bgrn Loc: Pleasant Grove UT

When I first picked up a camera in the late 70's my brother asked me to take the pictures at his wedding, scared the hell out of me, but I did it anyway. After a nerve racking week waiting for them to come pack I looked through them and there was a few that really stuck out and it made me think I could do this. Although after that I never take pictures of people, mostly mountains lakes and wildlife, I was having a lot of fun. But I did learn from those few pictures that got me to thinking about how I caught that moment and how the picture was taken. I have never had any formal training or classes of any kind so I rely on looking at other peoples pictures, seeing what I like about them, and how it was composed, and now I learn a lot from people like the ones in this forum. Since picking this back up a few years ago I have never had a real wow picture like what I felt at the wedding. Although I can see my pictures are getting better I have a lot to learn especially in composition. Part of my goals and what i like about photography is to develop some creativity, I can see someone else's pictures and duplicate them very closely, but to come up with the idea in the first place is very difficult for me. for example most of the people on this forum can take a picture of any old rock and make it frame worthy, I could take the same rock, chocolate coat it and put a bow on it and it would still look like a cell phone snap shot. I will admit that lurking around these forms has had a tremendous improvement in how I look at things. I am also still enjoying it very much and even more as my skills improve. When I ask a question like my original post sometimes it is to get me wondering how other people view there work and why, this can be very helpful to me. So I am thankful for the responses.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Thanks for your response. My sense you sell yourself short about your images you create.. Just ask yourself before you click the shutter, what am I trying to say? The answer should be in the viewfinder or LCD screen. If not you need to change something, light angle, your elevation, and since light is our language, maybe the light is not right.One image I went back 8 times until I saw that the light was right. I learned that from Ansel Adams. Once he had his subject picked out, he would arrive before sunrise and watch until the light was right. If it wasn't he would come back another day until the light was right.

bgrn Loc: Pleasant Grove UT

Thanks for your comments. I would say you are correct in some lack of confidence, I am also trying to break out of that. I think it is also like my sister-in-law that is a beautiful concert pianist and can change a musical piece to match her musical style, that would be her form of art, but she has also said she does not have the ability to compose a piece of music from scratch. I am trying to learn how to develop the photography art from scratch, some people have that innate ability while others have to work harder to develop. Here are a couple examples of how I try to make it work. In the first one I noticed there are a couple lights that are blowing their spot out in the picture so I moved the lights and recomposed to make the second one. My tripod was not available so these are hand held so not as sharp as I would like. I know the subject should be on the left side but I was not able to move things around to make it happen. But again I was looking more at composition.

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

I can't say there was a defining moment. I also can't say that my photography has improved much over time. And I won't say that it's very good. It is, however, for me adequate.

nikon123 Loc: Toronto, Canada

I I love the question as in essence it asks what 'drives' you today to capture the images that you do. My 'aha moment' was when I understood why and what I was doing with my photography. I have no particular subject or genre that drives my passion for photography. I get the rush when the 'looking and seeing' results in a compelling image.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nope. Just lots of pictures since I was about 8. I also read lots of articles - formerly in magazines, now online.

mikedidi46 Loc: WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA

my journey is very long and twisted, starting with my little Brownie, then moving up to a Canon film SLR in the late 60's. Took some time off then went to the Minolta MAXXUM 7000, then to the latest KODAK Z series in the early 2,000's. Now I am full circle with Canon 70D, and soon a 6D MKII

I look back at my journey, and I can see the differences in my skill or composition of my photos

Kobie

There are many things that stand out but in particular 2 and both relate to people.
I always loved photography but what has put me on track is my good friend in South Africa that taught me the basics of films photography and some tricks. How to double expose on 35mm, slide photography, darkroom work etc
The 2nd thing that stands out is after many years a professional photographer in Wichita Kansas, earlier this year, explain the basic principles of flash photography. I always wanted to adjust the shutter speed for effects and it was the aperture setting that was actually main contributor. It is so simple but tricky to work it out on your own
Thanks to these 2 people

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

As a young photographer I shot a lot of flash inside, one day I was shooting a babe in front of a window. i noticed when I developed the shots the view out the window was perfectly exposed matching the babe exposure exactly, the light went on in my head and I ended up knowing, through test shots, how to match the brightness of the back ground with the subject, I had discovered balanced fill flash. I remember it like yesterday, I was 13 and I was shooting my friends older sister, she was 17 and I thought she was IT. And at that time 4 years difference in age was like a brick wall that separated us. Anyway she was dating the captain of the football team and that guy could have bent me like a pretzel. So the brick wall was a good thing as it turned out.

ctsteps5

7th grade Photo class. first time taking pictures for class. Teacher walks us outside to take pictures. There was a bunch of little trees in the courtyard. Teacher tells us to take pictures of the trees, which we did. When we were done, he walked up to the trees, stuck is camera inside the bunch and took a picture. Next weeks class we got to look at the pictures. There were seven kids in the class, and we had made seven identical pictures of the sale trees. Teacher took out his picture, and we were amazed at he picture he took, it was a cool picture, still can see it today. He said to the class, "Always look beyond the tree". My life of Photography is based on that simple five word sentence. I teach by that same principle as well

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

When I was nearing retirement I realized that I needed something to do. I started with a scroll saw and other small craft but quickly realized that that stuff was only good in the spring thru the fall - my workshop is outside, under my deck with no way to heat. So, I looked at photography, in which I had had some interest over the years but with no funds as five kids. me working days and my wife evenings there was just no room for it. Until I was looking for something else to do in retirement. Photography fit the bill!

BlackRipleyDog

Two milestones.
1. Still shooting film on my 50th birthday and a friend gave me a copy of Photoshop 7. That plus plus a scanner and my first printer got me started into the digital darkroom.
2. A year or so later, my wife's department at the University was disposing of a Coolpix 995 (3mpx). My first published images were from that camera.
To wife's eternal regret and 4 camera upgrades later.

nikonkelly Loc: SE Michigan

My situation was not a concept but rather an event. In 2007, if visited my insurance agent mid summer and asked what I needed to do to make sure that my equipment was protected, and he told me that I was all set, I did not need to do anything. Then in August I went to a National wildlife refuge and was canoeing through it when because of high water, we were unable to see a submerged limb. We hit it and were over in less than 2 seconds. Canoe was upside down, two cameras, several lenses, and miscellaneous other equipment were suddenly in the water. all total about $8500 worth of equipment... but outside of the D200 all was consumer grade. Unfortunately, only $2700 of it was covered. my agent told me that he did not recall the early summer visit... so I lost.

Over the next 3 months I replaced everything, but this time with pro stuff... that was the turning point for me. Now, I had the image quality that I needed and it has been a real blessing for my photography ever since...
kelly

windshoppe Loc: Arizona

The moment that I first understood the importance of foreground.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Having two wonderful parents, one of whom worked for a Kodak retail sales store when I was born and for 7 years afterward. The second was discovering Ansel Adams and the volumes of books he wrote. The third, reading "A Memorial Volume Containing An Account Of The Photographic Researches Of Ferdinand Hurter And Vero C. Driffield (1920)". Combine all of those with having my own darkroom and the time I spent in it learning.
--Bob