Should it rather be HOW TO or WHY?

[Colin Southern]

That's really sad, Dan. You have no idea how much fun you're missing trying to figure out what the English version that was poorly translated from Japanese is explaining.

Frankly, I'm frequently shocked at the extent of poor translations -- and I'm at a loss to understand it.

Classic case-in-point - I fly Align RC Helicopters; there will always be those who swear by them and others who swear at them, but I've found their quality and construction to be excellent value, and yet we get announcements like this ...



Why can they not see that translations like this degrade the perceived value of the product?

[pnodrog]

Colin I suppose you are familiar with the story of a landing gear service manual that referred to water sheep. A NATO Computer translation from German and should have been hydraulic ram.

[krispix]

Hi Andre,

I think the simple answer to your question is that Photography is a peculiar marriage of artistry and technology. Mastery of either will not produce a good photograph (at least, not without a large slice of luck). The more you understand of the technicalities the better and quicker you'll be able to evaluate the scene before the artist in you kicks-in and you hit the button. It's true that today so much is done for you by the camera. All that means is that someone with considerable knowledge of the technological side has done all the hard work for you and allows you to let your inner artist free.

Having come from a time when a camera was a simple lightproof box that you put film in, I had to learn the nuts & bolts. I always worked on the principal that if you know and understand the rules, you will have a good idea what will happen when you break them.

[Richard Lundberg]

The OP said: "Knowing that 9000K will render an image much warmer than 2500K is better than knowing WHY 9000K will render the image much warmer than 2500K. "
No one commented on this.

[William W]

To be frank I didn't notice it: and I usually do notice those technical things.

If I had of noticed it - in the context of the OP, I probably wouldn't have commented on it though, because the thrust and meaning of the Opening Post was not dependent upon any (wrong) example which might have been given.

. . . on the other hand the Opening Post could have been referring to the Manual Setting of the CT in the camera? And read in context the preceding sentence mentions "settings" . . . so I think that is the meaning of the sentence that you quoted and it is not meaning the Temperature of the Light illuminating the scene.

WW

[pnodrog]

The OP said: "Knowing that 9000K will render an image much warmer than 2500K is better than knowing WHY 9000K will render the image much warmer than 2500K. "
No one commented on this.

We were just to polite to mention your orange - blue colour blindness...

Had I spotted your error I would have been able to supply a host of blue coloured photographs taken on my daughters graduation march with the WB set to tungsten. Luckily I had RAW files so it did not matter at all in PP.

It is on my How to make photographs blue instructions and my Why list.

[Colin Southern]

The OP said: "Knowing that 9000K will render an image much warmer than 2500K is better than knowing WHY 9000K will render the image much warmer than 2500K. "
No one commented on this.

In my opinion, understanding "why" something is a certain way is a level deeper than simply "how" to accomplish something. Using colour temperature as an example, teaching them HOW to white balance a shot is going to immediately help them if they've been struggling with colour casts. Teaching them the WHY behind it may help them understand more about colour perception and give them tools to decide when technically correct white balancing is the correct way to go, and when it isn't, and how to get a better result by "breaking" the "how" "rules".

In some contexts the "how" is analogous to "giving a man a fish and feeding him for a day" whereas the deeper understanding of "why" teaches him how to fish and feeds him for a lifetime.

[Digital]

In my opinion, understanding "why" something is a certain way is a level deeper than simply "how" to accomplish something. Using colour temperature as an example, teaching them HOW to white balance a shot is going to immediately help them if they've been struggling with colour casts. Teaching them the WHY behind it may help them understand more about colour perception and give them tools to decide when technically correct white balancing is the correct way to go, and when it isn't, and how to get a better result by "breaking" the "how" "rules".

In some contexts the "how" is analogous to "giving a man a fish and feeding him for a day" whereas the deeper understanding of "why" teaches him how to fish and feeds him for a lifetime.

I was wondering if at times the WHY, and the HOW of photography are appropriate for the photographic process, and at other times the just the HOW will do. To give an example I do not need to know the WHY behind the camera optics of depth of field, just that there are factors that can be used to manipulate it. That is the HOW. On the other hand to use Colin's example of WB, the WHY, and the HOW are appropriate to come into play.
This is my opinion, and I am sticking to it until someone argues with me.


Bruce

[FrankMi]

In some contexts the "how" is analogous to "giving a man a fish and feeding him for a day" whereas the deeper understanding of "why" teaches him how to fish and feeds him for a lifetime.

This thread is getting WAY too serious!

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

[Colin Southern]

This thread is getting WAY too serious!

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Reminds me of the guy who comes along an sees a fisherman snoozing beside his small boat. He said "you should be working hard you lazy sod". "Why?" replies the fisherman. "So you can get a bigger boat and catch more fish" says the guy. "And then what?" says the fisherman. "So then you can expand - get more boats and people working for you" said the guy. "What's the point of that?" says the fisherman. "So you'll be able to relax - and have some time off!" says the guy. "But that's what I'm doing now!" says the fisherman ...

[William W]

The OP said: "Knowing that 9000K will render an image much warmer than 2500K is better than knowing WHY 9000K will render the image much warmer than 2500K. "
No one commented on this.

Perhaps, Richard, you could explain in what context you were soliciting comments.
I took your post to mean that you thought the OP was in error, whereas others have commented on the analogy.

WW

[dabhand]

Right brain - Left brain, engineer - artist, young/middle/old aged, professional/amatuer, time on hands - busy life style, willing to accept things as they are - prove it to me, geek - user whatever whatever; everyone has their own reasons for doing it their way, they may not suit others but that is their privilige.

We live in a world where there are more and more levels of abstraction between the way something works and the results it delivers

It seems strange to me that photographers who are willing to argue f stops until the cows come home accept the (non-optical) workings within a camera without any understanding of their micro circuits and the processing alogorithms within them - are you really sure your 30 second timer isn't actually triggering at 18.942 secs, or that a gaussian alogorithm is the most suitable for adding noise ?

Sometimes, just like Frank and Colin's fishermen, sufficient is enough and as one myself, catching a perfect fish every cast would soon become extremely boring, take all the pleasure out of it and cause me to take up another hobby - photography - nah too complicated

[AB26]

Lots of Golf in Photography. Some draw, some fade and some hit it straight (some never get off the tee). Theory about graphite and titanium. Spending a fortune on gear and along comes a bloke with his old set of Schlesinger clubs and he outplays the fella with the set of Callaway graphite’s. But yet, nobody has ever played the “perfect round of golf”.

Be it KNOW HOW and/or KNOW WHY we all strive to get that “perfect shot”, a hole in one. Trying to find the recipe to get that “hole in one” was made easier with internet forums. All these argum…. I mean discussions, keep us focused on our game.

Good thing there is no right nor wrong in Photography, only different ways of getting to the end result. (As long as you get the end result I want.)

Focus my boy, you got to focus!

[dabhand]

Be it KNOW HOW and/or KNOW WHY we all strive to get that “perfect shot”, a hole in one.

And then it costs you a fortune in the 19th hole !

[AB26]

And then it costs you a fortune in the 19th hole !

.........while reviewing the bad shots you had, blaming it on your tools and playing partners ............

[Brownbear]

I've been thinking about this and why I am trying to so hard to understand the why's behind choosing an appropriate aperture, focal length, distance to the subject and to understand the difference between placing my focal point on the subject of interest versus the hyperfocal distance and the relationship with my chosen depth of field, and it is because I'm mechanically inept.

For me it helps when I see an image to understand things like aperture in terms of a smaller number equates to a larger opening to allow more light in, and shutter speed as the duration of the light flowing into my camera as a larger number allowing more light, and vice versa because it allows me to relate to the specific function of the button or dial on my camera. It also lets me know which functions I need to use on my camera and which ones I can ignore until I see the value of trying out another camera function, ie; most recently live view.

With respect to learning how to photograph a landscape image all of a sudden I'm learning to use and coordinate two new pieces of equipment, the tripod (with several components that need to be maneuvered) and a remote release (which I've just learned will only grab focus in certain focus modes); and a polarizer which needs to be turned one way or the other; and the use of different lens with different focal lengths and fields of view (adding to list of equipment I'm trying to handle at one time) and trying to coordinate all these things while trying to see is akin to driving a standard car while enjoying the scenery. (I've never learned to drive a standard vehicle or change a flat tire - not needed)

So understanding the why allows me to relate to the dial/function button on my camera in a conceptual manner, and learn the how-to behind the buttons and dials on my camera. And trying out the how-tos with my camera reinforce what I've just learned which makes the entire process akin to driving an automatic car.

[Colin Southern]

But yet, nobody has ever played the “perfect round of golf”.

My last round was 158. Say no more!