Once in a while, I wish people would ask me about writing but that’s a different story.

One person came to me a bit concerned because he began to attend a certain camera club and the members told him to drop his camera system because, according to them, the camera system they were using was better than his. That is absolute rubbish and hogwash.

I can understand when a group of friends using the same system encourages a person to go with their system because it allows for good sharing. One person can buy a lens that other people don’t have. This also facilitates learning. A camera can be a daunting thing to learn and a knowledgeable friend is always good to have around.

One system has its pros and cons and other systems also do. I like Canon because I’ve been with the brand since 1995 and the controls have progressed very consistently and logically. Also, the company’s support is very reliable and the professionals I work with mostly use the same system. I once needed a full frame camera like the 5D and my friend and fellow pro, Alfred Mendoza, was there to help out.

One pro put it very succinctly: A camera is a tool. Heck, it definitely is not a philosophy nor is it a religion. So enough with the flame baiting already! Let’s talk about shots and not too much about the cameras.

What’s ironic is that I’ll most likely say that again in some other column and again, and again. Sigh.

My good friend and mentor, Jo Avila, was very patient with me. I can still remember him telling me that it took at least a year for him to be satisfied with my shots. There was a bit of an ouch there but that brutal honesty was much better than the emotional fluff that some teachers now try to push. Some push the idea that every comment a teacher makes must be positive and, therefore, something that won’t hurt people.

I don’t know about that. I grew up having to learn to be tough at home (my dad was tough on us kids and I thank him for that) and even in school. Up to now, my wife still wonders how I was able to survive four years of high school with some of the most ruthless classmates. They will make you feel dumb when you are dumb and won’t cheer very loudly when you succeed. Still, these are the classmates I cherish. (Thank you, 4A ’88!)

Is there a middle ground to brutal honesty? There still is and it’s a good thing it does exist. Otherwise, people would’ve lost interest in photography long ago because the old hacks would’ve been too grouchy about their comments. The bottom line is that comments have to be honest and true. Sometimes, medicine should be taken plainly without syrupy sweet additions that often only serve to produce pansies. Call me a fogey but I know that life is tough.

One of the world’s leading film manufacturers once made a lot of money with their picture printing kiosks. People were told that if they had a photo with extraneous (read: unwanted) elements, all they needed to do was crop their photo and take the unwanted stuff out before they printed.

Digital photography came and this was taken a step further. People run to things like Photoshop and sometimes, this is a step towards lazy town. Now, wait. Photoshop is a great tool like all image editing tools but, as people into photography, we use one tool with another and the best tools of all will always be our eyes and brains. Why always revert to computer editing when you can do something right in the camera?

For example, one of the major things identifying a good photo enthusiast is the ability to look before pressing the shutter button. I guess I’ve said this before but this is a point worth repeating. Look at your subject and, before pressing on the shutter button fully, take a quick look at your background to double check whether everything there is what you want. If there’s stuff that shouldn’t be there, stop and take it out or move both yourself and your subject so that the bad stuff needn’t get included. Simple really. And look, there are people who aren’t into Photoshop anyway. They just want to take photos and probably have their stuff developed and printed straight from the film or the memory card.

We have photos from two readers here – Thea and ____ using a Canon S3 IS. They sent me these photos and I think it would be good to show these and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. The comments are mine. You may have a different opinion and that’s fine but each opinion will always have to be informed by good logical thought and some evidence and maybe a standard of sorts.

Thea and ___ are both engineers. I’ve been amazed at how people from the sciences have not been afraid of getting into the arts. Maybe more people who are into the arts should stop saying things like, "Math doesn’t like me" or "My brain can’t understand Physics" or something like that. If the science people can cross the Rubicon, maybe you can, too.

Till next week!

Ingat kayong lahat at salamat!