For the Love of the Game

Photography for me has become an obsession.  I’m sure many of you have tread the path that I’m currently walking – You got a nice camera for a birthday or Christmas to take pictures of your little one – aka “Momtographer” or in my case a “Dadtographer.”  Then you realized you really enjoy taking pictures and maybe those pictures aren’t just of your precious child.  So you start taking pictures of stuff you saw on flickr or Facebook or tried to copy that great picture at a friend’s house but there seems to be one major difference – your pictures stink.  Ok, maybe that is a little harsh but they don’t look like the masterpieces you had hoped for.  Now like you, I occasionally got lucky and took a really good picture but those were usually a result of snapping away without any real knowledge of photography.

Fast forward to this last January when I started taking photography classes.  Our instructor gave us homework like any good instructor should and I found myself shooting some of the most mundane items in our house because that is what was available and that is what I had time to shoot.  I got some great critique from my instructor based on those incredibly boring photos.  After I got used to receiving critique from my instructor I discovered the critique section here at DPS and decided to start submitting some of my photos for criticism from totally random people that have no knowledge of the area I’m shooting or of my shooting style.  I have received some great critique from DPS members and I have been trying to use most of it.  I have even tried to pass along (or regurgitate) some of the information that has been given to me.

As I found myself getting ready to comment on a picture this morning I realized there was a real problem….with my comment.  I was going to ask the photographer “What is the purpose of this picture?”  It is a simple picture of two park benches.  The problem with my comment (besides being just plain blunt and rude) is “If you are new to photography, why does every shot have to have a purpose?”  Can’t a person just try something?  I know most of the photo’s I’ve taken will never be displayed on a museum wall or featured on a website tribute but that doesn’t mean the photo’s I’ve taken didn’t serve a purpose.  I’ve learned something every time I’ve gone out.  It could be that I learned a little more about AV (aperture priority) mode or how my polarizer affects my photo or even that I suck at slowing down to really consider my shot.  But those little things are what will hopefully help me transition from taking good photos to really good and someday maybe even great photos.

In short, take pictures, take lot’s of pictures!  Who cares if the subject is a boring park bench.  Take it anyway because you will learn something.  Ask for help and critique and don’t take it personally when someone breaks apart every aspect of your photo (they really are trying to help.)  But most importantly take pictures because you want to, because you love the game of photography.

On that note, because I'm trying to do more B&W photos, here is another shot of a barn that I noticed on my way home from my in-law's house the other day.  There are so many interesting barns on that short 2 hour trip that I'm sure I'll have a few more photos to share in the future. 

Rural Decay

Every night on my way home from work I see this old farmhouse (pretty well surrounded by new farmhouses and a 4 lane divided highway) and think to myself "I wonder if I could get a good picture of that house?)  I've seen it with storm clouds in the background and thought it looked pretty cool so yesterday I decided to drive out to the house and have a walk around.  I took about 8-10 photos from different angles and subjects (there is an old shed on the property as well) and this is the one that I think came out the best.  I am experimenting with B&W photos because I love the contrast available and the focus on lines and geometry.

Missed Opportunities

As I was driving to class last night I was struck by how beautiful the sunset was.  I thought to myself, I just took a bunch of sunrise photos, I have all of my camera gear (including tripod) with me, I could stop and take a few pictures and then be on my way.  Unfortunately reason won out and I continued on to my class - on time.  Well, on the way home I was driving past Gray's Lake and noticed the pedestrian bridge and then noticed the water and decided, I wasn't going to pass this one up.  Now maybe I'll have better opportunities, maybe the water will be glass smooth some day, maybe I'll never know if I don't ever stop.  Here's the result of my latest attempts.

Weekend Regrets

I went to Chicago hoping to get a great picture of the sunrise but I also had realistic expectations that I may leave without a great picture.  Looking back, I think I did get some good (but maybe not great) shots of the sunrise and also of the Chicago skyline, but Kim and I have both realized that I totally failed in one photographic area.  I didn't take almost ANY documentary photos.  I don't have photos of Gino's East, I took one photo of the Old Water Tower but only two (with my camera phone) of the Field Museum.  I tried to get a few night shots of the skyline but those didn't turn out because I didn't have a tripod and I tried to get a photo of the bean (again with my camera phone) but that wasn't all that great either.  AND to top it all off, the only picture of Kim and I on the whole trip was taken by a stranger (also on my phone.)  Talk about a total bummer.  I don't even have the excuse that I didn't have a good camera around because I had my camera with me almost THE ENTIRE TIME!!  I could have taken pictures of the Sky Deck at the Willis Tower or of the really cool library next to our hotel, or of any of the cool buildings in Chicago, or especially of my beautiful wife in Millenium Park.  But no, I didn't and because of that I need to make it a point on our next trip to not be so narrow minded with my photography.  I need to keep my camera handy (not stuffed in my backpack) and always be at the ready to document the moment.  Just think of all the missed opportunities for street photography that I missed.  GRRRR!  I will do better next time!

Current theme - "Get Closer"

After last night's photography class and a recent post on Digital-Photography-School I have noticed one recurring theme for beginners - GET CLOSER!!!  I took a step in that direction with my last couple of pictures but I think there is still room for improvement on the rest of my pictures.  Apparently it's still going to take some time for that to sink in because as I left my class I noticed a particularly well lit ash tree that really stood out in contrast to the night sky.  So naturally, I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots only to realize as I was driving away that I completely failed to implement the major point of the evenings class...DOH!  I will continue to work on that and hopefully someday it will sink in.

Photography Class

So my beautiful wife signed me up for photography classes as part of my Christmas gift this year and I had the first class this last Wednesday.  I have to say - I'm pretty excited.  I've been geeking out about photography for the past 15 months (since I got my camera) reading blogs, checking out all the equipment I would like to buy, etc.  The first class was about what I had expected a beginner's class would be.  She covered the basics of a DSLR camera and got a feel for what everyone expected out of the class, but some of the topics that she said we would be discussing are exactly what I am wanting.  Sections on lighting and composition, flashes, RAW vs JPEG.  For our first class she told us she wanted us to use some of the other setting on our camera.  I have been primarily Manual ever since I started reading the aforementioned blogs and they said the only way to really learn the basics is to use Manual.

Anyway, I went out last night with Elena and decided to use the Program setting.  I think I really like it for some basic photography.  Benefits of Program would be that it is almost all Auto.  I don't have to worry about shutter speed or aperture.  I only worry about ISO and white balance.  A downfall would be that Program mode would not be good for action shots of Elena (since that is how she rolls right now.)  =)  These pictures were taken at my parent's house with my dad's new Canon T3i (I'm a little jealous.)

Dead of Winter

I've always been taken by the photos taken in the dead of winter that have that dreary and desolate feel to them.  I'm not sure I can explain why I find them so interesting but there's just something about them.  There is one particular picture that I have hanging in my living room that truly exemplifies that feeling, it is called Winter Serenity by William Neill.  When I first got the picture I thought I was buying a B&W picture.  It wasn't until I got the picture home and had my face 3 inches from the picture while hanging it that I saw the faint colors of the cliffs and trees.  It is just a remarkable picture that I am continually amazed by every time I look at it.  The picture I've posted below is a picture of a bridge on a running trail north of where I live.  I was particularly taken at the supporting structure (although admittedly I didn't realize at the time just how poor the bracing looked.  Maybe because I was freezing my tail off.)  Anyway when I got the pictures home and downloaded, this was definitely the picture that stood out to me.