I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve posted a photo to social media and get been asked “where was this taken?”. So many people are location oriented, maybe the internet has made us that way? I have seen photos of some places so much that I can often tell where it is without even having been there. Photography is different things to different people and for some, it’s a way to document their travels.
Are Competitions For You
I have been competing in my club competitions for many years. At first I looked at it as a learning experience while taking part in my club activity and learning a bit. Nowadays I have changed my thought process a little. I find competitions to be counter-productive to being creative. Judges seem to see things more techically minded. They don’t think outside the box, if you will. They don’t seem to notice that your selective sharpness was artistic editing for instance. They seem to see things only in terms of technically correct or not.
The image below was entered in the comp in my club and the judges zeroed in on the sky, making a comment about the lack of detail and if Id fixed it, it would have scored higher.
First of all, the day was in a bit of a snow storm, causing a largely detail-less sky, I get it. He also went on to recommend the replacement of the sky. If you look under the bridge at the background, you can see that there is atmosphere happening and therefore, the sky would be pretty much white. In my opinion, you can also tell by looking at the trees above the old mill. The mill is the main star of the photo so I didn’t believe that the sky meant that much. I got to thinking that I would try out swapping the sky but after taking another closer look at these things, It would be quite hard to change the sky and make it look convincing. Judges lose their minds if there isn’t sky detail for them to see. They see only technical stuff, they think you need sky detail and to see detail in the darkest area of shadow at the same time.
For these reasons and a couple of others, I’m leaving competition behind for the freedom of shooting what makes me happy. I wish to shoot things that make people ask questions, things that require attention. I don’t always wish to answer the questions for the viewer, there isn’t anything wrong with letting them investigate a little. I don’t wish to impress the viewer with a bunch of pop and oversaturated colour, I would rather invite them in to investigate and experience the piece.
'Filters" and Presets
I was on Facebook this morning and came across an app that was advertising “filters” to create an old film style look to your images. I’m not going to name the app because it doesn’t matter for my purpose. I clicked to learn more and discovered it was an app for your phone that simply applied filters from what I could see. I don’t use the camera on my phone so I didn’t look much further but it got me thinking.
I’ve commented on this sort of thing before. In today’s world many people want instant gratification with everything in general, but also in their photography. They want everything to be easy, they don’t appreciate working for something special. Take a picture, apply a filter and done!
Maybe I”m a dinosaur but I enjoy the act of editing my photographs, I find it a relaxing process and in the end I have achieved something that I can be proud of. As a lightroom user, I recognize that it can create that very same look and many more according to your tastes and styles. Once you create that look, you can easily save those settings as a preset and from that point on, you have a one click “filter” and you never had to purchase any further app to do it.
I always encourage people to explore and learn to draw your own vision out of your work. Don’t just click a button and call it done. Learn what you like and how to get there, you will be far more proud of your photographs.
Paring it down
Our new gear recently is aiming at a couple of different issues that, in my opinion hinder more than help. For one, in the past I had a nasty lens habit. I thought I needed every focal length. I have since learned that we don’t need them all, that really only complicates things while adding significant weight to my kit. I actually carried lenses with me that I almost never used!
Of the photographers I’ve met who were particularly creative in their work, I have noticed that not many of them seem to concern themselves much with gear. They can’t often tell you much about the specs of their camera, it just doesn’t matter to them. They are busy immersed in what they like to do, create beautiful art. Today, any camera made in the last ten years or so will have the features that most of us use. The brand or model of a camera body doesn’t matter, they’re mostly the same anyway, just a tool after all.
I’ve limited myself with three lenses and I think I can hold myself to that. I have one lens that does 90% of my shooting, then a wide one and a long one for those other 10%. That’s as technical as I wish to be at this point, I’m trying to push my creativity to new places now. The “perfect” technical image is just too rare so express yourself with imperfect but beautiful. :)
A Recent Outing
I participated in a club outing this past weekend. The light was terrible, middle of the day and hazy due to the smoke from out west. I went more to be social than to get any earth shattering photos. This is my favourite from the day. I did like the location and will return at another time to explore further.
