There's no substitute for going out and being in the middle of life. It's where all the pictures happen.
2 comments:
Michael Strycharske
said...
Beware the Pretenders I went to a cocktail party for the Austin Centre for Photography a while back. I approached a guy carrying a camera (I always wonder about guys who bring their camera to a photo oriented party or gallery opening) and struck up a conversation. He was quick to volunteer that he had with him a "classic" Nikon film camera and that he was shooting Tri-X. He then took my picture. When I asked him about digital he looked down his nose at me and said that "real" photographers still used film. So I asked him how he processed his Tri-X - did he use D76 and at what dilution. His answer told me a lot. "I don't use D76," he said, "I only use Kodak chemicals." So then I asked him if I could look at his camera - intending to take his picture. I twirled the rewind knob to check for film tension and guess what - no film in the camera. I handed the camera back to him and went in search of a Scotch.
My point here is that - not only do you have to "be there", but you have to shoot pictures. Hardly a day goes by that I don't take a picture of something - be it my neighbor's kid learning to twirl a basketball on his finger (shot one hour ago) or something else mundane. And you know what - I learn something almost every day about photography. You can't learn much with the camera in the camera bag - or an empty film camera.
2 comments:
Beware the Pretenders
I went to a cocktail party for the Austin Centre for Photography a while back. I approached a guy carrying a camera (I always wonder about guys who bring their camera to a photo oriented party or gallery opening) and struck up a conversation. He was quick to volunteer that he had with him a "classic" Nikon film camera and that he was shooting Tri-X. He then took my picture. When I asked him about digital he looked down his nose at me and said that "real" photographers still used film. So I asked him how he processed his Tri-X - did he use D76 and at what dilution. His answer told me a lot. "I don't use D76," he said, "I only use Kodak chemicals." So then I asked him if I could look at his camera - intending to take his picture. I twirled the rewind knob to check for film tension and guess what - no film in the camera. I handed the camera back to him and went in search of a Scotch.
My point here is that - not only do you have to "be there", but you have to shoot pictures. Hardly a day goes by that I don't take a picture of something - be it my neighbor's kid learning to twirl a basketball on his finger (shot one hour ago) or something else mundane. And you know what - I learn something almost every day about photography. You can't learn much with the camera in the camera bag - or an empty film camera.
Michael, That's a sadly hilarious story. Nikon film camera as gallery fashion accessory. Unless the poor guy thought he had it loaded right......
Yeah, you have to be there.......and shoot photos.
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