Mary Buck

The Best Ways to Learn Photography

March 7, 2023 by Mary Buck

The best way to learn photography may depend on your preferences, learning style, budget, and goals. According to the search results, some of the common ways to learn photography are:

University/college degree: This is a traditional and formal way to learn photography, where you can get a comprehensive and structured education, but it may also be expensive and time-consuming.
Apprenticeships and internships: This is a practical and hands-on way to learn photography. You can work with experienced photographers and learn from their feedback and guidance, but it may also be competitive and challenging to find.
Blogs and other online resources: This is a convenient and accessible way to learn photography. You can find many free or low-cost information and tips, but they may also be overwhelming and inconsistent.
Workshops: This is a social and interactive way to learn photography. You can join a group of other photo hobbyists and learn from a professional instructor, but it may also be costly and infrequent.
Online courses: This is a flexible and affordable way to learn photography, where you can follow a curriculum and learn at your own pace, but it may also be less engaging and motivating.
Mentors: This is a personalized and supportive way to learn photography, where you can get one-on-one coaching and advice from a skilled photographer, but it may also be expensive and hard to find.

Do you have a preference for any of these ways?

Is Learning Photography Hard?

Learning photography can be easy or hard, depending on your goals and preferences. Suppose you want to learn photography for your benefit, such as a hobby or to enhance your creativity. In that case, you only need to know the basics of photography, such as exposure, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. You can also study the work of renowned photographers and choose the type of photography you prefer, such as landscape, portrait, wildlife, or street photography.

One of the best ways to learn photography is with other photo hobbyists. You can join a camera club or take introductory photography classes at a local camera store, arts center, or library. You can also find online courses, tutorials, and workshops that suit your learning style and budget.

Photography is a skill that requires practice and experimentation. The more you shoot, the more you will learn and improve. You will also develop your unique vision and style, which is essential to producing work that stands out.

What kind of photography are you interested in?

Learn more about beginner photography classes

Learn more about online photography classes

Learn more about private photography lessons

Learn more about Immersion Photography Workshops

Duluth Photographer Teams up With a Local Charity

January 19, 2023 by Mary Buck

ART FOR THE HEART FUND-RAISER

Get a snazzy new headshot, pick up some new artwork for your home, and help benefit the community.

Have you heard about Taco Tuesday?
Well, now there is Headshot Monday.

The first Headshot Monday is scheduled for February 13th from 11 AM – 2 PM. Each session lasts 15 minutes, and you can choose two backdrops; light gray or medium gray. I will take 10-12 photos of you. The best five will be edited and presented in an online gallery five days after the event.

Headshot Monday will be held at Bunten Rd. Park, 3180 Bunten Rd. Duluth GA 30096

A headshot is only $59 for the first one and $35 for each additional headshot. Each image is provided in full resolution and retouched. Retouching includes:

removing shadows under the eyes
reducing facial lines
whitening teeth
remove shine from the face

VISIT MY HEADSHOT GALLERY

Best of all, 5% of your bill will be donated to a local charity, Hands of Christ.

To learn more about Hands of Christ, scroll down.

What’s not to like about Headshot Monday?

You’ll receive a BRAND NEW Headshot to start the New Year, and you will help out a local charity.

Registration and payment for one headshot are required to reserve your spot. There are no refunds for no-shows or cancellations less than 24 hours before your appointment.

PLEASE BRING A CANNED GOOD THAT CAN BE DONATED TO HANDS OF CHRIST DULUTH CO-OP

Mary Buck Nature Photography – ART SHOW

An Art Event to help benefit the community.

5% of all sales will go toward Hands of Christ Duluth Co-op

Sunday, February 12, from 1 PM – 5 PM

3779 Davenport Rd. Duluth, GA 30096

I will be showing some new work from my recent travels.

All former pieces of printed art will be 50% OFF

Light refreshments will be served

Hope you can come!

(please park at the library and walk two blocks or park in one of the parking spots marked with white stripes).

VISIT MY GALLERY

ABOUT HANDS OF CHRIST DULUTH CO-OP

The Duluth Co-Op relies on the generous support of churches, businesses, civic organizations, schools, private foundations, grants and individuals to provide emergency services to families, the disabled, and seniors who desperately need a helping hand.

There is a dire need for help in Duluth and Gwinnett County—and most people living in our community are unaware. In fact, Gwinnett County has the 3rd highest total homeless population in the state of Georgia. A few other facts might surprise you as well:

In Gwinnett County, 11.4% of the population lives in poverty (102,496 out of 900,628 people).
A 2015 Georgia Department of Community Affairs report suggests Gwinnett has the largest homeless population of any metro Atlanta community.
In 2016, 54% of all Gwinnett County school children were eligible for free or reduced lunches. That’s almost 96,000 children—enough to fill over 1,370 school buses.

The Duluth Co-op brings our community together to provide food, emergency assistance, and hope to neighbors in need. We believe churches, businesses, and community members can serve together in a way that makes life better for everyone.

How to be the Best Photographer You Can in 2023

January 5, 2023 by Mary Buck

You’ve probably heard of the 10,000-hour rule

, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s blockbuster book “Outliers.” As Gladwell tells it, the rule goes like this: it takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials, like playing the violin or getting as good as Bill Gates. But what about learning photography? Will it take that long?

Patience is the key to mastering any new skill

because it does not happen overnight. Photography can be a life-long learning process because technology is changing so rapidly. Trends also change quickly. Becoming a master of photography will happen with time.

Here are some tips to help accelerate the process for the New Year:

Join a camera club or photography meet-up. You will learn so much informally from other like-minded photographers. I recommend GNPA, which has many chapters within Metro-Atlanta.
Go beyond your limits by trying a new lens or camera. Always using the same focal length can produce stagnant work. Try out one of the new mirrorless cameras and see if that puts a new fire in your commitment to learning. Aperturent is my go-to rental shop in Atlanta. It is located on Roswell Rd near 285.
Commit every week to photography. If you can, make it on the same day and time, so it becomes a habit. A simple walk around your neighborhood or a local park can inspire creativity and also provide exercise and Vitamin D.
Consider entering your photos in a competition. You’ll need a bit of thick skin for the process, especially if you request a critique. Judging is very subjective, but you will learn so much about all levels of photography, from composition to technical excellence.
Lastly, bring your camera everywhere you go. Sometimes, you never know when the bald eagle will show up.

Hopefully, I have given you some

some ideas to help you get on track to becoming a Master of Photography. Let me know if any of these ideas work for you, and please share them on the Facebook page.

Learn Photography Online

Learn Photography with Private Lessons

Learn Photography with Immersion Workshops

How To Treat Digital Noise

August 17, 2022 by Mary Buck

Now that I photograph wildlife, it’s a whole new story.

I used to photograph people, places, and things using the lowest ISO possible. That is no longer possible when I am outdoors photographing birds and other moving subjects. My camera settings are typically in manual mode, with the aperture set to the widest lens opening and the shutter speed set to 1/1000 second or faster. I set the ISO to auto, being careful, it does not go above 10,000, but sometimes it does go higher.

I have switched from a DSLR system to a mirrorless camera.

I am a Canon user and recently invested in the Canon R3 full frame camera and RF lenses. The Canon 100-400mm lens has a maximum aperture of f/8, and when I use a 1.4 teleconverter, I lose a stop of light, so I am shooting at f/11. I can still achieve a creamy background, but it is not exactly a very wide open aperture and coupled with the faster shutter speed, my ISO peaks. This results in digital noise.

What is digital noise?

Digital noise is a degradation in image quality caused by a high ISO. Usually, it is because of a low light situation, or it could be caused by using a fast shutter speed which can result in a high ISO. In the past, an ISO of over 400 was considered noisy. As camera sensors have improved, so has digital noise. Full frame sensors generally produce a less noisy image than a cropped sensor.

The best ways to reduce digital noise:

Shoot with the lowest ISO possible.

2. Utilize the Noise Reduction feature in your camera. You can adjust the setting to high in some cameras.

3. Shoot wide-open if you can afford a telephoto lens that opens up to f/4 or wider.

4. Shoot in RAW and process the image in Lightroom or ACR using their noise reduction adjustment,

The best way I have found to treat and remove digital noise is to use a third-party plug-in called Topaz AI Noise Reduction.

Topaz is an easy fix to most of my images.

The image of the female cardinal was run through the program. As you can see, the original is very noisy because it was shot at 12800 ISO. I have such a high ISO because I chose a fast shutter speed to stop the wings’ action. The male cardinal pictured below was shot at 6400 ISO on a dark and dreary day.

The Topaz program has four modules, and I find that standard works the best. A bonus is that sharpening is part of the software.

This male cardinal was shot on a dark, dreary day at 6400 ISO

Here is a 20% discount code for the software PICTURECORRECT

You can order it here.

Let me know if you have any questions.

If you would like information on photography workshops, visit the website

If you would like information on private photography workshops, visit the website.

The image above was shot early morning in low light at 8000 ISO. It was treated in Topaz Noise Reduction AI

Art Beat Photographer Mary Buck finds ‘Spain is for the Birds’

June 9, 2022 by Mary Buck

Gwinnett Daily Post, June 1, 2022

Author: Holley Calmes

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Duluth resident and photographer Mary Buck

discovered that instead of taking pictures in exotic locales such as Cuba, she was housebound like the rest of us.

Good photographers can find beguiling subject matter regardless of their situation, and Buck found great beauty in the birds that were bountiful in her own back yard.

Since then, Buck has become very popular for her bird photography. Always seeking new places, and new avian subjects, she received an email from the Georgia Audubon Society about a birding trip to Southwest Spain.

“It sounded like such a great adventure, so I called my BBFF (best birding friend forever) Susan and said, ‘Let’s go!’”

Buck and her friend flew to Madrid on April 23. Over 11 days, they covered 1,000 miles throughout the regions of Extremadura and Andalusia. There were 11 individuals in the tour group, mostly from Atlanta.

One of the goals of these tourists was to bag as many “lifers” as they could. A “lifer,” in birding terms, is a bird that a person has successfully sighted and identified for the first time in their life.

The expert guides of the wild bird company “Wild Donana” were named Maria and Sergio.

Between them, they sighted 190 species of birds during the 11-day tour, so many “lifers” were obtained by the group.

Buck used a Canon Mirrorless full frame camera and very long lenses.

“I did a little homework before I left and was eager to see and photograph raptors,” says Buck. “When I finally did see them, I was so far away that they were barely a speck in my viewfinder. I found much more satisfaction photographing smaller birds that were closer and practically posing for me.”

“I was thrilled to photograph the Eurasian Hoopoe,” Buck said. “It really does make that ‘hoopoe’ sound! I photographed the Eurasian Bee-Eater which really does eat bees, the Bald Ibis, and the Iberian Magpie, just to name a few. My only disappointment was not seeing a Cuckoo bird.”

Buck’s greatest experience was witnessing the migration of birds from Africa to Europe

, in Punta Carnero where the eastern end of Gallows Hill descends 600 feet to the Mediterranean Sea.

“It was fascinating to watch the migratory birds such as buzzards, eagles, vultures and black kites make the trip across the straits,” Buck said. “They utilize thermals, warm rising air columns, and soar to great heights. They can then glide great distances without flapping their wings.”

An unexpected detour led part of the tour to Seville during a colorful festival

, where parades of big-hatted horsemen, beautiful carriages, and women in traditional dress performing Andalusian folk dances provided a colorful experience, and a few photos.

Buck has traveled to many fascinating places, but this trip was special in unique ways.

“I was able to experience nature on a new level,” she said. “Although I took over 3,000 photos, the best view was unobstructed by a camera. I’ll be back.”

To view more of Mary’s Travel Photography, visit her website

To learn more about Photography lessons and workshops visit her Photography Immersion Website.

Why Learning How to Use a Camera is a lot Like Learning How to Play an Instrument

July 13, 2021 by Mary Buck

I teach people the fundamentals of photography so they can use their cameras to tell stories, create art or

do whatever they want with their camera. Some of my students want to take better pictures of their kids or improve their travel photography. It really doesn’t matter what the purpose is

One thing remains true…Practice makes perfect

With a musical instrument, one creates music, and with a camera, one creates art.

I have been teaching photography since 2011 and I have come to the following conclusions:

The more one practices, the better one will learn how to use their camera.
Practicing photography creates muscle memory. If one does not practice, the muscles will have difficulty remembering, and one will not progress.
Brain and hand coordination increase with practice as ones’ fingers intuitively turn a knob or push a button to make creative controls on the camera.
Learning the apertures, shutter speeds, and ISO (exposure triangle) is as powerful in learning the craft of photography as learning the musical scale is to music.
Learning photography takes time and determination, just like learning how to play an instrument.
Lastly, photographers and musicians are artists and use the power of their art to express themselves.

How long does it take to learn photography?

There is no set time and each person learns differently. In my six-week private lessons, I assign homework so the student can better absorb the material from the previous lesson. It could take longer if the student has never been exposed to the basic fundamental building blocks of photography. I tell my students to expect six months to a year, to learn the basics of photography.

What is more important? A good eye or technical ability?

Learning photography is a mix of the right brain and left brain. I prefer to teach the technical stuff first, so the student can grasp that information before they dive into the story-telling aspect of photography. Once the technical information is processed, it becomes second nature. I believe learning the fundamentals of photography first is crucial before focusing on art, composition, and story-telling.

How does one get started with photography?

I would start by learning some of the basics of photography. The internet is free, and there are tons of YouTube videos. I would recommend finding a specific video for a camera and then renting a camera first before investing. The best way to learn photography is through practice, perseverance, and motivation.