Ok, don’t panic. I can hear all of my photographer friends out there slamming their computers, tablets and phones shut. It can’t be happening: photography evolving into something that uses math, algorithms and logic to deliver the “decisive moment”? Say it ain’t so! Oh, but it is, and I think we will be better off for it. At least I hope we will.
I’ve been hearing and reading quite a bit about this thing called computational photography. It is such a new field that what’s in and what’s out, or even the language with which it is communicated, is not yet well defined. But it can be applied to any form of optical capture, whether in the science lab or in the artist’s studio.
Just as digital photography revolutionized the medium by converting light into numbers through sensors and processors, computational photography manipulates those numbers “in camera” through layers of new software, providing the photographer with new options, like correcting capture problems after the fact or applying a wide variety of creative effects.
It’s actually been around in the engineering and computer science universe for more than a decade, but practically speaking, is now having a huge impact in pro and consumer photography, particularly in the latest smartphones. Continue reading “Computational Photography – The Next Big Thing?”
That said, there is both artistic and practical value in marking a photograph as yours. This post looks at some of the more popular ways to do that. 
I come from a generation born before televisions were common in middle class homes. We relied on a radio for news and our only “social network” was the people we knew in the neighbourhood, at school, through our parents or through our church. Getting your name out there was done by word of mouth and by advertising on the radio and in the “yellow pages” or other print publications.
Experienced photographers who share their knowledge with new photographers spend a lot of time talking about composition and the “rules”. Leading lines, rule of thirds, negative space, etc. help to teach the eye what to look for when evaluating a scene. But they don’t spend a lot of time talking about why these rules matter at all.
As with most things photographic, there is theory and there is practice and sometimes the two don’t mesh exactly. Here’s what I’ve learned about autofocus. 
oldgirlphotography.ca 