Rediscovering Photography

Did I ever tell you I could hit a golf ball over a mile on level terrain? No, I’m not kidding, it’s true! I just need to find the right frozen lake with no snow and a little wind at my back.

Which brings me to my first subject, ice. And particularly, ice fishing. I have to admit that ice fishing is not a pastime (I hesitate to call it a sport) that I am exceedingly fond of. But taking a photo of a dedicated ice fisherman sitting on the lake (for hours at a time, usually) gives me the chance for a late evening shot to see how things turn out. (Click on the photo for a larger view.) I had to set up the tripod to take this since it was actually darker out than it seems in the photo.

Again, this is not a wall hanger shot, but another in my series of photos to add to my photo education. There were quite a few problems with this shot and the final result. At first glance, this looked like a good opportunity that could have been a great shot. But I stumbled upon the scene on my way home from a photo outing. The light sitting on the ice caught my eye and I thought, “why don’t I take a picture?” (I think that a lot.)

But I didn’t know the guy on the ice, and it really was rather dark so we couldn’t see each other. I walked out fairly close to him and told him I saw him and his light and wondered if it was OK if I took his picture from ‘up there on the shore’. He said go for it, so I did.

But I rushed this a lot and really didn’t have time to compose things. That’s a lesson learned right there. Don’t waste your time trying to take a ‘good’ picture if you don’t have time. And it took enough time setting up the tripod and fiddling around. I didn’t want the guy to think I was some kind of nut job so I took a couple of different exposures and skedaddled.

I can think of a number of ways to try this type of shot again in the future. The obvious ones are to get down on the ice, or maybe really low down rather then going back ‘up on the shore’. And a close up of the fisherman with the lantern accentuated would have been a nice shot. But as I have said, I at least took a shot that will give me food for thought for the future.

If it wasn’t snowing like crazy today and tonight, I would be camped near this tree taking a long telephoto shot of it and the full moon. But it’s totally overcast and they are forecasting the same for tomorrow. Maybe on Easter Sunday the clouds will break in the evening but the moon won’t rise until 10:03 PM, so that will probably be a bust since this silly tree is 20 some miles from home. But we’ll see.

Just a quick post so that you can check out this barn shot from last weekend. It’s so crisp and clean looking to me. I think this shot would look really nice on a ‘big cloud’ or stormy day.

As some of you have already guessed, there will be a BARN page coming soon. We’ll set up a barn photo section for some good (and maybe not so good) barn shots. The goal will be to combine barns or other old buildings with at least one other element of interest to see if we can get some super photos.

(And just thinking, I may have to try some of these in black and white or sepia. What do you think?)

I was so busy looking at barns, I forgot about this shot.

It was snowing quite heavily this evening, so I thought I’d try some long exposure shots to try to catch the snow. The falling snow doesn’t show up, but I think the neighborhood looks like it’s in a winter mood.

This is another shot that can act as a reminder of what type of shots can be taken when the sun isn’t up. While this photo is of no interest other than the method that was used to take it, it can be used as a good reminder that some interesting photos can be taken on mild late winter nights during or after a fresh snow. Especially architecture type shots of interesting buildings or city shots with lights. Options galore.

Perhaps you have heard the story Acres of Diamonds made famous by Russell Conwell. It’s a tale of a farmer who was so obsessed with the idea of finding diamonds and becoming rich that he sold his farm and spent the rest of his life in a tragic, hopeless search for diamonds, while the man who bought his property went to work in the fields and discovered a rich diamond mine right on the farm.

Can the moral of this story, ‘dig in your own backyard’, be applied to our search for finding good photos when we have limited time to spend on our hobby or limited resources to travel far away to find the perfect spot?

This is the question I am trying to answer by checking out some of the areas closer to home and trying to see if there are ‘items of interest’ that would make good photos.

The result of my latest quest are the five photos currently attached to this post. I took these shots Friday evening after work in a two hour time frame. I didn’t travel more than ten miles from home. Are these ‘local’ shots ‘items of interest’?

The shots may or may not look ‘good’ to you. And that’s the point. I am taking them for me. To have them to learn from and as a record I can look back at a year from now when I am planning another photo trip during mid-March.

I can find a high number of items to be critical of in each one. But these five (of over 100 shots I actually snapped) each have some items that I personally like. And I can see at least one or two things in each one of them that I really like and I can learn from and add to my arsenal of experience.

For me, looking back on my own photos, it is interesting to see what different scenes looked like at each time of year. And to be able to remember how things looked when I was out on that photo trip. I do like the idea of shooting more shots without being so worried about whether or not they are good enough to hang on the wall. I think it gives me more ammunition in my hunt for really getting that better than average photo in the future.

While looking at these shots and trying to decide if it is worth the time and effort to take and process and keep these photos I think it’s time that we define a process for the hobbyist photographer that will greatly enhance their enjoyment of their hobby and do something that will really help them move on to getting great photos.

If you have a wish or are planning to become a professional paid photographer, then the thoughts and ideas I will be outlining in this blog will probably not be for you. For someone who wants to move up to be a professional fairly quickly, a lot more work and technical prowess will be required. And you will have to devote magnitudes more time than I am describing here. But if you are a serious amateur, being able to maximize your results and minimize your time spent are worthwhile goals.

And while I don’t have this theory and its methodology totally worked out, I do think we can start describing it and giving some names or tags to the different concepts. Therefore, for the time being, photos similar to the five shown here will be called ‘seed’ photos.

The goal is:
To create interesting or meaningful photos that you are pleased and satisfied with.
(Professional, meaning ‘paid’, photographers need to please and satisfy others. Perhaps someday that will be goal #2!)

The starting outline of this system/theory is:
1. Take as many photos as possible as often as possible. Don’t worry if they are ‘good’ shots. And if you do have a lot of experience and have advanced to where you get many great shots on an outing, follow this rule anyway.
2. It’s very OK to try to capture a ‘wall-hanger’ but do not fail to shoot a lot of ‘seed’ photos for future reference as well.
3. Plan ahead so that you have a plan ready when you do have the time or opportunity to get away for some photo time.
4. Make sure you have alternate plans based on the lighting you will have, the time of day and the season of the year so that you will always have something to shoot no matter when the chance occurs.
5. Keep learning. From your own experience and from others.

We will be expanding on this system and will work on expanding and clarifying it with the intention of making it usable for anyone who wants to maximize their results and minimize their expense in time and assets.