Bob Crum

Look at you, grinning from ear to ear. You're so proud of yourself for scoring a great camera deal on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. I'm also proud of you. Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, or a Panasonic? All great brands. Say again? You bought a Hasselblad H6D 400c 100mp camera? Wow! Congratulations! Back to reality.

Of course you promptly inserted the battery followed by the SD or Compact Flash card. Then you turned on the camera and UH OH, sooooo many options. The menu looks like that of a French restaurant - Bouillabaisse, coq au vin, escargots de Bourgogne. Com'on, you know the drill: READ THE USER MANUAL! Sorry about yelling but you know that it's important to learn how to USE your new camera.

I get it. Many camera user manuals look like they were written in gibberish. Camera user manuals are not particularly user friendly. Relax! Youtube to the rescue. In the youtube search box, enter your camera brand and model. Unless you bought a closeout Shenzhen Ruoxing B88 camera on eBay for $4.95, there's a good chance that someone has published a hands-on tutorial for your camera. Such tutorials can get you up to speed in a jiffy. Two other resources: https://www.creativelive.com/ and https://www.udemy.com/. Either or both may have a tutorial for your specific camera. When I bought my Canon 7D Mark II camera, I found a great tutorial on Creative Live. The cost was negligible, and I learned a great deal about my camera in about an hour.

You don't have to actuate every sub-menu item. It's OK to begin with the camera in either 'P' (Program) or 'A' (Auto) mode and let the camera determine exposure as you focus on focus and the composition. After making a photo in 'auto' mode, study the photo data (ISO, aperture & shutter speed) to see the settings the camera used to get the proper exposure. It will help you prepare for manual mode. Also, check the LCD to view the histogram. The histogram is a graphical illustration of the image exposure. Some of my histograms are hysterical! But I digress.

Now that you know how to use your new camera, you are about to embark on a phenomenally creative adventure. Feel free to jump for joy in advance. Back down to earth, there's one more important detail: RAW or JPEG? Remember, JPEGs are camera processed. To start, JPEGs are fine because they eliminate editing afterward. JPEGS are usually OK for snapshots in adequate light. But at some point, JPEGs will disappoint you. You will then realize that RAW files enable a much larger latitude for editing to achieve the photo you desire for print or digital distribution. At that time, you will need to obtain a photo editing program. It's an integral part of becoming a 'photographer'. But software is a subject for another time. Watch this space, as they say on TV.

A brief word about, ahem, "phonetography". All 2,683,957 regular readers of this column know that my old trusty LG G3 cellphone died a sudden death a month ago. One moment it was alive and functioning fine-the next, no pulse. It's resting on a hand towel because after all these years sitting on my hip at the ready, I have not yet been able to 'let it go'. In the meantime, I'm (impressed) with the, ahem, photos my new Samsung S10+ produces. A harbinger of becoming a phonetographer? Whoa! Be nice and perish that thought!!!

Photo of the week is a north Fillmore mountain top covered with a lovely blanket of snow. Ah, such is the splendor of wintry landscapes.

Send comments, suggestions or questions to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net