View Full Version : so, where ya goin' with all this?
Looking back over some of my shots of the last couple of years, I'm pleased enough with how I've enjoyed my gear (i.e. bodies & glass) and have gotten used to actually using it - comfortably. And many of the results - though not all - are quite satisfying. I've tried lots of different post-process editing; grain, textures, shading, tints, etc. (Just plain ol' B&W now seems to work best for me.)
As I'm flipping through some images, I started asking myself, "Okay, it's been 2 years; you have the *stuff* you want and you've given yourself time to get comfortable with it. So where are you heading with all this? Two years from now, what kind of shots do you want to be taking? What are you not shooting now that you want to be shooting in 2 years? What do you want to see in your future images that you're not seeing now?"
As far as actually taking the picture, up 'til now, I'm fine with what's happened. I like most of the composition and I have no problems with later cropping a little here and there to change that according to my taste [of the moment]. I like watching and waiting for particular facial expressions or looking at what's going on in front of me and asking, "How can I best capture this to tell the story?" and then positioning myself there, though I'm not always very good at it.
So the direction I'd like to be heading, what I'd like to be working on in the future is the ability to see the opportunity of multiple subjects in one frame; multiple stories happening simultaneously. To notice what's going on in the background or foreground (or side to side for that matter) that would add to an already interesting scene.
A recent example - I thought colinh's Street 1 (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=67032) was quite interesting; three main subjects, unrelated except for proximity. Each one could be cropped separate from the other two and be a decent photo. But combined they make, IMHO, a very interesting observation. Nothing earth-shattering/life-changing, but interesting - at least to me.
I like this shot [okay], a table by the window (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=20637&ppuser=1620), but what different story would be told if there was a person sitting in the right chair sipping coffee... or reading a paper? or...? This one, big dreams (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=52753&ppuser=1620), I like, but if another person, adult or child, had been leaning in the second window background, it would completely change the whole feeling of the moment.
While contemplating these things, I decided I'd like to hear more of the plans/visions/aspirations of others who might be looking ahead to growth, improvement or just change. Any brainstorming goin' on out there? Sooo... where we goin' with all this?
This may be something to ponder, but here's just another view, not saying it's a better one:
An ant once asked a millipede how it was able to walk with so many legs and not get tripped up. The millipede stopped to think about it, and never walked again.
Or in the words of Doris Day: kay seraw, seraw. Whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see, kay seraw, seraw.
back alley
08-10-2007, 10:08
que sera
:)joe
back alley
08-10-2007, 10:15
thank you joe
:)
no problem.
and i think it was connie frances who sang it..
back alley
08-10-2007, 10:16
reagan, i'm not going anywhere with my hobby except to keep it as a creative outlet for myself and one that has lots of cool toys.
I'm just along for the ride. Wheee!
no problem.
and i think it was connie frances who sang it..
It was Doris Day! my mom used to play the heck out of that album when I was growing up.:eek:
It was Doris Day! my mom used to play the heck out of that album when I was growing up.:eek:
In "The Man Who Knew Too Much".
CVBLZ4, I feel similar to you. Buying more lenses will help :)
Cheers,
Roland.
back alley
08-10-2007, 10:27
a quick google proves me wrong!
damn...;)
I'm still looking for my comfort zone in using a rangefinder. Going from slr to rf as far as focusing the camera is like walking from night into day. Playing with that camera, and this lens, loaded with different films all the time probibally is slowing down my progress. But for me it's a hobby and I like experimenting to see what results I can get. I believe with time my work shall improve and i'll reach some satisifaction in my photos.
This is a means of artistic expression for me as well. I'm not sure how "in contol" I am of that. It just happens.
It is precisely this blend of technology (the gear) and the artsy-fartsyness of photography that makes it so satisfying/fun for me.
It's healthy, like a complete breakfast.
fdigital
08-10-2007, 11:17
I love your "big dreams" shot - it's a great capture.
The whole basis of improvement is started with self assesment and comparison - I try to look at where I've come from, and set little tasks like photo projects etc. Sometimes I write down my ideas in an ideas book - thats at least the process of improving and looking toward the future for me. What that future is I can always plan and dream but really, I have no idea.
And such is life.
This is a means of artistic expression for me as well. I'm not sure how "in contol" I am of that. It just happens.
It is precisely this blend of technology (the gear) and the artsy-fartsyness of photography that makes it so satisfying/fun for me.
That pretty well sums it up for me as well. Plus I'm a bit of an obsessive collector which is fed nicely by my continuing GAS.
But to answer your question more directly CVBLZ4, I too have been sort of asking myself the same question recently. And I've decided that, despite not really being a particularly gifted photographer, I can definitely improve my skills. And the areas I've decided to focus on are two-fold: 1) interesting shots of mundane/everyday things and 2) better candid portrait shots.
The former is challenging because in my view it requires having a more artistic eye and I tend too much towards the analytical. But I think I can improve in this area (not to change my mode of thought but rather to simply get better at seeing the shot in the mundane). The latter is challenging because it requires me to go beyond my comfort zone and get up close and personal with my subjects. Not that that's not possible but it's not necessarily easy or comfortable. Guess that makes it all the rewarding if I can improve in this area.
At least those give me a goal or something to works towards. Otherwise I just wander around with my camera in my hand and end up with little or nothing. And I can then evaluate my progress in a year's time and decide how/if I want to continue on the path.
All just my meandering thoughts in response to your question(s). Hope it was helpful.
-Randy
"...but rather to simply get better at seeing the shot in the mundane."Randy - I can sure relate there - "get better at seeing" is a constant thought whilst out n' about. And I've discovered, ahhh haa!, that seeing can be helped by actually going ahead and taking those boring *ehhh, nothing-there* shots, (and don't say it, I know, I'm already a pro at that part ;) ) then getting them home, and putting the analytical eye to work; "How could this have been better?" Sure I've got rolls and rolls of *yep, sure enough; nothin' there* - but occasionally from the boring, worthless roll I get a better idea of how to take the same shot or a thought for a shot/project completely unrelated to what I'm looking at. Anyway, IMO taking the bad shots and really looking them over helps the seeing.
Thanks for input, all. Cheers :cool:
Ya gotta get those bad shots out of your system. It's like paying your dues.
no problem.
and i think it was connie frances who sang it..
thank you joe
que sera
...Or in the words of Doris Day: kay seraw, seraw. Whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see, kay seraw, seraw.
jeez! no wonder you two have the highest post counts! :) :)
...
An ant once asked a millipede how it was able to walk with so many legs and not get tripped up. The millipede stopped to think about it, and never walked again.
....
to the point: I think the above works well--as does buying more lenses.
:)
Well, for me, "where" actually splits into "how" and "why".
"How" is the visual part, style, formal language in photography. Hope am moving in correct direction there.
"Why" is the motivation. While I have one personal project am gradually working on, main part of my photography has no clear motives behind it.
photophorous
08-10-2007, 14:10
I'm not sure where I'm going. I just hope to enjoy the ride.
I feel like I've been in an experimental phase ever since I got really interested in photography, and I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever focus on anything specific. I've tried several different types of cameras and a handful of subject matter and shooting styles. Right now, I just wish I could take some decent street shots, but tomorrow I may be searching ebay for view cameras...who knows. I have nothing specific to say with my photography, just a desire to put my view of the world on paper.
Paul
shadowfox
08-10-2007, 14:12
Reagan, thanks for the thought provoking question before we start the weekend!
Unlike some others here, I am *not* comfortable where I am, it takes my whole effort to get my butt off to continue trying even when I am not comfortable. I am not the sort of person who has the innate will to improve when I feel content ;)
If asked how I want to improve, I can think of some ways:
- I'd like to be more critical towards my photography, if a picture sucks or boring, it's boring, no amount of tweaking I can do to it that will really satisfy me, set it aside, move on (I like Frank's analogy of paying the dues).
- I'd like to be more patient. Most of the time I'm in a hurry, even when I have time. I'm so conscious of what people may do or say to me, I just can't take my time to frame a good picture. I think this is one of the secret weapon of great photographers, is that they can just tune out the world and be alone in their photography.
- I'd like to be more focused. Random snapshots doesn't excite me anymore, even when I accidentally produce a good picture out of it. I need focus, a direction, a project, that when brought to completion, will be far more rewarding.
and with that, I bid you all to have a blessed weekend!
PS: And no, more lenses would not help me :) unless it's a free Zuiko, Hexanon, Takumar, Zeiss, or Leitz.
back alley
08-10-2007, 14:15
jeez! no wonder you two have the highest post counts! :) :)
to the point: I think the above works well--as does buying more lenses.
:)
me = chatty kathy
;)
"...it takes my whole effort to get my butt off to continue trying even when I am not comfortable."Ditto. Did I mention I'm a lazy oaf? :cool: If I *just let it happen* - nothing happens. For me, I've got to aim for something or I'll miss everything, get bored, drop the gun and go fishin'.
When I take a look at my photos and say, "Good enough. That's all I want." -- I'm done. A large part of the hobby enjoyment for me is challenging myself to grow/change, "What else can I do here? What other story can I tell? And how can I best tell it?"
Hope you have a great weekend too!
Ya gotta get those bad shots out of your system. It's like paying your dues.So, the millipede should plan to keep walking until it learns not to stumble with all those legs... maybe even dance! ... as opposed to "Kay Sarah" ... "Phyllis Navydad" or whatever. ;)
jeez! no wonder you two have the highest post counts! :) :)
:)
Yep Ray, I figure if I post often enough, some of it is bound to be worthwhile. Think of an infinite number of monkeys at keyboards....
:)
Think of an infinite number of monkeys at keyboards....
:)LOL!! :D :D ------ Wait minute, what forum you talkin' 'bout?
photophorous
08-10-2007, 15:01
- I'd like to be more patient. Most of the time I'm in a hurry, even when I have time. I'm so conscious of what people may do or say to me, I just can't take my time to frame a good picture. I think this is one of the secret weapon of great photographers, is that they can just tune out the world and be alone in their photography.
I'm with you on this one. I would benefit greatly from being able to ignore the people that aren't in my photos.
photophorous
08-10-2007, 15:04
...I figure if I post often enough, some of it is bound to be worthwhile....
Sounds like the way I shoot. :)
I'd love to get better at my photography, especially at composition but with all the other things I *have* to get better at (better father, better engineer, better friend, better.... you name it) I am just kind of letting this photography thing happen on its own. So far, just by playing when I have the time, I've learned to get the correct exposure most of the time and have figured out which camera and lenses work best for me. But the hardest thing for me to learn was to stop stressing out about blowing the shot or upgrading my gear . Learning to relax and just take pictures has been the best part of this ride.
Lots of truth in many of these posts. And akptc/Andy, great sig line under your avatar ("got hardware, need skills") - sure seems to fit the tone of this thread.
-Randy
I'd like to thank CZLB4 for posting the link to ColinH's photos. I think I haven't been spending enough time looking at other people photographs. Yet it both makes me wonder, and at the same time answers the question, why am I so lousy at street photography? Probably I don't do it enough, I'm nervous taking photographs of people in public places, and of course I don't have all those sexy European women to photograph.
But in the end what I learned from viewing Colin's photographs is that I would like to learn how to frame more carefully in order to tell the story that's there. I'd like to be in less of a hurry and less worried about what others might think if I raise the camera to my eye, and of course quick enough to avoid the "observer effect". As soon as people see you taking a picture of them everything changes. One needs to be quick I think, and have the exposure, focus and composition all planned out before lifting the camera to the eye and I'd like to be better at that thought process. I'm not bad at the exposure and focus but I need the framelines in order to see the composition well.
This is what I'd like to improve on, whether its street photography (which I've so far been too chicken **** to do much of) or photographing my climbs, I'd like to learn to be better at seeing the composition and the story it has to tell. That's what interests me in photography.
Hey Steve, in the shy dept., I'd say you're pretty normal, especially among the brethren here. Start getting some people shots at places like parades, fairs, farmer's markets, anyplace where having a camera is quite common. People don't think much about someone grabbing a quick candid when lots of folks are taking pictures.
"...to be better at seeing the composition and the story"Me too. That seems to be a common theme here in this thread and I suspect something we'll work on improving as long as we can hold an old squeaky RF to our faces. Thanks for the input, Steve.
Oh, P.S. ~ You don't have any "sexy European girls" in Bend, OR? Where'd they all go? http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/images/icons/icon2.gif Riiiiiight... colin's house. :cool:
Oh, P.S. ~ You don't have any "sexy European girls" in Bend, OR? Where'd they all go? http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/images/icons/icon2.gif Riiiiiight... colin's house. :cool:[/QUOTE]
He does seem to have a fair monopoly doesn't he? I think my favorite is "Get up". Its just so loaded with innuendo, especially with the old man with the bicycle looking on with such interest and she looking like she's just pulling her pants up. I'm sure its a perfectly innocent street scene but that's one loaded photograph.
Where am I going...? That's a good question but I'm not really pondering it.
I have set myself some real goals for my photography. Some realistic (one day an exhibition and/or a real book; documenting Mongolia), others more far-fetched (getting published in NatGeo). I'm not working very hard to achieve them, really, but I keep them in my mind always and they provide some guidance to what I'm doing. These goals have made me jump into some opportunities that I otherwise would have let slip (shooting for the Micro Finance department of the bank I work for; shooting a dear friend's wedding recently). The thing is that these new opportunities have giving my photography a boast in ways I had not predicted. For instance, shooting for the MF dept (and consequently seeing these photos published) made me realise that my compositional skills are quite OK and that I can rely on them. But I also realised that I must think harder about what I'm shooting (subjects) and how (composition-wise). It taught me to react quicker, take more changes, be less concerned with what people might think. I'm doing a/my job! Pushing my own limits also meant pushing the limits of my camera and my knowledge/experience with it. I'm loath to use my Eos 300D but I use it extensively when "on the job". Using it so much showed me its strong points (compared to the R-D1 with fix focal length lens) but also its weak points (low light auto focusing, for one). And then it taught me to circumvent such issues (manual focus, deliberately pre-setting shutter speed, scouting the location, using (off camera) flash, etc).
I'm learning so much more aspects of photography, aspects that as an amateur doing his own thing I would (hardly) never encounter and most likely not learn from. IMO all these new experiences are helping me mature so I can one achieve the goals I've set.
350D_user
08-12-2007, 03:15
Where am I heading? I've become disengaged from the digital "Upgrade now, because this is better than yesterdays offerings" attitude. I've also found the rangefinders much more useable and enjoyable than I'd first imagined, even more than SLRs, both digital and film.
So... where am I heading? Sticking with digital? Returning to film? I'm not certain, though I suspect it'll be a 75/25 mix of film and digital.
Where am I going? In circles, mainly. My cameras go with me on daily walks around the harbour port where I live, recording small changes in the seasons and other things I see along the way. I've been walking the same beat for years now and still haven't run out of fresh things to photograph. Perhaps I'm easily amused :-)
Gene
I've been walking the same beat for years now and still haven't run out of fresh things to photograph.Doesn't sound like going in circles to me. Sounds like you've found your path. Keep walkin'! ''''''''http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/images/icons/icon2.gif
Where am I going? In circles, mainly. My cameras go with me on daily walks around the harbour port where I live, recording small changes in the seasons and other things I see along the way. I've been walking the same beat for years now and still haven't run out of fresh things to photograph. Perhaps I'm easily amused :-)
Gene
Gene, it was some of your shots that made me want to work on taking interesting shots of everyday things. As I said when we had breakfast together earlier this year, I wish I had your eye for seeing the shot in such things. So from my perspective I second the motion for you to continue going in circles since it seems to be working well for you and I, for one, learn from it.
-Randy
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