Re: Suggestions for Homeschooler?


"Marvin" <physchem@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:13apukjnps5ei78@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
BlueBrooke wrote:
Hi --

I'm homeschooling my son (he's 15) and he would like to do a
photography class. He's wanting to learn how to do more interesting
things than the throw-away Kodak's allow. :-) I'm not sure what kind of
equipment to get for him, and in this small
town our sources are limited. Wal-Mart has a $200 film camera (I
think it's a Canon), and the rest of them go up in price and are all
digital. I'm not sure what to do. Finances are definitely a
consideration, and
I just feel like he should learn how to use film and work up from
there. On the other hand, he's going to want to do a lot of
experimenting, and I think it would be a better learning experience if
he can see his results immediately. Our local high school doesn't have a
photography class, so I can't ask
them what kind of equipment they recommend. I also don't want to get
too fancy, but since he's an "artsy" kid, I think he'll keep working
with it. TIA

If you figure in the cost of film, developing and printing, digital
cameras are much cheaper in the long run. That assumes you have a
computer to view the pictures. Editing the pictures on a computer will
also teach him about what photographers do after the picture is snapped,
which is a very important part of photography.

If you figure in the cost of film, developing and printing, film cameras
will teach you to think about what you are shooting, take care in
composition and exposure, and get the shot right in one or two shots rather
than shooting until your memory card is full and then deleting all but the
one or two good ones you would have gotten in the first place.

Editting the pictures on the computer later will teach that slipshod work
can always be covered up later, rather than working to get it right the
first time around.

If you figure in film developing and printing, I can print a 24 exposure
roll of Tri-X to 8x10, (using equipment that I've owned for over thirty
years) for about $20.00. Color would be a little cheaper, but simply because
of the way I buy product (Color paper in 500' rolls, B&W paper in 100 sheet
boxes, color chems in 25 gallons, B&W chems in 1 gallon). For either B&W or
color, the prints would be rated for 200 years life.

Digital photography teaches how to get mediocre in a hurry, film photography
teaches how to get quality for the long run.


.

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