I firmly believe that the camera a photographer has in his/her hand is far less important then the visualization contained in ones eye. Many times I have commented in the office that it is the person behind the camera that must know how to make a good photograph and that ability is not lost when using an inexpensive camera, commonly known as the “point and shoot.”

Apparently, our esteemed editor Alec O'Meara has had enough of this attitude and has challenged me to a duel, of the photographic kind.

I have agreed to lend Alec my high-end professional grade digital SLR with interchangeable lens and he has agreed to lend me his credit card size, “don't worry I'll do everything for you,” point and shoot.

To avoid all hints of impropriety, The Winnisquam Echo's editor Meghan Seigler created the contest scenario. Alec and I have been charged with taking a picture that depicts the end of summer. Let the contest begin.

My comments this week relate my initial impression of this tiny little picture taker and how I will approach taking photographs.

There are few buttons, dials and wheels on this tiny little box. There is no method for directly selecting shutter speed or aperture. Via the menu interface, I am able to set the ISO, the white balance and picture taking mode.

But, for me, the most glaring omission is a viewfinder. The only way to compose a photograph is by looking at the fixed position LCD display on the back of the camera. I am not a rookie to point and shoots. I have my own Canon G3 that has, as one of its most endearing features, a display that swivels and can adjust to any angle independently of where the camera lens is pointing. With this fixed in place display, it is hard to see what you are photographing and it forces you to take your eye off the subject. You are basically limited to the stance that all who use cameras such as these take. Arms out in front of you, camera pointed at a stationary subject, press the shutter and wait a few seconds.

As a test, we converged on a group of kids outside our office selling ice tea. Their cause was a noble one, raising money for the humane society. My “best” image is shown with this column. You will have to wait till next time to see Alec's.

I set the functions on the camera before heading out. A quick look out the window showed that it was overcast but midday bright. I set the white balance to 'cloudy' and the ISO to 200. The other option I wished to set was the picture taking mode. Since I was taking pictures of people, I scrolled through the options that included such choices as landscape, fireworks, sports, portrait, nighttime. etc. Nowhere was there a choice for “shooting a group of kids selling ice tea.” My normal frame of mind would be to set the aperture, anywhere between f/4.0 and f/5.6, allowing for a shutter speed fast enough to freeze motion of the subjects. With this camera, however, there is no concept of setting aperture, there are only picture modes. My choices came down to “portrait”, which showed an image of a headshot, or “vacation”, which showed people in front of a mountain. I settled for vacation and set out to where the kids were selling beverages. My assumption, without consulting the users guide (Hey, I'm male), is that vacation mode is biased towards maximum depth of field at the expense of shutter speed. There was plenty of light outside, so it was not an issue.

My first feeling was one of discomfort. I was without my crutch, the big pro camera. I felt I had to explain myself more, since the camera I was carrying didn't scream PRO! It was also difficult to engage the kids in conversation while composing an image that matched my visualization. I found I could only do one or the other, needing to stare at the LCD display and squint in the bright light rather then bringing the camera to my eye in one motion. Concentrating on the foreground subject while observing the background, the other two kids, was difficult. Secondly, the wide angle of view on this camera is nowhere near as wide as my SLR so, my framing was off and I could not get the composition I wanted. Over the years, I have learned to visualize the way my camera 'sees'. This camera didn't see things my way, so it was an adjustment.

My opinion of the photograph? The background is not what I want. Both kids on the right are looking away and it distracts from the image. The boy on the left works OK for me, He is facing the camera but not looking at it and is hand holding an object that tells part of the story, the humane society part.

As with any tool, I will need time to get comfortable with its features (limitations?). When we go back out and capture that end-of-summer feeling, I hope to do better.

Can't wait till next time, when Alec drools all over my gear. But, does he take a better picture? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned and keep shooting.