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Garry Black Photography |
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CAMERA EQUIPMENT |
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DIGITAL OR FILM It sounds as though that majority of the people on this trip will be shooting with a digital camera. Some will also be shooting both digitally and with film, and a couple will only be using film. I still shoot about 90% of pictures with film and the remainder with my digital camera, a Fuji S2 Pro. The huge advantage that shooting digitally has, is being able to see the results immediately. You’ll know whether you got the composition that you were after and the proper exposure, and in general did the picture turn out like you wanted it to. For a workshop the added bonus is that I’ll be able to evaluate your work immediately. The downside to shooting digitally is that sometimes people pay too much attention to the LCD display; this can be a large distraction to “seeing” what else is around them. They check the LCD after every single shot they take, causing them to miss some photographic opportunities. Remember you don’t want to be spending more time reviewing rather than shooting! There’s a thought process that you have to follow in order to create images that are more than mere snapshots. If that train of thought is constantly being interrupted as you look at the LCD you run the risk of only capturing snapshots. Now this isn’t a steadfast rule, it really only applies to people who are beginners in photography, there are advanced photographers that are able to incorporate viewing their LCD into their visual creativity thought process – so in fact it helps them to be looking at their LCD. MEMORY CARDS What size and how many memory cards should you bring? This
depends greatly on whether you’re shooting in RAW or JPEG’s and also if you
will be downloading your images to a storage device. If you’re not sure what
you’ll require, please get in touch with me. |
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FILM CHOICES You can bring either print or slide film; it's entirely up to you. There is processing available in Mykonos and Santorini for print film (C-41) but there isn't any for slide film (E-6). So if you want some feedback on what you're shooting, it will have to be done with print film. Of course you can bring a combination of both types. With regards to the film speed - for slide film either 50 or 100 ISO, for print films you have a wider choice 100, 200, 400 and even 800. Just remember as the film speed increases the quality decreases. If you are uncertain as to what you should bring, please get in touch with me. As for the quantity of film, it is better to have too much rather than too little. The best advice that I can give you is, since everything that you will be seeing and photographing is so different from what you are used to, you'll probably shoot more film than you normally do. |
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TRIPOD The tripod that I am bringing is the Manfrotto #055 with a 3-way head and a carrying strap; it’s the tripod that I normally use. In the past I have tried using a lightweight tripod and a small ball head thinking it would make sense to cut down on the weight. I’ve found that using these tripods and heads to be extremely frustrating, so I’ve opted to carry the extra weight. Since we will be doing a considerable amount of walking and going up and down quite a few stairs, you may want to evaluate your own needs. On past trips some people have hand-held their cameras for most of their shots and only used tripods at sunrise, sunset and twilight. Whether you use a tripod or not on this trip is entirely up to you, but I wouldn’t leave home without it! |
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CAMERAS AND LENSES If you have two camera bodies, you may want to bring both of them. If you have problems with one at least you have a back up. The more important question is what lenses should you bring? I would recommend that you have at least a 24mm wide angle. There are many narrow walkways (streets) in which a wide angle lens is your only option. If you have a wider focal length definitely bring it! You will use every focal length from 24mm to 200mm and possibly even longer. |
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FILTERS See the article that I wrote about filters it will give you some ideas (or confuse you even more). If you are shooting digitally and are proficient in Photoshop you can probably get away without using any filters.
READ THIS!!! If you are uncertain about what equipment you should bring, please ask me now, rather than at the Parthenon! |
