wwp@yahoogroups.com:
Re: WWPano & The Concept not the tech Side
Scott Highton 2005-Mar-11 18:56:00
John,
Speaking from experience, it is easy to fall into the trap of
believing that you need lots of the latest, best photo equipment in
order to produce good photography. And that, of course, is one of the
messages that manufacturers tempt us with when they develop and
advertise new gear.
However, as others have written here, it is the creative eye and skill
of the person behind the camera that is most important -- not the
equipment he or she uses.
Obviously, there is a certain minimum required on the technical side -
the lens and camera combination you use need to be able to create
stitchable source images for the software you are using, but beyond
that, the rest is in your hands.
I have created panoramas for publication using cameras ranging from
early Nikon Coolpix and Kodak consumer digital cameras, to high end
35mm, professional digital and custom slit scan panoramic cameras.
Each of them have attributes and limitations. None is perfect for
evry job. If you have more than one tool available, you choose the
best tool for the job at hand. If you only have one available, you
find a way to make it work. That's all part of the creative process.
There's another little lesson that usually takes professional
photographers a couple of decades in business to learn -- that we
don't really need as much equipment as we think we do. Most of us
start our careers struggling with minimal equipment and doing a
tremendous range of photography types. Then, as we become more
established and have better income, we purchase more and more
equipment to help us do our jobs better. After a couple of decades,
we start realizing that we probably have too much equipment, because
it becomes increasingly difficult to lug it all around, or even to
choose which is the best combination to use for a given job.
(Furthermore, ongoing maintenance and insurance costs for all that
gear become a drain.) The end result... we get rid of most of it and
keep/carry a minimal, lightweight combination that we can make work in
almost every situation. Of course, the reason we can make it work is
that we have gained the experience of how to do so over the years.
Bottom line is that the most important piece of equipment a
photographer has is the one located 12 inches behind his or her
camera. With that, you can do just about anything.
Projects like these WWPs are excellent means to do self assignments
and to stretch both our creative and technical limits. Nobody is
paying you to do the assignment, so there is no pressure to perform or
deliver perfect results to a client. This is a time to take whatever
equipment you have out into the field and push your own creative
boundaries with it.
After all, what's the worst that could happen? Maybe it will look
ugly, but people will still praise it as "art" (grin).
Best,
Scott Highton
Author, Virtual Reality Photography
Web: http://www.vrphotography.com
http://www.highton.com
John Ryan <#removed#> wrote:
> My general prob is that I do not have ?2,000+ (?1,200/ $2,500) worth
of lenses and just have the basics - a camera with normal lenses.
That's ok with bridges but not in a dynamic 3D situation as market
places, where you can end up with the same person in every shoot
therefore messing up you stiching.
> In gen I am just wondering about ideas for people without the
perfect equipment, who are just interested in the concept and not the
tech side of things, I am going to have fun messing with
possibilities, and cos I don't have the equip - it means I have to be
a bit more creative with my aproach to it.
>
> Looking forward to hearing ideas,