The Bicol Consortium for Agriculture Resources Research and Development (BCARRD) sponsored a training course on Basic Digital Photography on May 5-6, 2008 at TESDA Function Hall in Rawis, Legazpi City to equip 16 Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) Staff along with the Consortium Staff and 11 Regional Management and Information Service (RMIS) Officers with knowledge and skills to manipulate controls of a digital camera to create better photos. Specifically the organizers aimed at maximizing the use of equipment provided to the FITS Centers for the course.

            Ninfa R. Pelea, Consortium Director, emphasized in her opening remarks the importance of photography in providing the technical means of making visual documents of every kind; and photography as a means of communication.

            Deputy Director Cesar M. Frias of the Philippines Council for Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) Applied Communication Division as resource speaker carved up the course outline into: photgraphy a) as a craft b) as an art.

            The first part of the training course was composed of lectures on the pathways of digital images, principles of photography, the camera and its controls, and lighting the subject. Mr. Frias indicated that though modern cameras make it easier to create well-exposed, sharply focused pictures, taking photographs may not always be perfect. In many instances, colors come out all wrong, the subject is out of focus, or the composition doesnt do justice to the original scene, he said. He stressed that knowledge and control are the fundamental tools that help create better picture.

            Later lectures on composition and creating stories in pictures, Mr. Frias put emphasis on the value of composition such as the rule of thirds; experimenting with different angles; getting a new perspective to a photograph; and making a fairly complex, subject simple and in harmony by good farming. Here, he didnt give clear cut instruction since, according to him, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, and conventional isnt always beautiful. It may not be a universal key he said, but one practical advice he gave is "to let your feet toddle, because your pictures will be good enough, if you are close enough (to the subject)".

            Participants were familiarized with basic controls on digital cameras. At TESDA compound shooting exercise were performed to appreciate composition using the rule of thirds, lighting, framing and elimination of distraction.

            Field shots were taken on day two at Albay Park and Wildlife in Tagas, Daraga, Albay. People, plants, animals, park facilities and others constituted the subjects. Participants took single frame; two-image, single frame showing similarity or contrast; multi-image, single frame; and multi-frame shots of subjects of their choices.

            After the field shots, final lectures were provided on managing archives using Adobe Photoshop software particularly on indexing, naming and storing files.