Boring photography post

Why is Megashot teaching Photoshop instead of photography? I am asking myself that question but you may chime in with an answer if you like. Same as on Flickr, there are many people on Megashot—some are experienced "photographers"—whom do not have a clue about making photographs. Their idea of photography is to get a shot and get it into Photoshop as quickly as possible where the "real" photography takes place. "Bull's ear, Catnip!"* It would be nice if everyone whom has aspirations of becoming a photographer knew at least the basics, like what happens inside the camera when a photo is made, and if they do not have a concept of basics, they are missing out on how to make their shots better, so much so that Photoshop will be used only for mundane tasks like cropping, sharpening, and minor color adjustments. Photos are created by varying amounts of light and when the light passes through the lens, it  goes through a hole, either one of a set size or one that is made variable by the user and the hole is called the aperture. This aperture controls how much light goes to the shutter and the shutter controls how much of that light strikes the film or sensor. As I said, the aperture is a more-or-less round hole and although it does not control the focus on the object being photographed, it does do much to control the apparent focus in front of and behind the object. The aperture causes each photo to be made up of many small circles and if you are not already confused, the small circles are called "circles of confusion". The larger the circles the more the more out of focus the object and its surroundings seem to be. Once focus on the object is established, we can modify the out of focus areas in front of and behind it to make a more pleasing photo. Sometimes we may want a completely blurred background (nowadays called a bokeh for some obscure reason) and at other times we may want certain background objects to partially or completely in focus. I keep saying background because for most purposes, we do not want blurred or out of focus objects in the foreground because they detract from the main object instead of complimenting it, although not always. A little knowledge about how to control factors like depth of field and depth of focus can make a so-so shot into a wall-hanger. It all boils down to whether a person wants to be a good photographer or a good Photoshop user. I personally prefer both with emphasis on knowing how to shoot and having a reason for shooting everything the way I want it to begin with. To answer the question of why, Photoshop takes precedence over knowing how to shoot because it can cover up many of the mistakes that are made by not knowing how a photograph is supposed to be made; ignorance is bliss to the lazy person whom considers himself a photographer. Besides, it seems everyone in this digital era needs a Wow! factor without having to work for it. If it has a mistake, make its color so bright it will blind the eye to imperfections.
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Have a Tuesday, my friends; I have begun our personal taxes and am already stressed. Phooey!
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*Quote by Jerry Reed and oft repeated by my missing friend, Bro Hill.
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