Posted by Peter Conway on August 29, 2007 at 10:36 PM
Not so very long ago I would spend an afternoon and evening afield with my camera and shoot perhaps 150 images. I would come home and laboriously sort through all of them, and find perhaps 10 or so that I was quite pleased with.
Now I spend the same day with camera and only shoot about 50 images. I come home and quickly discard the whole bunch as being inferior work.
Ahhhh, progress!
Peter
Posted by Robert Helms on August 29, 2007 at 10:48 PM
Thats funny, Peter. If it makes it you feel any better I took over a hundred and fifty images in the last three days trying to record hummingbirds and only kept three of those.
Peter, my aim is the exact opposite. Before going out for photos I tell to myself to shoot the less possible. My ideal is to stop before one sugget only and to stay there until I am sutisfied of two or three shots. Back home if I find one decent image I am very glad.
Peter, my aim is the exact opposite. Before going out for photos I tell to myself to shoot the less possible. My ideal is to stop before one subject only and to stay there until I am sutisfied of two or three shots. Back home if I find one decent image I am very glad.
If you think this is bad, you should've seen me play golf
Posted by Bill Chambers on August 30, 2007 at 10:15 AM
Boy Charlie, I can relate to the golf comment! I would have loved to have gotten 10 good shots a day with golf, and that would just be for the first hole!
Posted by Steve Foss on August 30, 2007 at 10:50 AM
Good insight and good humor, Peter.
Posted by Carol Hyman on August 30, 2007 at 10:52 AM
Ah, Peter, that's wonderful progress.
I was fascinated with a sparrow and a yellow flower. I was on a business trip so I only stole a half hour shooting that wonderful bird. It's a good thing that images in a camera weigh notta because if they did, I would have been carrying a lot of extra weight home, only to pitch every single image.
Carol
Posted by Sharon Menke on August 30, 2007 at 11:40 AM
That is what I love about digital cameras. If you don't like the shot, you can delete it. I have found myself doing the same as the rest of you - taking a bunch of shots and then not being happy with many of them.
It gets better with practice! There have been MANY times that I've done the same thing...shoot lots of photos and be happy with only one or two, or even none. Once you get more comfortable with composition, exposure, etc, you will have more keepers.
Posted by Barb Hansen on August 30, 2007 at 12:56 PM
Peter your sentiment probably hits home with most of us, I know it sure does for me. Some days I go out and actaully Think I know at least a little something about photography, that is until I get home and download. You would think it was the first time I ever held a camera. But Alice is right it does get better if you keep at it. .......I'm just not sure how long that is supposed to take???
Posted by Richard Ditch on August 30, 2007 at 1:09 PM
Great insight - thanks for the laugh.
It reminds me of a couple of things from my past:
1. I taught photography back in NJ 30 some years ago, and one of my students once thanked me for educating him just enough that he now hated his photos
2. a good friend solved the high discard problem of shooting film by never loading any in his camera, so he always went afield and enjoyed using the gear without any of the disappointment later.
Posted by Peter Conway on August 30, 2007 at 1:16 PM
It is progress of a sort. We develop an ever more discriminating eye. The photos that used to please me now don't even merit a click of the shutter.
It's tough though. I only shoot wild birds and getting them to cooperate is hard enough without all the lighting and BG concerns that I now saddle myself with.
To paraphrase... Ingnorance was bliss.
Peter
Posted by Dan Borzynski on August 30, 2007 at 2:03 PM
Yep, here's another glass to raise to progress ! I have been recently going through my oldest material to scan as stock shots. It has been a rather painful experience. I really couldn't have thought that!!! shot was worth keeping, could I have?
Actually, I was out shooting with the digitoy a couple of times last week. A total of 450 shots. Allowing for slight duplications of pose, I kept about 15 images and prepared only 8 to send. Granted, many of the discards were due to blowing wind, subject motion and trying too hard for a shot, but so many of them I would have kept even three years ago...
Just keep shooting and don't worry. Life is more fun.
I agree with the sentiment of your comments and I am definitely much more discrimating about my images than I was before I joined npn. That said, I am taking more, not fewer, images today than a year ago. And while I work up only a small percentage of them I still keep all but the really bad ones. I do this because I have found that the images that I liked the day I took them are often not the ones I like a month later after I've forgotten the emotion and excitement that went into that first image. At that point I think I am judging them solely on their standalone merits and have found some pretty nice images that I overlooked on the first pass. Then again, I'm burning up hard drive space like there's no tomorrow. Hopefully I'll find a happy medium over time but until then I'm going to continue to try and fill my CF card whenever I have a likely target.
Of course, my present focus is wildlife photography where I may have to wait hours for my subject to show and I want as many images as possible while it stays in sight. When I work on landscapes and most marro subjects, I find I am taking fewer and more considered images than ever before.
Great topic Peter. I too shoot many photographs, often of the same subject. Usually I am sooooooooo excited about some of these shots,(the ones I felt would be great), only to find that after downloading them to my computer, most would be discards.(I have learned my lesson about telling others about what great shots I took.) I would still save most of them hoping that I could correct them with CS2, which a few I did correct(taking hours and sometimes days) I don't do that anymore,I just delete and hope for a better day next time. This action certainly keeps my computer from getting clogged.(unless of course, the shot is of a rare subject)
Posted by Kent Staubus on August 31, 2007 at 7:56 PM
The more experienced I've become, the pickier I've become too. I've found I actually shoot fewer images with digital than I did with film.
Kent in SD
Posted by Buck Ward on September 1, 2007 at 4:35 PM
We've all had this sentiment, haven't we?
I shot my last 35mm slide less than four years ago. Of the thousands and thousands of slides I shot there's only a small handful that I'd be willing to print today.
One the best things you can learn is which pictures not to make. Or, to put it another way - how not to make bad pictures. There have been discussions in this forum about what percentage of keepers one gets. To me, what's important is "Did you get the good one?" I went out this morning and didn't shoot any pictures at all. I'd rather do that than shoot 150 and not get one worth having. On the other hand, if it takes 150 shots to get one good one, then I'm perfectly happy to delete the 149 not-so-good ones.
Posted by Peter Conway on September 1, 2007 at 10:27 PM
I'm hoping part of the issue lately is the time of year. I spent a good part of the day today and never clicked the shutter. Seems there are fewer opportunities, and I pass on the ones I see. Perhaps once autumn arrives and the air clears.....
Peter
Posted by Pat Sampson on September 1, 2007 at 11:54 PM
Peter,
I still think of myself primarily as learning avian photography but I do now shoot a floral from time to time and hope to try landscape as well. The bird shots are intense. As you know, everything has to happen fast and any kind of minor a mistake typically ruins the shot. With flora or landscape, I can slow down and relax more. I thought it would be boring compared to avian but am finding just the opposite. Also these subjects have their own challenges.
PT
Posted by Peter Conway on September 2, 2007 at 9:12 AM
Pat,
If I am to complete my three year project I must learn landscape photography also. I am going to start reading that forum.
Peter
Posted by Merle Cook on September 2, 2007 at 11:31 AM
Peter, I think we are all in the same boat. I joined NPN in July and have already learned enough to have me going back through my shots and dumping a whole bunch of them - but on the other hand - seeing possibilities in others through croping etc. If you want to learn landscape photography - just peruse the regional forums and you will find experts from every part of the world showing and teaching their stuff.
Discussion
21 repliesNow I spend the same day with camera and only shoot about 50 images. I come home and quickly discard the whole bunch as being inferior work.
Ahhhh, progress!
Peter
I was fascinated with a sparrow and a yellow flower. I was on a business trip so I only stole a half hour shooting that wonderful bird. It's a good thing that images in a camera weigh notta because if they did, I would have been carrying a lot of extra weight home, only to pitch every single image.
Carol
It reminds me of a couple of things from my past:
1. I taught photography back in NJ 30 some years ago, and one of my students once thanked me for educating him just enough that he now hated his photos
2. a good friend solved the high discard problem of shooting film by never loading any in his camera, so he always went afield and enjoyed using the gear without any of the disappointment later.
It's tough though. I only shoot wild birds and getting them to cooperate is hard enough without all the lighting and BG concerns that I now saddle myself with.
To paraphrase... Ingnorance was bliss.
Peter
Actually, I was out shooting with the digitoy a couple of times last week. A total of 450 shots. Allowing for slight duplications of pose, I kept about 15 images and prepared only 8 to send. Granted, many of the discards were due to blowing wind, subject motion and trying too hard for a shot, but so many of them I would have kept even three years ago...
Just keep shooting and don't worry. Life is more fun.
Of course, my present focus is wildlife photography where I may have to wait hours for my subject to show and I want as many images as possible while it stays in sight. When I work on landscapes and most marro subjects, I find I am taking fewer and more considered images than ever before.
Kent in SD
I shot my last 35mm slide less than four years ago. Of the thousands and thousands of slides I shot there's only a small handful that I'd be willing to print today.
One the best things you can learn is which pictures not to make. Or, to put it another way - how not to make bad pictures. There have been discussions in this forum about what percentage of keepers one gets. To me, what's important is "Did you get the good one?" I went out this morning and didn't shoot any pictures at all. I'd rather do that than shoot 150 and not get one worth having. On the other hand, if it takes 150 shots to get one good one, then I'm perfectly happy to delete the 149 not-so-good ones.
Peter
I still think of myself primarily as learning avian photography but I do now shoot a floral from time to time and hope to try landscape as well. The bird shots are intense. As you know, everything has to happen fast and any kind of minor a mistake typically ruins the shot. With flora or landscape, I can slow down and relax more. I thought it would be boring compared to avian but am finding just the opposite. Also these subjects have their own challenges.
PT
If I am to complete my three year project I must learn landscape photography also. I am going to start reading that forum.
Peter
Welcome aboard.