I wish I'd known that when I started...

[SwissJon]

I've been looking at some of my old posts and photos recently, and it occurs to me that there are a few things I'd have benifitted from knowing when I started on this adventure, I thought I'd share a couple and see what you guys come up with, maybe we learn from our own experience, but maybe others can learn from our experiences too. (And maybe I can learn some things from you lot along the way.)

Ok, so it's dawned on me that the most frustrating thing I found about photography is that people seem to be able to photograph things and I'll go to the same spot and not see it. What I realise now is that not every day is suitable for everything.. Some nights, purely by accident I came across conditions that were pretty good, but patience is the key.. The portfolio of photographers that I like and respect are not made up from random events, they're planned, and sometimes contrived.. Developing a photographers eye is difficult, it takes practice and you need to be prepared to manipulate your environment to suit your vision.. Sometime, last Sunday is a good example, I'll go to a spot and there are buildings where I don't want them.. Never mind.. Placing the camera in this exact position means that this dandelion in the foreground, if I pick it and move it slightly to the left, hides the building. Occasionally cloning helps to.. Fabulous photos aren't random chances, they're contrived.

And today, the clouds/sun might be in the wrong spot, but I've bought myself 5 coloured stickers and a bunch of maps. If, when I get to the place I think might make a good photo, and it turns out to be the wrong time, the sun's in the wrong place, I'll stick a coloured spot on my map. Black for a night spot, orange for sunrise, light blue for daytime, red for sunset and white for cloudy days (Yep, some places are really nice when it's cloudy). My maps are becoming quite colourful, but it really helps me with ideas of where to go when I have a desire to go and photograph something.

Landscape photography isn't about finding beautiful unspoilt vista's, it's about making the vista before you look beautiful and unspoilt. It's about manipulating the environment, and it's as much about what you leave out as what you include.. You can have your back to a huge ugly factory, there can be a motorway just out of shot, and a football riot on the other side, but if the picture before you, within the frame when your zoom is 27mm, looks like it's a peaceful, calm tranquil country scene, then that's what is reflected in the picture. Sometimes I feel like I'm learning to lie with my camera, to show the observer something that was not what I was experiencing at the time, I think possibly, for me, that's where the art is in photography.

So, what have you learned since beginning your photographic journey that you wouldn't have minded knowing and understanding when you started.. What would have eased some of your frustrations?

[candidrachel]

What I have learnt most and I should add "most recently" is KISS (keep it simple stupid). Whenever I tell a story to someone I add all sorts of unnecessary details in my quest to make it more interesting to the listener but what invariably happens is that they lose the point of what I am saying really quickly which relates to my photos too! I need to weed out all the bits and pieces that don't keep the main subject the main point of focus.

[ravncat]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

And today, the clouds/sun might be in the wrong spot,

For landscape photography- like you, I wish I had learned how contrived they can be. It's absolutely incredible how much research and knowing a place helps. And being able to plan for the light and weather is essential. It's unfortunate that we have to deal with the luck of the draw for weather on trips - we so often pass the amazing opportunities that are close to us by.

Research your locations before you go - learn how the sun affects things and try using an ephemeris.

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by candidrachel

What I have learnt most and I should add "most recently" is KISS (keep it simple stupid). Whenever I tell a story to someone I add all sorts of unnecessary details in my quest to make it more interesting to the listener but what invariably happens is that they lose the point of what I am saying really quickly which relates to my photos too! I need to weed out all the bits and pieces that don't keep the main subject the main point of focus.

LoL... I see a lot of me in this!

[RichardTaylor]

In the beginning I was quite happy to get correctly exposed and sharp photographs.
I didn't have any other expectations.

Now days that is (mostly) not an issue, and if it is I will work at it until it isn't.

It has always been a hobby, albeit serious at times, so I don't see any reason to get frustrated.
If I do have a problem shooting subjects, and it is very rarely a technical problem,I still keep working at it 'till I, or the person(s) I am shooting for, are happy with the results.

A couple of things I have learnt, if you are shooting for yourself, is to take advantage of the available shooting conditions and shoot accordingly.

@SwissJon
Re landscapes.:
I have been lucky enough to shoot sometimes with a Flickr group that plans their landscape shoots with great care. They look at the sunrise/sunset/moonrise times and directions and tide times for various locations with great detail before deciding on a shoot for a particular location. They will be on site at least an hour before sunrise and stop shooting about 1/2 hour after sunrise. Then they all go and have a good breakfast together. If the weather doesn't cooperate at the very minimum you have had a great breakfast with some fellow photographers.

"patience is the key".
Good photographs usually take time, either planning, waiting for the right conditions or working a scene..
I find being able to sit and just take in a scene will allow me to see those photographs that first were not apparent.
It also helps if you do not have any non photographers with you.

Re last sunday.
Don't go with too many expectations
Shoot the buildings, or shoot the dandelion with buildings in the background.
Make the most of what you have.

Here is a series on what I am talking about.
The flickr group suggested a shoot at Newcastle (a seaside industrial city in Australia)
Sunset was at 5pm (looking over a river/harbour) and moonrise, to the east was at 5:30pm over a beach about 200m away.
The location is about 2.5 hours drive away from where I live so I decided to make an afternoon of it. Just a few from a very productive shoot,

(1) 1:39pm. The buildings in the background, across the river, make for a "urban wildlife" feel.
This was about 1km away, as the crow flies, from where the sunrise/moonrise was shot.


(2) On the river looking west - 4:42PM


(3) 200m away looking east across the ocean. The weather didn't cooperate to give as a big orange moon arising out of the ocean, however I think this one, of the photographers trying to catch the moon rise is ok. - 6:39pm


(4) from the same spot as the pic above, looking north. - 5:59pm.


As you can see it does take time and planning, however even if the weather doesn't always cooperate you still can get reasonable results.

It does help if you are retired.
+ smile.

[Jim Bryant]

While on assignment I jot things I see and notice that would make a photograph in one of those moleskin notebooks. From time to time I read through the notations to see how I could improve the photo.