I have to admit I’m a bit of a breaking news junkie… I’m often asked what sort of things I cover for the newspaper, and breaking news – accidents, fire, severe weather – is certainly on the list, along with high school, college and minor league sports; portraits; politics; and general event coverage. We’ve had quite the wet spring this year, which means plenty of rain and flooding shots. But tonight was something a little different. The sky let loose just as we were headed home from dinner with some friends, and then LIT UP with such a spectacular display of lightning I was glued to the window with my camera all the way home. The truth is, I’ve often thought it would be cool to be a storm chaser, and tonight I got a tiny little taste of it!

A lot of amateur photographers question the adequacy of their camera equipment. While quality equipment certainly helps the cause, I try to help people realize it’s how you see that really matters, more so than how much you spend.

Here’s a good example of what you can do with a pretty ordinary point and shoot camera. And a great example of why you should carry one with you if you don’t want to miss a picture when you see it. This image is straight out of the camera. Untoned. Uncropped. And just as I remember it when I took the photo en route to buying a loaf of fresh bread from the Columbus Baking Co. in Syracuse.

A few key points to remember if you want to make the most with a pocket cam:

1) Take advantage of whatever manual settings the camera has to offer. Even if there isn’t a full manual mode, most cameras give you the ability to bump the exposure up or down by a certain amount. In this case, I intentionally nudged it down by just under a stop (-2/3) to be sure I didn’t lose detail in the reds, and to take advantage of the dramatic late afternoon light, which wouldn’t have been so dramatic if the picture was overexposed.

2) On a similar note, many cameras allow you to choose the ISO setting, rather than have the camera do so automatically. As a general rule, use the lowest ISO setting possible for minimal noise, unless you’re intentionally going for the “film grain” effect. In this case, the camera likely would have selected a low ISO anyway, based on the bright, outdoor conditions. But it’s good to have an understanding of the film speed equivalent, now that we don’t have to select the actual boxes off the shelf anymore.

3) Think of the camera as a picture frame. Hold that frame up to the image you’re trying to capture each and every time, as though what you see will be exactly what you’ll hang on your wall. If the subject matter is too small, get closer. It the sun is going the wrong way, reorient yourself. If you don’t like the car parked alongside the curb, move the camera to crop it out. The more you do this exercise, the more you’ll become truly aware of what’s in front of you. And the better your pictures will be as a result.

Suburb of Rochester, New York

Had a wonderful weekend with friends at the Flower City Challenge in Rochester, New York. I thought I’d share a photo of one of our biggest race supporters, Max. Or maybe the littlest :)