Last Saturday evening, I went to a friend’s house to borrow some fantasy books. I decided to expand the genres of my reading list to include fantasy. She showed me her collection of science fiction, fantasy, and romance books, which her family collected for years. One thing that came to my mind when I saw the collection was, “What if I had access to these books when I was still a kid?”

After I decided to borrow four books, we chatted and watched TV, and then the subject went to pictures of the analog and digital kind. She showed me their photos taken with a point-and-shoot camera. The shots were great. Scenes of the shore, sunset, and people were neatly captured. Although some scenes were not that bright, the mood of the place was still captured. I was surprised that the others were taken by just a camera phone in its medium resolution setting. I was impressed.

I think one need not even be a professional to capture a nice picture. One need not have to have a very nice camera (although that is a plus)! We need only to consider a few things. One must know the capabilities and limitations of the camera (be it a very nice digital one, a point-and-shoot one, a camera phone, or a PDA with a camera feature). It’s pointless to have a digital camera but don’t know how to use its features, making the shots turn out like taken by a kid on a point-and-shoot type. Know the camera’s capabilities and exploit them. Know the camera’s limitations and work around them. You must have a good visual sense. Visualize the composition in your mind. This might take some time. And one more thing, have your camera handy. You might never know when a good “Kodak” moment arrive.

Original address: http://www.frederickcalica.com/thoughtpatterns/2005/02/28/24/