I’ve had a few different forays into photography over the years but I was never satisfied with the results. Started off in art college using black and white film and having to develop my own film. Going into a darkroom to load film into a canister in total darkness and dealing with chemicals, left me in the dark. Loved taken the photos, hated the development stage. Next came slides, better, but having to wait for days to see what you shot meant many rolls of film went undeveloped. It was also costly. It did teach to slow down and think about what you wanted to shoot, knowing that it would be costly to just fire away at anything that moved. From a technical point, you learned how to efficiently use your available equipment. When digital camera came along, at first not satisfied with the quality but within the last five years with the development of high end cameras and their capabilities, I found that photography has gotten to the stage where I can fully showcase my abilities. With instant preview, you can keep the good and toss the bad, and the capabilities of software, means endless possibilities providing numerous challenges creatively.
Photography can be extremely expensive, like cars there seems to be a new and better model every year. Cost of equipment can be high, studio work requires the expense of studio space and lighting. Weddings and photojournalist style of shooting requires less gear, a few speedlites, will do the trick for lighting needs. Why photography, I find that once I’m focused thru the viewfinder I’m magically transported to another world where what exists only exists from what I see between the frames of my camera’s viewfinder. It’s a great feeling to be able to see things others miss and be able to share that vision with others. It opens your eyes to endless experiences.
Doug Smith
- Log in to post comments