Going Manual…
I’m a huge fan of many of the automated features of today’s digital cameras. For example, I very much appreciate having auto focus, as there’s no doubt it greatly increases the number of sharp photos I end up with.
But sometimes going “retro” and doing things manually can be a lot of fun, and can actually serve as a creative motivation. I was reminded of this as I started playing with my LensBaby lens recently. I’ve been using a LensBaby lens for years now, bringing it out now and then to explore what I can come up with. This lens is totally manual focus, and behaves something like a view lens with bellows, allowing you to have a relatively small area of your image in focus as the rest fades into a blur similar to a motion blur effect. The results can be remarkable.
What I like most about the LensBaby is that it encourages me (forces me, even) to think a bit more about the composition, and to work a bit harder to produce a great image. It’s like all the buttons and knobs are removed from my camera and I actually have to do all the work myself for a change. It’s refreshing, and great fun!
A LensBaby is only one way you can explore creativity with photography. I’d be curious to know what you do to push yourself to explore the outer edges of your comfort zone in the interest of coming up with some great new photographic images.
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June 6th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Hi Tim,
It’s been a while — I hope you are doing well. I’m glad you got your Lensbaby out and had some fun being creative. That Santa Monica shot is sublime.
Cheers,
Sam
June 11th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Hi Tim,
What an exciting lens! I’m thinking of all the creative possibilities and what fun this will be already!
John
June 17th, 2008 at 9:22 am
I remember George Lepp, during a workshop at the Lepp Institute, was asked why he hasn’t used or endorsed the Lensbaby. He replied by saying that he works so hard for sharp photos why should he use a lens that throws most out-of-focus?
July 8th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Apropos of manual vs automatic: I think we are all aware of the technical limitations of all of the automatic features of our cameras. No matter how sophisticated, these features still make a number of assumptions which may or may not be aligned with the desired result. For example, I recently started working at hummingbird photography. Achieving acceptable results (correct lighting, frozen wing motion) requires a totally manual approach.
There’s another benefit to going manual: your command of your camera, your understanding of how it works and how that operation effects the outcome, will be hugely advanced.
But then, I’m one of those guys who thinks that kids shouldn’t use calculators until the can do arithmetic the old fashioned way. The jury is still out in my mind on spell checkers, too
January 9th, 2010 at 5:34 am
I realize that I’m about 2 year late in comenting, but I thought I might answer your Question. My best shots are totaly manual. Not because of the greater control that I have over the image, but because of the extra time that I am looking through the camera. It improves the composition and realy makes me think about what I am shooting. Since going digital I’ve stoped thinking about the cost of film and processing, and this has caused me to take a lot more shots that are complete garbage. I remember a story about a national gographic photographer who was challanged to take only one shot per day because many people believed that the only reason that he got good shots was because of the volume that his budget allowed. So to answer your question what I need to do to push myself creativly is to slow down and and think as I shoot. I need to stop wasting my time with snapshots and start taking photographs.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Robert,
This is an excellent reason to use manual exposure settings in your camera. While many situations don’t allow the photographer to take their time, when time permits I completely agree that the results will greatly improve by being more deliberate.
Tim