Through the lens: How important is the lens?

by Ryan Macalandag

A lot of people ask me what camera to buy all the time. My answers always come back with a camera body AND a lens. Kit lenses suck. If you’re going to spend dough on a Digital SLR, do yourself a favor and at a minimum buy a cheap 50mm prime to go with it. – Thomas Hawk

Thomas Hawk is right on the dot. The lens you use on your camera plays a major role on the image quality you get from your pictures. I don’t think most people know this ‘coz most people I know still use their kit lens. Mine, I threw (sold) away as soon as I had money to buy the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens. Sure, it’s not a zoom lens but the difference in image quality is so vast it’s not even funny.

The Lens That Sees

How important is the lens really, we ask? Well, try taking off the lens on your camera. All you see is a blurry view on your viewfinder, right? It is the lens that sees and the camera body that captures/records the image. Thus, if your glass (also refers to lens) is a cheap kit lens, your camera will capture/record it as a cheap image also.

Learning Photography Doesn’t Have to Mean Owning a Camera

Published by Bohol Sunday Post

When life throws you coconuts make buko salad, right? (I prefer coconuts over lemons.) Or in this article’s case, make buko salad even if life ain’t throwing coconuts at all.

Picking off from last week’s article, owning a digital camera you really love is not easy. Apart from your not having enough moolah to buy one, the people around you are not that rich to gift you one – even during Christmas. Or, sure, you got money but some other things are just a tad bit more important – like the iPhone 3G you’ve always bugged your Mommy and Daddy about. Yes, iPhone. Digital camera, no. (The iPhone’s got a 3 megapixel camera anyways, you say. Good for you.)

So, here are a few ways to teach yourself photography while waiting for your own camera. Absurd? Read on.

1. Finger Framing. Using both your hands, position your thumbs and pointing fingers to form an “L” or the “Laban” sign. That’s two Laban signs, one on each hand. Using these, form a four-sided box kind of shape and use it to frame a scene just like a camera. You’ve seen this on TV right? The director goes up to a scene, forms his “finger frame” and envisions the shot through it. This exercise trains your eyes to see in framed pictures.

Buying your first digital camera: Five quick tips

Published by Bohol Sunday Post

First of all, huge props to the editor for finally providing space for a photography column in this paper. This is a first for Bohol and hopefully this would pave the way for other local media outlets to follow suit.

Digital photography has picked up pace in the past year. Although only a few photographers have turned serious with the craft, more and more people are buying digital cameras for a lot of purposes. On a personal experience as a wedding photographer, I have seen a lot of guests bringing cameras to the wedding – even the little kids. And people are taking great pictures too, I should say.

Welcome to Fotofunatic!

by Ryan Macalandag

Welcome. Please stay tuned for photography related articles. Thanks