Posted by Barbara Graham on November 20, 2010 at 10:01 PM
These thoughts have been whirling around in my head for days now, and I'm posting them in case they spark any related thoughts anyone else might share.
It is very, very, very difficult to stop shooting unless you absolutely, really, truly have to, like the park gates are being locked in 10 minutes or it is getting dark or you have to meet someone at a certain time or you really have to work or something like that. It is just almost impossible to stop.
After you stop it is almost impossible to stop doing things with the images on your computer unless (see above except for park gates closing and getting dark).
I really need to get an appropriate camera but I am really, really afraid to make a choice. This is also me about computers, with which I earn my living, as well. I eventually do make a choice after all the research I can do, and I make whatever I get work well for me, but I wish I could choose the exact right camera & lenses since I don't know nearly as much about cameras and lenses even with research as I do about computers.
After a few months of learning from NPN I see the entire physical world differently. I see depth of field and background everywhere. And I can't even imagine how the people who film movies and TV shows do it. I was watching someone cross the street today and visualizing how that would look on a TV show or in a movie and how they would make the background exactly as they wanted it, and it boggles my mind, because it's not just one image or one small video clip, it's hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of video clips. Then I can't imagine editing them and choosing from them.
I think that every inch of the natural physical world, including the grass by the side of the road or sidewalk, could be photographed in such a way as to make it beautiful.
I feel that with my images I am honoring the subject and preserving its memory long after its life is over. I like that a lot. (That doesn't really apply to ESS, I know, but to other things.)
If I could stop and photograph everything I wanted to, I would never get anywhere.
NP is all-consuming.
This is how I feel about all of you, and I think about this a lot:
I agree with Preston. Follow where your heart leads. "Be not afraid."
LOL, when I'm on a trip with my friend (also a photographer), it is always a task to keep to our travel schedule. Comes the time in the day where we have to set "time out" limits on shooting. Having pity for drivers who follow photographers' cars because of how suddenly we stop or swoop off the road for a shot, we often drive only a few hundred yards between shots- so we definitely get nowhere fast. As we're hopping out of the car for the umpteenth time, with darkness coming on us and the place we have to be still many miles away, one of us chirps, "2-minute rule!" Not the best way to make photos, but we've gotten some great shots. When we eventually get to our next destination, we get into true photography mode.
And you are so right, once into photography and learning to see, learning what to look for, you begin to do it all the time, and life is never the same again. Oh, JOY!
So jump in and get that gear! Rent what you think you might want to buy and try it out for a day in the field. $$$ well spent for, hopefully, more peace of mind when you finally plunk down the big bucks.
Best wishes for a wonderful, ongoing adventure, Barbara. It's been inspiring to see how you are plunging right in and how much you are learning and yearning to learn more. You GO! girl.
Posted by Jim Erhardt on November 21, 2010 at 7:08 AM
A great subject and a great post, Barbara. I'm looking forward to seeing all the replies!
Posted by Varina Patel on November 21, 2010 at 8:22 AM
As time passes, I find myself less likely to shoot constantly. Not because I love photography less, but because I know which compositions and lighting conditions will make me happy when I open them up on my computer later. I find that I am no longer a slave to the shutter release... but that doesn't mean my problems are over.
Instead, I have a terrible time leaving a location. What if the next great shot is just over that hill? What if it's just beyond the bend in the trail? How can I leave now, knowing that I just might be missing the shot of a lifetime? You see? There's just never enough time on location!
Barbara, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I attended a photography conference a few years ago and felt completely out of my comfort zone; that I was not good enough to "run with the big boys." But then a fellow photographer told me that as long as I did the best I could, that is what counts.
I have had a camera in my hand for over 40 years and never stop learning. Am I good ... depends on what day it is. Have I learned all there is ... heavens no. A good camera is important, but it is not what makes the photograph ... it's the person behind the camera. I started out with a Pentax K1000 (film), then progressed to a Fuji Film Digital and now use a Nikon D70. I know there are much newer cameras, but I haven't even learned all there is about this camera yet.
Take classes, workshops, get to know other photographers (via NPN!), just continue to learn, learn, learn and just get out there and shoot. It definitely is a journey, but a journey worth taking. Photography is a way to capture what you feel in your soul. My photography has helped me through many trying days as I just get lost in all the beauty that I see.
So much to learn, but one day at a time. Everyone here at NPN is here for you. There are so many talented photographers. I continue to learn from them all each time I post an image.
Continue on this journey, the possibilities are endless.
Posted by Jim Bullard on November 21, 2010 at 10:10 AM
Barbara, You are clearly infected with the 'disease' of photography.
"I really need to get an appropriate camera but I am really, really afraid to make a choice."
There is no right or appropriate camera. Different camera features do different things well. I have a Canon G10 that is great for carrying around to get those serendipitous photos that I just happen onto but its lag time in firing up & between shots is no good for anything that is happening quickly. It also isn't nearly as good at macro work (though it will do in a pinch). Figure out what features you need for the kind of photos you want to make and buy the camera(s) that have those features. In the end they are just tools. The important part is immediately behind the camera.
"I think that every inch of the natural physical world, including the grass by the side of the road or sidewalk, could be photographed in such a way as to make it beautiful." The beauty is already there. As you learn to see the world differently you are simply becoming aware of what is already there. I like your phrase "I am honoring the subject". You are and even if your photo is never seen by anyone but you, even if it 'ends up on the cutting room floor', you have honored your subject by giving it your full attention for the time it took to make your photo.
Keep it up. There will always be too much to photograph and too little time but it is a joyous way to spend what time we have on Earth.
I, too, have been affected by the photography disease ever since I got my first Brownie at @ 10yrs old!
The only problem I have is in finding Photo companions! My husband of 30 years has put a "moratorium" on photos during vacation!! This is killing me, so I'm trying to fit in as many at home (State Park, etc) as I can. I wish I could afford photo expeditions, but, alas, I cannot.
At least, my daughter, finally has "the bug", but she is now married and no longer goes on vacation with us......What to do? What to do? (Sneak as many "good" shots in as possible!)
His biggest peeve is that, I , too, cannot leave a place until the sun goes down....And even then, I have to keep shooting the magical photos that come after the sun sets!
So, LOL with your disease.......I'm afraid it's terminal...you will never "recover". And have all the fun you can!
PS: think twice about marrying a man with a true photographic memory! My husband just "doesn't get" the value of photos, because he (LITERALLY) can pull up any scene and view it as a slideshow in this head!!!!!!!!!!!
Maddening, but we love each other to much to kill each other!
Posted by Kent Staubus on November 21, 2010 at 2:16 PM
I am finding that I shoot fewer and fewer shots each day. This is mostly because I've become a LOT more selective. It started when I began shooting 4x5; something has to be really great to be worth the effort. I've kept that thinking with my "small" cameras too. I am pay very close attention to light now, and if I can't get the light to work really well for the shot, I don't take it. I went to Iceland for two weeks last summer, by far the most beautiful place I've ever been. I took just under 1,000 shots. Very high keeper rate though! I would have been just as happy if I brought my 4x5 instead of Nikons and shot only 50 frames though.
Kent in SD
Posted by Brad Mangas on November 21, 2010 at 4:02 PM
Barbara I know you didn't ask a question rather posted more of a personal statement. My initial reaction is, you sound as if this journey in photograph is confusing rather than enlightening, remember photography isn't about taking pictures one will no doubt drive themselves crazy if that is all they are doing or all they think they must do. Some may go their entire life with such confusion always searching for way to express how they feel visually, I can almost understand.
Life is about balance, without it one is very lopsided. Learning from heartache and times of despair, cherishing memories for those times when comfort is needed. Photography is a passion I agree, just taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures is perfectly fine and millions do it for fun everyday and that's great, but only under the bounty of ones personal emotions (be they joy or despair) does it really take on meaning of or for anything. Life is simply a journey of revelation, one of experience and discovery and the only thing we really discover in the course of a lifetime is ourselves. Photography seems to be one tool that helps certain people obtain more in their personal discovery. The question is, what are you passionate about, passionate enough to forgo most other things in your life for the chance of expressing this visually, for the almost hopeless chance of making a difference but you do it anyway because you have no choice, you simply could not end your life without trying. I believe most people of this day and age would say simply, nothing. To them, a picture is simply a picture.
Posted by Stan Rose on November 21, 2010 at 9:25 PM
feel that with my images I am honoring the subject and preserving its memory long after its life is over. I like that a lot. (That doesn't really apply to ESS, I know, but to other things.)
Actually, i think this applies equally to ESS--since many areas are under constant threat of being logged,mined,paved,drained, and developed to death...
I personally have no problem putting down the camera--i simply promise myself a couple microbrews and a steak dinner for the end of a shoot, and as a result, i rarely fill up half a memory card
Posted by Barbara Graham on November 21, 2010 at 11:35 PM
Thanks for your replies. :)
Preston, what an encouraging comment to remind me that the path is already being laid out. Thank you.
Catherine, "be not afraid" is perfect. :) :) :)
Jim, thank you for your comment!
Varina, yes, absolutely, the next shot is so hard to leave behind. :) Even at my level I'm always thinking that the next shot, if I could only take it, will be the best shot I've taken yet!
Barbara, thank you so much. I have reread your comments several times.
Jim, you are so right about the beauty already being there. I know that's true. I think what I was thinking when I wrote that was about how images maybe don't always show the beauty that is there.
Lucy, my husband and I met and married when I was 50 and he was 51, so no issues here with either one of us telling the other one what to do. :D I will say that regarding my first grandchild, a grandson who will be 5 months old on Wednesday, my daughter calls me "grandmamarazzi." :)
Kent, while I likely will continue with just "regular" digital images with a DSLR when I get one, I can definitely see a point at which I will at least probably shoot less images of any given series. At this point I just still want to try to be sure to get something that's good.
Brad, thank you for the reminder about balance. As far as passion, my adult kids would both tell you that from the time they were babies I showed them the beauty of the world around them, and that is my passion. I have no idea why it took me until now to think about the possibility of diving into photography as an expression of that passion or a way to show that beauty to more people, but I'm glad I'm here now. However far I get, I'm already better than I was, so that's awesome.
Stan, you're right about ESS. I hadn't thought of that.
I can definately relate to your feelings. I have always been fascinated by, and connected to nature. At first with my photography, it was about the burning desire to capture a good shot. It has been a 5 year transformation, but I have gotten over that. Especially in the last year or two. When the economy crashed and everything seemed to be spiraling out of control in a bad direction, I turned to photagrphy for something different. It is something that I find complete unobstructed joy doing. If I get a good shot, it's gravy. It's the walks through the forest in the early quiet hours before the sun comes up. I have learned to spend that time reflecting on my life, and being grateful for the experience. It took me a while to get it, but it's also the feeling of absolute freedom that I find myself constantly craving.
Hi, Barbara - You surely have been bitten by "the bug" !
A few thoughts for you as you deal with this affliction":
Remember to see and appreciate what is in front of you without a camera too. Sometimes we mss things when the camera is plastered to our faces. You want to remember a beautiful scene through your own eyes, not just from photos later. Be aware of safety issues too - the
recent safety thread is a good one.
A good basic camera is important, but the your eye and skills are far more important. Good lenses are way more important than the "best" camera.
With non-wildlife shots (wildlife moves away fast, so you gotta take shots quickly when you see something) : Take the time to walk around a bit and see different perspectives before you start firing off shots. A trick I learned from Tim Ernst: have a 5x7 photo mat on a string around your neck. Hold it up to visualize potential shots.
As time goes on, you'll learn to be more selective about shots. You'll see lots of pretty scenes, but realize the light is wrong for decent shots, etc. Still, take a few of these anyway and put them in the "play with Photoshop later " file. Who knows what some photo art filters might do, or what software will come out in the future to salvage a shot.
Set up and use a good file system so you can find things later on! Use a very good backup syatem.
And HAVE FUN! Don't let photography totally rule your life, to the detriment of relationships, and the many other wonderful things to experience in the world.
Discussion
14 repliesIt is very, very, very difficult to stop shooting unless you absolutely, really, truly have to, like the park gates are being locked in 10 minutes or it is getting dark or you have to meet someone at a certain time or you really have to work or something like that. It is just almost impossible to stop.
After you stop it is almost impossible to stop doing things with the images on your computer unless (see above except for park gates closing and getting dark).
I really need to get an appropriate camera but I am really, really afraid to make a choice. This is also me about computers, with which I earn my living, as well. I eventually do make a choice after all the research I can do, and I make whatever I get work well for me, but I wish I could choose the exact right camera & lenses since I don't know nearly as much about cameras and lenses even with research as I do about computers.
After a few months of learning from NPN I see the entire physical world differently. I see depth of field and background everywhere. And I can't even imagine how the people who film movies and TV shows do it. I was watching someone cross the street today and visualizing how that would look on a TV show or in a movie and how they would make the background exactly as they wanted it, and it boggles my mind, because it's not just one image or one small video clip, it's hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of video clips. Then I can't imagine editing them and choosing from them.
I think that every inch of the natural physical world, including the grass by the side of the road or sidewalk, could be photographed in such a way as to make it beautiful.
I feel that with my images I am honoring the subject and preserving its memory long after its life is over. I like that a lot. (That doesn't really apply to ESS, I know, but to other things.)
If I could stop and photograph everything I wanted to, I would never get anywhere.
NP is all-consuming.
This is how I feel about all of you, and I think about this a lot:
Yes, you would. The path before your feet is already laid out for you, though you may not immediately see it.
I know you're enjoying the journey, Barbara.
--P
LOL, when I'm on a trip with my friend (also a photographer), it is always a task to keep to our travel schedule. Comes the time in the day where we have to set "time out" limits on shooting. Having pity for drivers who follow photographers' cars because of how suddenly we stop or swoop off the road for a shot, we often drive only a few hundred yards between shots- so we definitely get nowhere fast. As we're hopping out of the car for the umpteenth time, with darkness coming on us and the place we have to be still many miles away, one of us chirps, "2-minute rule!" Not the best way to make photos, but we've gotten some great shots.
And you are so right, once into photography and learning to see, learning what to look for, you begin to do it all the time, and life is never the same again. Oh, JOY!
So jump in and get that gear! Rent what you think you might want to buy and try it out for a day in the field. $$$ well spent for, hopefully, more peace of mind when you finally plunk down the big bucks.
Best wishes for a wonderful, ongoing adventure, Barbara. It's been inspiring to see how you are plunging right in and how much you are learning and yearning to learn more. You GO! girl.
Instead, I have a terrible time leaving a location. What if the next great shot is just over that hill? What if it's just beyond the bend in the trail? How can I leave now, knowing that I just might be missing the shot of a lifetime?
I have had a camera in my hand for over 40 years and never stop learning. Am I good ... depends on what day it is. Have I learned all there is ... heavens no. A good camera is important, but it is not what makes the photograph ... it's the person behind the camera. I started out with a Pentax K1000 (film), then progressed to a Fuji Film Digital and now use a Nikon D70. I know there are much newer cameras, but I haven't even learned all there is about this camera yet.
Take classes, workshops, get to know other photographers (via NPN!), just continue to learn, learn, learn and just get out there and shoot. It definitely is a journey, but a journey worth taking. Photography is a way to capture what you feel in your soul. My photography has helped me through many trying days as I just get lost in all the beauty that I see.
So much to learn, but one day at a time. Everyone here at NPN is here for you. There are so many talented photographers. I continue to learn from them all each time I post an image.
Continue on this journey, the possibilities are endless.
"I really need to get an appropriate camera but I am really, really afraid to make a choice."
There is no right or appropriate camera. Different camera features do different things well. I have a Canon G10 that is great for carrying around to get those serendipitous photos that I just happen onto but its lag time in firing up & between shots is no good for anything that is happening quickly. It also isn't nearly as good at macro work (though it will do in a pinch). Figure out what features you need for the kind of photos you want to make and buy the camera(s) that have those features. In the end they are just tools. The important part is immediately behind the camera.
"I think that every inch of the natural physical world, including the grass by the side of the road or sidewalk, could be photographed in such a way as to make it beautiful." The beauty is already there. As you learn to see the world differently you are simply becoming aware of what is already there. I like your phrase "I am honoring the subject". You are and even if your photo is never seen by anyone but you, even if it 'ends up on the cutting room floor', you have honored your subject by giving it your full attention for the time it took to make your photo.
Keep it up. There will always be too much to photograph and too little time but it is a joyous way to spend what time we have on Earth.
The only problem I have is in finding Photo companions! My husband of 30 years has put a "moratorium" on photos during vacation!! This is killing me, so I'm trying to fit in as many at home (State Park, etc) as I can. I wish I could afford photo expeditions, but, alas, I cannot.
At least, my daughter, finally has "the bug", but she is now married and no longer goes on vacation with us......What to do? What to do? (Sneak as many "good" shots in as possible!)
His biggest peeve is that, I , too, cannot leave a place until the sun goes down....And even then, I have to keep shooting the magical photos that come after the sun sets!
So, LOL with your disease.......I'm afraid it's terminal...you will never "recover". And have all the fun you can!
Maddening, but we love each other to much to kill each other!
Kent in SD
Life is about balance, without it one is very lopsided. Learning from heartache and times of despair, cherishing memories for those times when comfort is needed. Photography is a passion I agree, just taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures is perfectly fine and millions do it for fun everyday and that's great, but only under the bounty of ones personal emotions (be they joy or despair) does it really take on meaning of or for anything. Life is simply a journey of revelation, one of experience and discovery and the only thing we really discover in the course of a lifetime is ourselves. Photography seems to be one tool that helps certain people obtain more in their personal discovery. The question is, what are you passionate about, passionate enough to forgo most other things in your life for the chance of expressing this visually, for the almost hopeless chance of making a difference but you do it anyway because you have no choice, you simply could not end your life without trying. I believe most people of this day and age would say simply, nothing. To them, a picture is simply a picture.
Actually, i think this applies equally to ESS--since many areas are under constant threat of being logged,mined,paved,drained, and developed to death...
I personally have no problem putting down the camera--i simply promise myself a couple microbrews and a steak dinner for the end of a shoot, and as a result, i rarely fill up half a memory card
Preston, what an encouraging comment to remind me that the path is already being laid out. Thank you.
Catherine, "be not afraid" is perfect. :) :) :)
Jim, thank you for your comment!
Varina, yes, absolutely, the next shot is so hard to leave behind. :) Even at my level I'm always thinking that the next shot, if I could only take it, will be the best shot I've taken yet!
Barbara, thank you so much. I have reread your comments several times.
Jim, you are so right about the beauty already being there. I know that's true. I think what I was thinking when I wrote that was about how images maybe don't always show the beauty that is there.
Lucy, my husband and I met and married when I was 50 and he was 51, so no issues here with either one of us telling the other one what to do. :D I will say that regarding my first grandchild, a grandson who will be 5 months old on Wednesday, my daughter calls me "grandmamarazzi." :)
Kent, while I likely will continue with just "regular" digital images with a DSLR when I get one, I can definitely see a point at which I will at least probably shoot less images of any given series. At this point I just still want to try to be sure to get something that's good.
Brad, thank you for the reminder about balance. As far as passion, my adult kids would both tell you that from the time they were babies I showed them the beauty of the world around them, and that is my passion. I have no idea why it took me until now to think about the possibility of diving into photography as an expression of that passion or a way to show that beauty to more people, but I'm glad I'm here now. However far I get, I'm already better than I was, so that's awesome.
Stan, you're right about ESS. I hadn't thought of that.
Thanks again, everyone.
I can definately relate to your feelings. I have always been fascinated by, and connected to nature. At first with my photography, it was about the burning desire to capture a good shot. It has been a 5 year transformation, but I have gotten over that. Especially in the last year or two. When the economy crashed and everything seemed to be spiraling out of control in a bad direction, I turned to photagrphy for something different. It is something that I find complete unobstructed joy doing. If I get a good shot, it's gravy. It's the walks through the forest in the early quiet hours before the sun comes up. I have learned to spend that time reflecting on my life, and being grateful for the experience. It took me a while to get it, but it's also the feeling of absolute freedom that I find myself constantly craving.
Chris
A few thoughts for you as you deal with this affliction":
Remember to see and appreciate what is in front of you without a camera too. Sometimes we mss things when the camera is plastered to our faces. You want to remember a beautiful scene through your own eyes, not just from photos later. Be aware of safety issues too - the
recent safety thread is a good one.
A good basic camera is important, but the your eye and skills are far more important. Good lenses are way more important than the "best" camera.
With non-wildlife shots (wildlife moves away fast, so you gotta take shots quickly when you see something) : Take the time to walk around a bit and see different perspectives before you start firing off shots. A trick I learned from Tim Ernst: have a 5x7 photo mat on a string around your neck. Hold it up to visualize potential shots.
As time goes on, you'll learn to be more selective about shots. You'll see lots of pretty scenes, but realize the light is wrong for decent shots, etc. Still, take a few of these anyway and put them in the "play with Photoshop later " file. Who knows what some photo art filters might do, or what software will come out in the future to salvage a shot.
Set up and use a good file system so you can find things later on! Use a very good backup syatem.
And HAVE FUN! Don't let photography totally rule your life, to the detriment of relationships, and the many other wonderful things to experience in the world.
Sandy