Can You Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?

Last fall, when Eric told me he wanted to buy me a DSLR for my birthday, I emphatically said, "NO!"  There were multiple reasons for this.  The number one reason was the cost.  The second reason was the guilt, and the third reason was the fear. 

Fear?  Yep.  Fear.  I first dabbled in the art of Photography in my senior year in High School.  I joined the Yearbook staff, and spent the first semester being an all around "helper".  I didn't have any background at the time, but learned how to develop film and make basic prints from friends who had already taken the courses and learned the trade.  It was FASCINATING and fun. 

Fast forward 6 years.  I was pretty comfortable with my dad's old Pentax SLR he gave me when my oldest child was just a toddler.  It was 1998.  I promptly signed up for a night class at the local community college so I could improve my craft.  Our class focused on Black and White Photography and learning skills in the Dark Room.  I LOVED the Dark Room.  I spent as much time in there as I could.  I only ended up taking one semester course, however because we moved early the next spring.  Our new city didn't have the closeness of a Community College 5 minutes away and my husband now had a 90 minute commute he didn't have before.  When we bought our first house in Dublin, Eric promised me he would find a way to turn a corner of our garage into a Dark Room for me.  That was before we bought our first digital point and shoot camera, the Canon G2.

I remember my photo teacher saying that Digital Cameras were "neat" but would never be up to speed or on par with film.  She believed there would be no true competition.  At the time I believed her.  DSLR's were thousands of dollars and even the best photos were grainy or pixilated.  I often wonder if she eventually caved to the Digital Revolution, or if she is the only one still working in the Dark Room.  (I would still love an opportunity to work in a Dark Room if I was given one.  There is something very therapeutic about developing and printing your own film/prints.)

The other night I was looking for a certain picture that I knew I had taken back in my student days, so I dug out my old photo 22 binder and box.  I haven't looked through that stuff in probably 10 years.  Some of my work I am really impressed with.  Most of it looks so amateurish to me now.  (When I have time to do some scanning, I will post some of the early works, just for fun!)

Anyway, back to the fear.  One of the best things about a DSLR is how many settings you can manipulate and control and change.  But you kinda have to understand those settings before you can change them and have a desired outcome.  I bought a very thick book about how to use my camera and use the different settings and I bought an even thicker book about Photoshop Elements, so I can learn how use that as well.  I feel like getting back into photography is like immersing myself into a foreign exchange program in another country.  Everything is foreign and new.  And there are like 100 thousand more options and things you can do to your photos that just didn't exist in the old days.  It's incredibly overwhelming!  And scary!

I've waffled back and forth between being gung-ho and gun-shy about using my camera.  When I am out in public, I feel self conscious about taking pictures with my fancy camera.  I get frustrated easily when I can't figure out how to manipulate the settings to get the desired effect in a picture. 

All this rambling does have a purpose.  I read a "how to" tutorial that seriously changed my life.  It made me see that I'm making things way too complicated and I need to go back to basics and start from there.  I've also realized that pursuing photography further needs to be a hobby and not a means to an end.  I want to just take my time learning new tricks and not put huge deadlines or expectations on myself.    Having said all that, here are 4 pictures that illustrate one of the most basic concepts in Digital Photography, that I had completely missed until just a couple days ago.  I will call this "Adjustable ISO".  In Film Photography, you picked your ISO when you bought your roll of film, and the entire roll of film had to be shot in that same ISO.  My camera's default setting was on 200, which is a great all-purpose one, so I never even thought to adjust it.  But look what happens when you do...

These pictures were taken in a semi-dark room, no lights on, and the blinds were all closed and NO flash was used.   Photo #1:  200 ISO... VERY blurry.

Photo #2:  400 ISO, still blurry, but not quite as bad.

Photo #3: 800 ISO... remarkable improvement in clarity.

Photo #4, 1600 ISO.  Perfect!  And had I been taking pictures with my old film SLR in 1600 ISO, they would NOT have come out looking this good.  (In fact, I think the highest ISO I ever took pictures in before was 800.)  They would have been super grainy, but when I pulled this up full screen size, I could barely see the graininess.  The focal point of the shot is on the far handle of the basket, which is focused beautifully. 

I am already thinking of all the scenarios in which I take pictures that will be forever changed for the better by this one simple discovery.  So I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks, it just takes a while for it to sink in.  ;-)