Have we suddenly had some genetic mutation as a nation to have taken to photography in such a big way? I ask this because I find almost everyone talking about photography in a knowledgeable way. There are just too many people wanting to be called the experts in photography. Photo exhibitions are literally crammed inside the social spaces of cities.
Specky, my wife nodded her head in agreement as I told her that photography has probably spawned more pseudo-experts than all the engineering disciples in our technology colleges added together.
‘You call them disciples?’ she asked with a little surprise slipping into her tone.
‘You mean the engineering students? Well, they are an aggressive lot and seeing that the aggression of Baba Ramdev’s disciples, I thought it is justified to call engineering students disciples.’ I said, and continued, ‘And photography enthusiasts are just as aggressive.’
‘True,’ she hurried with her agreement and went on, ‘just go to the balcony and you’ll spot tens of these disciples clicking away with their phones.’
She had hit the nail on the head when she linked this rather recent photography craze with the surge of mobile phones.
‘So it isn’t the SLR that has brought photography to the masses,’ I said, ‘even the numerous photo exhibitions are not responsible for making photography popular.’
We concluded that it is the inclusion of the camera in the mobile phone that has converted the most… and I’m sure this is one conversion that won’t cause any heart-burns anywhere. However, this conversion has given us a riot of a variety of clickety sounds to deal with!
Yes, our photo instincts are indeed sharpened by this invasion of the camera inside a mobile phone… and no wonder this gizmo always reminds me of the Trojan horse.
What matters, however, is that this mass of photo instincts need to be channelized and given the opportunity to become really good. What use are great instincts that remain untutored and bereft of the latest technology. No, not everyone can click open a website and order an expensive SLR…so obviously we all need a gadget that does more work than many together.
One such mesmerizing gadget is the Samsung Galaxy S3… it is a great smartphone, has a truly wonderful camera, gives a sound output that is unbeatable, and has some really unique features that no other Android phone can even talk about. This post, however, is all about the way this phone helps the photographer within you get bigger, better, and full of brilliant photo instincts!
This short video that I made on the S3 camera aims to introduce you to its ‘wow!’ factor.
The Inquirer writes: “As well as taking single shots, you can set the camera to capture images in burst – 20 shots in about 10 seconds – high dynamic range (HDR) and panorama shot modes, with the last a feature we thought was much more impressive than the one found on Sony Xperia smartphones.”
To me the three things that help a person develop his photo instincts, are:
- Ease of camera reach and ease of making it photo-ready. The Samsung Galaxy S3 easily slips into your trouser pocket and all you need to do is flick the switch ON and slide the camera icon to open it immediately. You are camera-ready in a fraction of a second!
- The sheer range of operations and photo outputs that you can get is mind-boggling and helps you plan the right effect for your picture without going through the complex manoeuvres of photoshop.
The camera in Galaxy S3 gives you a lot of shooting modes: Single shot, Burst shot, HDR, Face detection, Smiles shot, Beauty, Panorama, Cartoon, Share shot, and Buddy photo share.
The types of photo outputs that you get include negative, b/w, sepia, washed out, cold vintage, posterise, solarise, blue point, green point, and red-yellow point.
Other setting options available include self-portrait, flash settings, exposure values, timer, focus modes, resolution, white balance, ISO, metering, anti-shake and so many other vital options that convert a mere fad into an obsession!
- The 8 mp camera, the option of front and back cameras, the large hi resolution display, LED flash, and a touch-screen zoom are features that are going to add up in making you a savvy photographer.
However, what really matters is results. Let us see the sort of pictures I was able to click with the S3…
Panorama shot_Samsung Galaxy S3
Posterise effect_ Samsung Galaxy S3
Negative_Samsung Galaxy S3
Blue point effect_Samsung Galaxy S3
Green point effect_Samsung Galaxy S3
Distant Videocon Tower ZOOMED_Samsung Galaxy S3
Unzoomed shot of Videocon Tower_Samsung Galaxy S3
Red point effect_Samsung Galaxy S3
Guess which effect this could be… Samsung Galaxy S3
Arvind Passey
15 August 2012
2 comments
K says:
Sep 2, 2012
I googled camera salesman and pseudo-expert..and arrived at this page 😉
I got my first SLR camera around 1979/80 and photography has been an enduring hobby and interest since then. Too many film cameras, digi compacts, and several DSLRs later; untold M42 and other lenses later…
I have three opinions to give here, for this page’s comments:
1) Not only has photography changed (digital capture, digital sharing, embedded camera technology within mobiles/other devices etc, IMO the attitude of photographers (amateurs) has changed too. The camaraderie seems to have dissipated to a great degree. The world (internet) is chock-full of gearheads and pseudo-experts, desperate to ‘better’ the last-posted opinion. The actual love of the pictoral capture seems so scarce now!
2)I am, actually, “an expert”. I am not the font of all knowledge but it would be/is ridiculous for me to ignore thirty-plus years of shooting, thousands and thousands of hours of image-editing and experimentation. Yet, everytime I go into a high street store or supermarket, or camera shop..”just to browse”, I am subjected to a pompous, know-all, lecture on cameras, digital, film (“the good old days” etc etc. I play the grey man and ask initiate questions. It becomes apparent that the salesperson is fairly clueless and spouting drivel while they ‘educate’ me as (they assume) a novice. Why do they assume people have no understanding of cameras, lenses. Why don’t they even ask what you might know first of all???
3) Cameraphones…I briefly had a Nokia N8. Took very nice pictures with a sweet, Carl Zeiss lens.
Arvind Passey says:
Sep 2, 2012
Well, even Google errs! I am neither a camera salesman nor am I a ‘pseudo-expert’… but yes, I have been clicking pictures since 1984 when I bought my first analog SLR, the Yashica FX-7. Since then it has been a range of cameras… and now I find that I am using a phone camera too. Appears strange at times, but they do rather well for blogging-oriented photography. Of course, you cannot get the clarity nor the depth that an SLR (even a digital SLR) gives.
Your comment has an interesting insight into the relationship between blogging and photography. Yes, the net does spawn a great number of those who click just because their smartphone has a camera… we must remember and appreciate, however, that anyone stepping into the wonder-world of photography is worthy of an applause. Some of them will turn into ‘pseudo-experts’ as you say… and a few may actually metamorphose into perceptive photographers.
I may actually end up writing another blog post based on your comments… thank you for expressing your opinion.