"Livermore Vines Oct" by William F. Hackett
Beautiful, isn't it?
Until late last fall, my husband and I lived in the Livermore, California area and enjoyed the seasonal flow of the vineyards in person. Gorgeous photographs like that above allow anyone to savor the 'fruits of nature' all the time.
I love photography; even more so now that we're in the digital age - more about that in a minute. I actually began to consider the artistic aspects of photography when I was younger working as a newspaper reporter. Back then, of course, all photography was done in/on film and all my newspaper photos were black and white. During those years I worked at a couple different papers and shot a variety of subjects, mostly portrait-type to go along with human interest stories I wrote. Every once in a while I would get all "artsy" and shoot something like icicles dripping from the branches of almond orchards in winter...and happy were the times when the paper's editor would run those shots.
When digital came along it was a revolutionary change for me. It meant 1)no more winding those canisters of film; 2)no more having to wait for the film to get developed; 3)no more having to wait until I could afford more film! For me digital meant that I could go shoot pictures anytime I wanted, as much as I wanted. It meant I could easily dispose of [erase] shots that were worthless without wasting precious film. I never was a purist when it came to film, although I know some photographers who are. In fact, my husband was an underwater photographer for some years and I'm wanting now to scan those images into my computer and "digitize" them.
My first digital camera is the Canon PowerShot G6 7.1 megapixels; I love it. However, now I'm wanting to grow into a system...camera with multiple lenses - digital of course. I'm wanting to expand my macro work and landscape work and want more megapixels to work with. Here's a note: I am no expert in things camera, so must ask the forgiveness of those of you who are and cringe if I use terminology incorrectly.
Back to my love of photography...for me, (setting aside photography that falls in the category of family events and holidays) art and photography go together. I work in other artistic media, but what I refer to as 'enhanced art photography' is a key medium in which I love to work. The image to the right is one of my newest titled, "In Plain Sight."
I've broached the subject of 'when is photography fine art?' before. In that post one of the comments made was:
When the photograph expresses the photographer’s intent in singling out the subject matter and simultaneously when it is taken and processed with skill. (Ronald J Bissett)
Whether or not this question is philosophical or not, I enjoy learning the thoughts of other artists. A fine art photographer I know in the Livermore area is William Hackett. I love his work and suggest you visit both his blog and his store at Zazzle. I asked him some questions about art, photography and cameras:
Q: In reading your biography, because of your career history, it seems that the advent of digital photography was not an “Oh No! Not that!” reaction? Or was it? Do you think Photography as an artistic medium suffered when it phased out of film and into digital?
William: I welcomed digital photography with open arms. My wife surprised me with a digital compact camera, an Olympus, as a Christmas gift, back when such cameras were actually expensive! With digital cameras that can capture "camera RAW" images, YOU become the camera and can use a computer and software (multipurpose tools) as replacements for optical enlargers, etc., from the darkroom days, which were largely single-purpose tools.
Importantly, the RESOLUTION of modern digital images has SURPASSED the resolution that was achievable with film.
Q: In terms of using only film, what was your favorite set-up: type of film, type of camera.
*photo at left: "Merced River Foliage" by William Hackett
William: When I shot film, I used a Minolta XG-9. I did not have the luxury of being able to purchase multiple cameras, and the Minolta gave a good cost/benefit ratio. I liked Fuji 400 film for low-light situations, because of its performance over a wide range of light conditions and its excellent rendering of greens.
Q: Did you develop your own film/photos? If yes, did you enjoy that process? If yes, what were the benefits? [this may seem an obvious question, but some readers really don’t know] If no, why not?
William: I never did darkroom work, except to take electron micrographs of DNA in graduate school at Wisconsin. I was not a professional when I was shooting film, so I first adopted digital photography, and then I went pro. As a result, I do not have a legacy "backlog" of 2x2 slides to digitize. My current company, Cheshire Cat Photo, LLC utilizes ONLY digital photography.
Q: I like the use of your term “digital darkroom.” Of the tools you use, which for you is the most valuable?
William: Some people (and Adobe) now use the term "Lightroom," since darkness is no longer required. Of the software tools that I use, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Bridge are undoubtedly the most valuable. Photoshop and Bridge allow the processing and correction of RAW images, as well as resizing and resolution adjustments for various end products, and even highly specialized tools for such products as panoramic images.
Note, new versions of Photoshop and Apple's Aperture are being developed for the MacBook Pro with the "retina display," recently announced and now shipping from Apple. The computer has the highest-resolution screen of any commercial computer, and will be a boon to photographers, videographers, and other artists.
Q: This is a bit of a philosophical-type question: at one point can/does photography become “fine art?”
William: The question is very much like the question, "What is Art?" :-) Some people say, "I know it when I see it!" :-) I do not believe that the use of a particular tool automatically makes something "art" and that the use of another tool automatically makes something "not art" or "not fine art." Art is quite distinct from the tools that we use. Some painters still use horsehair brushes, a very old tool. Some painters use natural pigments. Some painters use nylon bristles and synthetic pigments. Some painters use electronic pens and Wacom tablets. Sculptors sometimes use mallet and chisel, but some also use power tools. Some photographers use film and "wet chemistry," and others use digital cameras and computer software.
All of the above tools and techniques can be used to create fine art. It is the product, rather than the tool, that determines the status of the art. [I agree with William!]
Q: If someone were to ask you today what kind of camera to purchase for fine art photography, what would be your advice?
William: I would reply this way. There are at least four broad categories of things that are needed for photography, especially fine art photography. The most important is the artist behind the camera. The next most important is the lens in front of the camera. The third most important is probably the computer system and software used for post-processing. The least important is the camera itself, PROVIDED that it can shoot SHARPLY FOCUSED camera RAW images using a good lens.
All of that said, which companies produce the best lenses: Canon, Nikon, Leica, and Zeiss and perhaps some other optical companies. Many cameras by manufacturers other than Canon and Nikon (e.g., Panasonic and Sony) will use Leica or Zeiss lenses, since their own expertise is in electronics, rather than optics.
I personally use Canon equipment, because I believe that some Canon lenses are superior to Nikon lenses, and that some Nikon lenses are superior to Canon lenses. Canon has usually led Nikon in electronics development, such that, when Nikon lacked image stabilization technology of its own, they licensed Canon's for awhile. Recently, Nikon has moved ahead with sensor development, at least with what has been made public. It is good to have healthy competition between two fine camera companies. Canon also has an excellent factory repair facility, located in Irvine, CA, if repairs are needed, along with quick turnaround.
My recommendation would be to buy Canon or Nikon. Be prepared to spend a lot of money for quality, whichever brand you choose! :-) I also recommend the Web site for Digital Photography Review for its EXCELLENT reviews of a broad range of camera and lens models.
*photo above: "Joan" by William Hackett
Thank You! William for sharing your thoughts! Since my husband has such an interest in, and knowledge of, camera hardware I had him read William's responses and he agreed and explained to me the whole 'sensor' development thing. (Remember I said I am not well versed in such things.) I found a couple sites you might find interesting:
- Digital Photography School - there is so much here! The intro says in part, "...We are a community of photographers of all experience levels who come together to learn, share and grow in our understanding of photography...."
- PhotographyBlog - awesome place! Has reviews of all things photography hardware, news, opinions and lots of information posted by professionals. PhotographyBlog was started in 2003 by professional photographer Mark Goldstein.
There is a great deal of very good information available via the internet...don't you love it!
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