Give it up? & more for C&C...

[Clawed]

Your photos are great! Tempe town lake in the first shot?

Ahh, yes, that's right. The second was at Tempe center of the Arts, and the third was the tracks over Tempe Town Lake. Thanks for the compliment!

Peoria is a stone's throw away from where I'm at (very eastern edge of Surprise). Let me know if you know of some interesting places to shoot

 

[boomer]

Your photos are great! Tempe town lake in the first shot?

Ahh, yes, that's right. The second was at Tempe center of the Arts, and the third was the tracks over Tempe Town Lake. Thanks for the compliment!

Peoria is a stone's throw away from where I'm at (very Eastern edge of Surprise).

lol nice. I'm at 83rd ave and Happy Valley.

So your comment in your first post really had me thinking for the last 30-45 minutes or so. I had never really thought about my own photos like that. I was like, do they really suck....and if they do, why bother. After thinking about then looking trough some of my photos i quickly remembered how much fun i have taking and editing them! Its such a fun hobby and gives you a reason to get out and see cool things. Plus i love when i'm out somewhere and pretending like i'm taking pictures with my mind (like oh, it would be cool to take a picture of this and that with xxx settings and whatnot).

Don't stop! Or i will throw a stone at you over in Surprise!

Now i needto update my Flickr with some of my newer photos

 

[Clawed]

^ That can't be good... I didn't want to bring anyone else down. But, I think you bring up one of the most important points here: if you have fun doing it, then isn't it all worth it? I honestly have a lot of fun shooting, and editing can be fun as well.

Does anyone else shoot, edit and scrutinize their pics to death (even liking some of them when finished) only to keep going back to them and realize they aren't so great after all? I do this all the time!

 

[fokker]

^ Yes I do this.

I bought my first DSLR about a year ago - didn't use it a great deal at first but started using it more and more lately. I can definitely sense improvement in my skills, both at using the camera itself and in composition - though obviously I still have a very long way to go.

I also, like yourself, am constantly looking at something and thinking "that would make a cool photo". It is an obsession isn't it?

I love it though and will stick with it, because its sooo worth it when you get one great photo, even if it is out of 100 rubbish photos.

 

[Clawed]

^ Yes I do this.

I bought my first DSLR about a year ago - didn't use it a great deal at first but started using it more and more lately. I can definitely sense improvement in my skills, both at using the camera itself and in composition - though obviously I still have a very long way to go.

I also, like yourself, am constantly looking at something and thinking "that would make a cool photo". It is an obsession isn't it?

I love it though and will stick with it, because its sooo worth it when you get one great photo, even if it is out of 100 rubbish photos.

Agreed, getting a good shot can make the entire shoot worthwhile. That is if you do not overvisit it, and shoot again quickly before you get tired of looking at said shot, lol.

If you have a place where people can view your photos, post it in your sig. I always like checking them out.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Awwww, shucks. Thanks man! :blushing:

Let me ask you this, then: how often do you get out and shoot and how do you find such interesting subject matter? Do you take a drive with the sole purpose of trying to find something to shoot?

I have been going out at least once a week, either on a full 4 hour safari, or visiting a place in my notes, or revisting a shot I want to improve. I am calling it a 52, instead of a 365. But I spend some time in post just about everyday. So it's kinda like a 365, I guess.

Do I take a drive with the sole purpose of finding something interesting to shoot? Basically, yes. At this point I have a back log of "trips" to go on. Such as just walking down the main street in my neighborhood that has tons of old buildings, signs and whatnot, or going for a bike ride on the old canal tow path. I keep going back to the industrial "Flats" area and just keep finding things I have missed the last 4 times I have been down there.

Last weekend, I went back to a bridge to take pictures of various nuts (nuts and bolts kind) for a project, and I drove past a warehouse that looked boring from the sides facing the street in the direction I was going, and I turned to look at the back, and holy crap! Had I not thought to look behind me, I would have missed "Best Viewed on Hot Pink", and "Door with an Interesting Mood" (in my photostream). I had driven by that building many times and never noticed what I saw that day. Also because I stopped there, I saw cool things in the bridge supports ("Inconvenient Living") that again, I have driven by again and again. So, my wordy point is, cool stuff is out there, you might not see it the first time you look, or the second, but maybe the third. The more you are rewarded, you start seeing where to look, or how to look at things.

I can definitely relate to always looking for things to photograph and have thought on a few occasions that I really wished I had grabbed my camera before leaving the house. In fact, I am ALWAYS looking around me wondering how any given scene would photograph... it's an obsession.

Depending if the cool things you find that you wish you had your camera...if they are static, will be there in a week, write them down and go back later! If you don't well, then there's a problem

Also, I have gone back through old images and reworked them with a fresh mind and found things that would have been tossed, turned out to be big hits. So just because your shots don't do anything for you today, could only mean you need a fresh eye.

 

[Clawed]

^ It just goes to show that diligence can be very rewarding. It's also hard not to dismiss something altogether simply because the big picture is nothing interesting... I'm sure looking at the details is probably a way to get something you would have normally missed.

Good to know you do not have to go out every single day in order to get a decent amount of keepers. I think I will make it a goal to get out at least once a week. I think can manage that.. and maybe my wife would not mind me taking that amount of time in a given week.

How's the new macro?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Yeah, honestly, I am not good at "the big picture" I see the smaller segments. That's the area of my biggest growth, was after that realization. I crop a lot less now

Try to get your wife to "go for a walk" with you, if she would just enjoy doing something and going for a walk.

I love the new macro. Even though it is not an L lens, it beats the pants off all the other lenses I have.

 

[Idaho21]

I felt the same way when I began about 7 months ago. And a lot of my pics did suck. The C&C that I received on this forum and others helped me quite a bit, and motivated me to get out there and keep taking pics.

I also read a few photography books by Scott Kelby, and learned a good amount of new techniques, and also learned that I was doing some things that I shouldn't have been doing, like shooting landscapes when the lighting was harsh.

If it is something you really enjoy, never give up on it. Keep practicing, and like anything else, you will improve. That is what keeps me going out and getting shots, because I know they will just keep getting better as I practice.

Here is one of my most recent shots, and it is one of my personal favorites. It is a lot better than my pics from 7 months ago when I started.:mrgreen:

 

[icassell]

Quit shooting 100 times per walk. :thumbdown:

From now on you're only allowed 25 exposures per walk. So, make 'em count. Do your critique in the viewfinder, before you trip the shutter. Use the DOF button if your camera has one.

This is one of the worst things about digital. People take pictures of stuff because they thinkk it doesn't cost anything to do so.

But, it does. It costs in shutter life, disk storage space, and it costs emotionally, doesn't it?

Remember! Only 25 per walk from now on. :thumbup:

I think this is excellent advice. I might change the number from 25 to 36 (the equivalent of a roll of film). This is where the move from digital to film has hurt ... we have become less critical at the camera-end because we don't have to figure in the cost of film and processing. We shoot strings of images (with that fancy dSLR in burst mode popping off 5 shots/second) hoping for the best rather than carefully composing before we shoot.


BTW --- I don't think your images suck.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I think this is excellent advice. I might change the number from 25 to 36 (the equivalent of a roll of film). This is where the move from digital to film has hurt ... we have become less critical at the camera-end because we don't have to figure in the cost of film and processing. We shoot strings of images (with that fancy dSLR in burst mode popping off 5 shots/second) hoping for the best rather than carefully composing before we shoot.


BTW --- I don't think your images suck.

You are assuming that people are popping off 5 shots for one image.
Tell me, how many shots are acceptable to you "25'ers" per subject?
Per your advice, anyone doing a model shoot is restricted to 25 shots for that model. Just because a bridge doesn't move, doesn't mean the camera can't.

:meh:

I think the advice is rubbish.

 

[Clawed]

I think this is excellent advice. I might change the number from 25 to 36 (the equivalent of a roll of film). This is where the move from digital to film has hurt ... we have become less critical at the camera-end because we don't have to figure in the cost of film and processing. We shoot strings of images (with that fancy dSLR in burst mode popping off 5 shots/second) hoping for the best rather than carefully composing before we shoot.


BTW --- I don't think your images suck.

You are assuming that people are popping off 5 shots for one image.
Tell me, how many shots are acceptable to you "25'ers" per subject?
Per your advice, anyone doing a model shoot is restricted to 25 shots for that model. Just because a bridge doesn't move, doesn't mean the camera can't.

:meh:

I think the advice is rubbish.

I agree that there is nothing wrong with shooting as many as it takes. This is not to say that one shouldn't carefully consider what they are shooting (I definitely agree with that, so much so that I think it is the best thing I can do to improve). However, to limit yourself in the number of images you take might mean missing the 'perfect' one... you know, one where the subjects expression is just right, where everything just falls into place. If one were to limit themselves, it will limit the experimentation, and viewing and shooting the same thing from many different points of view. Many times, this is where the 'diamond in the rough' shot comes from.

 

[icassell]

Limiting number of images on a shoot is an academic exercise ... not a commandment. As with any photo assignment, this is a personal challenge to see how you can utilize this to improve yourself. I am not suggesting for a moment that one never take more images at a shoot.

BTW, a model shoot with 25 images might also be an interesting challenge. Again, an exercise not a way to work.

 

[IgsEMT]

Self criticism, is GREAT, but its more accurate when it come from your peers or folks who are more advanced then you are!
I like 1&2 :thumbup:

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Limiting number of images on a shoot is an academic exercise ... not a commandment. As with any photo assignment, this is a personal challenge to see how you can utilize this to improve yourself. I am not suggesting for a moment that one never take more images at a shoot.

BTW, a model shoot with 25 images might also be an interesting challenge. Again, an exercise not a way to work.

If it was intended as an "exercise", I understand. That's not how it was put forth.

I don't really get the parameters for it either though. When I go out, I spend 4-5 hours wondering around. :er: