Photography is one of the great crafts and it has never been easier than now in the digital age.

Which, then, is the best type of camera for the ardent crafter who uses photography as an art or as part of another craft?

As an experiment, I embarked on a Photowalk with three digital cameras to discover which would be the most useful, and in which circumstances.

The cameras are, from left to right in the picture:

1. Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ8 — a DSLR
2. Advent MP8 — a compact.
3. Panasonic SDR S7 — an SD camcorder.

Two still cameras and a movie cam.

Conclusion
As expected, I used the movie camera the most. There was just too much movement and activity for static shots.

However, when confronted with a fine view, the DSLR came out and a staged shot was taken. Even so, these were all hand-held. Pulling out my tripod would have involved too much effort and made me too conspicuous.

Where a fairly static scene was involved, but with something interesting going on, I reached automatically for the compact.

So, predictably the ratio was 3:2:1 for video, DSLR, compact.

Does that tell me anything about my usage and preferences? Probably not, except that I’ll make sure I carry the videocam everywhere from now on.

Continuing my photographic tour of the city of Exeter, I’ve been looking at craftshops — there are quite a few here. Incidentally, we’ve received a lot emails from people making photo albums of where they live this summer (or winter in the southern hemisphere). Keep up the good work and let us see some of your shots — Flickr is a great place to share them, and a basic account is free.

You can view all of our pictures in this set by clicking on the Flickr logo at the top of the sidebar.

Back to craftshops, and I have noticed that many of them are better presented than other varieties of retail outlet. Perhaps that’s not surprising as crafters are probably more aware of the appearance of things.

However, here’s a pic of the scruffiest craft workshop I’ve seen for quite a while :

Craftshop at The Quay, Exeter, England

Oddly, this is situated on one of the most expensive and upmarket strips in Exeter, the Quay, where, in Elizabethan times, woollen goods and garments were loaded onto boats headed to all points of the compass.

I’m now looking for the best turned out craftshop of all. Any ideas?

Photographing a city is made much easier by the new generation of compact digital cameras. They are light and easy to strap to a belt, have their own zoom and flash facilities built in, and you only need some spare batteries to be in business, without having to lug heavy camera bags around with you.

Photographing your own city is a good way of building an archive of a rapidly changing cityscape, or just recording historic buildings for posterity. The local press may also be interested in using your collection from time to time, so there’s even the possibility of a future business.

At Syntagma, we’re beginning a photo exercise around our headquarters in the glorious city of Exeter, Devon, England. Here’s an example :

The Cathedral Close at Lunchtime — April

We are building a photo archive of Exeter over the summer months, in different lights and from different angles. The whole is designed to convey the gorgeous picture-book quality of this very ancient town.

I’ve found the best way to approach this project is by walking rather than driving around. When you walk, you’re free to divert down any interesting byway that may be impossible in a car.

I’m using a good quality compact digital camera : Advent 8MP, which I can slot onto my belt, plus a spare set of batteries.

Two things I’m looking for : the picturesque and the quirky. Both yield interesting images that others will want to look at. Here’s an example of the picturesque :

Lunchtime in an Elizabethan setting

The next pic is definitely quirky. It’s Parliament Street, Exeter, which is little more than 2 feet in width. There hasn’t been a parliament in Exeter for a good many centuries, but the Council still keeps it up — just.

Super-slim Parliament Street, Exeter

Why don’t you try photographing your own home town?

You can see the whole of this set of images on our Flickr Photostream.

In the age of blogging, publishing at home is relatively easy — at least if you don’t mind putting your work online for everyone to see free, and freely copy at their leisure.

Yes, there are problems with online publishing, despite its popularity. But what if you want to publish serious work the old-fashioned way, in books or booklets?

You’ll have to look at some old material to find information on the craft of printing and publishing at home. One of the best books on the subject was published in 1984 in the UK by two professional people who happened to run publishing businesses from home.

The book is: Publishing & Printing at Home by Roy Lewis and John B. Easson. It’s published by David & Charles and can be bought second-hand online.

Here are the opening lines of the book:

The spare-time publisher. This book is about the craft of publishing books, booklets and periodicals in small editions from one’s own backroom or backyard. It is a leisure pursuit or an occupation for retirement that is as suited to home operations as weaving, pottery, cabinet-making, metalwork, or photography and comparable creative pastimes.

Although outdated in its technology, the book teaches invaluable skills in producing and putting together one’s own books.

Much recommended.