365 Project

09-29-16

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Day 273 / 638 – Make with the clicky.

I’m in Albuquerque, NM for a few weeks, and I would love to show you what the city is like, but I’m mostly stuck inside.  There isn’t much in the vicinity of where I’m staying, and I’m still laid up with the broken ankle.  So I’m digging into the archives, and doing some much needed skill building and reading.

There is a photowalk scheduled for Saturday, so that will be nice, I hope.  Right now, I think I’m the only one signed up for it.

12-29-15

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Day 363 –

When I started this project, I wasn’t really being a photographer.  I was taking pictures, sure, but it wasn’t really being a photographer.  I was doing things I thought might look neat.  I was getting pictures that were fine.  There were things I was proud of, things I thought were nice photos, but I had so much to learn.  The first month of this site looks nothing like the last month.

What I really learned was what my job is as a photographer.  My job is to take the feeling about something I see or am around and create a photo that expresses that.  Sometimes it’s sadness, sometimes it’s wonder, occasionally it’s a story that’s interesting.  The best photos I’ve made are the ones where I felt something about what I was shooting, and then tried to refine that feeling into that image.

Sometimes I succeeded.  Sometimes I did not.  Sometimes I didn’t even try.  Those are the worst photos on this site, the ones where I felt rushed, where I didn’t have time, where I didn’t go looking with any feeling involved.  I can tell those photos from the rest.  I bet you can too.  Anyone can be a photographer, if they tune in to what they are feeling and work to translate that to the image.  To me, that’s the difference between a photographer and someone who just takes pictures.  It isn’t the gear, it’s what you do with it.

What have I learned.  I learned things like composition.  I learned about light and contrast.  I learned what the settings on the camera do, and what will happen to the image when I change those settings.  I learned how to apply that knowledge to the image.  I learned how to manipulate the photo in software.  And I’m still learning more about all those things.

But what I really learned was to go with what I feel.  If I feel anything about what I’m shooting, I am going to have a better shot at getting a good picture.  Even a bad picture driven by feeling is better than a decent picture that isn’t.  When I think and feel about what I’m shooting, the results simply are better.  I had to learn to trust that.

I learned how to be a photographer.  I wasn’t really comfortable calling myself a photographer until this week.  A few things I made and posted recently made me finally flip that switch.  It took a year, but I’m a photographer.

I didn’t always do a good job, but I learned how to do a better job, and that was part of the point.

12-28-15

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Day 362 –

Please welcome the first square photo to 365.  I usually don’t care for the square size.  Almost everything here is a 3:2, which is what my camera shoots.  The standard size you often see for photos is a 5:4, which is an 8×10.  Some cameras shoot 4:3, which is what my old point and shoot cameras shot.

The truth is that I’m not used to shooting in a square aspect ratio.  I like some things I see in it.  It looks nice, but I don’t shoot it.  If my camera shot had a setting to shoot in a square, I probably would do it more often.  So I’m going to make an effort to do it more often.  At least I will know if I actually like it or not, as opposed to being something I don’t like because I never gave it a shot.

Three more shots after this.  I’m going to write about the experience some over the next few days.  Then talk about what’s next.  Thanks for hanging with me on this project.  It’s been quite a journey.