Photography
Southwest Coastal Washington

Four Days in Grayland, Part II

Research, Practice, Studies, Notes, Reading
By Michael P. Garofalo

March 7, 2022

Tips     Hardware     Software     Adobe     Canon     Bibliography       

Adobe Lightroom Software     Adobe Photoshop Software  

Blog Reports     Seasons and Months     Four Days in Grayland     Index         

Tips

Tip One
Have Your Camera in Hand

1.  Carry your camera with you all the time.  Set to Auto, and Be There!    When you see opportunities for making pictures, you will have a camera ready and in hand.        

I frequently keep a Compact Canon Power Shot SX740 HS in my pocket or in my murse (men's purse/bag/satchel).  The Canon SX740 is a small, light, compact, sturdy, and powerful point and shoot digital camera.  I the SX740 camera the most!  It fits in my hand and pocket very nicely, and it is a very powerful camera. 
I keep the battery charged and with a 32MB memory chip in the camera. Ready to go─ light up the eyeball firecrackers. 

When not in use, I keep this fine SX740 camera in a Aproca hard travel storage case with an extra charged battery, battery charger, interface cable, and two 32GB memory chips. I think I can get over 200 pictures of the Canon SX740 on one battery charge. 

Smart cell phones have some very good cameras; I use a Samsung Galaxy A20 running on T-Mobile 5G.  Smart phones are nearly always nearby in your pocket, coat, purse, dashboard, desk, or murse (men's purse, messenger bag, brief case). The excellent cameras in high-end smart cell-phones, for those that can afford them, are probably most people's Go-To camera.  So, have your digital smart cellphone charged and ready to compose your photograph! 

For me, holding and handling a smart phone for taking photographs is a rather clumsy affair.  I prefer holding the smaller SX740.  I can more easily steady the SX740 camera and keep it still, especially when using the telephoto options.  I can more easily access and use a wide variety of sophisticated photographic options on the SX740 over my cellphone. 

Use what works well with your hands, your preferences, your needs, your eyes─ just so long as Your Camera is In Your Hand! 

Tip Two
Learn from Experts, Read, Practice, Study, Use Videos and the Internet, Take Classes, Practice
 

Bibliography, Readings, Links, Resources

The Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos: 83 Composition Tools from the Masters.  By Marc Silber. Mango, 2018, 170 pages.  VSCL, Amazon Kindle ebook. 

How to Create Stunning Digital Photography.  By Tony and Chelsea Northrup.  2011, 374 pages, index.  VSCL, Amazon Kindle ebook.   

Digital Photography: Complete Course.  DK, Penguin/Random House, 2015, 360 pages.  VSCL, Book.   

The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes.  By Andy Karr and Michael Wood.  Shambhala, 2011, 240 pages.  VSCL, Book. 

Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography.  By David Ulrich.  Watson, 2018, 224 pages.  VSCL, Amazon Kindle ebook. 

Photography Arts, Graphic Arts, and Concrete Poetry

Photography Notes by Michael P. Garofalo

Eventually, by the end of 2022, I hope the majority of the photographs in Four Days in Grayland will have been taken by either Michael P. Garofalo or Blanche Karen Garofalo. 

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Camera Hardware I Use    

Canon PowerShot SX740 HS   I use this camera the most!

The Canon SX740 is a small, light, compact, sturdy, and powerful point and shoot digital camera. 

I frequently keep a compact digital Canon PowerShot SX740 HS in my pocket or in my murse (men's purse/bag/satchel/handbag).

This robust digital camera is small and, most important, fits in my hand and pocket very nicely!  Ease of handling is very important to me. 

I keep this fine SX740 camera in a Aproca hard travel storage case.  Inside the case I keep an extra battery, small battery charger, interface cable, and two 32GB memory chips. I think I can get over 200 pictures of the Canon SX740 on one battery charge.  So, for daily camera work, I keep my SX740 battery charged and with an empty 32GB memory chip inside the camera.  The Aproca hard case is left in my Ford Escape SUV or on my home office desk while the camera is in my jacket's vest pocket.  

When Yurt camping and on all overnight trips, I use a black Kroser laptop bag, in which I bring all the SX740 camera gear and my all my laptop computer gear. 
I use an old HP Elitebook 8470p laptop computer with cables, and separate external 2Tb hard disk drive.  Plenty of room in the Kroser bag for books, notebook, and related office and writer's gear. 

The Canon PowerShot SX740 HS is a a full featured and powerful compact "point and shoot" mid-level digital camera.  With a 40X zoom, 20 megapixels, 4D video, bluetooth/WiFi, $400.  There is a Users Manual for the compact Canon Power Shot SX740 HS available online.    Decent battery life.  Can control some camera functions from your cellphone via Bluetooth.  No RAW. 

The Maximum Large image quality pixel setting is at 20 megapixels at 5184x3888, jpeg.  Since most of my photographs are displayed on an Internet webpage, I normally use an image quality setting of M 10M 3648x2736, jpeg.  The small image setting on the SX740 is S for 4.4M 2432x1824. 

Most of the time, I carry the SX740 camera in a the upper pocket of my jacket, ready for use.  I have a wrist strap on my SX740. 

I often carry my SX740 in my right chest vest pocket of my old outdoor clothes.  It is handy and safe in that pocket!  Works well with my old Legendary Whitetail jacket, with my Cabelas Guidewear Gore-Tex raincoat, with my Eddie Bauer down vest, with an old long sleeve flannel or wool shirt, my old green Air Force military parka coat with many pockets for beachcombing, or with my old green Gore-Tex coat. 

Please keep in mind that I live in the Northwest region of the United States, in the City of Vancouver, Clark County, Southwest Washington.  It is often cool and wet in this region, so a jacket over layered clothing is very common and practical.  Keep your camera dry and handy.

I sometimes keep the SX740 in a leather pouch in my murse when not in my pocket.  I carry my murse everywhere in the car.  The Aproca case is a bit large for my murse, and the pouch is better.  Whatever, please do Protect your camera! 

Canon SLR, EOS Rebel T7/2000D

I have all the gear for a digital Canon Single Lens Reflex (SLR) EOS Rebel T7/2000D camera.  The Rebel T7 is an excellent SLR camera with many advanced features.  I own a wide variety of lenses, attachments, filters, bags, tripod, cables, accessories and gear for this Canon camera product.  It includes a small Manual in English, Spanish, and French. There is an User's Manual for the EOS Rebel T7 available online. $480. 

This camera is larger and heavier.  Some of its lenses are quite long.  It is made for all kinds of professional uses!  Kept in a sturdy camera bag.  However, overall, I prefer handling the compact SX740. 

Canon EOS Rebel T7/2000D for Dummies.  By Julie Adair King.  For Dummies, 2018, index, glossary, 305 pages.  VSCL.  Book. 

Samsung Galaxy A20 Smart Cell Phone

I own a Samsung Galaxy A20 cellphone with an excellent camera, and am now using T-Mobile 5G for Internet access. 

Android Smartphone Photography for Dummies.  By Mark Hemmings.  For Dummies, 2021, 336 pages.  Book.  VSCL.

For me, holding and handling a smart phone for taking photographs is a rather clumsy affair.  I prefer holding the smaller SX740.  I can more easily steady the SX740 camera and keep it still, especially when using the telephoto options.  I can more easily access and use a wide variety of sophisticated photographic options on the SX740 over my cellphone. 

Use a good camera that what works well in your hands, for your preferences, for your needs, for your eyes─ just so long as Your Camera is In Your Hands! 

Eventually, by the end of 2022, I hope the majority of the photographs in Four Days in Grayland will
have been taken by either Michael P. Garofalo or Blanche Karen Garofalo. 

Samsung Tablet A   SM-T380 

This 8" Tablet contains a camera and photographic software, ebooks on photography, and online tools when within WiFi range or tethering to my smartphone. 

Samsung Galaxy Tab: A Complete Manual.  By Scott Brown.  2019, 118 pages.  eBook Kindle, VSCL.

Generally, I use this Saumsung Tablet A 8" for reading ebooks and playing my MP3 music collection. 

Supplementary Hardware

Paper photographs Scanner:  Plustek Photo Scanner.  Ephoto Z300, scan 4x6 photo in 2 seconds.  It includes three software applications: scanner mode, picture quality editing and cropping mode, and file manager mode.  $215.  We are both very satisfied with the ease of use, quality of pictures scanned, software options, file handling.  

Slide Scanner: Kodak Slide and Scan 

Digital Photo Viewer Portable:  Aluratek 10" digital photo frame w/4GB built in memory, USB SD/SDHC support, $85.00.  A nice gift for somebody special - including selected photographs that you have taken of them.  

Photography: Readings, Bibliography, Resources, Links

General Digital Photography Books I Use:  

How to Create Stunning Digital Photography.  By Tony and Chelsea Northrup.  2011, 374 pages, index.  VSCL.  Kindle ebook. 

Digital Photography: Complete Course.  DK, Penguin/Random House, 2015, index, glossary, 360 pages.  VSCL, Book. 

Perfect Digital Photography.  By Jay Dickman and Jay Kingkhorn.  Second Edition.  McGraw Hill, 2009, index, 5008 pages.  Powell's used book, VSCL. 

Digital Photography Essentials.  By Tom Ang.   DK, 2011, index, glossary, 359 pages.  VSCL.  Powell's used book, VSCL.  

Photography Arts, Graphic Arts, and Concrete Poetry

Digital Photography Bible, Desktop Edition.  By Dan Simon.  Wiley,  2004, index, 476 pages.  Powell's used book, VSCL.  Very useful tips for shooting in different situations and environments. 

The Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos: 83 Composition Tools from the Masters.  By Marc Silber. Mango, 2018, 170 pages.  VSCL.  Kindle, ebook. 

Photography Arts, Graphic Arts, and Concrete Poetry

Photography Notes by Michael P. Garofalo

The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes.  By Andy Karr and Michael Wood.  Shambhala, 2011, 240 pages.  VSCL, Book. 

Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography.  By David Ulrich.  Watson, 2018, 224 pages.  VSCL, Amazon Kindle ebook. 

Eventually, by the end of 2022, I hope the majority of the photographs in Four Days in Grayland will have been taken by either Michael P. Garofalo or Blanche Karen Garofalo. 

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Software I Use   

Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Classic

Adobe Photoshop

Starting on 1/12/2022, I began using the photo editing software Adobe Photoshop 2022.  Before that, I had used Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020. 

Adobe Photoshop: A Complete Course and Compendium of Features.  By Stephen Laskevitch.  412 pages, 2020.  VSCL.  Book. 

Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book 2021.  By Conrad Chavez and Andrew Faulkner.  Adobe, 2020, index, 407 pages.  VSCL.  Book. 

Adobe Photoshop for Beginners.  By Kent Peterson.  2021, 129 pages.  VSCL.  Kindle. 

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Adobe Lightroom Classic

Starting on 1/12/2022, I began using the photo management software Adobe Lightroom Classic 2021.  I am using the February 2022 Release (Version 11.2). 

Adobe Lightroom Classic CC: Mastering the Library Module: A Photographer's Guide to Managing Your Image Library with Adobe Lightroom.   By Robin Whalley.  2018, 158 pages.  Amazon Kindle ebook, VSCL. 

Adobe Lightroom Classic: The Ultimate Guide.  By David Coultham.  2021, 228 pages.  VSCL.  Amazon Kindle ebook.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC Book for Digital Photographers.  By Scott Kelby.  New Riders, 2015, index, 558 pages.  Online resources.  FVRL. 

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic Book.  By Scott Kelby.  Voices That Matter Series.  New Riders, 2022, Index, 475 pages.  VSCL.  Book. 

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic For Dummies.  By Rob Sylvan.  Dummies, 2019, 400 pages.  VSCL.  Book. 
This is the book I am studying in February of 2022.  

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC Classic Cheat Sheet.  VSCL.  Laminated.   

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC: Edit Like a Pro.  By Victoria Bampton.  Lightroom Queen, 328 pages, 2018.  VSCL, Book. 

How to Use Lightroom - Instructional Videos 

Perfect Digital Photography.  By Jay Dickman and Jay Kingkhorn.  Second Edition.  McGraw Hill, 2009, index, 508 pages.  This text provides a complete class on Adobe Lightroom.  Used book Powell's, VSCL.  Book

The Photographer's Guide to Lightroom's Develop Module: How to Edit Your Photographs for Excellent Results.  By Robin Whalley.  2018, 238 pages.  Includes video training.  VSCL.  Amazon Kindle ebook. 

Eventually, by the end of 2022, I hope the majority of the photographs in Four Days in Grayland will have been taken by Michael P. Garofalo.   

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Family Photographs Project 2022

We are now working on a  Family Photographs Project.

Phase 1

This involves the tedious process of collecting together all of our digital photographs from our two desktop computers, one laptop computer, cell phones, OneDrive, tablets, and four external hard disk drives. 

We ended up gathering together 58,000 digital photographs into 450 Folders and using up 156 GB of external hard disk drive space.  I did some rough organizing, file renaming, weeding duplicate folders, and placing them all in one Folder (named "Photographs of BKG and MPG") on one Seagate 5Tb external hard disk drive.  Then, I backed up this one Folder on all the other three external hard disk drives.  

A lifetime of our previous digital photographs-- now all safe in one place, roughly organized by year, with backups.  I am sure we will add a few stray Folders of digital photos from the past, and our family or friends might add some other older digital photos.  

Also, now there is a new storage home for all the digital photographs we add after January of 2022.  Using my Canon SX740 digital camera, I intend to add many more thousands of photographs before I die.  

I am studying the book by Scott Kelby titled "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 2021".  I am following his instructions.  This 'Lightroom' book is very informative and useful to me.  I've always enjoyed working with database software and databases (manual and electronic) since 1963.    

My first import into Lightroom was with 10 Test Folders so as to learn how to use Lightroom for Importing and doing basic classification and cataloging markup after importing a Folder.  I am taking my time.  I imported just one Test Folder, and then learned how to do classificatory mark up on individual photos or on larger groups of photos using keywords, search terms, signature presets, special collections, presets, rating flags, etc.  Plenty more to learn about Importing and using many other Lightroom functions in the Library Mode.   

Then, one by one, I will import into Lightroom the 450 Folders in "Photographs of BKG and MPG" and do the markup for each Folder.  Gradually, during February of 2022, I will complete the importation of all the 450 Folders containing 58,000 digital photographs.  

As a former professional Librarian for over 40 years, I find Lightroom to be a very good tool for the database management of digital graphic images.  

Our digital cameras, mostly Canon, over the decades, output digital files in the .jpeg format.  Lightroom can easily handle a wide variety of digital formats.  

Phase 2

In late January of 2022, we set up two portable tables with chairs in front of the fireplace in our larger TV/Reading room.  We placed our HP laptop and the new photo scanner on the tables.  

Then, we began the slow and tedious process of gathering together all our old paper photographs, both black and white photos, as well as color photos.  The old paper photographs were found in boxes, photo albums, drawers, plastic cases, on bookshelves, and in file cabinets.  They were found inside the house, the garage, the attic, the closets.  

We scan all the paper photographs the Plustek Photo Scanner.  We are both very satisfied with the speed and ease of use in scanning, the quality of pictures scanned, the numerous software options, and its file handling.  It can output scanned files in .jpeg and other digital formats.  

Some of the best or treasured old paper photographs are kept, some of the best are given to family members or friends, and many tossed into the landfill paper trash can.  All are scanned!

These paper photographic images are now all digitalized.  Later, if needed, an images or group of images can be tweaked for digitalized quality or artistic improvements using Lightroom or Photoshop.  

Folders of the scanned paper photographs are then Imported into Lightroom and roughly classified or quality rated.  

As of March 1, 2022, I have organized and imported over 417 Folders into Lightroom which contained over 43,000 non-duplicated photographs using

Phase 3

Gather together all our photographic slides.  We have a flat backlit tray for sorting slides.  We have a slide projector.  We will sort, prioritize, scan, and discard slides.  In the end of this work, there will be no slides.  We will give away the slide projector. 

We will use a scanner to import slide images.  We will be using a new Kodak Slide and Scan scanner for this task.  We import in .jpeg format. 

Hardware and Software

In our home in suburban Vancouver, Washington, we have two small bedrooms each converted into a home Office and reading room.  Sometimes, on many cold days, to reduce our electric consumption, we only heat these two Office rooms.  Each has their cozy den for reading, napping, electronic connectivity, and entertainment.  And, each of these rooms have all the Dell desktop and other electronic equipment and gear.  Mostly old equipment, but working fine.  We have Comcast XFinity for Internet and telephone and umpteen channels.  

We are both using an old "renewed" HP Desktop Elitebook 8470p Laptop, Core i5 3320 m 2.6ghz - 8GB DDR3, 128 GB SSD, DVDRW, Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit.  $260, renewed, recycled, saved, or rescued.  Basically, an  old dog of a heavy computer.  My little puny ASUS laptop died two weeks ago.  I use a Seagate 4Tb external hard disk drive.

Paper photographs Scanner:  Plustek Photo Scanner.  Ephoto Z300, scan 4x6 photo in 2 seconds.  It includes three software applications: scanner mode, picture quality editing and cropping mode, and file manager mode.  $215.  We are both very satisfied with the ease of use, quality of pictures scanned, software options, file handling.  

Slide Scanner: Kodak Slide and Scan 

Digital Photo Viewer Portable:  Aluratek 10" digital photo frame w/4GB built in memory, USB SD/SDHC support, $85.00.  A nice gift for somebody special - including selected photographs that you have taken of them.  

I keep my Notes About Photography in a hypertext notebook.  

I post notes about photography to my Cloud Hands Blog. 

I pay for using Adobe Lightroom Classic and Adobe Photoshop, $10 a month.  

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Alphabetical Index to Four Days in Grayland

Four Days in Grayland
By Michael P. Garofalo

Part I: Southwestern Washington
Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, Long Beach Peninsula, Lower Columbia River
A Traveler's Hypertext Notebooks, Studies, Guides, and Resources

Part II: Grayland Beach
A Beach Camper's Hypertext Notebook
Studies, Readings, Activities, Seasons, and Tips 

Part III: Doing and Seeing   
Photographs, Blog Posts, and Reports from 2021-2022  

Part IV: Reflections of Beachcombers   
Poetry, Short Essays, Commentary, Quotations   

Alphabetical Index

The Four Days in Grayland Series began in September, 2021.

Southwestern Washington
Notebooks

Grays Harbor

Grayland Beach
 

Willapa Bay
 

Long Beach Peninsula
 

Lower Columbia River (North Side) from Ilwaco east to Camas

Olympia to Vancouver, Interstate 5 Corridor South
 

Native Americans in the Area

Northwest Coastal Oregon: Astoria to Cape Lookout

Yurt Camping at Coastal State Parks in the Northwest

Counties in Southwestern Washington

Bibliography, Reading Lists, Sources, Links, Documents

Four Days in Grayland Homepage