Memory, improving, storing, retrieving

Paul Watson

Does anybody have a good technique for memorising lists, numbers, that kind of thing? I have always been rather hopeless at memorising lists (especially series of numbers) and have up till now not needed to really rectify the problem. Now though with photography there are some lists which are useful to remember, and I grudingly want to. Here is one of the lists: F1.4 f2 f2.8 f4 f5.6 f8 f11 f16 f22 f32 f45 f64 f90 Also the technique needs to be fexible so that I can jump into the middle of the list. No good having a technique where I rely on rythmn and have to start at the begining of the list each time. e.g. Like the technique some people (me included) use for figuring out the order of months or the alphabet. p.s. Telling me that yes there is a pattern to the list and I should rather remember the pattern and then do some calculations on the spot is not too helpful, but thanks for the thought

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

My photoSIG portfolio[^]

benjymous

Write it on a sticker and attach it to your camera ;P -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!

Chris Austin

Paul, I used to just carry a small laminated list. Dosen't realy help toward memorization at first but after a while I found I had memorised most of the list. Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.

Paul Watson

benjymous wrote: Write it on a sticker and attach it to your camera LOL I have printed the list and stuck it inside my camera bag... plus the camera itself has the list handily enough. But the point is to be able to remember it as you are looking at a scene to judge it effectively, all quite quickly. Pulling out bits of paper or looking through viewfinders etc. will distract from the judging of the scene. I need a pair of those glasses with a built LCD screen, then I can touch my top left tooth whenever I need the list ;)

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

My photoSIG portfolio[^]

Paul Watson

Chris Austin wrote: Dosen't realy help toward memorization at first but after a while I found I had memorised most of the list. Indeed, but you know how it is when just starting out. I am thinking "Damnit, I want to know yesterday!" BTW, do you ever use the Zone System for judging exposure settings? Going through a tutorial on it now and in theory it certainly seems helpful... putting it to practice though, admitted by the author himself, seems to take years though. Arrgghh! I need to download Ansel Adams' brain. :-D

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

My photoSIG portfolio[^]

Jason Henderson

Forget the f's since they repeat and just remember the numbers. Memorize them in stages like 3 or 4 at a time until you know them all. Also, making them into a little song or melody helps.

Jason Henderson
start page ; articles henderson is coming henderson is an opponent's worst nightmare * googlism *

Chris Austin

Paul Watson wrote: Indeed, but you know how it is when just starting out. I am thinking "Damnit, I want to know yesterday!" Fortunately for me I have the thought speed of a sloth. So I tend to take my time for most things. Paul Watson wrote: BTW, do you ever use the Zone System for judging exposure settings Yes, and I remember it not being the quickest thing for me to pick up. I'd bet that there are a few cheat sheets out there for whatever model camera you use. I still do most of my shooting with my 13 year old Pentax K-1000 because I really don't want to commit to learning the idiom of the new Nikon my wife bought me. Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.

Anna Jayne Metcalfe

Although I can't remember lists of numbers and so on, I'm pretty good at remembering song lyrics...which comes in handy as I like to sing in the car! :laugh: Anna :rose: www.annasplace.me.uk

"Be yourself - not what others think you should be"
- Marcia Graesch

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peterchen

Paul Watson wrote: Telling me that yes there is a pattern to the list and I should rather remember the pattern and then do some calculations on the spot is not too helpful, but thanks for the thought You're welcome ;) why do you need to remember that list?? I understand the tradeoff between aperture, exposure time, and focus depth - but why do you need the numbers??

Those who not hear the music think the dancers are mad. [sighist] [Agile Programming]

Chris Maunder

F numbers are easy. Start at 1.4 and 2 and then just double them till you get to 32, make a rounding correction at 45 and continue. Sure - it's not as efficient as a lookup table but is it worth putting in the work to remember the lookup table to avoid the inefficiency of doing a loop iteration? Paul Watson wrote: Telling me that yes there is a pattern to the list and I should rather remember the pattern and then do some calculations on the spot is not too helpful, but thanks for the thought Oops - too late. Why is a calculation bad? It's just doubling numbers. The 2,4,8 etc should be easy. The other option is just to take a glance at the lens on your camera. And if your response is 'what if I don't have my camera with me' then my response is 'and you call yourself a photographer? Bah!' ;) cheers, Chris Maunder

Philip Fitzsimons

lol

"When the only tool you have is a hammer, a sore thumb you will have."

Philip Fitzsimons

a poem: Old forces Twisted Zelda Thoughts enraged. Fortuntely Zelda’s Fighting smashed Orion’s zephyr. Orion sent Thru trouble, Three travellers. For firey Stars finished Nasty Zelda. :cool:

"When the only tool you have is a hammer, a sore thumb you will have."

Ray Cassick

Yeah, that's how I used to study for tests way back. Spend my hours making really detailed cheat sheets, then comoe test day leave them behind. Making the crutch halped my study on concentrate on the real important information. I could just never getthis to work for calc :mad:

Paul Watson wrote: "At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall."
George Carlin wrote: "Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things."

Ray Cassick

Chris Maunder wrote: And if your response is 'what if I don't have my camera with me' then my response is ... then my response is what the hell do you need to know f/stop for anyway :-D

Paul Watson wrote: "At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall."
George Carlin wrote: "Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things."

Chris Austin

Ray Cassick wrote: Yeah, that's how I used to study for tests way back Yep, I had a highschool chemistry instructor who pounded that into us. Fill me with your knowledge, your wisdom, your coffee.

ColinDavies

Chris's method makes the most sense to me. Also you can try each day learning just one fact. Regardz Colin J Davies

Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin

You are the intrepid one, always willing to leap into the fray! A serious character flaw, I might add, but entertaining. Said by Roger Wright about me.

Roger Wright

Paul Watson wrote: Telling me that yes there is a pattern to the list and I should rather remember the pattern and then do some calculations on the spot is not too helpful, but thanks for the thought It's not a terribly difficult calculation, Paul: f-stop definition[^]. :-D Nobody wants to read a diary by someone who has not seen the shadow of Bubba on the prison shower wall in front of them!
Paul Watson, on BLOGS and privacy - 1/16/2003

Paul Watson

peterchen wrote: why do you need to remember that list?? I understand the tradeoff between aperture, exposure time, and focus depth - but why do you need the numbers?? For the Zone System. It is actually quite interesting and so far the theory is sound. To cut a long tutorial short the basic idea is this: You look at a scene and visualise it as you want it to appear on the film. You ligh-meter the important subjects in your scene and then assign the middle subject to Zone 5, the middle subject is the subject closest to 18% gray. The zone system has a range from Zone 0 to Zone X, 11 zones in total. Each zone represents a f/stop higher than the one before and lower than the one after. It is important not to say Zone 5 is always f/5.6 or Zone 8 is f/8. The zones "slide" up and down the f/stop scale depending on the scene, you just calibrate it to the middle zone, Zone 5. The zone system then also maps to film densities, which is very important. Zone 5 is mid density with full texture, Zone X is full density with no texture, Zone 0 is no density with no texture etc. etc. Now comes the cool bit. You can then say "I don't want my middle subject showing as 18% gray, I want it lighter, but still retain good texture." Lets say at Zone 5 in this particular scene the f/stop is 4. You would then say bump up the middle subject to Zone 6, that is one f/stop higher, which is f/5.6. That is what you set your camera to. Naturally then if there were other subjects you wanted in the shot then they also scale up or down the zones in relation to your middle subject. The whole point really is to give you control in saying "Can I get in all the detail of this scene, the shadows, the middle and the highlights?" or you can say "I want as much detail in the shadows as is possible, sacrificing the highlight details." The zone system then gives you the tool to do that, with the end result being an f/stop that you punch into your camera and use. And because light-meters return a shutter and aperture number you need to know the f/stop scale so that you can map it effectively to the zone system, and then back again. All very cool :-D

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

Paul Watson

Roger Wright wrote: It's not a terribly difficult calculation, Paul: f-stop definition[^]. "Basically, calculated from the focal length of the lens divided by the diameter of the bundle of light rays entering the lens and passing through the aperture in the iris diaphragm" Yeah, simple, can do it in my sleep... :rolleyes: Roger Wright wrote: Nobody wants to read a diary by someone who has not seen the shadow of Bubba on the prison shower wall in front of them! Paul Watson, on BLOGS and privacy - 1/16/2003 LOL! Now this is an honour indeed :)

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

My photoSIG portfolio[^]

Paul Watson

Chris Maunder wrote: to avoid the inefficiency of doing a loop iteration? :laugh: :laugh: Do you talk to your lovers like that Chris? "Hey baby, lets cut the inefficiency and hook my USB to your FireWire port." :rolleyes: I recommend a good month of no programming, no servers, no web and no handhelds to cure you. Call me in two weeks. Chris Maunder wrote: The other option is just to take a glance at the lens on your camera This is actually quite annoying. So many tutorials and elder photographers say "Look on your lens for the f/stop, distance and hyperfocal numbers." I look and the only numbers on my lens are 28 to 90 and a daft picture of a flower with an infinity sign after it. I thought at first it was just my bundled kit lens that was lacking. Then I checked that Tamron out and it too only has the bare minimum of numbers on it. Seems as newer lenses are simply not printing these numbers on them anymore, rather relying on the camera body to figure it out or other tools. Tis a pity because looking at some older lenses those numbers are quite helpful. Chris Maunder wrote: And if your response is 'what if I don't have my camera with me' then my response is 'and you call yourself a photographer? Bah!' :-D Family and friends are begining to wonder if I am going to have my camera slung over my shoulder when I walk down the aisle one day. I take it absolutely everywhere, had to argue and then bribe the cinema lady to let me take it in, even had to show a bouncer that it was just a camera and not a concealed-weapon when I went out the other night. Hell, I was playing pool two weeks ago and had it clipped to my belt. I don't want to be like some photographers who whine "There was this perfect shot and I did not have my camera with me!"

Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South Africa

My photoSIG portfolio[^]