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Why not turn your digital camera into a pinhole one? It's easy. Materials needed: A camera body cap. (N.B. Not the lens cap.) A body cap is the circular piece of plastic … [Read More...]
Practical photography
Welcome
If you're looking for news, opinion, advice or information on matters photographic, you'll find it here. Stop by and have a browse around – and if you don't find what you want, let me know.
Featured posts …
It’s all a blur
Normally I don't like photographs that are blurred all over. Call me old-fashioned, but in my opinion… [more]
Prime Time
Who wants a lens with a fixed focal length, a lens that can't zoom in and out? Prime lenses (as they're… [more]
A Poem for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day
Pinhole Camera The yellow tulips creep in through this pinprick followed by a creosoted garden shed, … [more]
How …?
When I showed this photograph to a friend she straightaway asked me, "How did you get that shot without… [more]
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Newly published!
Newly revised and updated, my comprehensive 62-page guide to taking great family photographs.
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Make your photographs …
No subject?
Can you take a photograph without a subject? That’s the challenge I set the participants in the first session of my latest Through The Lens photo-class. Some of the participants looked at me as though I’ve gone off my head. Is he crazy or what? Others sat in silence. There were those who … [Read on ...]
Photo-frittering – 15 Ways to waste time with photography
Photography is a wonderful way to waste time. You can even spend money doing so. Here are some great time-frittering ideas, not all of them free: 1. Develop a healthy obsession with dust on your sensor. Buy a special magnifying thingie to fit in place of your lens. Then you can spend hours … [Read on ...]
Keep an eye on the sky
A farmer is never wasting time when he is leaning on a gate looking at his animals. And a photographer is never wasting time gazing at the sky. The sky is the source of the best light for photography. The sky is the backdrop to many of your photographs. The sky is an ever-changing … [Read on ...]
Seven ideas for successful self-portraits
You see people doing it everywhere - holding a camera at arm’s length, grinning at the lens and taking a photo. Self-portraiture is a popular activity. Pretty well every famous photographer has created self-portraits – Robert Capa, Edward Weston, Diane Arbus, Weegee, Henri Cartier-Bresson … [Read on ...]
How many photographs has your camera taken?
I don’t mean the number since you last uploaded stuff to your computer. I’m talking about the grand total. The number since you first took your shiny bright marvel out of its box, lovingly unwrapped it and listened to the delicious click of its virgin shutter. There’s a way to find … [Read on ...]
Great Photographs No.7 – Das Bäumchen (The Little Tree) (c.1929)
This is a photograph with which I have some difficulty. Das Bäumchen, by Albert Renger-Patzsch, is considered by many to be one of the world's great photographs. Some class it as being amongst the top 100 of all time. According to these experts, it ranks with ‘Migrant Mother’, … [Read on ...]
255, 255, 25
What does that mean? Those numbers, for anyone who doesn't recognise them, are the values of pure white in a digital photograph: pure red—255, pure green—255, and pure blue—255. If you remember your physics, a mix of those three primary colours produces white. And if you get large … [Read on ...]
Ten tips for winning photo competitions
Are you thinking about entering a photographic competition? You can win some big, big prizes – I've won enough to buy a new camera in some competitions. Why not give them a go? And use these tips to improve your chance of winning ... 1. Enter. Some people won't enter photographic … [Read on ...]
It’s all a blur
Normally I don't like photographs that are blurred all over. Call me old-fashioned, but in my opinion they usually look like mistakes, with the mistake covered up by calling it 'Art'. In general, I believe that at least one section of a photograph should be in focus and sharp. But there are always … [Read on ...]
Great Photographs No. 6 – Guerrillero Heroico (1960)
This is the best-known photograph in the world. That’s a bold statement. Have I got justification for it? Yes. This photograph has adorned posters, leaflets, books, drinks bottles, flags, T-shirts, CD and record covers, banners, walls and a host of other surfaces. It has been prominent in events … [Read on ...]
And you say …