Light and Color

Is there really anything else more important when capturing an image with a camera?

Sure you can snap off picture after picture, but will your finished product be something that someone wants to see? 

I grew up around cameras.  My father and two of my uncles all had nice cameras and they have always enjoyed snapping pictures whenever possible.  So naturally when I started writing about the outdoors, I was very aware of the need to invest in a nice camera to capture the places I was talking about.  After messing around with some lower end point and shoot models I recently made the commitment and upgraded to the Olypus E-pm1.  This model falls outside of the DSLR category, and into the newer category of Micro Four Thirds cameras.  Despite the unwieldy name, the camera has been so much fun to shoot with.  I won't pretend to know the ins and outs of the technology, but the goal of the system is to offer both the usability of a camera with interchangeable lenses and the quick handling of a digital point in shoot.  This is accomplished in a more compact body by taking advantage of increases in digital technology.  While playing around the day after I bought the camera I captured this image of a Brown-Eyed Susan in my garden:

Nice color and sharp focus with minimal experience handling the camera. Being digital, it has auto focus features, which can be set to conform to certain styles of shooting. However, the auto features can be shut off allowing the user to play with the image themselves.

A couple weeks after that photo, I capture this one in a corn field near my favorite hunting spot:

Here I really tried to focus on the composition of the photo.  It was setting sun light, so I was able to almost eliminate any shadow on the front and our left of the ear of corn.  The green leaves and stalks created nice contrast, helping the yellow kernels really come to the front of the picture.

Take time to enjoy the details,
Scott M