Photography and Shades of Gray

Very few things in life are black and white.  Even what is called black and white photography usually contains many shades of gray.  I was reading another blog which asked the question, "Is a picture really worth 1,000 words?"  In that post, the author threw out a challenge - to post a photo and describe it in 1,000 words.  That gave me the idea for this post.  I'm not going to take that challenge today (perhaps in the future), but want to write about a few things in photography that are shades of gray.

One of them has to do with cameras.  And the shade of gray has to do with whether a camera is "professional" or what these days is called "prosumer."  In the past it might have been called a beginner, amateur, or hobbyist camera.  But cameras that are now called or considered prosumer were professional a few years ago.  As technology has gotten better, they've been downgraded.  But I would not say it's an either/or situation - rather, it is a shade of gray.  As I had mentioned in a previous post last year, my old Canon EOS 10D and 50mm lens did an excellent job.  So where is the line between what is acceptable for professional photography?  I would say it's blurred (the line, not the photos!). With my current camera, I can make larger images with less noise, shoot in lower light levels, and the camera will most likely last a lot longer before failing.

Another area that can be gray is professional vs snapshot photography.  This is a bit more black and white, though, as most people who shoot snapshots don't understand lighting, posing, composition, etc.  Both have their place - I have professional portraits of my parents and myself that were taken over the years, and hundreds or thousands of snapshots.  The differences are obvious - I'm so happy to have both.

Here are a few snapshots (all were shot with film, then scanned):

My father and two brothers (all on the left) - pony rides in Arizona 

My father, older brother, and me - taken by my mother while playing poker. 

My mother and father at Christmas in Arizona. 

My two younger brothers.

And here are some professional portraits (first two extremely old - probably shot sometime in the late 1800s):

My great great grand uncle. 

My great grandmother with my great great grandmother.

My cousin (father's sister's daughter).

And two of the best, most honest, and wonderful people I've ever known - my mother and father.  

The post just below this one is a photo that would be in the shade of gray area for portraits - not quite a professional portrait, but more than a snapshot.

Hope you've enjoyed my thoughts and photos today.