Horrible realisation!

[LaFoto]

As I am waiting for something and have some time on my hands that wants to be whiled away, I took out one of my picture CDs/DVDs --- very randomly, out of a collection of about 100 or more, and it happened to be one of the RAM-DVDs on which I saved my untouched originals. It was one with photos saved from between 15 January to 15 February of 2006. Which means, my DSLR was only new (got it on 22 December 2005).

And what did I find out?
There is hardly ONE good photo to be found in amongst all the photos I saved, but loads and loads of utter crap! Horrible photos. You can't even call them "photo", you must call them "horrors"! Why on earth did I save all the photos I ever took???

It HURTS to look at them now. It is beyond embarrassing. It really hurts. I think, all my RAM-DVDs need a very, very serious overhaul, and most of the photos MUST go. Go forever, with no tear needing to be shed.

What a frustrating experience!

Have you been master of photography right from the start? (I'm sure you ALL have, just not me).

[TPF Sponsor]

[Overread]

2008 March 10 « Overread’s Weblog
2008 March 11 « Overread’s Weblog

and those are the ones that I considered best at the time and dared to process!
I won't even subject to you to the horrors of my discard pile!

[Sw1tchFX]

I've been pure genius since I was born. As seen from the image above, this is a full-resolution example from my first camera back in 2004, I understood juxtaposition between society and the status quo, and how it affects us, the artists, and how we must battle it and pave new way for ourselves!

Naturally

[bigtwinky]

I'm still at the stage of taking photos were most of them are utter crap and not worthy of being put on a DVD for archiving hehe

[Eldrich]

Was it not a happy moment realizing how much you have improved? Thats why I'm saving all my crap now, hoping it will make me feel better in the future, not worse.

[Alleh Lindquist]

Interesting timing. check out my blog post and watch Zach Aires video. Transform by Zach Aires

[pm63]

Haha, you're by no means alone. I get complete and utter retro-cringe when I click back to the oldest pages on my flickr. How awful I was! Even reaching behind and getting my printed portfolio off the shelf to look at the twelve best images I have ever taken, I now look at them and think "it's okay". I still acknowledge them to be good, but I know I can do better, even though the portfolio was only printed a couple of months ago and the images range from six months to a year in age!

It's not a bad thing though - as well as allowing you to cringe at your one-time lack of skill, it's an indication of just how much you've progressed in what is (in the grand scheme of things) a short space of time. Just think of how much more you'll progress over time.

[JerryPH]

Our past shows where we came from, but doesn't define who we are now.

I'd save EVERY one of those old pictures, maybe even print one of the worst ones out and put it in a frame... just to show you how far you've come.

I bet if you look at the pictures you took TODAY in 10 years, you will be saying the same things... lol

It's called growth, and thats *always* good!

[craig]

Interesting timing. check out my blog post and watch Zach Aires video. Transform by Zach Aires

I trust we all feel that way from time to time Corrina. Never throw your work out!!!

Alleh: This vid is nothing short of amazing. I commented on it on Zachs page. Never would have found it with out you. Thanks.

)'(

[Overread]

I completely missed that link til craig flagged it - very powerful!

[LaFoto]

I've been pure genius since I was born. As seen from the image above, this is a full-resolution example from my first camera back in 2004, I understood juxtaposition between society and the status quo, and how it affects us, the artists, and how we must battle it and pave new way for ourselves!

Naturally

I was so afraid this was the case. And now I see that all my fears were well founded ... Your photo shows me!

Maybe I should add to my yesterday's lamentations that I took better photos than in that particular month I looked at last night BEFORE, and also AFTER. Maybe mid-January to mid-February isn't the best of seasons for photography ... a look out of the window seems to proove my point ... sigh!

But well... I was quite a bit frustrated when I saw that most of what I saved (and why-o-why did I save them all????) from one month was nothing but ... crap...

And my internet is frightfully slow these days (weekend days), I must wait till Monday to watch that video. It is no fun. It stops and jumps all the time just now (too many people "on" just now, as it seems).

[Overread]

lafoto - pause the playback and let the video load up in its own time. Then press play for smooth playback its well worth watching!

edit - also its my experience as well, that photography is not linear in its progression. I have gone out expecting that I know (at last) what I am doing and expect a certian level of performance from myself - and fail to get it! Often one learns how to deal and shoot in a certain lighting situation - and when another comes along we have to adapt and learn from that - learn what is important to us in the shot and just go for that.
This is something that you only really get with time and experience - so get out and shoot in every lighting situation and soon enough you will learn to get the best out of the light you can

[sarallyn]

yeah... i'm still in that first stage, soo...