Basic Photography, Essays, Tips, How-To's, Practical Knowledge. Illustrated.

This is about basic photography, for those who already have a camera and are yearning to increase their knowledge of this art and craft. It is also about depth of field, color, lenses, drop shadows and histograms.

It is not about which digital camera has more pixels for less bucks or is camera A better than camera B. It is about increasing your knowledge so you can take a better photograph with the camera you now have. If you enjoy photography you will enjoy reading these essays, opinions and tips.

These are links to the pages in this Website. Each page is of a different subject. There will be more subjects as time goes on but, for now, they are, from left: Make 3-D-like drop shadows, an illustrated step by step tutorial. You only need Photoshop Elements! Depth of field. I like what I have done here. This short essay (illustrated) should clear up any questions you have on the subject. Colors. The Good Lord gave us only three primary colors to use on our computers. We mortals have made this complicated. Here's how to keep it simple. Lenses. Also basic and to the point. I describe what I have and what they do. This is a very practical take on the subject.

All the photographs and the screen shot illustrations on this Web site are by me, Bob Mulligan, presently of Florida. I am a retired photographer, still enjoying my camera and digital darkroom. Only one photo on this Web site was not shot by me, the illustration of the old camera, the Speed Graphic. Thank you Google Images.

This is not the usual photographer's site. I don't have all the latest vest-pocket digital cameras to review or a collection of all the latest lenses. The only reason I mention what camera and lenses I do have and use is because many are going to ask me.

Today my camera of choice is the Nikon D80 with the 33 to 200mm Vibration Reduction zoom lens along with a Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro. The latter illustrated my Depth of Field page. Both camera and lenses do a great job. I process my work in Photoshop on a big Apple Power Mac Dual G5 computer driving a Canon 13X19 printer. No lap tops for me.

Many of the images on these pages were exposed with a Nikon D70s and a few date back to an Olympus D10. It makes no difference what camera the photos on these pages were shot with. They would look the same on your computer because they are of low resolution to meet the demands of Web site design.

Do this. View Excellent Photography. Don't look at junk pictures. By that I mean common snapshots, photos published only to fill space placed placed there by a "word" person, talking heads on TV. I say one who draws, paints, or photographs is influenced by what one sees. There are so many great images to look at, especially in this age of TV and the Internet.

Ah yes, the Internet. All you have to do is open Google and type "photographers." You can specify wedding, commercial, portrait, animal, whatever. Type the names of some famous photographers, Yousuf Karsh, Ansel Adams, Bernice Abbott.

Try one of my favorites, the late Monte Zucker. He was a real camera artist and perfected his technique while under pressure of the wedding biz. He was instrumental in taking weddings photos out of the single-flash-in-the-face shooting to a superb documentary and portraiture photography style. I went to and profited from his professional seminars, but still look at his work and wish I could do that. His artistry is very deceptive, looks simple, but difficult to simulate. Browse through great images. Get influenced!

Enough of that. I am retired from a photographic career that includes everything from shooting for newspapers and news syndicates, commercial photography, weddings and some time in professional photo labs where I did everything from print murals to 35mm slides. I never did specialize in any one photographic field, I did it all and still enjoy shooting. I live in Florida and love it -- as long as the wind does not blow too hard.