mariellen romer

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<p>Dave,<br>

I am a sometime visitor to the beautiful state of Washington, and there are many things to photograph. Notice I steer away from "beautiful'. I empathise with your previous frustrations, but for a different reason, and that is that my eye is too big for my camera. Wholly down to user error and inexperience, I have a WONderful camera. <br /><br />I find I am trying to catch colour and shapes. I fell into it by simply grouping my photos together and found it rather screamed at me. The shapes are not always as a pure abstract, but simply looking for colour starts me off in a good direction. From there the steps kind of work themselves, in as much as the next step seems to present itself as an interesting option to follow. I crop a lot, too. For me the issue then becomes how not to get in too *much* of a rut - which is where you seemed to start. <br /><br />The comment above of local Washingtonin's work is one I will explore too - I know Shawn Shawhan, but not the others. Looking forward to exploring your portfolio. </p>

<p>I'm with Mark K. I have insurance, never had to use it, paranoically careful with my camera. Probabaly too much so, would accept the comment that I may be more down the toy than tool end of the spectrum, point taken on board. <br /><br />Credit crunch has me tightening belt, was wondering about insurance. Not wondering any more, will be sure to renew when the date comes. This post should be read to all photography classs students!<br /><br />Thank you guys n gals for some wonderful war stories. My heart goes out to all of you lens warriors. Keep shooting, I see some utterly wonderful shots in your portfolios. <br /><br />Happy New Year all and may fortune favour your shooting. <br /><br />BTW my worse ever camera moment was when I was 16 and it was stolen out of my back pack. Film of course, I think it wasn't even 20 bucks. EOS was not even a twinkle in Canon's eye at that point.</p>

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Jin, may the force be with you ...! No ads at all please!

Amazon ads definitely do not have my vote...hopefully you elves and other gremlins will save the day and get rid of them completely.

Tyler,

Just wondering if you are costing your time as well as your materials. Or if the gallery is framing and taking the uplift on the increased price.

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Hello, Dave D. From my own experience and by observation, yes an 'eye' can be learned. It can certainly be improved. I feel your analysis that came to synthesis of needing to let go may well be right, because it seems that an emotional response is what makes that eye possible.

 

One thing that does not come out much in the string - and it may be that I have simply missed it - is the courage needed to do what you are trying to do, the vulernability that comes when you put your stuff out there in amongst the experts, the professionals, the clearly gifted, or simply those who seem to have the good eye you look for but you feel, eludes you. So one thing I would say is to build your network of support, those who wish to learn along side you or those with whom you feel comfortable even if their expertise is greater than yours, whose encouragement means something to you, who help to keep you going when you are having one of those 90% days. You've demonstrated courage by simply asking the question, and its a quality that I think we all draw on as we learn and grow.

 

I think passion for what we want to capture, for its story or the beauty of it, is one source of momentum to keep one going through the 90% times.

 

I would also agree with trying different things. Those people I know who have gone through art school are constatly being pushed, pulled or dragged kicking and screaming through different approaches, techniques, applications - and so I suspect they are taught less about specifics and more about exercising their emotional, physical and perception muscles to learn how that feels so they can do the same for themselves after then have left their courses. The techniques are there too but the biggest part of an art education seems to be in perception and understanding, not to mention a lot of practice. Its not simply how to apply paint or chip stone or shoot pics. One learns to be more artisitic same as one learns to be more creative, simply by doing it and examining..then repeating the doing and then the examining.

 

At the end of it all, I think you have to ask yourself, why are you doing this? If its so you can be the biggest, greatest, most famous photographer in the world, then methinks you would be on an ego trip. Nothing wrong with that per se, egos are entitled. But I think also that the passion, humility and courage I mentioned above; the sheer will to persist and a thirst to learn are not things that sit will with an ego in general, and so your motivation for producing something will, IMHO, have an effect on the outcome. Letting go, as you have said, might include letting go of any ego may block a freer flow of response.

 

Be kind to yourself. Rigor and discernment have their place and benefits. Gratuitous, self-inflicted critique violence and condemnation is just that, and not worth a hill of beans in terms of getting or keeping you motivated over the longer term. Fear breeds caution, not creative risk-taking.

 

As a final note, it seems to me that I am at the other end of a spectrum to you. I think I have an untrained but highly passionate eye for color (then texture). My composition skills are kinda sorta and sometimes pure luck, although I try to apply it when I frame a shot. Technically I am all over the floor. Maybe a buddy system would be in order??!

 

I look forward to seeing your scanned and posted pictures here soon.

Please keep us posted on your progress and how you feel its going. for you. GREAT question, btw.

 

Best wishes, Mariellen

Ladies and gents,

Thank you all very much for your fast and comprehensive answers. Given me a lot to think about and consider, I very much appreciate your help.

Happy New Year to you for 2007, Mariellen

Fellow photographers, I hope you can advise me.

 

I am looking for advice on the best tripod head for DSLR macro work. In a leap

of faith (I will accept the charge of hope triumphing over prudence until such

time as I have made some really good pics from this!!) I have just bought a

Canon dslr and for sure I will need a tripod for the next steps. The research

I have done so far would point to me needing a macro rack of some kind, i see

manfrotto do one for about 55 GBP. (the 405?)

 

Any suggestions other than this? Do I need a fluid head or does this rack do

most of the heavy lifting on the macro requirements? Do ball joints work ok,

or are they to be avoided? Any alternative suggestions as to make or models?

 

I already have manfrotto classic tripod legs.

 

Any inputs, thoughts and particularly gotchas, very gratefully recieved!

 

Thank you, Mariellen