Have an eye

Good pictures occur constantly. Some we see, most we don't and almost all slip by uncaptured. It takes a photographer, a hunter of images, to bag a prize photo with a perfect shot.

Fiona, my granddaughter loves the park. There is one looped metal bar that she always likes to poke her head through when heading for the slides. Behind the looped bar there is a translucent sheet of bright blue plastic and a round, translucent, white window. Catch the little girl at just the right moment and you have a picture.

Composition and colour: First, the beautiful blue didn't just appear by accident. I picked the camera angle with the background in mind. Also, the arc of bright white in the lower right wasn't just happenstance. The only major colour that I did not control was the bright pink of Fiona's coat. It was perfect and it was luck.

Today's point and shoots take care of the focus and the f/stop and shutter speed. In this case, this loss of control posed no problem. In most cases, the photographer still controls the length of lens, unless the camera has a fixed lens rather than the more common zoom. Remember, portraits look best shot with an 85mm to a 105mm lens.

These numbers actually refer to lens used on 35mm cameras but with many point and shoots an adjustment is made to allow the use of 35mm lens size terminology. This photo of my granddaughter was shot at a slightly long lens setting which was comparable to an 85mm lens on a 35mm camera.

The camera set the sensitivity at ISO640, the shutter speed at 1/500th second and the aperture to f/5.6. I couldn't have done better if I'd done it myself.

If you want good pictures and your aren't getting them, don't blame your point and shoot. Blame yourself. You simply have to have an eye.

Kingsmill's department store closing, video at six

Paper covering the windows at Kingsmill's is removed prior to the store opening.

After 148 years the Kingsmill's department store in downtown London, Ontario, is closing its doors. This was big news in London and in the local media, both print and television.

I watched in amazement as one of the TV crews shot exterior shots for the on-air coverage. They shot a lot of their interior stuff before the store opened and then they left the store and crossed the street. Well away from any action they put their camera up on a tripod and grabbed some exterior shots.

It looked like they were capturing some pretty boring stuff. I shook my head with a mix of disgust and disbelief.

Years ago I got a degree in film from Ryerson in Toronto. I learned that one should shoot video for TV with some of the same goals as one would shoot a movie.

First, tell a story. Each shot should serve to advance the narrative. Next, strive for visual interest in each shot. Ideally, you are shooting fantastic stills at the rate of 24 frames per second. And don't overlook action.

For instance, when the paper was removed from the windows, that was a moment worth capturing. One would have to be quick to grab an overall shot, a medium shot and some quick close-ups of the action but it would be worth it. It would make a great little video moment.

The action of the store employees preparing for the opening could be contrasted with the patient waiting of the small crowd waiting for the doors to open. Done right, this would add a little tension to the piece.

Oh well, the television folk that I watched appeared to want nothing more than to shoot some on-air filler. Sad.

The number of shoppers swelled in the moments before the store opening.

Photos save memories

"Stop, grandma! There's a pin!"

I earned my living as a photographer. I documented the lives of others. Sadly, I was awful at documenting my own life. Of course, photography was a lot of trouble when I was young. Film and trips to the store for prints and oodles of expense. Still, none of that provides me with a good excuse.

Today's digital cameras have made all the above history. Today it is point, shoot and download. There are no excuses for not grabbing family photos. My granddaughter, Fiona, understands the value of photos. Images taken today jog one's memory tomorrow.

Recently Fiona helped her grandmother Judy sew some pajamas. Fiona watched for pins and told her grandmother when a pin had to be removed before it could possibly bend or break the needle. When it was time to reverse stitch, Fiona had her hand on the control.

There was one thing left to be done before the two finished the p.j.'s. Fiona had to get her grandfather, me, to take a picture of her sitting on grandma's knee while they completed the pajamas. Fiona said she wanted a picture so that when she was older she could take out the picture and remember the day.

The little kid understands the power of photography. Family photos jog the memory, encouraging us to recall pleasures from the past. (And, as one commenter very correctly pointed out, make a good print or two ASAP or risk losing the image in a disk drive malfunction. Save the image in multiple ways in multiple locations.)

Moments captured

When I told my four-year-old granddaughter that I had earned my living taking pictures, she was amazed. "Gug got paid to take pictures!" she exclaimed. She thought a moment before declaring, "I'm a photographer, too. I take pictures."

She does take pictures and lots. She has been taking pictures now for about a year. I rather like some of the stuff she grabs. For the shot of the family sitting around the table after Sunday dinner, Fiona got down quite low and steadied the camera by bracing herself on the oh-so-solid table.

There are lessons here for everyone.

• Available light is a nicer light than on-camera flash.
• In low light situations, brace the camera to lesson camera shake.
• Moments captured will be great images in the future. Much nicer than say-cheese snaps.
• Point and shoots, like those in the S-series from Canon, benefit from the fast f/2.0 aperture at wide-angle.
• Shoot lots. With today's SD cards there is no excuse not to shoot a lot and no flash means minimal bother to your subjects.

Now, get out there and shoot like a four-year-old.

Try a lens a little on the long side

Shooting babies is like shooting anyone. A slightly long lens is preferable to a wide angle. The wide angle will encourage one to get too close to fill the frame. Getting too close will distort the subject's features. Use a slightly long lens, in this case a 105mm when compared to a 35mm SLR.

Using a point and shoot with a long lens, pay careful attention to the shutter speed selected. As one zooms most lenses out, the fastest f/stop available gets progressively slower. The smaller f/stop will demand a slower shutter speed and both subject movement and camera movement can become problems.

The answer can be as simple as restricting one's shooting, or at least concentrating one's shooting, to a moment during the day. Choose locations that are bright, indoors try and get the subject to face a window. The baby in this shot was being lit by a nearby window that was letting a stream of soft light fill the room.

The camera was using a shutter speed of 1/125th second. That is fast enough to stop camera shake. It wasn't fast enough to stop subject movement, though. The solution? I shot lots. Clearly at the moment this picture was taken, the little baby wasn't moving.

Luck and a long lens delivered this successful picture.

Document those family moments

Recently I got the following e-mail:

"Thank you so much Ken.  Although we do not often express it, we are so grateful that you take the time and effort to document our family occasions.  All these photos will be cherished memories.  Thank you."

Documenting family moments is important. It is one of the main reasons we take pictures. Sadly, all too many pictures taken at family events are of the "say cheese" variety.

In the above image, grandfather is celebrating his 70th birthday and his 4-year-old granddaughter is helping him blow out the candles while his other granddaughter, only 7-months-old, looks on. Including the little girl on the far right was important. She is part of the story. She was kept in the picture on purpose.

When shooting moments like this try to capture complete moments and that means doing your best to get by without resorting to relying on your camera's flash. The light is damn ugly. I asked that the room lights not be turned off for the candle-blowing ceremony. The presence of room light made it possible to shoot in burst-mode with my Canon S90. This helps to guarantee the capture of a peak moment.

I saved this image as a jpg image and not a RAW file. I also saved it as a smallish file; My S90 will either save big files or smaller ones. Shooting jpg and smaller files gives a faster burst rate. The f/2.0 aperture available in low light situations when shooting at wide angle also played a part in getting this image. The new Canon S120, the latest in the S-line, has a marginally faster lens. It opens to f/1.8.

Remember, the smaller the f/stop number, the larger the aperture and the more light entering the camera. Large apertures, like f/2.0, are for dark situations. Smaller apertures, like f/16, are for greater depth of field. But the small sensors in most point and shoot cameras make deep depth of field more the norm, even when the lens is used at wide open.

Shooting lots to get good pictures

Taken by a 4-year-old.

My granddaughter is only four but she knows her way around a simple point and shoot camera. She has been taking pictures with my Canon S90 since she was three.

Taken by a 4-year-old.

If you're giving a kid a camera, also give them some instruction to go along with the simple camera. Don't set the kid up to fail. And above all encourage them to shoots lots of pictures.

My Canon S90 is ideal for a 4-year-old. Set to wide angle, the 28mm lens is fast: f/2.0 fast. (The newer S120 is even better. It has an f.1.8 aperture at wide angle.) This means that even indoors the camera is able to shoot on automatic at shutter speeds fast enough to eliminate any camera movement. And trust me, when a child of four is taking the pictures, camera shake is a problem.

It also has a bright, large screen that encourages the kid to pay attention to what she is shooting. At least this is true indoors. Outside seeing the image in the rear screen can be a challenge.

Even with all the above going for her, my granddaughter still managed to cut off the top of my head in the best shot she captured of me holding her baby sister. Oh well, Isla and I are both bald. The viewer isn't missing much.

If you've got a kid who is interested in photography, give them a suitable camera, let them shoot lots and then pull the best images. Later, explain what impressed you and discuss briefly why certain images were worth keeping while others were not.

I'm keeping an eye open for a rough and tumble camera with a good fast, fixed lens to give my granddaughter as a gift. But until that camera comes along, I'll let her keep using my Canon. It seems to be a durable little beauty.

Taken by a 4-year-old.