I went back to look at some of the first photos I took with my camera, as it’s been just about a year since I acquired it. Some of those shots remain my favourites and as I looked back on them, I realized that I was just spending time learning how to take a picture. Not how to use the camera, how to fancy up the shot, just simply how to take a photo. Up until I acquired this camera, I took pictures for a purpose – to chronicle an event or vacation, to document a moment in time. As a scrapbooker, I took photos that I could put into a story that would translate into a good scrapbook.
The first photos I took were under the watchful eye of my hubby who has a much more artistic view of the world. My idea of a good picture is one I like, all based on emotion. Tim can look at a picture or a house or anything really and explain what the elements are that make it appealing, how it works, how it doesn’t work. As much as I appreciated that he had a stronger aesthetic experience and therefore a valuable opinion, he encouraged me to go back to listening to my gut and take photos the way I liked because ultimately it is my hobby and we both benefit from my enjoyment of it. Over this year, I have found that there are photos I take that I don’t like that he does and vice versa. Many people I have shared my photos with also have very strong reactions to photos one way or another, and that has taken some getting used to. I don’t know that I’ll ever be completely comfortable with either praise or criticism, but I do take something from those opinions and go forward.
In some ways, I can see how much my photography style has changed and evolved. And yet, looking back, the simplistic photos of the “early days” still appeal, so perhaps what I like has remained the same and how I achieve it has been the area of growth. Who knows?
Enjoy.
These don’t look like beginner shots at all. My favourite is the view through the birch. Lovely colours and composition.
LikeLike