I have been involved in photography for many years. I first got interested when I was in Madison High School in the 50's. I worked on the Madison yearbook, Mahisco. This was back in the b/w era of photography. Color was an experimental process limited almost strictly to transparencies. Everyone would groan when the family photographer pulled out a screen and set up the projector. It would probably put everyone to sleep.

     Then I went to college and took several courses in photography, enrolled in several correspondence studies in photography, finally after returning to Madison from an 8 year leave as a teacher in several systems, continuing to use a b/w darkroom to return pix of the grandchildren, 3, to my parents here in Madison, Indiana.

     I started my studio, Photos by Don Wood in 1961. We had a mild business turndown in 1968 so I continued the studio while working for the Madison Courier in the darkroom. In 1995, I moved to the photo lab in Wal-Mart. A year and a half later, I left there, have continued with the studio doing some studio photography, mainly, class reunions, family reunions, portraits, passports, copies, etc.

     As of now I am retired, but would do something in photography if approached by a previous customer.

     The following questions will be answered on the answer page. Click on the UNDERLINED LINK and you'll be transported to that page.

     What I'm proposing is simple. There is a need for someone to answer questions about your photography problems.

Two Kinds of film

     I would like to copy some pictures and make some slides. What's the best way to do so? two kinds of film

Mail Order

     I am interested in buying a camera through the mail. The ones that I see in the local shops seem to be more expensive than the same camera bought through a mail-order company that I see advertised in the photo magazines. Could you help me, please? I don't want to get burned by a company that might rip me off or give me bad service. Mail Order

Lightning

     We live in an area where we can see rather spectacular lightning. I would like to photograph the lightning bolt. How do I do it? Lightning

loading the camera

I sometimes get no pictures on the film. How do I avoid this?

Or it could be as complex as photographing fireworks.

Perhaps you are not filling the frame

Colors are wrong

     When I got my pictures back from the processor, my snow pictures were green.

     The pictures taken on my front lawn had blue-tinted grass. (Not Kentucky bluegrass) Bad Color

Got the film wet

     I accidentally dropped my film into the water while unloading the camera. I got it back but it is wet. What do I do? Is the film ruined?

     My pictures have gotten damp when the basement flooded and got into a box of old prints. Can I save this situation. Some have already dried. Waterlogged

Buying a used camera?

     I would like to move up to a 35mm camera. Have been using a 110 camera because of the drop-in loading feature and have tried the disposables. Basically, I do not like loading film. I would be using it mainly outdoors, landscapes, dogs, nature photos (not close-ups), pictures of completed art works, etc. I'm on a budget! Buying a used camera

Shopping for a camera

     "I'm looking for the best value on a 35mm camera. I would like to get a good one for around $150 to $200." Shopping for a camera

What is the difference between Wide angle and telephoto lenses?

     What is the field of view of a Wide Angle and Telephoto lens? WA/Tele

I'm getting married soon and want pictures

     Which is better, a professional or an amateur? I have a friend who has a camera and I'm sure would be willing to take pictures if I asked. Amateur or Professional

Redeye

     When I take pictures of people, they sometimes have red-colored eyes. Why? How do I remedy this? Redeye

Panoramic pictures

     I have a camera that can take either standard 4x6 pictures or the panoramic pictures, 3.5 inches x 10 inches. Can I have my pictures printed on standard 4x6 size if I accidentally left the setting on panorama? Panorama

Camera Repairs

     My camera is beginning to act weird. Sometimes, it will click but when I get the film back there isn't anything on it that I shot. I've tried fresh batteries and that didn't help. What's the problem and how do I fix it? Camera Repairs

Flash burned out the faces

     I have a Canon Elan with a 420EZ flash attached. Recently I took pictures of our company Christmas party. Almost all of the pix turned out great but on a few the facial area was completely burned out by the flash. The camera was in complete automatic mode. What happened and how do I fix it? Flash burned out the faces.

Transparency processing at home

     Can color transparency film be processed at home like we can with b/w film? Transparency processing

Which Camera should I buy

     I take mainly landscape, sport and portrait type photos. Am contemplating buying either the Canon Elan IIE, Minolta Maxxum 700si, or the Pentax PZ-1p? Which would be the better camera? Which Camera is right for me. Submitted by Dave.

Coloring B/W pictures

     I have some B/W pictures that I would like to have colored. How do I do it? Coloring

Coloring pictures

     I just finished coloring a black and white photo of an old house with Print Shop Pro. It was a hard job to do. It came out nice, but when I printed it out on my Epson printer it came out a lttle dark. What happened? Colorizing B/W pictures

     Does this sound like it could be a useful page, If you wish to send me a question, I will try to answer it through this page if it is a question that would be useful to many people to have answered. Others may be answered through an e-mail back to you.

I want to help

     Don't be shy or hesitant that your question is so self-evident that you are embarrassed not to know the answer. There are no stupid questions, only people that do not want to show that they don't know the answer and are embarrassed to admit it. Ask any question, it will be answered to the best of my ability. If I have to research the answer, I'll try to do so as quickly as possible.

     Madison Home Page This is the site of Madison, Indiana. It has many links to local sights, local web sites, tourism, etc. It's very enlightening to see what our local Hoosiers have chosen to put on the World Wide Web.

     Return to front page of the website.

     You can reach me by e-mail at: dwood

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