Some thoughts...

[joemikel1]

I´m a mature man (46), so 18 months ago when I bought my first camera (a Panasonic fz7), I was thinking only in a

device to get sharp (in the way a newbie understand it) photographs. But when you begin to learn (in my case

through the internet), Photography can be very addictive. So I begun to spend time and money on it, buying first a

d40 with some basic lenses, and now a d300 with some others, What a passion for my 46!.

 

As a newbie without any artistic background (I´m a matehematician), and no previous photo vices, I think I

have "discovered" some facts about photography I would like to share with you (sure only personal opinions)

 

a) It doesn´t matter what camera or lenses you can have, or places you can visit. The only important matter is the

way you "see" things around you!

 

b) Digital photography is (for me) a mix of two different steps,(and both can be equually funny) taking, and editing.

You must master some editing software to control the result of the first step.

 

c) The way people value a photograph is very subjective. The same photograph can have different ratings in different

moments and different webs. For instance, the same photo I can publish in onexposure.net ( a very restrictive place)

with very good ratings, can be ignored in flickr, ipernity or Photo.net, And viceversa, and any mix. So, to get an

accurated view on your work, you have to get as much different views as you can....

 

d) My last discovery...... My name is Jose and I am a photo-addict.....

[hugh_davis]

Those are discerning observations, Jose'. I feel safe in predicting a long and fruitful addiction for you. HWD

[mikelgondra]

Hi, Jose Miguel, this is Jose Miguel and I am 47, so we are very close in the space-time universe. I have been taking photos during more than 30 years but let´s say I am addict since 4-5 years ago. Hope my responses could be useful for your learning process - that is all life - :

a) Not only the way you see things around you (that will give information on your "internal" universe) but do not forget we are also conditioned but space. A boy or man that lives close to Niagara falls will have the possibility to take some amazing water images not available in other places. A girl that is the daughter of an alpinist will probably have a different eye for mountain images. And so on. In the global world today you can travel and shoot everything but the most close personal views of many photographers are usually a couple of miles from their residences.

b) Digital - or not digital - photography is not only taking and editing; I think you forget one of the most important thing in the sometimes very quick process that is COMPOSING. When you shoot your camera, some times very quick some times not, depending on the composing time, you are always composing an image before: may be with people or not, landscape, objects, light, colours, and ta, ta, ta...but COMPOSITION of the different elements in the vision of your eye and your camera is the most important process. And the way how and what and when and W....you compose may identify yourself as an individual characteristics composer (or author). Another thing is taking (here the material media are quite basic) and editing (again high technology is taking part in the process). But from my point of view COMPOSITION is the mother of the lamb.

c) There are subjective things, but there are other objective ones: good color contrast, dynamic images, good black & white compositions, opportunity pictures well taken; si vemos que las imagenes de ciertos fotografos salen en diferentes revistas, publicaciones, son premiadas, gustan a muchos, en general podremos calificarlas de buenas. Luego están "otras" sensibilidades que siempre existen y que tienen gustos más extremos y que pueden apreciar mejor fotos especiales como, no sé, el parto de un potrillo, una macro de un mosquito, una lágrima en primer plano. José Miguel, lo que está claro es que hay que buscar esos momentos "mágicos" de nuestro entorno y, entonces, en el momento oportuno (y con la luz, el enfoque, el ángulo, bla, bla,...), disparar y editar (después). Te he respondido la mayoría en ingles pues creo que es mas comodo para el resto de personas en el foro. The end in spanish just to share a couple of words and do some marketing of mother language. See you, Jose Miguel (Ikusi arte - this is basque "see you"). Hasta la vista.

[joemikel1]

Hi Josemi, I agree with you. What you call COMPOSITION is just what I claimed in a) :-)

[tonmestrom]

a. spot-on. Virtually nobody is interested in what brush Rembrandt used. As for the rest you're also right. Photography doesn't improve with mileage, a fact that still eludes a lot of photographers. That's also something one needs to see.

 

b. right, no free-bees there

 

c. subjectivity is the name of the game. Still, quality has a tendency to float to the top

 

d. welcome in the club

 

have lots of fun

[steve_dittmar]

My favorite Ansel Adams quote:

"there are no rules for good photographs, there are just good photographs."

p.s. There are worse things to be addicted to...

[hjoseph7]

Sometimes being a newbie has it's benefits. I've been potographing on and off for the past 20 years, but I have a friend of mine around the same age, who just purchased his first SLR about a year ago. Not a fancy camera, but an old Canon AE that he picked up at a yard sale. He started taking portraits of his friends and associates and the pictures were absolutely fabulous.

 

His technique was to match a persons clothing and features with the background. If a person had green eyes then the background he chose was green. If a person wore a navy blue shirt, or dress then the background would also be navy blue, you get the picture. What got me was that his pictures came out perfectly exposed and balanced. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the camera ?

[Leroy_Photography]

Your observations are very good, Jose. Photography has a way of opening your eyes to see the drab, everyday

things in a whole new light and then to capture those moments. Different photography requires a different

temperaments. I have a friend who is a talented wedding photographer, but I've never seen her take a picture at a

baseball game. I enjoy taking sports photos, but would hate to take wedding photos. We have different

temperaments. Sports are fast paced and must be quickly composed to capture the action. One has to know the

game to anticipate the next possible play. Weddings are fast-paced, too, but one generally knows what is going to

happen next. In addition to taking the required wedding photos, the secret there is keeping your eyes open to

capture that unexpected moment or emotion. My friend is great at that.

 

I'm trying to hone my skills in other areas of photography during the season breaks between baseball and football.

This type of photography requires you to slow down, look around, compose, rearrange, look again, sit down, try a

high angle, try a low angle, change settings, slow down, look around, etc. It can be very time-consuming, but also

very rewarding. I'm not sure I'll make the transition, but it's been a wonderful ride. I hope you enjoy your journey into

photography. Welcome

aboard.

[jwilli4834]

Jose - some good thoughts. I think that most of my favorite shots come in the form that require as little post production editing as possible. I have been using photoshop for years to fix my shots, but once I became serious about photography, I find that if I get it right in the camera the first time, Photoshop ruins the look. I do find that I still use photoshop to crop something unwanted or resize, but very little in the way of effects. I have always loved taking pictures, I still don't consider myself to be a real photographer. My problems often come from a real lack of artistic intuition. I can compose really good shots sometimes, but my favorite photos are taken from a distance while just being an observer. I find that if my subject is aware of me, the shots are often not as good....

[jwilli4834]

Jose - some good thoughts. I think that most of my favorite shots come in the form that require as little post

production editing as possible. I have been using photoshop for years to fix my shots, but once I became serious

about photography, I find that if I get it right in the camera the first time, Photoshop ruins the look. I do find that I still

use photoshop to crop something unwanted or resize, but very little in the way of effects. I have always loved taking

pictures, I still don't consider myself to be a real photographer. My problems often come from a real lack of artistic

intuition. I can compose really good shots sometimes, but my favorite photos are taken from a distance while just

being an observer. I find that if my subject is aware of me, the shots are often not as good....<div></div>