Photography: intentional exposure →
Understand the controls, choose what should be sharp, and read the result instead of guessing.
Light
Photographs, cameras and the choices behind an image. Open the cabinet, examine a file, or work through a lesson.
JOHNNY AUWEN / PHOTOGRAPHY
LUMEN galleries ↗Favorite pieces
A few photographs from my collection. A different sequence each visit.
Leaves in the Dark
JOHNNY AUWEN 01 · 50
CAMERAS + LENSES
Browse the cabinet
Explore equipment, compare specifications and keep a shortlist.
Find equipment you can compare. Light Cabinet is a camera and lens reference. Use it to identify an exact version, inspect recorded specifications, and keep a small comparison.
Before you start: Start with a model or brand name. If you need a lens for a particular system, check its mount before comparing other specifications.
- Mount
- The camera/lens connection system, such as Nikon F or Nikon Z. A match here does not certify every body or adapter combination.
- Format
- The sensor-size category recorded for the camera or lens.
Start here — Find one model: Type a model or brand in Search equipment. For a lens, choose its mount. Start broad and add one specification filter at a time.
What you should get: A comparison of the selected records. Not recorded means unknown; applying a numeric filter excludes records without that value.
Full steps, example and limits
- Find one model
Type a model or brand in Search equipment. For a lens, choose its mount. Start broad and add one specification filter at a time.
- Compare like with like
Select Compare beside two results, then open Compare selected. Read the mount and source/check date as well as the measurements.
- Keep the result
Use Save for a shortlist and export the comparison as CSV. Visitor shortlists are kept in this browser; export what you want to retain separately.
Try this: Search B061 and compare two mount versions. Their model name is similar, but their weight and length can differ. Open a record to see the manufacturer source.
Know the limit: A specification comparison is not a price quote, optical test or body/adapter compatibility guarantee. Private owner inventory is separate from the public catalog.
Learn the photography basicsSpecification filters
Focal range includes lenses that overlap the interval. Aperture uses the wide-end maximum. Missing specifications are excluded when a constraint is set.
Loading equipment…
Loading the matching records…
— means not recorded. Detailed specifications are being expanded; the Tamron batch links to mount-specific manufacturer facts. Catalog status is a dated observation. Mount names alone do not establish camera or adapter compatibility.
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Image Autopsy
Inspect the decisions and metadata behind an image.
Shutter Count
Check what an original file can actually prove.
Look Converter
Inspect preset settings, transfer what is supported, and keep a loss report.
Camera + Lens Blue Book
Search reference identities and evaluate available market evidence.
LIGHT / PROJECT INDEX
PROJECT DIRECTORY
13 PROJECTS / LESSONS + TOOLS
15USE / LIVE
Look Converter
Transfer supported preset settings, inspect omissions, preview approximate effects and export styles plus reports.
00ARCHIVE / LIVEPICTURES
Johnny Auwen photographs and newly opened files.
01USE / LIVELIGHT CABINET
Cameras, lenses, systems, specifications, and owned equipment.
02USE / LIVEIMAGE AUTOPSY
Open a photograph and read the technical evidence left inside it.
03USE / LIVESHUTTER COUNT
A model-aware detector that reports what the file can—and cannot—prove.
04LEARN / LIVEVIEWFINDER
Framing, format, depth-of-field and exposure calculations, worked studies, checkpoints and export.
05LEARN / LESSONSHUTTER ATLAS
Plan a repeatable shutter-speed comparison and learn to distinguish subject movement from camera movement.
06LEARN / LESSONLENS FINGERPRINTS
Design repeatable observations of distortion, background rendering and flare before attributing an effect to a lens.
07LEARN / LESSONLIGHT RECIPES
Make a simple window-light comparison and record enough of the setup to reproduce it.
08LEARN / LESSONFAILURE ARCHIVE
Turn an unsatisfactory photograph into a testable explanation rather than a guessed diagnosis.
09LEARN / LESSONTHE SAME PICTURE
Set up an A/B photograph comparison in which the result can be attributed to the variable you meant to test.
10LEARN / LESSONDEAD FORMATS
Identify what is required to read old camera media before buying adapters or altering the original.
11LEARN / LESSONOPTICAL JUNK DRAWER
Build a simple pinhole projection to see why an image forms upside down and how distance changes its size.
Choose a photographic question. Learn why a picture looks the way it does, inspect an existing file, or identify equipment. These are separate starting points.
Before you start: Choose a question about a photograph, its file, or equipment. Photography foundations starts with explanation; file tools need an image you select on this device.
- Exposure
- The light captured during a photograph; settings affect how the result looks.
- Specification
- A recorded technical detail of a camera or lens, distinct from a test of its performance.
Start here — Understand the picture: Start Photography foundations. Use Viewfinder to calculate a framing or exposure tradeoff before trying it with a camera.
What you should get: The model predicts similar brightness while the longer shutter time allows more subject motion.
Full steps, example and limits
- Understand the picture
Start Photography foundations. Use Viewfinder to calculate a framing or exposure tradeoff before trying it with a camera.
- Inspect a file
Image Autopsy reads surviving metadata. Shutter Count looks for supported counters; neither can recover information removed by an export.
- Find equipment
Use the Light Cabinet for identity and specifications. Use the Blue Book for condition-aware market evidence where available.
Try this: In Viewfinder compare f/4 at 1/250 s with f/5.6 at 1/125 s, using the same ISO. Then think about a moving subject.
Know the limit: Tools are models or evidence readers. They do not replace a controlled photograph, a tested lens or an inspected sale.
Start Photography foundations