Learning the Ropes of DSLR Photography

Snapshot of a DSLR EOS Rebel T2i (550D) with an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. The S in EF-S stands for "Short back focus". Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

If you have been following my blog, you already know that I recently purchased a DSLR camera in an effort to upgrade the quality of the pictures posted on Lingua Franca.  For over three years I have used a compact P&S Canon PowerShot A720 IS with decent results.  But I thought that after three years, it was necessary to climb up a rung in the ladder of good photography.  After reading hundreds of reviews on DSLR cameras on the Internet, I finally decided the Canon EOS Rebel T2i was my cup of tea.

The kit lens that came with the camera is not the best lens you can buy, buy it is fine for somebody like me who is just entering into DSLR territory.  It has a wide aperture (f/1.8) which allows you to take pictures in low light without flash and it’s also great for portraits if you want that blurry background (or bokeh) look.  It also has an image stabilizer which is great if you have the tendency to move your camera while taking a picture.  This movement will result in blurry pictures.  The IS features will enable you to compensate the camera movement and produce crisp sharp images.  Generally speaking, this kit lens is cheap (about $100), plastic mount and a low end consumer lens.  It’s small, it’s light, it’s cheap and a good performer.  For $100 you can’t really go wrong with this consumer lens.

For several week I’ve been reading the Instruction Manual and watching instructional videos of the Canon Rebel T2i in YouTube.  At this moment, I would say, I’ve learned the basic operation of the camera and am ready to start acquiring experience actually using the device.  I tested it a couple of days ago and compared the shots with my Birthday Camera and you could easily see the difference in quality.  The only problem is that it’s a bulky camera and heavier than the P&S camera; but of course I knew that when I made the decision to purchase it.  There’s no such thing as a free lunch.  You always have to sacrifice something in most situations in life.

The learning curve was not so bad.  I was initially intimidated by the size of the camera and the numbers of buttons on it.  But after a while, I noticed that many of its features were identical to the Canon PowerShot A720 IS.  The Instruction Manual is excellent and reveals interesting features.  For example, the camera has a small scroll wheel known as the “Dioptic adjustment knob”  to adjust the focus of the viewfinder to your own specific vision. All you have to do is turn the knob left or right until the nine AF points in the viewfinder look sharp.  I wear graduation lens, so this feature is very convenient for me.

I’m planning a shooting excursion to Summit Gardens in the former Canal Zone sometime next week, probably on a Sunday.  It will be my first full experience with the new camera.  I’ll initially start shooting in Full Automatic Mode and later to Program Mode and Creative Auto Mode.  This means the camera will automatically take care of adjusting the shutter speed, aperture and ISO sensitivity.  As I learn the ropes, I’ll start dipping my toes into shutter speed and aperture adjustments.  I’m not in a hurry to learn.  Patience is a good word to have under the pillow.  Good Day.

Joie de Vivre

Joie de Vivre is a French expression that expresses a keen enjoyment of living.  I found this attitude in an elder woman while I was waiting for the Bethania Social Security Clinic to open its doors on an early Tuesday morning last week.  I have to replenish my stock of Isoptin Retard 120 mg and Aprovel 300 mg every thirty days.  Both are necessary to control my high blood pressure.

As I patiently waited in front of the pharmacy door at about 6:30 a.m. (-5 GMT),  an elderly woman hopped out of a yellow cab with a light folding chair in her hand.  With a brisk pace she walked to the front of the building, unfolded her chair, and disappeared around the corner.  Shortly afterwards, she returned with a folding table which she placed next to her chair.

She submerged her hand into a cloth bag and out came hundreds of lottery tickets which she neatly organized on her portable table.  Then I knew this agile woman was a Lotto Woman.  She sold lottery tickets for a living.  As the folded her tickets on plastic strings attached to her table, she sang and announced the morning news.  “Chavez is in Cuba, he has cancer.” she said.  Her customers smiled and swarmed around her place.   Even though there were other lottery street peddlers nearby, only this woman seemed to attracted customers like candy in a school recess.  The scene was delicious to watch.

It was very unusual to find a woman singing at six-thirty in the morning and spreading the news of the days while selling lottery tickets.  Most unusual indeed.  She looked so full of energy; so full of life.  Her smile was contagious.  Most of her customers left with a ticket in their hands and a smile on their faces.  The elder woman had enchanted them with her happiness and charm.

It’s so refreshing to find this kind of people when all around us is full of negativism and doom.  This lady lighted up my day.  After I got my medicines, I approached her and asked if I could take her picture.  She was suspicious and asked, “What are you going to do with my picture? 

“I’m going to write an article about your happiness and your magnetic positive attitude, “ I said.  She gave me a sheepish smile and said, “Okay, go ahead, but make it fast, I have customer to take care of, “ and started to sing again.   Her tickets were flying like Autumn leaves in a storm as her customers shouted out their favorite numbers.

 I took my shot—only one.  Too many people around so it had to be a good one.  I left and walked away to my car a few blocks from the clinic.  As I drove home, I smiled.  My wife asked, “What’s the joke?”  “Why are you smiling?”  I answered softly, “It’s a secret”, and kept driving, remembering the singing woman and her joie de vivre.  It was a beautiful day.  In a month I will meet her again, and my ears and my heart will once more feel the intensity of life, the  joie de vivre.

This is the picture of the singing woman selling her lotto tickets one early morning in Panama City, Panama.  Here we go.

Snapshot of an elderly woman full of life selling lottery tickets in front of a Social Security clinic in Panama City. Her demeanor was splendid, impossible to fully describe in printed words. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Le Rouge et le Noir

As the morning morphed into noon, Apollo was rapidly glowing brighter and brighter.  I could see the strong rays of light darting through the guest room’s window piercing a Victorias Secret bag on top of a black TV set making it bleed in explosive red.  Tenuous and affrighted grays sought refuge on the walls of the room in the background.

This contrast of colors attracted my attention, and by an act of unconscious reflex made me capture the scene before the light was gone.  This is what I saw, a duel between the red and the black in the midst of a storm of light.  Here we go.

Snapshot of a strong red Victorias Secret bag on top of a jet black television set in our guest room one lazy Monday morning. Both colors contrasted with the soft grays of the walls in the background. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Fuzzy Shadows on a Wall

Snapshot of fuzzy shadows on our dining room wall. The time was approximately 6:00 p.m. (-5 GMT). The sun was getting ready to go to sleep, but before it did, it drew this picture on our wall. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Paola

Snapshot of one of The Twisters; the youngest one, doing what she does best; eating, sleeping and growing up. She enjoys playing with her colorful centipede. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Rays of Light Creeping Through the Cracks

Snapshot of rays of sunlight filtering through an opening in our front door. The time was about 6:30 p.m. (-5 GMT). Made me think for a while about the definition of light. Still don't have it. What is light? Dunno. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Cup and Saucer

Snapshot of a cup and a saucer in full color. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot the same cup and saucer of the first picture, but now in a beautiful black and white version. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.