[GoremanX]

There must be something wrong with me. I try and try, and try some more, and I continue to fail. I'm trying to elevate photography from a hobby to "something more". Not a career, exactly, I'd just like to be able to sell some picture eventually. But it seems like I'm not progressing.

First I tried to blame the weather. I got my first DSLR in the dead of winter, and there haven't been many shooting opportunities so far (or so I tell myself). Everything's been white, it's been freezing cold and windy, and when it's not snowing, it's raining.



But that seems like a lame excuse to me. There are plenty of photographers out there who are capturing gorgeous images in the dead of winter.

So then I tried to blame my lack of lenses. I figured the kit lens must be restricting me somehow. I sunk a vast amount of money into a DA* 50-135mm, then bought an older gentleman's Spotmatic kit for the Super Takumar 50mm F1.4 he had in it. I also added an F 35-70mm to the mix, and invested in a decent tripod.



But despite the vastly improved focal range and slightly better image quality, I still wasn't capturing the images I want. Apparently, blaming the kit lens was pretty lame too. Especially considering some of the images other people have been able to take with the kit lens.

I was left with nothing to blame but myself. Despite everything I've learned on this forum and in books, maybe I still didn't have enough knowledge to take the pictures I want. So I tried my hand at the Photo Critique section of this forum. I started by reading what the regulars there had to say about other people's submissions. Then I was better able to spot areas of submitted pictures that could've been improved. I felt like I was learning a lot this way, and even submitted a couple of pictures myself for critiquing. Then I went out and tried to apply what I'd learned.



Nope, I still suck. I can see the blatant problems with all of the above pictures, but for some reason, I couldn't spot those issues while I was shooting them. Either I need more time to develop better instincts, or photography isn't for me.

Today I tried for hours to get a specific shot of my bike that I've been dreaming up since yesterday. I had it all planned out in my head, and I was looking forward to finally getting that perfect shot I've been after for the last few days. But no matter what I did, things kept going wrong. Either the background would look like crap, or something would intrude in the picture, or the angle was wrong, etc, etc, etc.


(those are just some of the many, many failed attempts)

So far, my adventure into this hobby has been a bitter disappointment. I caught on to the technical stuff real quick (exposure, contrast, depth of field, post processing, etc), but the artistic aspect of it seems to be eluding me. I plan to continue working at it, but if things don't improve at some point, maybe I'll consider hanging up this heavy camera backpack. It'll make biking a whole lot easier.

P.S. I'm not looking for critique on the above pictures, I already know exactly why each one sucks. I'm just expressing my frustration at the inability to improve my photography technique.

[scatron]

Artistic stuff takes patience.

Have you tried a photography class or joined a photo club? I've been shooting for 20+ years (and have managed to sell some stuff) but never did any of that until this year - I'm taking 8-week community ed class. It meets once a week, has to cater to the full range of experience and cameras, but it's been good for me to sit and listen to a pro talk about the basics for 90 minutes.

There's a disconnect between the scene you see with your eyes and your minds eye and the scene you see in the viewfinder. That's a hurdle I had to get over anyway.
As far as I'm concerned, the technical stuff comes second to the actual picture itself. Once you have the picture you can start improving on it with the technical stuff.

[creampuff]

Get your eyes checked... seriously. You can't compose properly if you can't see properly.

Then junk that Kona hardtail... how can you take proper pictures with all that bone jarring shaking? Get a proper full-suss like a Trek Fuel, a Santa Cruz Blur, a Specialized Epic or a Giant Anthem and get a Fox fork at that... and your photos, and biking will improve...
Photography and biking are related in more ways than we know...

Shoot more, a lot more... be ruthless and junk those shots that cannot make it...

BTW noticed you bike's fork steerer tube is pretty long (plenty of spacers) and your seatpost is pretty low. Is your frame fitted properly?

[GoremanX]

Get your eyes checked... seriously. You can't compose properly if you can't see properly.

My wife is an optometrist, she says my eyes are perfect I don't even need glasses, I still have 20/20 vision.

Then junk that Kona hardtail... how can you take proper pictures with all that bone jarring shaking? Get a proper full-suss like a Trek Fuel, a Santa Cruz Blur, a Specialized Epic or a Giant Anthem and get a Fox fork at that... and your photos, and biking will improve...

Sorry, I hate full-sussers. Hardtails are where the action is. Everytime I try out a new squish-tail for a week, I end up running back to my hardtail. I've done the rounds of bike brands, and I keep going back to Kona. The last Santa Cruz I rode (on a desert group ride in Las Vegas) almost killed me. And I think Fox forks are way over-rated, my Rock Shox Domain 318 U-turn puts any comparable Fox fork to shame. My current bike is my pride and joy, custom-built from a bare 2008 Kona Hoss frame using all of my dream components. I wouldn't change a thing there

Of course, this particular debate could go on forever, it's kinda like the Pentax/Canon/Nikon/Sony/Olympus debate, with Sigma, Tamron, Samyang and Tokina thrown into the mix. Everyone has their preference.

Shoot more, a lot more... be ruthless and junk those shots that cannot make it...

According to my camera, I've taken over 5500 pictures since I bought it in early December. That's an average of over 60 pictures per day. I was really hoping I'd have at least improved by now

Granted, "first DSLR" doesn't mean "first interest in photography". I've been dabbling in this hobby for a couple years now using my old Canon S3 IS. I bought a DSLR because I felt I'd reached the limit of what that point-and-shoot could give me, but maybe it wasn't the camera's limit I'd reached. Maybe it was my own abilities.

[little laker]

Frank,
I often find myself on a plateau, where I find that my work becomes stale. From my experience it's no real big deal. That's when I just relax, and return to the basics. It really isn't the time to try elevating your work.

My advice to you would be grab out the camera and take a walk. If you don't see anything that interests you no big deal Your ready for when it comes.
When it does come take your time and follow the basics. If you miss the shot, no big deal, it'll come soon enough.

I'll send you a PM sometime tonight, after work.

[GoremanX]

There's a disconnect between the scene you see with your eyes and your minds eye and the scene you see in the viewfinder. That's a hurdle I had to get over anyway.
As far as I'm concerned, the technical stuff comes second to the actual picture itself. Once you have the picture you can start improving on it with the technical stuff.

Actually, reading over your early posts in this forum is pretty insightful.

I certainly haven't given up yet... I'm off to find more subjects to photograph! I want to hit 10,000 pictures before the month is over

[slinco]

Hey Frank, don't give up!! It takes lot's of time to get to where you want to be. I still struggle with it after 35+ years in the hobby.

Do you own a tripod? Slowing down is the best advice I can give you, and using a tripod is the best way to do that. It forces you to slow down, and contemplate the image in the viewfinder (or on the screen in liveview). The best learning I ever did was with an old twin lens reflex on a tripod. It's sloooow shooting, maybe a dozen images in an afternoon's outing, every one carefully thought about before pulling the trigger. Great way to learn and think deeply about what your doing. I still mostly shoot that way (though not always with a tripod) even with a DSLR.

And as you said, I think some of your frustration will go away when the winter weather goes. I haven't see the grass here at my house since December 15th, and I'm sick to death of shooting bleak snowy winter landscapes. Today I roamed around inside the house shooting everything I could find, and started playing with some new techniques in Photoshop. I was fun and got the juices flowing again. Be patient - spring is right around the corner...

[Mohawk]

I'm the other way - I'm an artist that's taken up photography as a complement to my work.

I advise getting your headspace from the camera (firing pictures) to the art (firing the creative synapses).

For starters, naked pottery with your wife/partner - that should give you some immersive textural experience. What about naked body painting? And contemporary dance (naked of course)? Then your logical yin and your creative wang will be one.

[basso4735]

Im definitely a beginner, but what I see in these photos is one thing. The same angle! Bend those knees!

I look at that cannon photo and see a huge opportunity with a small DoF with the end of the barrel in focus.

[GoremanX]

For starters, naked pottery with your wife/partner - that should give you some immersive textural experience. What about naked body painting? And contemporary dance (naked of course)? Then your logical yin and your creative wang will be one.

Anyone who thinks naked activities are the solution to a problem is real cool in my opinion

[JeffJS]

According to my camera, I've taken over 5500 pictures since I bought it in early December. That's an average of over 60 pictures per day.

Maybe that's your problem. There's a difference between taking a snapshot of something that looks interesting and making a photo that IS interesting. An interesting photo will have a point, that you want to get across. It may express a mood or elicit a feeling. Slow down, think of what you want to get across, and Then figure out how to go about doing it. When you're able to do something that is uniquely yours, Then you will have made an interesting photo. maybe even one that someone will pay money for. BTW, I'm not there yet either...

[RioRico]

There is a difference between TAKING pictures and MAKING pictures. When TAKING, you wander around, see what jumps out in front of you, try to capture it. When MAKING, you start with an image in your head, and do what it takes to realize it. These are different mind-sets. They take practice and study. And sometimes, most or all of the pictures we take or make STILL suck.

I about grew up in my dad's small darkroom. He was a semi-pro with a TLR and lots of Verichrome Pan film. My sisters and I were raised to pose instinctively when a lens pointed our way. Dad's compositions (at least those he printed) were excellent, so I also grew up seeing how pictures were made from conception to realization. And now, when I try composing images, most STILL suck. You should see my phone-pole series. (No, you shouldn't, not really.)

I shot film for some years. I got rather proficient with cameras and darkrooms. When darkrooms were no longer available, I pretty much stopped.

In 2003 I got my first 1 mpx P&S; a couple years later, some better 5 mpx P&S's. I developed a street-shooting approach: arms akimbo, camera held nonchalantly, snapping the shutter whenever I anticipated something of interest. Lots of what I shot still sucked, but lots could be saved in PP, just as lots of my film work involved selective enlarging and cropping, burning and dodging. (Just like Ansel.)

Maybe there's an answer there: What you and the camera see are different. Period. So don't let the camera dictate what the picture looks like. Who's in charge, you or the camera? I just use the camera to feed raw material into PaintShopPro9. Then I make the picture look the way *I* want it to look. If you (and I) can't compose perfectly in-camera, then fix it in PP. That is a way to MAKE a picture.

Do you own a tripod? Slowing down is the best advice I can give you, and using a tripod is the best way to do that. It forces you to slow down, and contemplate the image in the viewfinder (or on the screen in liveview). The best learning I ever did was with an old twin lens reflex on a tripod. It's sloooow shooting, maybe a dozen images in an afternoon's outing, every one carefully thought about before pulling the trigger. Great way to learn and think deeply about what your doing. I still mostly shoot that way (though not always with a tripod) even with a DSLR.

And that's another way to MAKE a picture. I *really* learned photography when I worked an un-metered TLR, and when I had a German-made 1934 Kodak Retina I folder, the first-ever 135 camera -- Schneider (I think) 50/3.5 lens, 1-1/300 shutter, no rangefinder, absolutely basic. I learned to meter and measure, then to judge exposure and distance, almost automatically. With both the Retina and the TLR, I had to think first, shoot later, especially since each shutter trip cost a little money. I often shot very slow film, ASA 32, so a tripod was often essential. And I did my own lab work, and cropped and dodged and otherwise fixed in PP.

[Mohawk]

Anyone who thinks naked activities are the solution to a problem is real cool in my opinion

Thanks! It's my life's mantra. Believe me, it helps more than just my photography...

Of course there are other creative outlets, but the other adage is: 'there are no rules in photography'. So go and enjoy your hobby. Who knows - it'll click and you'll get into the 'zone'. Once you're there... It's delicious!

[jmbradd]

I'm an awful photographer too. For me, I need more experience...the more composition schemes I see the more I can apply to my photography.

Going off what damn brit said, I think "thinking like a camera" makes sense.

Mix it up, find new subjects, try new angles, try wider shots try tighter shots just keep taking pictures. Its one thing to know what you want to do and not know how to make the camera do it, its a complete other thing to know how to operate a camera and not know what scene you want

Like I said, I'm an awful photographer. Don't place blame on anything. For me, I took a few months break, came back and tried some new things. I like some of my recent results but still, its nothing I feel that proud of.

Keep your head up and your eyes open. Sometimes the best shots are those you don't expect to find.


ps. I just remembered something I like from a composition book...something along the lines of "every element should have a reason to be in the frame. If there is no justification for something being in the picture, it shouldn't be there"