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I can't get composition right.

I can't get exposure right.

I can't get the choice of lens right.

I feel I've tried so hard, but I'm seriously thinking of just not bothering
any more.

There must be something that a photographer needs that I just haven't got.

Or is it the same for everyone ie; one photo out of a thousand is tolerably
presentable?

Perhaps I'll take up golf instead.


--
Pablo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wibbleypants/
The below is a link to an ad for an apartment
for rent. It may or may not be of interest to photographers.
Follow the link at your peril.
http://paulc.es/piso/index.php

On Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:13:17 +0100, Pablo <> wrote:

>I can't get composition right.
>
>I can't get exposure right.
>
>I can't get the choice of lens right.
>
>I feel I've tried so hard, but I'm seriously thinking of just not bothering
>any more.
>
>There must be something that a photographer needs that I just haven't got.
>
>Or is it the same for everyone ie; one photo out of a thousand is tolerably
>presentable?
>
>Perhaps I'll take up golf instead.

I gotta laugh. I live on a golf course and played golf for years. I
finally resigned my membership in the club and stopped playing golf
because I got tired of paying all that money to publicly humiliate
myself. I was never able to get better.

Now, I'm an avid amateur photographer. Yes, I average just a few good
shots out of a whole lot of clicks, but the big difference is that no
one sees my bad ones.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

On 11/03/2012 10:13 AM, Pablo wrote:
> I can't get composition right.
>
> I can't get exposure right.
>
> I can't get the choice of lens right.
>
> I feel I've tried so hard, but I'm seriously thinking of just not bothering
> any more.
>
> There must be something that a photographer needs that I just haven't got.
>
> Or is it the same for everyone ie; one photo out of a thousand is tolerably
> presentable?
>
> Perhaps I'll take up golf instead.
>
>


I consider myself a pretty decent photographer.

If I get one photo out of 500 that is good...I am happy

Since you get only one good photo out of 1000 I suggest you
really look at the whole frame before you snap the shutter.
The mind tends to just see the main subject and ignore the rest.
Before you snap, look to all four corners of the frame.

I prefer photography to golf. The last time I golfed was 1967
and I hit a parked car.

--
https://www.createspace.com/3707686

(Pablo) wrote:

> Perhaps I'll take up golf instead.

Photography is the modern equivalent of hunting. Unless you're very good you have
to chase a lot of deer in order to catch your next dinner.

For me the chase is what's exciting. If every picture I took was superb I'd be...
well, the most respected professional photographer in the world! But I'm definitely
not. Far, far, far from it.

When I stop getting excited when I load a card's contents onto my PC -- and then
depressed when they nearly always turn out to be 'snaps' -- I'll know it's time to
give up.

Andrew McP

PS Set yourself some challenges. If you use a DSLR just use your least popular lens
for a month. If you use a camera with zoom, tape up the zoom control for a month.
If you're out with your camera and spot something you want to shoot, ignore it,
turn 180 degrees and find something there to photograph instead.

Or just put the camera away for a month. In my experience nothing sharpens the
photographic appetite more than knowing you can't take a photograph if you stumble
across a great shot.

PPS One of the problems with modern photography is that we can all, instantly via
the internet, compare ourselves to every photographer on the planet. That can be
very, very depressing. But we never see the billions (probably trillions!) of
photographs which never make it onto Flikr or Picasa or whatever.

On Sat, 3 Nov 2012 16:43 +0000 (GMT Standard Time),
(Andrew MacPherson) wrote:

> (Pablo) wrote:
>
>> Perhaps I'll take up golf instead.
>
>Photography is the modern equivalent of hunting. Unless you're very good you have
>to chase a lot of deer in order to catch your next dinner.
>
>For me the chase is what's exciting. If every picture I took was superb I'd be...
>well, the most respected professional photographer in the world! But I'm definitely
>not. Far, far, far from it.
>
>When I stop getting excited when I load a card's contents onto my PC -- and then
>depressed when they nearly always turn out to be 'snaps' -- I'll know it's time to
>give up.
>
>Andrew McP
>
>PS Set yourself some challenges. If you use a DSLR just use your least popular lens
>for a month. If you use a camera with zoom, tape up the zoom control for a month.
>If you're out with your camera and spot something you want to shoot, ignore it,
>turn 180 degrees and find something there to photograph instead.
>
>Or just put the camera away for a month. In my experience nothing sharpens the
>photographic appetite more than knowing you can't take a photograph if you stumble
>across a great shot.
>
>PPS One of the problems with modern photography is that we can all, instantly via
>the internet, compare ourselves to every photographer on the planet. That can be
>very, very depressing. But we never see the billions (probably trillions!) of
>photographs which never make it onto Flikr or Picasa or whatever.

Some revile it, but the Shoot-In can help. That, and other on-line
mandate driven competitions. A lot of the time we go out and look for
photographs but don't see them. Chasing a mandate, though, encourages
you to look for some aspect that you might not otherwise notice.

In the case of the current Shoot-In, you might pass by something
otherwise not interesting but suddenly see a "Curve" in it. I think
it helps to have an objective when going out shooting, but one should
also always take the shot that doesn't fit if it looks interesting.

--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Andrew MacPherson escribió:

> (Pablo) wrote:
>
>> Perhaps I'll take up golf instead.
>
> Photography is the modern equivalent of hunting. Unless you're very good
> you have to chase a lot of deer in order to catch your next dinner.
>
> For me the chase is what's exciting. If every picture I took was superb
> I'd be... well, the most respected professional photographer in the world!
> But I'm definitely not. Far, far, far from it.
>
> When I stop getting excited when I load a card's contents onto my PC --
> and then depressed when they nearly always turn out to be 'snaps' -- I'll
> know it's time to give up.

Ah. Worse - bodged snaps.

I nearly cried when I saw that I'd chopped half a bug's head off. I was
convinced that I'd got a great picture until I loaded the damned thing onto
the PC.

--
Pablo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wibbleypants/
The below is a link to an ad for an apartment
for rent. It may or may not be of interest to photographers.
Follow the link at your peril.
http://paulc.es/piso/index.php

On 11/3/2012 8:13 AM, Pablo wrote:

> I can't get composition right.

Remember the rule of Thirds. Most of the time it will work for you.

>
> I can't get exposure right.

Exposure is simple, set the camera and let the camera determine
exposure. Lighting (or the type there of) is what's extremely important.

>
> I can't get the choice of lens right.

Just about 90% or 95% of your pictures could be taken with one good
variable lens.

>
> I feel I've tried so hard, but I'm seriously thinking of just not bothering
> any more.

The secret to success is to do the best you can with the knowledge and
tools that you have and let the future evolve as you gain in both
knowledge and equipment.

>
> There must be something that a photographer needs that I just haven't got.

When taking a picture look to tell a story. For example, a simple
dramatic (B&W or color) picture of a wooden fence post, gate lock, door,
shuttered window, train or train engine, doll house, etc... may tell a
story in the mind of an observer.

Envision the picture in your mind first before attempting to take the
picture. A lone fence post with snipped barb wire located on the prairie
could tell an imaginative story in the mind of an observer.

Instead of randomly taking an occasional shot try adopting a theme and
take pictures that compliment the theme. Take shots of bugs, if you like
bugs; spider webs, old cars, abandoned factories, ships, beaches
(including what one may find there), etc.. The most important thing to
remember is to do what /you/ want to do and not be concerned with what
others may think.

>
> Or is it the same for everyone ie; one photo out of a thousand is tolerably
> presentable?

There were times when I wished I was so lucky as to be in a position of
opportunity and have one good shot that was technically correct as it
told a story that imaginatively and emotionally moved an observer.

Remember this, even when someone tells you your pictures are crap,
consider yourself successful. A least the observer has been moved to
display an emotion. Silence or indifference can be most intimidating.

>
> Perhaps I'll take up golf instead.

Been there, done that. Golf never gave me the satisfaction of creativity
that comes with a hobbyist's love of photography.

Nick

On Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:13:17 +0100, Pablo <> wrote:
: I can't get composition right.
:
: I can't get exposure right.
:
: I can't get the choice of lens right.
:
: I feel I've tried so hard, but I'm seriously thinking of just not bothering
: any more.
:
: There must be something that a photographer needs that I just haven't got.
:
: Or is it the same for everyone ie; one photo out of a thousand is tolerably
: presentable?
:
: Perhaps I'll take up golf instead.

Thinking you're not getting things right means little. Everyone feels that way
to some degree.

Compare your current work with what you were doing two years ago. If it's
consistently better, you don't need to worry; you're headed in the right
direction. If it isn't, you need to do a more rigorous job of examining what
you're doing wrong and trying to improve.

Golf is a silly game. It's expensive; it isn't very good exercise; and it
produces nothing lasting to remind your successors that you were ever here.
Photography is much better.

Bob

On Sat, 3 Nov 2012 19:10:55 +0100, Alfred Molon <>
wrote:
: In article <>, Andrew MacPherson
: says...
: > Photography is the modern equivalent of hunting.
:
: More like fishing - you never know what you will catch. Being in the
: right place at the right time plays a big role.
:
: We went out for dinner and I wasn't planning to shoot anything. I just
: brought the camera with the light 35mm lens on it, just in case. And I
: ran into this sunshine:
: http://www.molon.de/galleries/German.../img.php?pic=5

Point made.

Bob

On Sat, 03 Nov 2012 17:15:21 -0400, Robert Coe <> wrote:

>Golf is a silly game. It's expensive; it isn't very good exercise; and it
>produces nothing lasting to remind your successors that you were ever here.
>Photography is much better.

Right. It's nothing like good glass or good camera bodies being
expensive. It's not like you're tempted to buy PS, Topaz, Nic, and
Lightroom. {chuckle}

Yesterday I went out and used about $15 in gas and came home with one
keeper.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ignt52lo6...2-11-02-28.jpg
Taken at a AIA "Pow Wow".

Wonder what I could have done with it in Nic Silver Efex. I don't
have any of the plug-ins.

How about it, Duck, or anyone? Want the RAW version to try?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ggnssa0kl...2-11-02-28.dng

There's a dust bunny on the sensor that has to be cloned out. Blew it
out this morning.

--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida