       
| | Photo Tips Table of Contents 1. "Seeing the Ordinary as Extraordinary" by Dewitt Jones 2. "Digital Photography" by Dan Heller 
| "Seeing The Ordinary As Extraordinary"
Techniques for unlocking your creative potential
by
Dewitt Jones Creativity. It's not surprising it's the latest business buzzword. Our world is altering at an ever-quickening pace; companies are finding that last year's solutions -- even last month's solutions -- are no longer relevant to today's challenges. Change is the hallmark of the 90's, and everyone is being asked to find solutions that offer something new, something different, something... creative. And there's the rub. Because most of us simply don't think of ourselves as being creative. For most of us, creativity is something difficult to define and even harder to implement. It is a word reserved for artists, and there is a very big difference between art and business. Art is creative; business is practical. Art is frivolous; business is serious. Art is to be indulged in only when all the 'important stuff' is done; business is the 'important stuff'. No wonder the subject of creativity sets off a palpable uneasiness in many of my audiences ..."Hey, I've spent my career attending to business, now you want art as well?!" That is, however, exactly what the times call for. Having spent my life in one creative endeavor after another, I'm convinced that we all have great creative potential within us. To begin to connect with it, we first have to define it. Let me offer a definition: creativity is the ability to see the ordinary as extraordinary. Seeing the ordinary as extraordinary is something we've all done. We've all had those moments when we've looked at a landscape, a person, or an idea and for an instant, or a month, or the rest of our lives, felt its true uniqueness. I don't know about you, but to me those moments are like falling in love. Falling in love, I realize this isn't a very business-like metaphor, but indulge me for a moment. Because maybe, at the base of it, that's what creativity really is... just falling in love with the world. Think about it. First, when we're in love with something, it really is extraordinary. We see its uniqueness, feel its potential, celebrate its excellence, are open to its growth. Second, when we're in love with something we take care of it; we treat it with respect and compassion. Finally, when we're in love with something we find ourselves in touch with a source of incredible energy...we call it passion. Passion, flexibility, care and service, celebration. Isn't this the attitude you'd like to bring to your association every day? Well, it's what you put in motion every time you fall in love with the world, everytime you see the ordinary as extraordinary, everytime you are...creative. The essence of creativity then is not a technique but an attitude; an attitude of curiosity, openness, and celebration. Our definition makes it something well within our grasp. Now what techniques can we use to access it on a daily basis so that we can find extraordinary solutions to the challenges we face. From my years as a photographer, I've learned a number of methods to help me access that creative state. The more I practiced them, the more I realized that those techniques applied equally well whether I was creating a photograph, running on office, or serving a client. You could change the challenge, but the principles were the same. Let me share three of these techniques with you, using my photographs as examples. Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 To find an extraordinary photograph, I need the right lens on my camera. In other words, if I don't view the challenge from the right perspective, I won't have a chance of finding a creative solution. Consider the photograph of Yosemite Falls (Photo 1) . It's seen from an angle, a perspective that offers quite a pleasant scene. An amateur photographer would probably be quite pleased with it. But as I stared through the camera, I realized I had chosen the wrong lens. The perspective was O.K., but I'd seen it before. It offered nothing new, nothing extraordinary. I looked again, and as I began to fall in love with the view before me, I realized that what really drew my eye was not this view at all. Rather, it was just the juxtaposition of the silhouetted tree at the bottom of the frame and the surging water behind. The wrong lens -- the wrong perspective -- kept me from capturing the extraordinary view. When I corrected my perspective, I found the real photograph! It's easy for me to change a photographic lens. It's often much harder to make sure I've got the right perspective on a business challenge. Yet, the metaphor from photography helps me daily. As an association executive, I might ask, "Do I have the best lens through which to see the vision of my association? Have I found the right angle for explaining why two associations should merge? Do I have the right perspective for helping to build strong staff/board partnerships?" We have to find the right lens; we also have to find the right focus. What are the elements of the solution that deserve the most attention? Within that right perspective, what are the elements that are most critical? In the photograph of the falls, everything has to be in focus. Both the tree and the falls must be sharp, or you'll never see the magic of the vision. In the case of this photograph only one element needs to be clear. Only the little ground squirrel needs to be sharp while the soft background serves as a foil to draw attention to the squirrel. Here again, the photographic metaphor can be helpful in facing the challenges in association work. "Have I found the best focus for my association's strategic plan? Have I clearly focused and prioritized the programs and services that the association offers?" The right perspective, the right focus, they're important. I found the real key to creativity, however, in another lesson from my photography: There's more than one right answer. It's a simple idea but one which can radically change the way you run your association and your life. Throughout our careers, we too often fall prey to the belief that there's only one right answer. You either have it or you don't. Though my own thinking often pulls me in this direction, I find it simply doesn't match up with the world I see around me. As a photojournalist, I've reported on a thousand different cultures finding a thousand different answers to the challenges they face day-to-day. As a photographer, I've shot hundreds of excellent photographs of the same subject. Our world just happens to be ambiguous, and that can be terrifying or, if seen from the right perspective, can be the very thing that leads us to open to our creativity. National Geographic sent me to Smith River, California where they raise about eighty per cent of the country's  Easter lilies. In Photograph #2, I've chosen a perspective that does a pretty good job of telling that story: picked lilies, unpicked lilies, the boy picking them, a little of the region's architecture and weather. It's one right answer. As a photographer, however, I would never think of stopping here. Almost as soon as I snapped the shutter, I reached into my bag for another lens, walked over two rows, knelt down and found... another right answer. Here were the same parameters of the problem now seen from a totally different point of view. My favorite right answer that afternoon was Photograph #3. They were using a helicopter in the field, I got a ride and, looking down from 200 feet, saw the extraordinary in the ordinary. Three right answers. It's so easy for me to think this way in my  photography and yet often so hard for me to adapt it to other areas of my life. When I do, however, the results are remarkable. When we really believe that there's more than one right answer so much begins to change. First, we don't stop at first right answer. The first right answer is just doing our job. Any of us can come up with one right answer. But, and here's the key, as we look for the next answer, we do so, not in terror, but comfortably knowing that it will be there waiting for us. In business and in life, we begin to celebrate those things that lead to multiple right answers. The diversity of our team or our work force, for example, becomes a real asset as we realize that everyone has something to contribute based on their own individual point of view. Or the concept of empowerment which we find is rooted in the principle that good ideas can come from anywhere. As I work from the belief that there's more than one right answer, I find I'm approaching the world from a attitude of abundance rather than scarcity, from cooperation rather than competition. When I walk into the forest with my cameras, nature doesn't say, "There is one great photograph hidden here. One photographer will find it and be the winner. The rest will fail!" No, what nature seems to be saying is, "How many rolls of film do you have, Dewitt? I'll fill them all with right answers!" When we bring that same attitude to our life, we become more and more comfortable with searching for that next right answer, with reframing problems into opportunities, with embracing change rather than fearing it. So we've found a definition that makes creativity accessible to us; we've opened ourselves to the possibility that there's more than one right answer. We've looked at the challenge we're facing and asked, "Do we have the right lens/perspective and the right focus?" So why do we still hesitate? What's keeping us from seeing that extraordinary solution and manifesting it into reality? Could it be the fear of Making a Mistake? Fear of mistakes is the single greatest enemy of the creative spirit. It haunts me in my business dealings, it looks through my lens, it stands at my shoulder every time I'm on the platform. Constantly it intones, "Don't take the risk. Don't try something new. Do it the way it's always been done." Again, it's my photography that shows me the foolishness of this kind of thinking. The average National Geographic article is shot in four hundred rolls of film. That's over 14,000 photographs to get the fifty or so that make up an article. If I worried about making mistakes, I'd simply have to give up the profession. Time and again I've found that it's the ability to risk possible failure that has led me from the good shot to the great shot. Photo #4 Photo #5  Consider Photograph #4. The famous French photographer, Cartier-Bresson, talked about the "decisive moment" in photography. Well, this is the "indecisive moment." My wide angle lens distorts the poor girl's feet till they're as big as her face. Her face is frozen at a particularly unflattering moment. There's overexposed light in the background. There's only one redeeming factor to this photograph and that's the fact that it's my daughter. And if I want to take her picture I will.
Boy, if I were afraid to make mistakes, this is the kind of failure that would make  me pack up my cameras and never take them out again. In my photography however, I'm not worried about making a few mistakes, I'm looking for that next right answer. I knew something was exciting me about this situation. I kept at it. A little while later my daughter fell asleep, and with a few more intermediate attempts, I came to this vision of innocence and beauty. (Photograph 5). This is a vision worth capturing. Yet, if I'd been afraid to make mistakes -- if I wouldn't take the risk and try something new -- I'd still be back with the first image wondering why it didn't work. I don't want to be afraid to make mistakes, but I don't want to make dumb mistakes either. I want the ideas I execute to be based on the best information I can get at the time. I want them executed with the finest technique, and I want them in alignment with my personal vision and my corporate vision. Then, if the idea does turn out to be a mistake -- what can I learn from it? How can I turn a win/lose situation into a win/learn situation? How can I turn it into a little victory and use it, as I did with my daughter, to press forward toward that next right answer; to reframe a problem into an opportunity? Again, these are images that I hold up again and again as a metaphor in the rest of my life. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. I know there are decisions in businesses and associations that are "mission critical;" that have to be right the first time and every time. But if every decision becomes "mission critical" -- and that's certainly the natural tendency in business -- then our creativity atrophies and our mission of finding extraordinary solutions is doomed to failure. Being creative. Not being afraid to make mistakes; believing there's more than one right answer; finding that new perspective, that new focus. Falling in love with the world. If we let it, creativity can infuse all the facets of our lives; and that when it does, life truly is extraordinary. When we believe it, we'll see it.By Dewitt Jones |
HOME GALLERY STORE "Digital Photography" By Dan Heller Table of ContentsChapter Word Count: 2391
1 Preface (177)
2 Digital Photography for the Consumer (656)
3 Technical Factors (23)
3.1 Resolution (146)
3.2 Dynamic Range (341)
3.3 White Balance (167)
3.4 Memory (300)
3.5 Summary (163)
4 Digital Cameras for the Serious Photographer (418)
Preface I am often asked, "What kind of digital camera should I buy?" There are many answers to this question, but it all comes down to two categories: professional and consumer. I'll address both categories in this chapter, but as you can imagine, there is a cross-over between the two: the high-end consumer cameras can start to look a lot like the low-end professional brands. Because of that, and prices dropping so fast, many consider this middle-ground as viable alternatives, even if they aren't professional. The discussions that follow will address the main overview points to think about when considering cameras to buy. I do not review specific camera models, brands, or make any other recommendations. However, you should glean valuable information from this page so you can make better sense of the reviews that you see from other sources. For a far more in depth look at the topic, look at www.dpreview.com. Digital Photography for the Consumer
If you're a non-professional photographer and you just want to get fun pictures for the vacation, the digital cameras are for you. Despite the fact that I own an expensive, professional-level digital camera (see "professional" section below), I also enjoy using the simple consumer point-n-shoots—they're light, simple, and get the job done. Just about any brand, make and model is technically suitable, but you should still test them yourself for personal tastes. I happen to use the Fujifilm Finepix Series in fact, all the photographs you see on this page were taken with one of those models. Determining which brand is best for you requires two things: learning about what to look for (which is why you're here, right?), and trying them out at a store. Like any other expensive electronic object, never buy something you don't actually put in your own hands. Outside of the mere comfort of the camera, consider how you'd use it pragmatically. You may think you're just going to point and shoot, but there's more. How quickly does it "shoot" from the time you press the button? I (personally) am used to professional cameras that take the picture the moment I press the button, but consumer-level cameras don't do that. Between the time I press the button and when the picture is actually taken, the dog's facial expression has changed, or the dancers' positions are no longer in place. Most people don't shoot like me, so that may not be an issue for you. (But, I bet it will be, frankly.) Other things to look for: is there a self-timer? Does it have a macro mode (for shooting closeups of flowers and such)? Can you adjust the flash output? And probably the most important feature, but something you cannot "test" in the store, is how quickly they consume batteries. The cost of batteries is one thing, but carrying them around is another. Many have rechargeable batteries, which is fantastic for some conditions, but you can't recharge batteries in the middle of a day at the beach, in which case, you're stuck. What most people want from a digital point-n-shoot is simplicity. They don't want to deal with settings, confusing interfaces, and having to hit multiple buttons just to perform a simple operation. For example, how many buttons does it take to delete the last picture you just took? For me, that's the litmus test for good user interface design. My Fuji camera requires far too much futzing around. (I call this the "futz factor." But, I've also got the operation down to a memorized, repeatable process, so it doesn't bother me that much anymore. (I still sweat about it though, out of frustration and annoyance that actual adults were involved in designing this insane interface.) Your tastes may vary, but the lessons here are:  Don't avoid cameras that have capabilities you don't think you'll use.
You just may use them later, and there's probably a good reason that any given feature is there.
You will get used to whatever you buy.
Since you can't get everything in one product, don't sweat it if something seems like it might be a problem. Draw upon past experiences of what you like and don't like about the picture-taking process to determine if what you're used to will map over to digital photography well. If you're not happy with the photos, it may not be the camera's fault!
Some people often complain that photos are not sharp, that they are often washed out or under- or over- exposed. Nine times out of ten, this is not the camera's fault—it's the human's fault for not using it properly. Technical Factors
There are basically three technical factors associated with the camera's digital sensor that you should consider: resolution, dynamic range, and memory. Resolution
Most consumer-level digital cameras these days range from 2 to 8 megapixels, which will be obsolete by this time next year, I'm sure. What these numbers indicate is the total number of "pixels" (the dot that represents a color) in an image. A close-up photo of leaves may need a lot of resolution in order to show the minute color and texture differences on the surface. You may look at the image of the fall leaves shown here, and feel that it looks pretty good. But, it's also small. That same picture would look terrible if you tried to make a 4x6 print from it. (This isn't because of the inherent problem with digital images; it's just this one image here, used merely to illustrate a point.) The lesson, the bigger the print you want to make, the more pixels are required in the image. Dynamic Range But resolution is just the width and the height. Another dimension it latitude. That is, the ability to capture detail in broader ranges of highlights and shadows in the same part of the scene. While people may debate the need for more megapixels beyond a certain point, there is always the need for more latitude. And this brings us back again to megapixels, since it just so happens that improving latitude has a by-product of increasing megapixel capabilities. So, it's always going to be the case that higher-megapixel cameras will take better pictures than lower-megapixel cameras, if only for the improved latitude. Most consumer brand cameras don't have extremely broad latitude in their dynamic range, so it's appropriate to set your expectations properly. On the other hand, most consumers don't necessarily have the eye to pick up on these subtler details in the 4x6" prints from the drugstore, so everyone's happy. The more discerning photographer, however, may have to jump to the semi-pro level cameras for that extra boost. When it comes to both dynamic range and actual megapixel count, the thing to remember is that your camera can't achieve its own optimal potential unless the camera's resolution is set to its highest resolution setting. The most common mistake people make is setting their camera to shoot at low resolution (small size) to save on memory so they don't fill up their one and only memory card on a vacation. The reasoning is obvious: one can double or triple the number of pictures a single card can hold using this method. The result, however, is bad-looking printsi. (If you're shooting for computer use only, then shooting at low resolution is fine, but more often than not, people think they're only shooting for the web, but end up realizing they want to make a print, and then regret not having used a higher resolution setting.) White Balance
Different lighting conditions produce different values for how the camera perceives colors. Most cameras have an auto-balancing mode that senses the colors in the scene to estimate probable color values. (They do this using a method termed, "white balancing", which is an oversimplification for this discussion.) Some cameras allow you to manually set the lighting conditions (such as sunny, cloudy, sunset, indoor light bulbs, fluorescent lights, etc.), or you can set the white balance based on a given picture that you've just taken (say, of a white piece of paper). This is getting into modes that most consumers don't want to have to deal with, but what all this means is: if the camera's digital sensor (and internal calibration formulas) don't sense the proper white balance, you may get prints that appear tilted towards a slight green, blue or red hue. (Lesser expensive cameras have more of a problem, as you might guess.) Memory
For most people, a memory card of 128M to 256M will provide for a full day of shooting at high resolution, suitable for making nice-looking prints. On the downside, these memory cards can feel expensive. While the price of memory is coming down, remember that you're only buying this once. After you "download" the pictures to your computer, or at the photo lab to print pictures, you erase the card and you can shoot again. It also helps that you can preview images and remove unwanted pictures right away, freeing up more space on your card again. The advantage here, of course, is that you get a higher percentage of "good" pictures by the time prints are made. (Of course, this doesn't guarantee that all your pictures will look good!) The other thing to consider is making sure you have enough memory cards with you for the time you're going to be without a computer of photo lab to download your photos and free up the card to shoot again. What you don't want to happen (but always does), is you run out of memory, and then frantically review all your other pictures, trying desperately to figure out what you delete, in order to free up enough memory to shoot more. While this does hone your editing skills, and it's good to get rid of bad pictures, it's far better to simply have more memory cards with you. I have no recommendations for how much memory is appropriate, but I have the same recommendation as I do for people who use film: have twice as much as you think you'll need. Due to the price of camera memory, you'll have to gauge whether such advice is appropriate for you. If you're going on a two-week vacation, this is pivotal. Summary
In the last two paragraphs, I mentioned that poor resolution and/or improper color balancing can make pictures look bad. However, you can get bad prints due to other problems as well, so if you get bad prints, don't just assume that one or both of these conditions is the culprit. That said, I don't want to set expectations too grim; chances are, your pictures are probably going to look much better than if you'd shot the same thing with regular consumer-brand film. So, I don't want to leave the impression that digital cameras can't do a good job. They can do a great job, provided you use them under the conditions they were designed for, and you are not expecting them to create images beyond their technical limitations. Translation: most consumers shouldn't have a problem with digital cameras today. Digital Cameras for the Serious Photographer
As the technology evolves and prices drop, the number of options is growing for consumer-priced products for the next generation of digital photography. The slightly more serious photographer can find more selections among the low-end of professional Digital SLR cameras (where you can change lenses), also known as "DSLR"s. When you're buying this level of equipment, the camera body is important for the resolution and dynamic range, but that's about it. (That is, we're talking about photo quality now—other factors, such as ease-of-use and other whizzy features may also be important differentiators to some users.) Unlike consumer-based models, the component that makes pictures "better" that pro-level cameras can add is the lens. Here, the ability to change lenses means that you can really put your money into "glass" that really performs: very wide angle lenses, long telephotos, and other specialty lenses are but a few examples of what differentiates an amateur from a more serious shooter, or a pro. Most entry-level "prosumer" cameras are sold as a "starter kit," which includes a lens that's similar to what is already in the point-n-shoot models. The intent here is to get your feet wet and migrate to better lenses as your interests, skills, or pocketbook will allow. For many professionals, even these introductory systems serve their business needs just fine. Photo-journalists, portrait and wedding photographers (as examples) "can" use such systems and meet their business requirements. But, for others (such as myself), the needs for more pixels and wider dynamic range are critical. I use the Canon 1Ds Mark II, which is a 17 megapixel camera that provides a full 35mm image sensor. Don't get too impressed yet; there are definitely pros and cons associated with using this camera, and each of them are significant at both ends. The weight and cost alone are not insignificant. For a lengthier discussion on this and other equipment I use, see Photography Gear for a Photo Business. It's also important to understand the fuller picture of the image processing "workflow," which is a critical part of how you go from image capture to final product. For that, see Image Management. Other than the above information, the entire subject of professional digital camera equipment is evolving so fast, that it's best to just keep up with (or review) current reports as they emerge. A better resource for more extensive information is: Digital Photography Review at www.dpreview.com.
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