Senior News Line
by Matilda Charles
The most fun I’ve had this winter is studying digital photography as I stay home avoiding the cold weather, and the flu and crowds. Setting up indoor studios, experimenting with lighting on vintage glassware and corralling the pets for a photo shoot — it’s been a great way to develop a new hobby.
Why photography? It can strengthen our memory as we need to remember settings and pay attention to composition. It can give us pleasure and raise self-esteem as we (and others) appreciate our results. Photography is art, and it awakens our creativity. Best of all, for now, it can be done indoors.
If you want to step up from snapping pics with a cellphone, try taking a free online photography course to get ideas about what kind of camera you might want. Explore one of the free online classes through Harvard Extension School, or check YouTube. Focus on those that produce pictures that are most attractive to you. Call your local camera store and ask for recommendations about classes and cameras.
Go online and look for “Digital Photography for Seniors for Dummies,” by Mark Justice Hinton, or other photography books for seniors. You’ll learn how to select photo equipment in your price range, set up shots, handle light and more. You could even get into drone photography by checking out a website such as https://www.drdrone.ca/. It may seem daunting at first but there are lots of amazing training courses to help you learn. After all, practice makes perfect!
If you need to buy a camera, do you want a big camera or a small one? You can find excellent compact point-and-shoot cameras that will fit in your pocket for a few hundred dollars. If you want a bigger Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, learn what different lens can do.
Explore stock photography websites to get ideas for indoor photography you can do now. By the time warm weather returns, you’ll be ready to go outdoors with your new skills.
(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.
