dav.d photography

Posts Tagged ‘best camera’

19th July 2010

Abandoned Club Omni – Day 319 of 365

written by dav.d

I love my iPhone 4. The only dropped calls I have had have to be blamed on crappy AT&T coverage – half the time I have dropped calls I am no even holding the phone – it is sitting in the passenger seat of my car as I barrel down the highway.

And I love the camera that the iPhone 4 includes. 5 megapixels for a camera phone is perfect. More megapixels would only lead to noisier photos.

And my favorite iPhone app is Hipstamatic. A while ago I had complained that Hipstamatic only created 600 pixel images. I was a bit miffed that the 5 megapixel camera was going to waste. Well, I found a setting in the phone that lets me create higher resolution photographs. Woo hoo! I think I will be using the app more and more. It is just fun to create vintage photographs that imitate some classic film cameras, lenses, and paper.

Club Omni with Hipstamatic iPhone 4 app

Club Omni with Hipstamatic iPhone 4 app

The Hipstamatic app helps create holga style images or Diana images. And since I have the iPhone 4 on me all the time it is often the best camera I own since I can’t always have a DSLR with me.

This is a photograph of an abandoned building that use to be Club Omni. Provo is notorious for having a failed nightlife. Go figure. For a while the building was a plasma clinic – so homeless people could donate plasma and get money for drugs and alcohol ( I am guessing that is what happens ).

This building is going to be torn down sometime soon – Nu Skin is looking to expand with a new building. So now is the time to photograph the old buildings.

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5th April 2010

Hipstamatic the iPhone App – Day 214 of 365

written by dav.d

I love photography and I love Photoshop. Sometimes you don’t have the time to photoshop everything – and if you can do it right in the camera you don’t have to spend even more time with a pen tablet and software. I just downloaded a cool iPhone app that simulates classic film photography with different lenses and film types. It is Hipstamatic – and you can even buy other types of film and lenses – it then simulates an old rangefinder kind of camera and the “develops” and “prints” the photograph.

No Parking by Hipstamatic

No Parking by Hipstamatic

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Posted in Daily Photograph Project, Digital Photography, Film Photography, Urban Photography | Tags: , , , , ,

15th February 2010

Fire Light by the iPhone – Day 165 of 365

written by dav.d

Remember, the best camera is the one you have with you. You may own a Hasselblad medium format digital camera – but if it isn’t with you it is useless. If the iPhone is the only camera with you at the time guess which camera is the best?

I like to walk the Gateway and window shop and I figured I would photograph one of the fires that is used to warm the homeless people. I had no clue if it would work with the iPhone. And with white balance and blah blah blah the fire came out yellow and the shade came out pretty much blue. I then edited the photo in Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro 3. That software plugin is pretty cool – although I don’t use it enough.

Fire

Fire

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10th January 2010

Gateway through Nik Software’s Viveza 2 – Day 128 of 365

written by dav.d

As always the best camera you have is the one you have with you. And I had my iPhone right as the sun was setting – the iPhone doesn’t recognize the white balance very well and the dynamic range isn’t the best – but my wonderful Nikon D300 wasn’t with me. And even if I had my wonderful Nikon with me – security at the Gateway would frown about me whipping out my big camera.

The Gateway edited with Nik Software Viveza 2

The Gateway edited with Nik Software Viveza 2

Fortunately I edited this photograph in Nik Software’s Viveza 2. The software is pretty new and I am still toying around with it. But version 2 is leaps and bound better than version 1. I wish Adobe Lightroom would adopt the technology – the U Point method for selections is incredibly easy. I don’t have to worry about masking – and it saves me time.

The Gateway straight out of the iPhone

The Gateway straight out of the iPhone

And being able to edit brightness, contrast, saturation, structure, warm, color, and more with just a few control points it easy and fast. Common Adobe – buy Nik Software and integrate the technology into Lightroom and Photoshop.

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27th October 2009

Cameras DO Matter

written by dav.d

Photographers constantly feel defensive – about everything really. But the one comment that riles up the blood more is to say, “You are a good photographer, you must have a really good camera.” And while it is probably true that the photographer has a very nice camera – and a nicer camera than the person making the comment – we get sooooo defensive.

Sports photographers using the big lenses

Sports photographers using the big lenses

Cameras are just tools – and photographers should know how to use them. And they know the technique in creating great photographs (one would hope). Will a photographer make better photographs with a better camera? Will a good camera make a great photographer out of a newbie? With practice and training I think it would help.

But cameras are tools – and you learn to use the right camera for the right job. If you are photographing for fashion you would use a Hasselblad or a higher end medium format camera. If you are a sports photographer you are going to use a longer lens on a camera that can capture a heck of a lot of photos in one second – such as the Canon 1D Mark IV or the Nikon D3s. You probably wouldn’t use a point-n-shoot or even an iPhone for fashion or for sports.

The photograph above shows sports photographers at a BYU football game – notice they are all using Canon cameras with HUGE lenses. I would love to have a huge lens – maybe the Nikon f/4 500mm or the Nikon f/ 200-400. However, I am primarily a portrait and wedding photographer and these lenses would never (or rarely) be used.

So I will continue to dream about equipment. And I will continue to practice and improve with the equipment I have rather than lament that my growth as a photographer is limited by my bankroll. Learn to master the equipment you have – and when you reach a point where you NEED to upgrade – that is when you can buy the new toy.

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27th October 2009

Cameras Don’t Matter

written by dav.d

Cameras don’t matter. You can own the best camera in the world but if you don’t have it with you then it is useless. The best camera you own is the one you have with you. This landscape photograph was taken with my Canon SX200 IS. I was just walking along the road when I saw this cool river that runs through Provo, Utah. I didn’t have my Nikon D300 or D90 with me – but I had my point-n-shoot. I also had my iPhone – but I used the point-n-shoot because it is a better camera than the iPhone.

Landscape photograph taken with a Canon point-n-shoot camera

Landscape photograph taken with a Canon point-n-shoot camera

Cameras are nothing more than tools – and tools are only good if you know how to use them and if you have them with you.

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29th September 2009

Best Camera app for iPhone – Day 27 of 365

written by dav.d
Sunset photograph taken on an iPhone with Best Camera app

Sunset photograph taken on an iPhone with Best Camera app

Today’s photograph was taken with my iPhone. I have said it before – like many others have said – the best camera is the camera you have with you. I was walking up some stairs when I saw this gorgeous cloud formation. All I had on me was my iPhone. So I took the photo and I used the new iPhone application called “Best Camera.” This is the new brainchild application from Chase Jarvis.

Yes there is a noise in the photo. But with the software I was able to preview various looks to the photograph. You have an option to turn it sepia, black and white, candy and a few more. And then once you edit the photo you can then upload the photo directly to twitter, facebook, email, and other social media sites. This is a beginning to end solution.

The irony? Today Hasselblad released what could be arguably the best camera ever – it is the new Hasselblad H4D-60 with a 60 megapixel sensor. And it retails for $42,000. Even if I had the camera in my collection – it is useless if I don’t have it with me. And that is why the best camera in the world today was the iPhone’s little camera.

Will I ever own a Hasselblad – maybe not. Would it be cool? Of course. It is the perfect camera and lens system for fashion photography and product photography. Will it make me a better photographer? Maybe not. That is why I am photographing at least once a day. Practice makes perfect.

Thanks for reading the blog. Feel free to leave a comment. And I would love to photograph more people so contact me! Let’s create an amazing photograph for you.

dav.d

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