How many photographers...

Q: How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb?

A: 100 - 1 to do it and 99 to say "Looks OK, but I'd do it like...."

This is why I enjoy photography so much. We're all different with vast experience and knowledge so we learn from each other. We all do things differently and for each of us, the way we do it is the best way, until we learn something better. It's been a quiet day if I haven't learnt something new in photography, about myself, the people I work with or the world around us. No matter how well qualified or experienced you are, you're never too old to learn. You'll never know everything.

I was looking for a shot of a light bulb, but couldn't find one - so a rice cracker will have to do!

Canon EOS 50D, 100 mm f2.8 macro, f8, 1/125 sec, 100 iso. One 550 EX Speedlite at 2 o'clock roughly 45 degrees high with white reflector to fill the foreground shadows.
Speedlite connected via a coiled off-camera ETTL lead.

My thanks to Dave Cross on Twitter for this one:

How many Photogs does it take 2 change a lightbulb? 4, 1 to change the bulb, & 3 to stand around & talk about how good the old bulb was.5:44 AM Feb 15th via web
Whilst we're on the subject of change - change is good if it makes life easier and improves the way we work or our quality of life. There will always be the detractors who don't embrace change. I miss film, but I don't miss the drive to and from the lab to collect my E6 or C41 at all hours of the day and night. I miss holding the trannies up to the window or marking the good ones in chinagraph pencil on the lightbox. And most of all I miss the interaction and jokes with the other photographers & lab staff.

Now we do our own processing. And if you're not processing your RAW images once you've saved them to your HDD & DVD then you should be. What comes off your camera sensor is your unprocessed film. Putting your RAW files through ACR or whatever is the first stage in processing and printing. I used to spend hours in the darkroom marking prints. Now I print with Photoshop and someone else outputs the prints for me. OK, I still get the jokes and interaction, but now through a different medium, email or social networks. You still can't beat meeting up with other photographers, which is why I founded UK Photo Walks.

Keep an eye on the UK Photo Walks website for some exciting walks in the spring. We're just finalising details for a walk around historic Rye in East Sussex and a very special video workshop for DSLR users. I'm also leading a series of workshops for Park Cameras. More details on their website or UK Photo Walks.

I'm off to get ready for the macro photography workshop at Park Cameras tomorrow.

Have a great weekend. And don't forget, find an excuse, any excuse to get out and make some great images.

Ian