Shutterbug: Better Photos, More Sleep, Less Fungus

I recently stumbled on a rather strange website dedicated to a description of “bizarre May holidays.” And there was National Photo Month, sandwiched in between Better Sleep Month, National Good Car Care Month, National Barbecue Month and National Salad Month. It wasn’t clear why the editors of the site considered photography so “bizarre”—especially alongside such other notable holidays as Date Your Mate Month, Revise Your Work Schedule Month, and Fungal Infection Awareness Month.

By the way, there were also some interesting daily holidays in May, including Lumpy Rug Day (May 3), International Tuba Day (May 7), National Dance Like a Chicken Day (May 14), and My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It Day (May 30).

Shutterbug readers are savvy and enthusiastic about their photography, and no doubt many of your were aware of the special designation May has for our craft. The Photo Marketing Association (PMA) commemorated this month-long celebration of imaging by providing a list of educational resources for photographers of all skill levels on their website (pmai.org). They also published a series of simple tips for budding digital photographers; reminding novices how they can improve their results with basic techniques like using fill-flash outdoors, choosing the correct ISO setting for the prevailing conditions, and selecting the appropriate image-size and image-quality setting for the situation at hand.

Naturally, some other organizations took a more commercial approach to National Photo Month, as is often the case with “holidays” in our culture. One website, for example, promoted a selection of ‘virtual greeting cards” with such novel slogans as “Say Cheeeeeese,” while QVC encouraged customers to “rediscover your love for the art of photography” by shopping for special deals on cameras and accessories at their online store.

The point of all this is that photography really has become a pervasive component of our lives, culture and history. In that regard, those of us with a love of imaging could do our part by sharing our knowledge with friends, family and acquaintances; folks who may know more about barbecue sauce than photography, but love taking pictures nonetheless. In short, make the celebration of photography a yearlong event.

And just so you are prepared, June is both National Accordion Awareness Month and Fight The Filthy Fly Month. Personally, I’m not sure which is worse.