User:Juliancolton/Photography

Here is some information about my photographic equipment, techniques, and selection process.

Equipment

Since October 2010, I have shot with the Nikon D5000. I used the D60 for most of my photographic outings prior to then until it started wearing out. I'm sure dropping it down a cliff didn't help. Most of the pictures of mine you'll find on Commons, save a few early anomalies such as File:Disney World, Orlando Florida.jpg, were taken with these two Nikon models. I shoot primarily with two simple Nikkor lenses, the 18-55mm and the 55-200mm, but I also have a macro lens which I don't use all that much.

Examples of work

You can find all (or most) of the pictures I've uploaded here at Category:Images by Juliancolton. I've successfully nominated over a dozen of these to be recognized as Quality images, which can be found at Category:Quality images by Juliancolton. While I haven't created any current featured pictures, I've uploaded or nominated several free-use pieces I've found elsewhere that are now FPs. If I had to pick 10 of my own favorite pictures, they would be these.

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I also upload some of my pictures to flickr, which is where I upload if I have a nice looking picture that doesn't have much educational value.

Philosophy

I've trained myself to take my camera, with a reasonably empty SD card and a charged battery, wherever I go, especially on vacations and daytrips. The benefits are two-fold; I can always capture interesting and memorable personal and family moments, and I can also document the things I see for potential use on flickr and Commons. I take multiple pictures of the same thing if I think it has the potential to be a "gold" shot, sometimes with slightly different settings. There's still no guarantee that you'll get anything worth framing, but if I don't know when or if I'll get the chance to reshoot, redundant snapping serves as a sort of insurance. I believe that no matter how good the camera and how skilled the photographer, luck plays a huge role in photography. Of course, it's entirely possible to take every shot very decent and with no apparent flaws, but there's no telling which picture will stand out at full-res. That said, I like to leave my camera home once in a while if I'm going somewhere interesting or new with my family. I've found that too many times I spend an entire day at a zoo or beach messing around with my camera, and end up not enjoying myself because I simply wasn't aware of what was going on around me. It's simply a way to keep things in perspective.

Techniques

Aside from one technical-based course I took on photography a year or two ago, I've self-taught myself most of the techniques I employ on a regular basis. Here are some things I keep in mind when shooting.

1. My favorite lighting is very early morning, preferably before sunrise. This lighting provides images with a crisp, cool atmosphere, and gives every part of the shot a chance to stand out without harsh sunlight inadvertently highlighting one area over another. An example of this is File:2010 Mid-Hudson balloon festival from walkway 6.JPG.
2. I don't necessarily follow the vertical (top to bottom) rule of thirds. I've tried to employ it in my images before, and found it makes my shots look awkward and unnatural. In real life, when given an expansive, unobstructed view, the eye is drawn to the horizon – not toward the ground or toward the sky. Of course, there are many instances where it is necessary to place the horizon somewhere besides right in the middle of the page, such as with File:Looking toward Watch Hill from east.JPG. The shoreline provides an interesting foreground leading up to the buildings in the distance. I do, however, almost always follow the horizontal (left to right) rule of things, since I believe putting a subject right in the center of the image is boring and leads to a very uncomfortable image layout. In this sunset picture, both the sun and the ship are biased toward the left third of the image. Asymmetry creates a very interesting sense that the shot is dynamic rather than static.
3. I think posed pictures of people are cliché. In most cases, I believe photography doesn't necessarily need to represent real life, but rather the photographer's point of view or intended atmosphere. However, pictures of people should almost always be entirely candid, as well as respectful and artful. Most people whose pictures I take and upload have no idea I was even there, which is fine as far as I'm concerned. This picture, for instance, shows a fellow photographer taking advantage of the fall foliage. It shows her doing what she was actually doing, which is far more interesting than having her stare into the camera, put on a fake smile, stand awkwardly with her hands dangling from her sides and placing her somewhere arbitrary in the shot.