James Schot Gallery Studio Blog

Welcome aboard photo enthusiasts… This is the twelfth edition clarifying the list of camera specifications, using the randomly chosen Lumix DMC-FX150 camera, manufactured by Panasonic, as an example.  Believe me, I had planned on this topic of going through and discussing the specifications to cover two, possibly three articles, not 12 plus.  Nevertheless the duration and space has not been wasted, and a lot of current, useful information has been passed on to you.  Do note, this example Panasonic camera is out of date. If you are in the market for a new camera there are many great cameras to choose from.

We are nearing the end of the specifications list.  Last time I talked about technical support and Continuous Drive: Yes, 2 fps, 8 images. Let’s move on to:

Remote control: No – Simple enough, you cannot control this camera remotely. You might ask “when would I want to” or “is this important?” No, for most users this is not important.  If, on the other hand, you are serious photography buff it can be something you could explore.  I’ve used it creatively in my recent Aurora w/Eos fine art photographs, where I had to place a fixed camera at a distance away from me, to allow it to capture my working with light. Read more »

Welcome aboard photo enthusiasts… This is the eleventh edition clarifying the list of camera specifications, using the randomly chosen Lumix DMC-FX150 camera, manufactured by Panasonic, as an example.

Before moving on, I would like to cover a topic seldom if ever mentioned in other media and related creative/technical magazines… I’m talking about technical support.  This is very important when you have a problem and need help.  I can only speak from my experiences.

Most manufacturers make a good, well made product.  We all know part of quality equation is directly related to the price we paid.  It’s not a 100% factor, but this does play a part, so if you’ve purchased a camera on the cheap, the construction or lens clarity or performance stats or all the above will be reflected in the price. Read more »

Welcome aboard photo enthusiasts… On we go to the tenth edition clarifying the list of camera specifications.  The (randomly chosen) Lumix DMC-FX150 camera, manufactured by Panasonic, viewable with many other fine cameras on such websites as dpreview.com will serve as our sample. The last article was completely devoted to discussing Shutter priority. It, in addition to Aperture priority, are certainly the essential in understanding the fundamentals of photography.  Now we move on to:

Focal length multiplier: - This is somewhat more complicated to explain, and I have been considering how long this terminology will be of value to photography in our changes to the digital world, but I’m not sure of the answer.  Therefore I will do my best to clarify what it means, and in doing so the attached photo with this article will prove helpful. Read more »

Welcome aboard photo enthusiasts… the list of camera specifications is definitely dwindling down in this seventh edition.  You can find all the specifications for just about any camera on such websites as dpreview.com. In order to explain what each specification means, I continue to use the randomly chosen Lumix DMC-FX150 camera, manufactured by Panasonic.  We ended on Flash modes: Auto, Red-Eye Auto, On, Red-Eye On, Red-Eye Slow Sync, Off – the last go around, and move on to:

Exposure compensation: -2 to +2 EV in 0.3 EV steps: This feature I seldom use, although for a pocket camera with no manual controls it could come in handy for you.  It may show up on your camera as EV+/- and when entering this feature in my camera I get a notched horizontal line with ‘0’ at center, -1, -2 on the left and +1, +2 on the right side.  Using the left-right arrow keys I can incrementally go in either direction. Read more »

Welcome aboard photo enthusiasts… the list of camera specifications is definitely dwindling down in this seventh edition.  You can find all the specifications for just about any camera on such websites as dpreview.com. In order to explain what each specification means, I continue to use the randomly chosen Lumix DMC-FX150 camera, manufactured by Panasonic.  We ended on Flash modes: Auto, Red-Eye Auto, On, Red-Eye On, Red-Eye Slow Sync, Off – the last go around, and move on to:

Exposure compensation: -2 to +2 EV in 0.3 EV steps: This feature I seldom use, although for a pocket camera with no manual controls it could come in handy for you.  It may show up on your camera as EV+/- and when entering this feature in my camera I get a notched horizontal line with ‘0’ at center, -1, -2 on the left and +1, +2 on the right side.  Using the left-right arrow keys I can incrementally go in either direction.

Read more »

Celebrating the End of Photography – as we knew it.

“Mr. James, what are you talking about? If you read the statistics you will find the number of happy clickers, the number of pictures taken, and the ways they can be taken has risen exponentially.”  I might add the technical underpinnings of the image taking process has risen algorithmically as well, and this underlines the whole premise that photography, as we knew it, has reached its end…

Tearful Tango

Endings can carry a negative connotation, and talking about it may seem to carry implications of sorrow, bitterness, anger, and at times, even helplessness.  Such feelings are possible in a clouded emotional devaluation, playing the ain’t-it awful game.  Perhaps we should consider the matter a bit more rationally to follow a journey that will celebrate endings that lead to new beginnings.

During a visit to a quarry near Redstone, Colorado during late summer, I spoke with a woman familiar with the history of the region.  She mentioned that the white marble produced in the quarry was used to construct the Lincoln Memorial (among others), adding it is considered to be the finest such stone to be found.  Nowadays, she let me know, it is shipped to Italy; only there do they still have the master artisans who can work the stone.  It was this last statement struck a chord with me, and my career as a photographer. Read more »

Beautiful, imaginative, creative nature photography still thrives when Brian puts his eye to the camera. I like it, and therefor giving it the attention it deserves, and hopefully one day soon it may be exhibited at the gallery.

My venture to see his work took me well south of Miami to the Palmetto Bay Club.  What a pleasant surprise. For starters this is a very nice faciltiy. Come to find out, his exhibit was part of a larger nature presentation by TV Channel 2 with a piece on Ken Burns and his National Park documentary, and a series of films they had made on Florida Parks.  Among the 150 people or so present were the  Directors.

Although Brian’s work and Channel 2’s film presentations were the highlights of the evening, I must add the wines and catering were simply marvelous… all eleven thousand people invited were silly to miss it, including my art loving friends from Broward.

Here’s an introduction to Brian Call: Read more »

In the News:

On the evening of September 24, 2009 the poster representing the 24th Ft. Lauderdale International
Film Festival was unveiled.  Two artists, represented and exhibited by the James Schot Gallery and Photo Studio, were honored.

Peter Langone, the photographer for the poster, had his fine art exhibited in Nuda Veritas

How Was It Done:  “Color of Music” the series by Marilyn Martin.

Can I tell you Marilyn’s age? I have to, because she is more “with it” than most of my younger artists… Always involved, always asking questions, always producing her art. I love the color photo tapestries, soothing yet electric that she creates.  She is a gem at 84 years, and proof that having an artist’s heart keeps you young. She writes:

My original abstracts were initially accepted by James Schot to be in a show, Sublime Abstractions in April, 2008, much to my pleasant surprise!  This, because I had been trying to find some one who appreciated my abstracts enough to let me share them with others.  These abstracts were the result of experimenting with my new digital Nikon camera and discovering I was blessed with a talent to create colorful “designs in motion”! Read more »