erwitt

His street photography is captivating. Specifically, I love his photographs of dogs. I photograph my dog all the time, and it’s something to which I can relate. His other street photography has a silly essence to it; it’s almost comedic. It’s the positive energy in his photography that inspires me. There’s so many bad things in the world, but Elliott Erwitt was able to capture the goofiness and love within humanity. I think that’s something we should all look for more in life instead of focusing only on the negatives (haha, a little photography pun for you).

Henri Cartier-Bresson

“The Decisive Moment” is that valuable split second in time; it’s the quick smile of a groom as he dances with his new bride, the sparkle in the eye of a new mother as she sees her baby for the first time, or the instant before somebody gets a pie to the face. Henri Cartier-Bresson coined the term “The Decisive Moment.” There are so many of these decisive moments and it takes a skilled photographer to capture them and Bresson was excellent at it. The Decisive Moment brings the photo to the next level. If it seems like a photograph is missing something, it might be missing a Decisive Moment.

Photography is more to me than just taking pictures. It’s about trying to find a new way of looking at something. It’s observing human (and non-human) emotions and trying to understand what they really mean. Most importantly, it’s about creating something that makes the audience react or feel an emotion.

Δ Abbi

6 Things to Consider Before You Buy a Camera

Whether you are a serious photographer or a casual one, choosing a camera can be tricky. There are so many things to know and consider when making that important decision. Hopefully, these 6 things can help you make the right choice for you!

Point and Shoot vs. DSLR

The question you need to ask yourself is: What kind of photos are you looking to shoot? For many people, a point and shoot is all you need. But in many other cases, you might want to bring your photography to the next level. If you are opting for the more simple option, you may want to consider a point and shoot. However, phone cameras these days are becoming more and more advanced.

If you have a smart phone, that might be all you need, but you can find other point and shoot cameras that have the ability to zoom farther and possibly achieve higher quality photos. If you’re looking for higher quality, though, you might want to consider getting a DSLR, or Digital Single Lens Reflex camera. These cameras allow you to change lenses and manually choose exposure and focus settings at a completely different level.

If you are looking to purchase a DSLR, keep reading!

Brand

There are plenty of brands to choose from, which can be a blessing and a curse. Of course there are the typical two rivals, Nikon and Canon, but there are a lot of other contenders such as Sony, Fujifilm, Pentax, Olympus, Leica, etc.

Traditionally, Nikon is known for doing better with still photographs, while Canon is known to be better with video, but truthfully, you can achieve great photos and video with both brands. Sony, too, is moving up in the game and plenty of people are switching to Sony.

Personally, I use Nikon because it is what I started with and it is what I am used to. I have been completely satisfied with Nikon so far, so I would definitely recommend it! That being said though, it’s really all about preference.

There are plenty of places that will rent out cameras (and lenses) so you can try them out before you buy them. If you want to try different brands without the commitment, renting is a great option!

Price Range

Are you a beginner photographer? Advanced? Professional? There is a camera for every level. If you are a beginner, I definitely recommend getting a beginner camera until you learn the more technical skills involved with photography. The higher quality cameras can allow you to create higher quality images, but you won’t be able to get those images until you know more about how to use the camera.

Some great beginner DSLR cameras I would recommend are the Nikon D3200 or D3400 or the Canon T5i or T6i. Once you feel like you are being limited by your equipment, instead of the other way around, that’s when it’s time to upgrade!

Features and Specifications

What kinds of things will you be taking photos of? The features and specifications of the camera are important when answering that question. For example, if you will be using your camera in dark situations, like at concerts, a dimly-lit wedding venue or the night sky, you will want a camera that can perform well in these specific circumstances.

You want to look for a camera that maintains quality photographs at a high ISO, or International Organization of Standardization. The ISO determines how sensitive the camera’s sensor is to the light. The higher you set your ISO, the more you compromise the quality of the image, so it’s important to choose a camera that is designed to perform better in low light.

Look for cameras with a higher range in ISO. Ranges start at 100 ISO but can go to anywhere from 6,400 (in the Nikon D3200, a beginner camera) all the way up to 102,400 (in the Nikon D5, a professional camera).

Other specifications you need to look at are sensor sizes, aperture, focus points and shutter speeds. But you’re a beginner, you will do best getting a beginner camera and learning the importance of these things in a hands-on way. There are too many details on this subject to cover in this post alone, so I will come back to this subject another time!

Ergonomics and Size

If you plan on carrying your camera around for long periods of time, it’s important to make sure it is comfortable. This may not be a significant factor to some people, but it’s definitely something to consider. Do you travel a lot? It might be a good idea to find something more compact. Of course, you can travel with a big camera, it just depends on what you are willing to manage.

User Interface

If you’re new to DSLR cameras, there will be a bit of a learning curve when navigating the menu and settings. Since each brand is different, each has its own style of user interface. If you want to get a taste for what each brand has to offer, you can try out cameras at an electronics store or, again, you can rent a couple different cameras and see what works best for you! It’s important to be able to navigate your camera efficiently so don’t miss that once-in-a-lifetime shot!

There are definitely more things that you can consider, but these are the six main things that I personally take into consideration before I buy a new camera. If you have a camera that you love and are comfortable with, it will show in your photography!

What are the things you look for in a camera? What aspects did I leave out? Let me know in the comments!

∆ Abbi