|
|
|
|
Each one of us on this site has gone through his/her own evolution in photography, leading to the type of production that we now can see and admire here. Our interests are all different as is the degree to which we master the art of 'writing in light'. But we all share the same passion, and for us all photography has gained an important part in our live. Otherwise we wouldn't be posting here, or commenting on each other's pictures.
The way by which we came to this point, might tell us something about the way we take pictures and might help others to understand our interests.
This is what inspired me to communicate to you how I came to photography. There is quite some evolution in a span of only a few years.
My photographic career is rather short, even if I'm (already) 46 years old. Before some years, my experience with photography was that of most of other people; I was taking occasionally snapshots of the family, especially during summer holidays, using a film based pocket camera. Nothing spectacular. Some months after the birth of my daughter, in November 1999, I bought a Digital Video-camera, to record the early period in the life of my girl. By pure curiosity, I experimented from time to time with the still-function of this camera, delivering 1.1 MP pictures which I could readily visualise on my computer screen. It was a real sensation for me.
Being a purist on other domains, the quality of these first digital pictures did not really appeal to me and rather quickly, I was looking for ways to get more out of those early digital shots. By pure accident, my attention was drawn by an editing application called Photoshop. A whole new world opened up to me. The power of this software tool just knocked me out, and I saw it as an intellectual challenge to master the ins and outs of this magical digital wand. For some two years, and at least 4 evenings per week, I started gathering all information about PS, and was trying out each and every possible functionality of it. I printed thousands of pages of paper from the internet, collected a respectable collection of books, and kept growing more and more fascinated by the subject.
But all in all, with PS I could get some more live in my digital still pictures coming from my DV-camera, but it could not get more pixels out of it than there were captured. Noise and resolution/detail were a real problem. The acquisition of a real, fully fledged digital camera was now on my list. It took my weeks to compare, by information gathered on the internet, all models available. Finally, the Canon G2 seemed to me the best buy at the time. It was still quite expensive in those early days, but worth every euro of it.
It opened again a new horizon for me. Bit by bit, I was now mastering PS and I was able to produce, on the mere technical level, pictures which could be shown to others. One of my favourite topics in image-editing was the mastering of the colours. Also, while in those early days, my daughter was the main subject of my photographic attention, I gradually started to shift to subjects as landscape and macro-photography. In a following stage, I started posting some of my images on the internet, and not without success.
Then one day, I produced a picture that really gave me a warm feeling. By intuition, I felt it was a good, compelling picture; why I could not tell, but it gave me an enormous satisfaction and proud.
I then realised that I started reading more about photography itself than about Photoshop. Whilst in my early days, photo-editing and creating montages using all kinds of filters and magic PS-stuff, was on the top list of my activities, I became more and more oriented towards pure photography. PS was used primarily for enhancing pictures, not for transforming them.
It was time to get more serious about the gear. I acquired a DSLR, a Canon D60, and started saving money to get the best lenses on it and the best auxiliary equipment.
Later on, I complemented my gear also with the Canon 10D.
This was the time, only 2 years ago, when the technical aspects of those digital wonders kept me awake. When I evaluated a picture on my computer screen, I was still in the first place concerned about how well my cameras performed. I came practically mad when I discovered dust particles on the sensor.
When I look at me now, my attitude has shifted rather dramatically. Though I can financially afford to get a new camera like the Canon 1D MKII, or even the Canon 1Ds MK II, I won't do it as long as my G2, D60 and 10D still function properly. My main occupation is now: how do I improve my photographic skills? How do I get the best composition possible? How do I get balance in my pictures? What would I like to attain with my pictures? What message do I try to convey with my shots? Do I have a style?
Getting a new camera with a higher MP and higher fps isn't going to make me a better photographer. Having some dust particles on my sensor, leading to some spots on some shots, is not going to ruin a good, well balanced, compelling picture (if it is distracting, PS/CS can always deal with it).
Meanwhile, I joined an internet group of passionate photographers and I became a co-moderator of the group. I feel that I have something to tell with my pictures. Every day, I learn about ways to improve my photographic skills, and some tell me that I developed my own style. This is what gives me pleasure, more than the acquisition of a new camera would give me.
Photography has become an essential part of my life. When I look around me, even when I look at ordinary programs on television, I try to look for something that is interesting to shoot. I look for colours and graphics, shapes and lines. I couldn't life without photography any longer. When during a few days, I didn't produce something decent, I get a bad feeling. It affects my mood.
Of course, the technique is still important, but in a completely other way. I'm now looking for a way to enhance the expression of my pictures, and ..... for that I'm seriously thinking about buying a decent SLR, not digital, but film, to start taking pictures in B & W !
[Inspiring Digital Photography Articles]
|
