Yahoo!7 Answers Blog Australia

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There’s something so special about being able to capture a moment in time. I love capturing the instant when the sun dips below the horizon and the whole world is bathed in a bright orange glow or being able to get that cheeky grin on someone’s face. Photography is definitely my favourite form of visual art and one that I’d love to learn more about.

Personally I love taking travel shots. I’ve got thousands of photographs from my travels, ranging from blurry shots of my travel companions to rather startling images that capture the atmosphere of the location. I’m no award winning photographer, but I think the most important thing about art is the enjoyment you get from it. I love the process of setting up the photo and the satisfaction of it turning out the way you imagined it. Most of all, I love framing the special ones so I can be reminded of that moment in time every time I look at it.

Last week Sony Alpha asked you, the Answers community, What do you most like to take photographs of and why? There were some great responses and I thought I’d share a few with you:

Baby’s got blue eyes has a lovely idea for her photography:

I love to take photos of sunrise and sunset. Its the most beautiful and spectacular time of the day. My current hobby is to take a photo of the sunset every single day for 1 year, from my birthday this year to next year. Once finished, Im going to choose one favourite from each day and make a giant collage of sunset photos and frame it.

Regwah’s photography is slightly less traditional:

Well there is this one osprey that I can’t get enough of, he is my friend & allows me to get really close. I only have an 17-85mm lens so I have to get close.
Here I am in a tree with me old mate the osprey.

Stevo doesn’t like photography to be too easy:

Opals. Because it’s a challenge capturing their colour.

Pamela likes to consider the meaning behind her subjects:

I like to shoot bridges, stairways, and railroad tracks because they represent transition to me. I also like to shoot black and white photos that show light and dark contrasts. I like to take photos of people who love each other, whether it be a couple, family, friends. I like candid shots in public of people or of architectural statements.

For Ali, just getting her subjects to pose is the real challenge:

I absolutely love taking photos of people. Unfortunately this is hard to do, as there are not many people around me that enjoy having their photo taken

I can relate to Ali’s problem. I love portrait travel photographs like the one on the left by Wanderself that demonstrate culture of a country but I’ve never been able to capture it just right. Either the light is wrong or the person moves, or my camera just isn’t good enough. Whatever it is, I’ve never been able to get a photo I’ve been happy with.

What about you? What sort of photography is your archilles heel? Can’t master night time shots or are you never able to get the lighting right in sunset pics? Maybe you’ll get some hints from Sony Alpha’s Photography page!

One of the things I love about Answers is the fact that you never know where you might be getting advice from. It could be your neighbour, it could be an Oxford university professor, it could be a retiree from Nebraska. It’s exciting that so many people in the world have weird and wonderful expertises.

However there is a type of Answers user that you know exactly who they are. They’re a part or our Knowledge Partner program. You may have noticed them  – they’re the users with the little pink badges next to their name. Knowledge Partners are organisations that have expertise in a certain area and want to share their knowledge. We wanted to feature one of our Knowledge Partners – Ph.Art Gallery.

Ph.Art Gallery have been pretty active in the Photography sub category in the last few months. They’ve already got a Best Answer rating of 59% and almost every day they’re in the category answering questions about all sorts of photographic conundrums.

So who are these guys? In their own words…

Ph.Art Gallery, (www.photoartgallery.com) is the ultimate photographic destination it’s where you can Create your own Gallery, to store, print and share your photos with family, friends or the entire world.  If you have ever wondered… “Great Shot, Now What?” . . .  Well why not show off those photos and unlock the artist within. Get those great photos off the hard drive to a place where they’ll be recognised, admired and where you can even earn some money by selling your photographic art around the world. It’s also a place where you can appreciate, create and buy amazing photographic wall art for your very own.

Do you have to be a professional photographer to show your work on the website?

Absolutely not we have created gallery spaces that accommodate all levels of photographer so don’t be shy. It does not matter if it’s your full time career or merely a hobby, if you think it’s a great image then submit it to a gallery and see how you go…

We hope there is a place here for anyone who is passionate and loves photography!

How much is it to buy photos?

At this point we only allow the sale of a photo as a wall print of some sort there is no digital delivery of images and the minimum cost is $50 plus the print costs. Over time we will consider digital delivery, similar to a stock library but this decision will be based around the quantity of images we get in the coming months.

So how are your photography skills? Need to learn techniques like how to shoot lightning or how to highlight one colour in your photo and have black and white everywhere else? Or perhaps you’re more interested in learning about editing techniques like how to lighten and darken photos or need to find a good place to edit pictures? Maybe you’re more interested in buying good photography and need to know where to look? Visit the photography section and ask a question then email Ph.art Gallery to let them know!

Caitlin
Community Manager

To me it seems that if you asked everyone what their top ten hobbies are photography would be on pretty much every list. It’s so easy to do, it doesn’t have to cost the earth and it’s nice to capture your memories to look back on.

Since the invention of digital cameras allowed us to just snap and snap and snap and then delete whichever pictures we don’t like, since more and more homes have computers to display their photos on, and since sites like flickr made it possible to share your pictures with the world it seems everyone is an amateur photographer, documenting every possible moment, from a nicely prepared meal to a crowd at a popular night club.

But while we all love taking photos, there is a big different between happy snaps and professional looking portraits. And while many enjoy it as a hobby, making a decent living at it isn’t so easy. There are so many techniques to learn about and even the terminology itself is a list a mile long. It takes a while to understand why photos don’t always turn out the way you think they will (red eye!) and how to correct mistakes like overexposure and to get to know the best way to work with difficult subjects such as children and animals.

My question is – never mind taking a photo – how do I make sure I look good in it!?!

Clea

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Potter fans are already queuing…

Only one more sleep to go!

And many will be doing that outside their favourite bookstore – even through freezing night-time temperatures, just to be one of the first to get their hands on the final installment of the amazing Harry Potter series.

Although a nasty spoil sport leaked the tome to the internet a few days ago, most people aren’t going to ruin the excitement for themselves and will wait until they have their own copy of the book in their own hands before sitting down to find out what becomes of Harry, Ron, Hermione and the evil Lord Voldemort. There have been hundreds of theories flying around cyberspace and Yahoo!7 Answers as to how the series will end – some suggesting that Harry will die (oh I hope not!), many speculating about which side Professor Snape is really on and lots wondering what the final Horcrux actually is.

July has been a double dose of Harry Potter mania, with the fifth movie being released in cinemas a couple of weeks ago and reviews pouring in about whether or not it was an acceptable representation of the book.

I am predicting a quiet weekend around the world as children and adults everywhere stay indoors to read what will no doubt be an amazing climax to the world’s most popular series of books… followed by a lot of questions on Answers about the outcome!

Clea

Reading can distract you from anything!

Being a regular on public transport, I am also a big reader. I spend at least an hour a day travelling, and as much of that time as possible with my nose buried in a book. My local library has cottoned on to this fact and set up a stall near my station, which means I can drop off an old book and grab a new one on my way to work.

But what to read? The latest and final instalment in the Harry Potter series won’t be available for several weeks, and I have read the most recent book by my favourite ‘chicklit’ writer and each one that has come before it.

It is always a good idea when choosing a book to ask what other people thought of it – or get them to list their all time favourites – if you are like minded in other things often you will have the same taste in literature. I am a big fan of crime novels and biographies so if I can get something from that genre recommended to me I’m happy.

As I have a love of literature I also enjoy discussing it with people, interpreting the meanings and messages behind both and modern bestseller and finding out which books had the biggest impact on their lives. One book that I find unforgettable is The Secret History by Donna Tartt, a dark exploration into what happens after a group of young friends plan and commit murder.

If you have any questions about memorable reads or even about publishing a book of your own there is always someone willing to help on Answers.

Clea