I had an experience the other day that reminded me of the old saying “F8 and Be There.” That saying referred to having your camera preset to F8 so when something happened, you would have a good chance of getting it on film – as that was an average aperture for exposure and depth of field. Of course you obviously had to be there with a camera! These days it’s more about just having a camera and presetting it to Auto. Most people are carrying their cel phones around, but that’s really not the same as having a real camera on hand when something really good comes around.
One of the reasons I am a real advocate of pocket cameras (or point and shoots if you prefer) is that they are small enough to take with you without it being a burden. This is important, since if it’s a hassle to bring the camera – you probably won’t. That is certainly the case for me! I usually have my cel phone with me – but that isn’t what I would prefer to use for a quality photograph. So to be ready for that once in a lifetime shot – you have to have the camera with you and be ready to use it. I wanted to share with you a case in point.
I was driving back to Mount Shasta from Yreka (about 30 miles north) just as the sun was going behind the mountains to the west. It was somewhat cloudy and hazy out – and although I could see Mount Shasta in the distance, it was barely visible through the haze. As I drove on, the light began to change, and there was beginning to be some alpenglow on the mountain, which although interesting, wasn’t anything for me to get excited about. The glow got more and more intense as I went onward, and then it got really interesting, with not only alpenglow and some cloud color over the mountain – but a huge rainbow as well, all going on at the same time! By now, all I had time to do was pull over on the freeway, jump out of the car and start shooting. The whole thing lasted maybe 4 minutes. Luckily, I had brought my G1X with me in the car, so I was good to go. I shot two frames on Auto just to get something quick before the light changed any more, and then switched to program for about another 5 or 6 shots. When I got home and put the files into the computer – the ONLY shot that wasn’t blurry from camera shake was the very first shot – which was on Auto. Thank God for Auto mode! I was really glad to get even one useable shot considering the circumstances. Here’s the pic:
It’s not perfect – the Auto setting jacks up the ISO to whatever it thinks is best – and exposure is also whatever the camera decides. In this case, though, both were appropriate to the situation, and if I hadn’t shot a few in this mode, I probably would have come home with nothing but a lot of frustration! In a perfect case scenario I would have pulled off earlier, set everything up on a tripod, and shot it in raw. With a large sensor though, you can get away with a little ISO increase and a jpeg right out of the camera. I can make a 16X20 from this image with no problem. Would I rather have taken this with my 36 mp Nikon D810? Sure. But that wasn’t what I had in my car with me – and because I did at least have something – I got the shot!
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