Sunday 17 October 2010

The camera doesn't lie

The camera may not lie, but certainly photographs can be taken or manipulated in such a way that the final result doesn't tell the truth, or perhaps just not the whole truth. But sometimes the camera does not record exactly what the photographer sees. Take one of mine, for example. It's a few years old now and doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the newer models have. It is also incapable of being used in the way I was accustomed to use my trusty old 35mm camera with its full range of apertures and exposure times. As a result I sometimes have to rely on good old Paintshop Pro or Photoshop Elements to get the result I was aiming for - or somewhere near the result I was aiming for. There is, however, one major irritation. Look, for example, at this picture of Venice.


See what I mean? There's a nasty great blob in the sky. I don't know what the problem is, but nearly every time I use this camera to take a picture with a lighter area at the top, this is what happens. Before I can use the picture for anything I have to correct it on the computer. It was bad enough when just the one blob appeared, but now there are three. I've been trying to work out how best to justify spending money on a new camera, but it has only this morning dawned on me that I don't actually need to justify spending the money. I can just go and do it. Now all I have to do is decide (a) how much I want to spend and (b) just what I hope to get for my money.

2 comments:

quedula said...

I noticed that in my camera some time ago. It has now either disappeared or I haven't taken quite the right photo to show it up.

Brighton Pensioner said...

Quedula, I think I might have solved the problem. I cleaned the lens rather more enthusiastically than I had before and got rid of the big blur. Now there's just one small one I still have to sort out.