Auto mode = good ?

[Lynn Minmei]

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/howto.htm

"Old farts like to make themselves feel important by making you think that you need them to teach you the secrets of fiddling with your camera. They will try to get you to believe that all this crap is required to make photographs. They will insist you waste your time with manual exposure settings, and if you are stupid enough to believe this you'll also spend all your time worrying about which lens is sharper instead of having your own solo show at The Whitney (http://www.whitney.org/)."

[liza]

Ken Rockwell is universally known in photographic circles as a complete idiot. This just further reinforces it.

[Lynn Minmei]

Yeah really... He quotes Ansel as if he is GOD (and to some I'm sure he is) but I bet Ansel never used auto mode on HIS camera :)

[nation]

Hey come on I'm sure he's got some supporters some where. Oh that's right they're universally known as the circle of idiots :)

[liza]

Ken fancies himself as Ansel reborn. The best advice I can give you is to learn how your camera works in the creative modes (i.e. Av, Tv, M) and also learn the connection between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. That's half the battle.

[liza]

And Ansel didn't have auto mode on his camera. He used large format. :)

[saravrose]

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/howto.htm

"Old farts like to make themselves feel important by making you think that you need them to teach you the secrets of fiddling with your camera. They will try to get you to believe that all this crap is required to make photographs. They will insist you waste your time with manual exposure settings, and if you are stupid enough to believe this you'll also spend all your time worrying about which lens is sharper instead of having your own solo show at The Whitney (http://www.whitney.org/)."

well damn.. does this mean I get to be a young fart?...

hmm.. too bad that somebody, somewhere may take his words to heart.. Please remind me to never expose my niece to this idiot.. it's hard enough trying to show her how to compose.. I sure as hell don't want somebody telling her not to worry about learning how to use her tools.... :evil: :evil: .. jeez, that just pisses me off..

sari

[condyk]

If you want technically excellent shots then you must learn the craft of photography. If you want to capture emotion and pure expression that it is less important. Some of us want to do both of course. So, he isn't implicitely wrong it just depends where ones priorities lie. If you click in my 'Power of Photography' link then it is clear that few meet the technical excellence criteria but boy are they powerful shots. Truth is, for me, it is easier to learn the technical side. It is harder to take a shot that says something.

[saravrose]

i'm the opposite from Dave.. composition is the easy part for me.. the technical stuff has taken probably, more time than it should to really understand. doesn't mean that I stopped trying or just put the camera on auto and worried about the perfect composition and nothing else..
I took a shot in the way early Pro 1 days.. I loved the composition and will probably never get a second chance to re-take it.. I still hate that I didn't know how to use my camera to expose correctly and therefore, have a great picture. now, I have a dud that reminds me of why the technical side has merit...

found it...
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/saravrose/IMG_1271.jpg

[lakiluno]

If you look at the image on the front of Ken rockwells page, you see him with his "left handed F100"

Fine, but its not true!

He gives a high res version, but parts of it are wrong. If he was truly left handed, then the watch face would be completely different from how it is. If you imagine Ken looking at the face, it would be upside down. It has been photoshopped, but just to put it the right way round on the horizontal plane, and not the verical.

His hair parting also goes the opposite way that it usually does. And, his watch says its half twelve, and the lights all wrong for either half twelve that could of happened in a day

image: http://kenrockwell.com/Images/KenLens3k.jpg

Why would anyone do that? What would lying about having a left handed F100 gain for you? I think ken Rockwell is just an odd man trying to get attention.

[gmen]

Lynn...

I really wish you hadn't inadvertently introduced me to this Rockwell individual :lol: I made the mistake of taking a few moments to read some of his advice from the link that you posted. Utter nonsense.

I feel strangely unwell.

---- Gavin

[kevin_c]

On the 'Nikonians' web forums, that I openly admit to being a member of( but I am on treatment for it :-)), he comes across as 'the chosen one' I Think he must be a Noink man :-)

[Woolburr]

I am a firm believer that Ken is from another planet. Most of his ideas are borderline psychotic...perhaps caused by years of Nik*n abuse. He is no more the second coming of Adams than Donald Duck is. However; I must admit that I have seen some outstanding photos that were taken using full auto functions on the camera. If you happen to nail the composition and the camera nails the exposure...you can have a winner of a photo without knowing how to use full manual everything. That said, I still think that knowing how to use your equipment will get you far better pictures in the long run.

BTW...the point that a lot of people seem to overlook when they talk about Ansel Adams is that his true genius was in the darkroom and not necessarily behind the camera. Today, he would be the wizard of Photoshop!

[JaertX]

BTW...the point that a lot of people seem to overlook when they talk about Ansel Adams is that his true genius was in the darkroom and not necessarily behind the camera. Today, he would be the wizard of Photoshop!

yup...and I think he even admitted as much on more than one occasion. Adams is definitely one of the more important figures in the history of photography and anyone wanting to dig a bit deeper would benefit from reading his series of books. It'd be cool for him to still be alive and see what he would have done with digital.

Nothing wrong with automatic mode at all, as long as your happy with the camera chosing for you whether or not to show movement of subjects or to freeze them and if you're always happy with how much depth of field the camera says you get on a shot.

It really can't be said enough, Ken Rockwell is an idiot. Whether or not he sells a single print or a million, he's an idiot. And if all he uses is automatic mode on his camera, he's the Milli Vanilli of photography.

[liza]

It really can't be said enough, Ken Rockwell is an idiot. Whether or not he sells a single print or a million, he's an idiot. And if all he uses is automatic mode on his camera, he's the Milli Vanilli of photography.

Oh dear God. I wish I'd thought of this. :lol:

[Woolburr]

The nice thing about Ken is he provides us with a topic of conversation on an otherwise slow day. I used to look at some of his stuff just for a chuckle, but I just can't be bothered anymore. I am starting to think that he isn't even swift enough to use a camera in auto...shutter synched photography perhaps?

[saravrose]

so, am currently listening to this radio interview from this guy.. wow, he has said almost nothing that will really help anyone.. not to mention the three or four links to send him money because he creates his website out of the kindness of his heart... oh wait, my favorite part.. He never thinks about conveying any kind of emotion, feeling or story in anything he does.. nope. He does it cause it looks cool... this guy is an artist???

sari

[Quad]

OMG you are all so wrong I just tried the little box thing on my camera and it all worked so automatic. My creativity went up by over 123% that's right folks 123% possibly 124%. and the photos caused me multiple....... Well lets just say Quad's pants are soiled big time. I have been wasting all my years with manual exposure, RAW and using editing programs and darkrooms.

I will try full auto on my next trip and buy more postcards. Just think no equipment at all just me and the postcard rack. I wonder if Ken sells oversaturated postcards.

Sheesh!

I feel so much better now. Yes it is a slow day at home with a sick child. Now what should I cook for supper?

[jfrancho]

Looks like Mr. Rockwell enjoys ladies' golf shirts. Note the button flap on his shirt in that left hand noink pic.

[saravrose]

OMG you are all so wrong I just tried the little box thing on my camera and it all worked so automatic. My creativity went up by over 123% that's right folks 123% possibly 124%. and the photos caused me multiple....... Well lets just say Quad's pants are soiled big time. I have been wasting all my years with manual exposure, RAW and using editing programs and darkrooms.

I will try full auto on my next trip and buy more postcards. Just think no equipment at all just me and the postcard rack. I wonder if Ken sells oversaturated postcards.

Sheesh!

I feel so much better now. Yes it is a slow day at home with a sick child. Now what should I cook for supper?

okay.. I suppose i'll try the green box.. acutally, I'm gonna do ya one better and go check out the stick figure settings.. yep, i'm gonna go out right now and put my camera on the 'fast running guy mode'.. yep. that's my new plan..

dinner? make spaghetti.. yeah, spaghetti sounds good..:D :D

[Quad]

okay.. I suppose i'll try the green box.. acutally, I'm gonna do ya one better and go check out the stick figure settings.. yep, i'm gonna go out right now and put my camera on the 'fast running guy mode'.. yep. that's my new plan..

dinner? make spaghetti.. yeah, spaghetti sounds good..:D :D

OK I made Fetuccini Alfredo but I subed in sour cream as I like the taste better and put in some zuchinni fried in olive oil. Oh and a herb salad with balsamic dressing finished off with a glass of cabernet merlot. Thanks for the suggestion. My camera doesn't have a fast running guy mode I am sending it back for the upgrade (or do I use firmming-up-ware?)

[Quad]

Thats it today was far to slow. Tommorow my local shop said my macro lens should be in. Too bad I had a job for it that left town last friday.

[DavidW]

now, I have a dud that reminds me of why the technical side has merit...

found it...
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/saravrose/IMG_1271.jpg
How many people tell you, when you're taking a shot in that kind of situation, that you left your flash on and the shot won't come out because flash doesn't work outdoors! I presume you were thinking of using flash to even out the light levels - the other alternative would have been to meter for the foreground and likely blow the background quite spectacularly. It already looks quite blown. There's a colossal difference in light levels.

There's a difference between leaving a compact in auto flash mode and it deciding to use flash in a situation where it clearly won't carry, resulting in an underexposed picture, and fill flash (well, in this case, it's arguably not fill flash, as you need rather more than true fill flash). In my case, if I screwed a Speedlite 580EX to the hotshoe, there's a reason why I did that, and a reason why I decided to switch it on for a particular shot. There's also a reason why a flash bracket is on my wish list.


This scenario is a perfect example of why it's important to understand the technical side. Competent flash photography, in particular, is rarely as easy as point and shoot, but the time spent learning is repaid many fold with otherwise impossible images.

Photography is a mixture of technical and artistic - that's why it's so engaging to many of us. I'm not going to waste my time on Ken Rockwell - life is too short.



David

[saravrose]

How many people tell you, when you're taking a shot in that kind of situation, that you left your flash on and the shot won't come out because flash doesn't work outdoors! I presume you were thinking of using flash to even out the light levels - the other alternative would have been to meter for the foreground and likely blow the background quite spectacularly. It already looks quite blown. There's a colossal difference in light levels.

There's a difference between leaving a compact in auto flash mode and it deciding to use flash in a situation where it clearly won't carry, resulting in an underexposed picture, and fill flash (well, in this case, it's arguably not fill flash, as you need rather more than true fill flash). In my case, if I screwed a Speedlite 580EX to the hotshoe, there's a reason why I did that, and a reason why I decided to switch it on for a particular shot. There's also a reason why a flash bracket is on my wish list.


This scenario is a perfect example of why it's important to understand the technical side. Competent flash photography, in particular, is rarely as easy as point and shoot, but the time spent learning is repaid many fold with otherwise impossible images.

Photography is a mixture of technical and artistic - that's why it's so engaging to many of us. I'm not going to waste my time on Ken Rockwell - life is too short.



David

I wish that I could analyze all the technicalities of why I didn't get it... the answer is. I had the camera less than a week and I was more than likely in the 'green box' that Ken is soo fond of. We all start somewhere and we all have one of those moments when we realize that as easy as it is to let gear do our job it is more often than not inefective.. that time for me happened above. yep, that's the moment that I realized that if only I had gone home and read the manual, found POTN a little earlier and paid attention to something other than the capture.. I would have had quite different results. Live and learn...

sari

[lakiluno]

I wish I had an external flash to take nice photos :D

Ken Rockwell should learn that Auto is the most annoying mode on the camera. I'm guilty of shooting in P occasionally, especially with the A75 (essentially always has a huge DOF, so Av isn't so important), but I NEVER shoot in Auto, except when I lend it to non-photog friends as a P&S (aka never)

Leo

[ba15ck]

maybe you guys are missing the genius of this man while you're all caught up in what he wants.

Maybe he wants to tell everyone that auto mode will render results similar to his, so that when they don't, those people will just resort to buying his prints to hang on their walls.

And all of us that no better aren't buying his prints anyway so it was okay for him to offend us--we weren't his target audience to behin with--maybe his is just raping the photographically challenged with his elitism metality by keeping them in the dark while spoonfeeding them bullsh*t.

exploiting the uneducated-

[Quad]

And Ansel didn't have auto mode on his camera. He used large format. :)

And SX-70's and Medium format and Contax 35. Adams was a bit more versatile than people seem to remember him. Weston must have thought 'equipment junkie' at times. But then most are at some point even if it is minimalist equipment junkie.

[Quad]

well damn.. does this mean I get to be a young fart?...

hmm.. too bad that somebody, somewhere may take his words to heart.. Please remind me to never expose my niece to this idiot.. it's hard enough trying to show her how to compose.. I sure as hell don't want somebody telling her not to worry about learning how to use her tools.... :evil: :evil: .. jeez, that just pisses me off..

sari

Come on. Let it out. Tell us what you really think and don't hide your feelings. :lol:

[saravrose]

Come on. Let it out. Tell us what you really think and don't hide your feelings. :lol:

;) don't worry I will...

[Jon, The Elder]

Calm yourself Sari, calm yourself. I'm a thousand miles away, and yer makin' me nervous!