1. © Jerry Currier

How many times have you said, ”Oh, if I only had my camera?”

Today’s digital world has changed our way of working, playing and even the way we think.  

The technology of photography, in this digital age, is a constantly evolving challenge to the photographer.  It also offers many opportunities that previously have been non-existent, difficult or expensive to achieve.  Tools that were wild dreams of the most imaginative photographer just a few years ago, are today’s reality.
 
Digital imaging has brought enormous changes to the world of photography. The camera, the photographer’s basic instrument, is probably the most apparent manifestation of these changes.  

One of the never-ending discussions, in which photographers seem to have always indulged, concerns the technical merits of cameras.  Often the small, relatively simple cameras are disparaged for various real and imagined reasons.  Witness the 35mm film still camera introduced by Leica in the 1920s.  It took many legendary photographic pioneers, using this format, to elevate the then revolutionary technology to acceptable professional levels.  It became the “weapon of choice” for such masters as Cartier-Bresson, Capa, Duncan, Haas and numerous others.  

2. © Jerry Currier

Many noted photographers have expressed the desirability of having a camera at hand all of the time so that no photo opportunity is missed and later regretted.  The “digital revolution” has made this concept an easily accomplished reality with the introduction of small, compact, high resolution cameras.

Another important facet of digital photography is the convenience.  Images may be viewed within seconds of their capture.  This allows for corrections in composition as well as the technical aspects of an image while the photographer is still on “location.”

I never like to go anywhere without having a camera with me.  Photographic opportunities arise at the most unanticipated times and in completely unexpected locations.  Surprises and creative challenges abound that would be missed without digital technology galloping to the rescue.  

A popular saying these days is, “Bigger is better!” That is not always the case.  There are times when small can be a real advantage.  Today’s diminutive, highly sophisticated digital cameras are a perfect example of this.  They also can be a valuable adjunct to the larger DSLR cameras, offering the photographer a viable addition to “conventional” imaging devices.  

The photographer no longer needs to carry a bulky camera bag with several lenses and multiple rolls of film.  Today’s small compact digital cameras offer high resolutions, excellent zoom lenses and many of them fit in the pocket, allowing the photographer immediate access to a large range of sophisticated imaging tools.  

This article isn’t going to get into the pros and cons of any specific camera.  There are far to many choices in the market place.  Some essential things for you, the photographer, to keep in mind have to be based upon your expectations.  

1.    What is going to be done with any images that might be captured?  This could influence the resolution that might be required, or not, as the case may be.  For instance if you expect  to use any images captured to make large prints for gallery presentation the resolution can become a major factor to which you should give some thought.  

3. © Jerry Currier

2.    How much control of the image making parameters (aperture value, time value, ISO, white balance, as examples) are going to be needed to satisfy the various aspects of the moment AND your personal technical expectations?

3.    The ease of camera availability and use are also real matters for consideration, especially if you are expecting to encounter and record those wonderful, fleeting moments that often occur in the everyday world.  

4.    Thought also needs to be given to just how much automatic control is likely to be desired and/or needed.  If you feel uncomfortable using the automatic tools provided by today’s digital camera then camera size often must be sacrificed to the superior control offered by higher end equipment.  Although it must be stated that many pocket size cameras offer a myriad of advanced tools to the photographer who wants them.  

Still whatever camera you choose, make it a habit to carry one or have one close at hand where ever you go.  

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About the Images

(1) - A while back a hotel workers union here in San Francisco went on strike.  The strike began in September 2004 and lasted two months.  

These kids were attending a union rally in front of one of the City’s major hotels on Halloween Day of that year.  They were still trying to have a fun time in spite of the harsh reality of their parents being out on strike and thus unpaid.  If I hadn’t had a camera with me when I came upon this event, I would have missed this appealing image as well as several other memorable shots. 

(2) - This image won Third Place, People Division, in the first Canon Digital Rebel Contest. I had been out to lunch with a friend at a restaurant in one of the Embarcadero Center Buildings in San Francisco. Four of the Center's buildings are connected by elevated walkways that allow pedestrians to walk between buildings without having to risk life and limb in the hectic traffic of busy city streets. We were strolling along one of these walkways when I looked down at the sidewalk below. The pattern of the tiles fascinated me and I decided to record it. Then this man came strolling out from under the walkway where I was standing, carrying the ubiquitous red bags supplied to shoppers in San Francisco's Chinatown. I had brought my new Digital Rebel 300D with me, "just in case," and used it to snap a couple of shots before the scene was gone forever.

4. © Jerry Currier

(3) - I have some friends who live on Haight Street in the block just south of Ashbury Street in the famous Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco.  I had gone over to their place to drop off some proofs of a portrait session I had done with them and decided to walk back home, a couple of miles away.  I was strolling down Haight Street when I looked up and spotted these larger than life legs sticking out of a window overhead.  The light was that pearly, subdued illumination that seems to be a part of the San Francisco atmosphere when a high fog covers the City.  It provides a wonderful intensity to the colors of any scene.  

Thankfully I had brought a camera with me and was able to capture this interesting and amusing image taking advantage of that beautiful light.  I was further rewarded when this image was selected for presentation in the Photographer’s Forum 2005 Best of Photography Annual.  


(4) - It was just a few days after Thanksgiving, a couple of years ago and we had gone downtown to do some early Christmas shopping.  Macy’s had a display in one of their corner windows that featured live puppies.  It was sponsored by the local SPCA.  I was watching passersby reactions when this scene unfolded.  The bright colors, the shapely young lady and the young man to the left who was soliciting donations for the SPCA came together to create a fun story.  If I had not had a camera with me, I would not have been able to capture this delightful moment.  A plus is that it was selected by the publishers of Photographer’s Forum 2006 Best of Photography Annual for inclusion in that book.

5. © Jerry Currier

(5) - There is also the “fun” reason for having a camera handy at any time or any place.  Several years ago, Robert Farber was visiting Northern California for both business and personal reasons.  We were invited to have dinner with him, Judith Farber, Daniel Leighton and several other members and staff of Photoworkshop.com at a restaurant in Tiburon, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.  

A delightful evening was brought to a close when the point and shoot cameras appeared and flashes started going off, reminding me of some sort of political convention.  At one point Robert decided he needed a higher angle so he climbed up on a chair at a neighboring table and fired off several shots.  I grabbed these images, with a pocket-sized point and shoot camera.  Recording a master photographer just having fun.  One for the scrapbook of great memories.



To see more of Jerry Currier's work, visit his Photoworkshop.com gallery at www.cursmicon.photoworkshop.com.

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