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06/23/2006 02:39:57 PM · #1 |
Greetings...
I have been around DPChallenge since April of 2002. It doesn't seem like it's been over four years, but time passes quickly. I don't participate in challenges as much as I used to, but I still browse the forums regularly and make occasional posts.
I have seen a lot of people come and go here. Some people show up and stay for a while and others just drop in and fly away. I have been able to watch the progress of some of you who have been around for a while. It's been interesting to see how other people progress in photography when they put their minds to it.
When I first came to DPC, I had some experience with cameras but I had never looked at photography as an art. I used my cameras for nothing more than making snapshots for the family albums. I owned a Nikon SLR and a couple lenses, but I knew nothing about taking control of the gear. I shot everything in the fully automatic mode and let the 1 hour color lab do all my printing. I found this place when I bought my first 'decent' digital camera, the Sony DSC-F707. I had an older Sony Mavica FD95 prior to that. I was surprised when I started looking around here. It was a much smaller place then. Not many of those people are still here. I don't know what happened to most of them. They just quit coming around.
I started participating in challenges here right away. It was a great way to learn how to control my camera and take advantage of everything it had to offer me. Since I was a photography newbie, learning how to control my camera was top priority. A huge majority of my photos from back then are nothing more than technical exercises. With each challenge, I learned something and built upon that for future challenges. I got fairly comfortable with camera control after a year or so of constant exercises provided by DPC.
Having become comfortable with the control of the camera, I started looking for something more. I wasn't sure what it was though. At this time, I started doing a lot more reading about photography. I followed the trails of some of history's photographers to see what inspired them. I looked at still life photos, portraits, action, candids, photojournalism, and just about anything else you can think of. Each of these photos I was viewing must have had some sort of special impact or they wouldn't be displayed in a collection somewhere over 50 years after the photographer had passed away. What is it about these images that makes people want to keep looking?
One thing that comes to mind immediately is nostalgic value. I believe that one of the most important elements of 'old' photography is simply that. It carries a huge amount of history with it. We can take a look into the past by looking at these old photographs. They keep our interest because of that. Photojournalism is huge in this aspect. The images are usually packed with emotion and history.
I wonder where my own photos will be in 50 years. Am I shooting things that will be interesting to someone after I'm worm food? When I'm shooting photos, should I strive for impact today or down-the-road impact? It is possible to do both, but it rarely happens. We live in such a world of pop culture that today's amazements won't be talked about in 5 or 10 years into the future. Will people be buying Britney Spears box sets in 15 years? Will the Back Street Boys CDs be available in the "oldies" section?
Where do we go and what do we do after we learn how the camera works and how to get what we want out of it? How many water drops will we photograph before we ask ourselves why we are doing it? I know that DPChallenge is a game and the object of it is to win the popular vote. What I'm interested in seeing is what people are doing outside the virtual walls of this dominion. If you feel that you have learned how your camera works and how to control it, what do you do with that knowledge beyond the scope of online photo contests?
One thing I wonder about with the explosion of digital photography is how many prints are made of the photos we take. It's easy enough to look at them on the computer screen without printing them. I know that most local printing labs will tell us that more digital prints are made on a daily basis than film, but that doesn't answer the question fully. Is the total number of prints being made growing at the same rate as the number of shutter clicks being made by all these cameras? I bet that the proliferation of digital cameras has turned this number around significantly. When I was shooting film, I printed every photo on every roll of film. Now that I shoot digital, I probalby print less than 1 photo for every 100 I shoot. When my computers have crashed and my DVD archives have been lost or destroyed, what is left besides my prints?
Sorry for the long post... I'm bored today :)
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06/23/2006 03:00:22 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
... Now that I shoot digital, I probalby print less than 1 photo for every 100 I shoot. When my computers have crashed and my DVD archives have been lost or destroyed, what is left besides my prints? ... |
Good point. I need to get back to having more prints made, especially ones that my 4 yr-old could treasure some day. I used to print more when I first started digital and have really let that slide the past 12 months or so.
Thanks for the nudge! ;^) |
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06/23/2006 04:51:16 PM · #3 |
i dunno how my camera works and i don't control it very well, but when i take pictures...i don't think about anything else. i see something, from a certain way, in a certain light, and it finds its way onto my memory card. they sit on my hard drive. i pull out a few and run it through some gratuitous processing. i put it online. other people look at it. they tell me how they like it. that's about it. i don't see my photography becoming anything great or historical, but if a handful of people on the internet see it and get something out of it, that's enough for me. that's more than enough for me. i just took the picture because my brain compels me to. anything that happens after that is bonus pay.
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06/23/2006 06:05:24 PM · #4 |
I have oftened stopped and thought for a moment, "why on earth am I taking 200 photos of a leaf, or why am I taking the same amount with water droplets". What sort of benefit am i going to get out of it, if any at all? Who would want a photo of water? I think I have been asking myself the wrong questions. My idea of doing all this shooting is to try and make some money, where I should be doing it for a learning experience. I dont know my camera. I have had it nearly a year and I am sure that I am only just touching the surface. But, I will say I know alot more about it than I did when I bought it.
I also print hardly any of my photographs. Maybe for a birthday present or if I have decided to put them on ebay and try and make some money. I have pbase so others can view, but at the end of the day, what am "I" getting out of it. I have been thinking about this alot lately and I seem to do all my photography for someone else and not for me. I think it is time to change that. I find myself shooting and wondering if so and so would like this or I wonder what ? would think of this?
I think changing my way of thinking is a progress in itself. I am sure my photos wont be around or important when I have passed on, and I think I am ok with that. Although not entirely sure. I feel as though I am at a stand still with all of it quite frankly. Really not sure what to do now. When I know all there is to know about my equipment, then what? Is that the end of the road? How do I make it matter to me? I have so many questions and I am babbling. I guess it is a question of do I want to be a serious photographer and be known for that or is it just a hobby?....
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06/23/2006 06:18:03 PM · #5 |
I don't understand... Some of us new here some of us started from day one. Not only here, but other websites other hobbies...
Why ask questions? Just do it. Listen to your heart. For money, for art... for yourself... for a ribbon :P Why do you watch or play games, tv shows... go gambling, collect stamps... why even bother to do anything for yourself.
If I take 4000 of one subject, I probably end up loving only one of them, and that's the point.
I don't ask questions to myself too much... I just do it, because I like it :) I want to do it :) I like the results and motivate myself to do more :) whatever I am doing that is :) |
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06/23/2006 06:22:57 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by focuspoint:
I don't understand... Some of us new here some of us started from day one. Not only here, but other websites other hobbies...
Why ask questions? Just do it. Listen to your heart. For money, for art... for yourself... for a ribbon :P Why do you watch or play games, tv shows... go gambling, collect stamps... why even bother to do anything for yourself.
If I take 4000 of one subject, I probably end up loving only one of them, and that's the point.
I don't ask questions to myself too much... I just do it, because I like it :) I want to do it :) I like the results and motivate myself to do more :) whatever I am doing that is :) |
yeah, that's like what i said only in a more conprehensible way :)
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06/23/2006 06:24:52 PM · #7 |
You know, I used to treat this site the very same way. Every challenge was a chance to learn something new. I need to get back to that, I think.
I agree about the prints too. At $.12 a pop, I could afford some more prints I think. I have a print for sale here, and I don't even have one of it myself, jeez, how stupid is that?
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06/23/2006 06:46:15 PM · #8 |
Yeah, that's some food for thought.
I'm glad I found DPC. It is a good way to learn, even if there aren't always enough constructive comments coming back at you. Just competing in a new 'assignment' every week is good practice for me, and I'm sure it'll make me improve.
I've been taking photos for a while though. Long before DPC. And what you've written made me think about how relevant all those images are...
I do see my photos as a way of expressing myself. But outside the family snaps, I haven't had much of an audience to do so to. That's been another great thing about DPC. At least here on DPC I can express myself to others (and even provoke a reaction from time to time).
However, the family snaps are also relevant. Especially in the sense that you referred to as 'nostalgic value'. I'd love for my family, and possibly future children, grandchildren to have a tangible record of their loved ones' lives. Photos are always a treasure in any family.
Recently I bought a good photo printer, and started printing my images, and hanging them up all over my house. And giving ones that were relevant to friends and family.
I can't tell you what an immense feeling of satisfaction it gives me to see a photo of mine that I am happy with, printed up and displayed in my house - adding beauty to the house.
And it means so much to the people I give prints to, to have that real piece of nostalgia and happy memories in their hands.
I'll never print everything I shoot (that's impossible given how much digital allows you to shoot). But every now and then I think it's important to take an image right out of the whole photographic process - out of your camera, out of your camera, out of Photoshop - and print it up to give it a life of its own.
To make it a tangible piece of beauty and history in your life.
(I'm also bored right now...) |
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06/24/2006 03:25:19 PM · #9 |
Food for thought :)
I guess my intent in my original post was to help me find where *I* want to go down the road. I know that all photographers don't have the same goals. I want my photography to have a lasting impression somewhere.
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06/24/2006 05:15:46 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
I want my photography to have a lasting impression somewhere. |
Hi John,
I've pondered similar, and without exposure on a grand scale, photojournalism or the most amazing & lucky shot of Elvis, nothing will stand the test of time really.
Only lasting impressions we can leave are the people moments we capture for others, such as meaningful images of children/young adults in their moments of glory, or portrait work, all of which hopefully will create lasting memories passed down from generation to generation.
When I was taking all the time off a couple years ago to shoot the high school wrestlers, that was my intent. Handing special images to the parents of their sons, along with candids, team shots and a compilation of candid stills set to music, was something very special to me, hoping to make a difference in their lives. It doesn't have to be 50 years from now either. Imagine one of those young men sadly gets killed in a car wreck next week, next year, etc. The parents & siblings will have memories of him that they otherwise would not have had. Having decent equipment and access to the mats allowed me to capture those memories for all the families, and in a way, make a difference in this crazy mixed up world. |
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06/24/2006 05:20:15 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by BradP:
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
I want my photography to have a lasting impression somewhere. |
Hi John,
I've pondered similar, and without exposure on a grand scale, photojournalism or the most amazing & lucky shot of Elvis, nothing will stand the test of time really.
Only lasting impressions we can leave are the people moments we capture for others, such as meaningful images of children/young adults in their moments of glory, or portrait work, all of which hopefully will create lasting memories passed down from generation to generation.
When I was taking all the time off a couple years ago to shoot the high school wrestlers, that was my intent. Handing special images to the parents of their sons, along with candids, team shots and a compilation of candid stills set to music, was something very special to me, hoping to make a difference in their lives. It doesn't have to be 50 years from now either. Imagine one of those young men sadly gets killed in a car wreck next week, next year, etc. The parents & siblings will have memories of him that they otherwise would not have had. Having decent equipment and access to the mats allowed me to capture those memories for all the families, and in a way, make a difference in this crazy mixed up world. |
I agree with this to a certain degree, but I mostly disagree :)
Those portraits and candid photos will certainly do as you described, but will they remember you? They will remember the photos, people in them, and the events surrounding them for sure.
I guess my intent is not to create memories for others, even though that will be done automatically. I want to be remembered for what I do :)
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06/24/2006 05:29:58 PM · #12 |
Very well said Brad, capturing the moment in time, so that it wont ever be forgotten by someone, anyone that that one particular moment in time was very special too. Doing this for parents, friends, loved ones, anyone that you do it for is special, and leaves an everlasting memory for someone. Even if they dont remember it was you, for you it was part of your "legacy" part of your journey on this earth. It was your contribution to society, and a very important one to someone. You may never know how important, but just remember that someone did. And smile knowing that you were vital in making it happen.
MattO
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