Nope, nope, nope...

Since I first went digital I have had a policy of never deleting in camera. I wait until I get home, offload all the images, and review them on the computer. This policy has never served me better than it did this week.

A friend asked me to walk him through the various camera settings and help him understand what each did and how each impacts the resulting photograph. We walked out to a spot on the campus where we work and took shots as we went along with varying settings so that I could explain what was happening in each shot.

I took a set of shots and explained to him how, for instance, the change of aperture or focal length made the differences in the resulting images.

I then had him take the camera, make similar setting changes, and then take shots to compare to the ones I'd taken.

We then talked through what happened with each shot and how to accomplish various results by changing settings and/or physically changing your relationship to the subject.

It was actually a lot of fun. Not only did I get to help a friend but I also got to consciously walk and talk through the photography basics - never a bad idea to review now and again even if just to remind yourself why you enjoy photography so much.

At one point during our discussion and experimenting I mentioned portraits as a good example of how to effectively use depth of field and bokeh to create impact and visual appeal. To demonstrate this I climbed up on the pedestal of one of the statues we were using as a subject, braced myself by hanging on to the statue, and leaned back to get a nice close eye-level shot of said statue's face.

Shhhhh... don't tell anyone I climed on the statue. Bad juju!

When all was said and done I got back to my office and went to wipe the memory cards...

But then the voice of that silly little dinosaur in the movie Land Before Time saying "Nope, nope, nope." went rattling through my head...

So I didn't.

I realized that one random violation of my 'never erase in camera' policy could set a dangerous precedent for my routine...

So I dumped the photos onto the computer...

And then I pulled them up just for fun... but also to go through my usual routine and not set any of those dangerous precedent thingies.

Amidst all the extreme examples we shot, to emphasize one point or another, I found this.

This is the shot I took while dangling - literally... with my left hand wrapped around the back of this statue's head while I leaned back and took the shot.

Again... Mum's the word on my acrobatics! Pinky Swear?

I was so drawn to it that within 30 minutes I had turned it into this and posted on the office (Religious Order) social media accounts.

And then I started to play with it a bit and came up with this slightly different look and feel... just more intense, I think.

So, moral of the story...

Nope, nope, nope.

Never delete in camera.

You never know what treasures you may find when you get home and look through those shots on the big screen.