It is interesting to see what part of the world you come from. For the most part, gear related information is the initial search/attraction, then perhaps the Images and other site information is a draw to return. I would like to thank each of you for your support, visits, views and comments. It is quite an undertaking, for you to keep returning and for my part to keep this Blog current and meaningful to the level that is moderately credible..
The ‘intelligence’ journey is primarily mine, as I learn more about all the aspects of this wonderful craft. Rick Sammon noted at Photoshop world, there are four levels of learning,
- Unconscious Incompetence (We don’t know that we are not good)
- Conscious Incompetence (We know we need help)
- Conscious Competence (We know we are good)
- Unconscious Competence (The level we all want to reach in the things we care passionately about).
I took the step back in late October ’09 to go to Step 2 by attending a Moose Peterson workshop in Maine. I have not looked back.
The backoffice passion that goes into this requires homework, study, reading, note-taking…my analogy is slither, crawl, walk, run, fly. You need to learn and relearn the basics. I missed the film days, the black and white, the manual focus, dof and I am sure that there are a good deal of folks out there who are also in this same position.
With Digital, you need to understand that you have a computer in your hands, and that it has the basics designed into it. However this computer can only manage within its bandwidth, its tolerance for exposure error aka ‘blinkies’ is high ( Humans see 11 stops of light, DSLR only 5), its inability to focus in low contrast is high, minuet movements cause Images to display shake and wobble, then there is color balance….the list goes on and on……
So why do it…Passion…..
When you can frame up that unique Image, that will take 1/60 second or less to shoot, and behind that moment, is hours of preparation, knowledge, travel and thoughtfulness, it is an exhilarating moment. You have those chills, the oxygen seems richer, your environment greener, warmer , cooler.. you have witnessed a bit of unique time that you can now define as collected and to which you can share with others….then later on.. Image taking starts again, how to improve ?, did you learn from your errors ?, what did Prez say, what did Moose say, what do you think and see ?…and you keep thinking one day you will move past slithering to crawl….
On a similar thread, one of those Photoshop world magic moments, was when I was able to see Jay Maisel, display 10 minutes of daily Images of New York City taken over the last six months. Each one, simple but structured and lit wonderfully. All the attendees for the evening (~600), sat quite as Jay punctuated his presentation with whimsical insight…. Moose writes about the event over at his blog.
What Moose doesn’t tell, is that his show followed Jays. His show was all recent Black and White Landscape Images of his ‘BackYard’. The sweeping vistas, snow covered peaks, sky, clouds and environment had the 600 attendees mesmerized. Moose did not talk about gear, process, soundtrack, stories..nope..he just let it Rip…the imagery was 10 minutes of wanderlust, you had chills, the oxygen seemed richer, he had witnessed so many special moments and was sharing that passion…
I tagged along from the PSW convention center back to the hotel with Moose, his wife Sharon and his assistance Stephanie, to grab a quick late nite pizza slice. There I was standing in line when another PSW attendee, (a mid-west High School Photography instructor) asked me if I saw the Moose show. After a little small talk about the evening, she confided that she could not help herself from going into tears while watching the Images from Moose’s presentation… You really can not explain, the visible passion thru Unconscious Competence, in B&W in ‘Simple-Clicks’……
As I work thru this site visitor information, you can see where others with similar interests are connected in this minuet but passionate PhotoCentric watering hole…….thanks once more for the visits !
Nicely put…..I’ve always thought of you as one of those “latest equipment” photographer guys….maybe I was wrong…..maybe not! You say you’ve got the “passion” and that means more to me than the work of some hot-shot, egomaniac, fat headed famous photographer. Passion always shows up in one’s images, whether created by a world famous pro or an amateur just starting out. So let’s see what you bring to the table over the next few months; images made with passion or images made with the latest equipment. If I were your photo instructor, I’d send you out with only a Holga 120N and some Tri-X and see what PASSION you really have. Passion first, then knowledge, then undying passion.
Prez
Interesting and Insightful ….I remember years ago buying Ping golf clubs, my game did not improve, so my life lesson learned was that equipment does not make you better. I put my time in to play the game, but not learn the game. No passion for me, to walk in the sun for hours, but I will forever respect the game for its unforgiving challenges…Passion does not always show through, but when you see it, you know it…
For instance is this Passion or Activity… Until now no one knows that I researched/corresponded with fellow photos on how to shoot shorebirds many months ago, reread and prepared/procured the correct equipment and lenses needed after my 1st foray skunked me. Next, pretrip, an hour before flight time I travelled all around the area looking for a PETCO so I could buy the correct size dog frisbee for my low ground panning plate that I bought 18 months ago, so that I’d have it for shooting shorebirds at 3mm above the beach deck. Next fly some 1,300 miles then rush to the premier event at PSW, catch some insight that only ~600 people can really appreciate, learn from some of the Best at PSW, take notes, and haul out of convention to get to a rental to drive & spend some pre-Easter time with family…
Then there is the comment made by Moose at PSW, that DeSoto was dead due to Hurricanes… I had to persuade myself to commit to location. Get there at 5:30 AM, just as the Park rangers drop the entrance chain, and get set up based on some trial and error techniques that almost toasted my D3 the last time I was there. Then waiting for those shorebirds to appear, looked for a small rock or something to give my picture a focus point, and wait… nothing comes easy for the shot as you can see… but it all melts into an oblivion at a 1/60 sec click, when you grasp that you are there and the critter is there, both paths finally merging, then looking into the eyes of a critter the size of BB’s, and you have you DOF spot on, your focus and light is spot on, the proper background is spot on…That single moment is better than any hole in one, and on a coarse that has no exclusivity except your Passion to be there to witness it so that you can share this Image and moment with others.
On another note, I find it quite unbelievable that recently Moose, went to back to photo school to train on shooting aerial photography, that Joe MacNalley went back to school in ’09 to train with Jay Maisel… why ? #2. Conscious Incompetence (We know we need help), maturity and passion.
…. now where is that Holga 120N and where is its digital LCD ? I have some snowflakes to snap.