We have all, at some time, tried to take photographs of moving objects.  Provided they are going no faster than the average garden snail, this is no problem, and any old camera will do.  However, by the time the snail shifts into top gear, we can start to have a problem.

I have to admit that when digital cameras first came out, I pooh poohed the notion.  They would never be as good as ‘proper’ film cameras.  Another geek idea of little value to the real world.  I was wrong.

I was at a meeting recently where the subject of Kirlian photography was mentioned.  This I found interesting as Kirlian photography was a fad a few years ago but had since died (I thought).

I went to the Jesters Children’s Fair a couple of weeks ago.  I took my two children, and took a camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ50.  I had just shot a couple of frames and then hurriedly turned the camera on again to get an action shot, and the viewfinder display had gone!  Like electronic magic the indicators for aperture and shutter speed had just vanished into the clouds (where they do all the computing these days, I am told)!

While the compact point and shooter is a great way to get into photography, there are limitations with the basic camera, especially if you wish to improve above the “Auto” mode type of photography.

Did you know that some of the highest paid professional photographers are those who photograph food?

Ask food and wine critics about menus.  What is the best style and layout of a menu?  Menus that have photographs in them.  It is all very well having ‘vol au vent’ on the menu, but if the diner doesn’t know what it is, he is not going to order it.  With international clientele in Pattaya, where English may not be their language, only a photograph can tell them what is on your menu.

In around three months, many of you will be gearing up for the overseas trip to see relatives “back home”.  In around four months many of you will then be showing your travel shots from ‘over there’ to friends ‘over here’, and will be very disappointed with the results.

You have a great looking girl and you have a camera.  What more do you need?  Unfortunately you need much more.

Actually there have been more books written about “How to Photograph Girls” than any other photographic texts.  What’s more, photographers have been snapping girls since we first managed to record blurry images on Daguerre’s sensitized glass plates.

There is a very unfortunate (and expensive) collective thought in the camera owning fraternity that to improve your shots you should move up to expensive camera bodies, extra lenses, 12 zillion pixels and then select “Great Shots” on the Auto mode button.  However, there is no camera made with an uploaded software package to ensure “great shots” every time.  “Great shots” are under your command, not in the “Auto” setting on your camera.

We have been having some rather inclement weather of late (spoken with an upper-class British accent)!  Or as they would say here, fon tok maak (a lot of rain), which then leads to a “nam tuam” (flood) and we had enough of that last year.  Fortunately the government has all this under control and like King Knut (also known as Cnut and Canute) will order the tides to recede.