See more photography-related strips by Aaron Johnson at www.whattheduck.net

This is it, the first real installment of the drivebyshooter.net photography.101 series. That’s why I want to make this clear: your camera is a tool for taking photographs. That’s all it is - a piece of equipment. Your camera doesn’t take pictures - you do.

You are the one who sees the opportunity for a great shot. You are the one who frames and composes your image. You are the one who decides when to take the shot.

Your camera is just the tool that lets you record an image.

Now I’m not saying that your camera doesn’t matter - it does. What matters more though is that you know how to use it. That’s what I hope to help you with in this photography.101 series.

Tags: What The Duck, camera, tool

Shooting sports isn’t easy: you can’t just point a camera in the directions of the action, click away, and expect spectacular results. It’s a good thing then that the May-June 2007 issue of Mobile Philippines: The Ultimate Guide to Mobile Technology has a primer on sports photography.

They can’t spell my name right (there’s an “o” missing there somewhere), but they’ve got more than a handful of phone reviews, advice on Formula 1 racing, tips on underwater photography, and of course, some sports photography tips. On top of that, fellow bloggers Jayvee, Markku, and Rico also add to the heft of this issue.

If that doesn’t get you, they’ve got another gorgeous geek on the cover. In this issue, Miss Earth 2004 Priscilla Meirelles graces the cover. If that isn’t reason enough, then I’ll go back to my first one - there’s a primer on sports photography in this issue, and I wrote it.

If you’re my friend, that should be reason enough for you to grab your own copy. If not, you should get one anyway.

Tags: Mobile Philippines, sports photography, Miss Earth 2004, Priscilla Meirelles, m-ph.com, abuggedlife.com, rebelpixel.com, fool45.com

This site just got its face lifted - click here to see.

The changes are pretty minor - can you tell what they are?

In any case, watchathink?

One of the goals I had when I started drivebyshooter.net was to turn it into a photography resource. Yes, I wanted my gallery on it - but I also wanted to share what I’ve learned about the craft. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten very far on either count. This post, as well as others, I hope, will remedy that.

Yup, I’ve got a new category: photography.101.

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I wrote a little something over at PopPhoto Flash discussing how getting more megapixels can actually hurt your image. The basic idea is this: “As each pixel on the sensor gets smaller, the amount of noise in the image increases.” Of course you could just head over to PopPhoto and read the whole article there. You can leave a comment too while you’re at it.

That’s my not-so-subtle-plug. Enjoy!

Tags: PopPhoto Flash, megapixels

I love hearing about events like Rock Ed Radio’s Keep Your Promises series of concerts. What is it? Let me lift directly from Rock Ed Philippines:

A series of gigs entitled KEEP YOUR PROMISES will be launched on Saturday May 19. These are small gatherings of young voters (disenfranchised voters included) to have their voices heard. That we demand the fulfillment of promises made by candidates during the elections.

Now that we’ve done our part and voted our preferred candidates into office, it’s time for the step up and deliver on their campaign promises.

I love the whole idea and the idealism behind the event. You see, it’s too easy to lose hope in this country, but seeing people care enough to organize events like this gives me hope. Reading what other bloggers have to say gives me hope. Knowing how you care about this country gives me hope.

The thing is, like I mentioned before, I’m still a cynic. Yes, I kept blogging about the elections, but I always felt like it was too little. Yes, blogging gave me a reach beyond my immediate circle of friends, but it still wasn’t enough.

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I haven’t been posting much here on drivebyshooter.net, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. The opposite, in fact, is quite true - I’ve been too busy to really pay much attention to my own site. Sad, right? It’s ok though - like I mentioned before, I’ve got a lot of things on my plate.

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I love you Mom!

Oh, and a special greeting goes out to all the moms of the Pinoy moms network. Happy Mother’s Day!