Welcome to Picture Columbus

Greetings, and thanks for visiting "Picture Columbus," a semi-regular photo offering of ... well ... of people and places and things and moments and whatever randomness catches my eye as I walk through my day, camera in hand. I shoot hundreds of fun, funny, odd, cool, interesting, or not so interesting, outtakes (unpublished photos) while on assignment for the Ledger-Enquirer, and these images need to find a home. I'd like to share them with you. I'd like to share the shots that make me stop the car or hang a quick u-turn. The pictures from walks in the neighborhood, crowds at ball games and, yes, vacations and my cats.

I'd also like to offer regular photo tips. If you have a photo question, are curious how we take some of the images you see in the pages of the Ledger, how we catch the moments or make a good picture out of a not-so-good situation, write in and ask. Ask me, Robin Trimarchi, or my fellow photo staffers Mike Haskey or Shannon Szwarc. I just volunteered them. We can discuss artistic ideas, what makes a good picture (other than your subject), address technical questions about camera settings and computer darkroom software. And if we don't have an answer, we'll look for the answer - or direct you to good resources for answers. And Ideas. Photography is always an experiment. It is a continuous learning curve - like golf --- it's that one good shot that keeps you coming back for more.

So - Photo Tip of the Week #1 is: TAKE YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU EVERYWHERE. THE MORE YOU SHOOT, THE BETTER YOU GET.

How often do you find yourself in a situation where you wish you had your camera? Me, too. All of the time. And I take pictures for a living. So I've bought a nice little "point and shoot" to slip into my pocket and have with me always, for just those moments. It doesn't always make a great photo, but it's better than no photo. It doesn't need to be an expensive model - digital cameras have come a long way. And there is nothing wrong with film. Dust off that old 35mm film camera and put it in your bag. Just don't leave it in your hot car on these broiling summer days.

Okay - shoot anything and everything - flowers, buildings, the river, the trees in your backyard at different times of the day as the light changes, strange stuff laying on the sidewalk, sailboats on the backwaters, your lovely breakfast table in the sunroom, your friends and neighbors relaxing on the porch. Notice what you would like to photograph as you go about your day, even if you don't have a camera with you. What catches your attention.

Frame the image in your mind. What do you want in the frame, and what do you not want in the frame. Notice the light and the shadows and think about how they work together to create the composition, the mood or the "feel" of your photograph. Take more than one picture and vary the variables - move closer and closer, or further and further. Fill the frame, then take a broader view. Take something out of the scene, then put it back in. Vary the exposure if your camera allows you to - under or overexpose the scene just a little. (More about these ideas in future photo tips).

Now study your photos, and be as 'judgment free' as possible. Regardless how accomplished a photographer you are, or are not, remember, every photo is an experiment. Let your pictures teach you. Do you like your photo? Why? Do you not like your photo? Why not? You know, it's not easy to photograph what you see in front of you ("why does this sunset picture not look like the sunset?"). It really isn't. And as painful as it is to miss the photo of that fleeting moment that will never happen again ... there will be more fleeting moments to photograph. Stay with it.

Cheers,
RT