I’m about to rewrite a book I wrote three years ago. The book is about photography and I focus on the use of the 35mm camera to provide examples of how to use a film camera. I suggest any camera can be employed using the ideas I provide within the book.
The book is also a handbook for an online video course. The online video course will be in three modules, and each module covers a specific area of film photography. I have already done much of the groundwork, indeed, the original book is the groundwork.
In a way, I dislike the old photography book immensely, because out of all of the books I have published on the Kindle platform: it is the one which has sold worldwide. My book “Never Let Anything Worry You” is my greatest seller. However, it only receives success in the United Kingdom. And it is a book which I spent an immense amount of time writing and editing.
The online video course is a challenging thing to put together. And to do the job properly, one has to spend an immense amount of time writing the script for each videoed section. I would imagine the predicted five hours of video will take over 150 hours to shoot and edit.
My advantage is I have many years of professional photography experience to draw upon. So the techniques being taught are second nature. Indeed, I would not embark upon an adventure such as this unless I felt that it would provide a finantial reward for the immense amount of work involved.
The three sections cover three aspects of film photography:
The first is the selection of the camera and the useful lenses which can produce solid compositions.
The second section is about composition: Or the photographic eye, this module is about perceiving the final image before taking a photograph. This is an essential aspect of photography. As a professional photographer, I realised that it is imperative for the client to see images which clearly define the object, property or portrait he or she desired to be recorded. Fail in this and you are a failed professional: Whenever someone says they are a ‘professional’ always ask if they earn a full time living from their work. If the answer is NO – then they are semi-professional: and there is a difference.
The third section considers the aspects of developing film and producing photographic prints. I am aware that there are thousands of hours of information on this subject available on the Internet. In my online video course, I will use the most basic of darkroom equipment, and I have permission from my partner to convert our kitchen into a temporary darkroom: even though I have available an excellent darkroom. You see I wish to prove to the student taking the course that you do not need to possess a dark room to enjoy the mysteries of the photographic process.
One of the most important things about my course will be the photographer is guided to use the most simple and inexpensive of equipment. I suggest for the price of a secondhand Leica the photographer can own a complete photographic system. Indeed, I feel I will be able to prove that it is the photographer who uses humble equipment will be free to experiment and produce great compositions.
That is not to say that I do not embrace modern technology. I love using my digital cameras. The ability of the digital camera to take or record perfectly exposed pictures is a fantastic feat of contemporary science. There will be some of you who can remember opening a film processing envelope to see the results of images taken weeks before ‘Had come out’ (do you remember the phrase?). I’m sure there are many of you who remember the disappointment of poorly focused underexposed images and missed memories of a happy moment in time.
This was one of the reasons that I started to learn about the photographic and darkroom process. As time passed, I learned about colour chemistry and how to print from colour negatives and colour transparencies. This is the knowledge being passed on with the new Version of my rewritten photographic book and online course
However, this course and the 680 words you’ve just read is not the reason for this article. A few words ago I mentioned that I embrace modern technology and I am doing at this at this very moment because I am dictating this article not typing it.
I read much information on the Internet about dictation. And the information guides one to persevere and work with dictation. The authors of the article’s comment: the more you use it, the better it gets. Many claim they can write 5000 words in less than an hour. This is something that I can believe because I have less than 20 minutes to write the 796 words.
I’m going to persevere with dictation instead of the keys. Because: like moving from traditional wet photography to digital camera my images became somewhat better not from the point of view that I couldn’t produce good solid and clear photos. But from the perspective that I could take many hundreds of pictures and review them in my own time. And as I considered the images I started to see areas where I was weak in my composition. Dictation will allow me to write more words and provide more drafts.
And by using this rapid method of getting words onto the screen and paper the first draft will be one which takes hours rather than days. I haven’t the slightest problem of using this excellent technology. I know it’s not new and needs improvements: But do you know something? Digital dictation seems to me to have endless possibilities.
Many authors take a high-quality dictation recorder with them when walking and as they walk, they record their rough drafts. By dictating in the open many claims their compositions and the way that their words flow when they are finally on paper – changes. I’m determined to experiment with this, and I will persevere with it because anything which can allow us to consider all world differently must be beneficial.
Forgive me if this article reads strangely. It’s my first time out using dictation, and it most certainly will not be my last.
See you soon
For the ‘tekkie’ minded:
LEM Microphone
Sennheiser PX200
Presonus Fire Studio – Mobile
The Heart of the Mind 