I'm just starting out with photography. I've always had a passion for visual arts, so my parents purchased me an Olympus Accura Zoom 80 camera. I am interested in taking B&W pictures, so I bought the film and I'm wondering if there are any specifics with when to use the flash and when not to. Also, how difficult is it to achieve the special effects that are seen in various featured pictures? Any tips and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-- lauren grace (mable_17@hotmail.com), December 27, 2000

Answers

Lauren -- using the flash should be just about your last option if you are starting out with B&W. I'd suggest using the B&W films that are processed in color one-hour labs, because your costs will be lower. (Ilford XP2 Super, Kodak CN400, and Kodak B&W plus.) All these are ISO speed 400, so you should be able to get along without the flash. Go to the library and browse through photography books, both the how-to and the collections of pictures by the "masters". Use this for hints and inspiration, but be careful not to get discouraged (as I have been) because your results may not be as good. It takes loads of experience behind the camea and in the darkroom to produce good B&W images. For that matter, the one-hour labs print for the average values of the negative, which might not be what you want from a particular image. I myself plan of going back to take a couple courses (hopefully at a free art school nearby) in B&W photography, to review and rearrange my skills. There are many other suggestions, but I've got to get back to work soon. By all means use the Zoom 80, but try using it without zooming very much. I assume it goes wide angle to 28mm of 35mm. Try sticking with the widest angle for a while. Then find the 50mm foal length and stick with that for a while. If you have to move forward or backward to compose of fill a frame, that's why we have feet. The 80mm focal length is great for portraits. Again, choose a focal length for a roll of film and stick with it for the duration of the roll. You learn more, faster. If you find that you really are serious about photography, you'll need a manual SLR camera with a couple fixed focal length lenses. They are generally referred to as "Student" cameras, and are quite affordable. I practice what I preach. I recently from a semi-automatic camera (I had exposure control via aperture priority) to a fully manual camera. the only thing the battery powers is the meter. You'll learn more if YOU control the focus, exposure, composition. And please, above all else, enjoy yourself.

-- Jeff Polaski (polaski@acm.org), December 28, 2000.