Taking time to compose
Jul 23, 2019 08:39:13 #
catchlight..
Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway
I was thinking back to my first SLR, a Fuji AX1 back in the 1970s. I recall the time spent composing and maximizing my efforts (due to the cost and time to process film). I think that may be what differentiates what once was, from today.
Gathering endless quantities of digital imagery with little thought to composition, in hopes of hitting pay dirt seems to be a common acceptance... Some I know upload 300 images to fb each week and think little about the quality.
Gear and pixel intoxication, with the perception that the camera is an automated super box, has certainly changed things.
Slowing down, spending time with fixed lenses, composition, excepting grain, motion, contrast, and things that make you think more like an artist have a new priority for me. I'm spending much more time now before I hit the trigger...
10 TB's of external hard drives material on demand vs waiting a week as a teen to pick up 24 Kodachrome images, with the anticipation we all remember, makes one think.
Gathering endless quantities of digital imagery with little thought to composition, in hopes of hitting pay dirt seems to be a common acceptance... Some I know upload 300 images to fb each week and think little about the quality.
Gear and pixel intoxication, with the perception that the camera is an automated super box, has certainly changed things.
Slowing down, spending time with fixed lenses, composition, excepting grain, motion, contrast, and things that make you think more like an artist have a new priority for me. I'm spending much more time now before I hit the trigger...
10 TB's of external hard drives material on demand vs waiting a week as a teen to pick up 24 Kodachrome images, with the anticipation we all remember, makes one think.
Jul 23, 2019 08:49:45 #
I hear you. Your experience mimics my own learning curve with my Minolta SRT101. It had a built-in light meter, but all the rest I had to ;learn, understand, and set prior to hitting the shutter release. It's something akin to learning the times tables and long division before using a calculator, but the mathematical thinking doesn't diminish the artistic thinking. Rather, one enhances the other.
Jul 23, 2019 08:50:38 #
We can now chose to either gather endless quantities of digital imagery or take time to compose and maximize efforts; or we can do both.
Is that a problem?
Is that a problem?
Jul 23, 2019 08:53:08 #
No. Do whatever works best for you using trial and error. It's not a mutually exclusive process and you're in charge.
Jul 23, 2019 08:56:37 #
Ready, fire, aim.
I find myself shooting more frames with digital than I probably need. With medium and especially large format, more thought went into the image.
I find myself shooting more frames with digital than I probably need. With medium and especially large format, more thought went into the image.
Jul 23, 2019 09:03:16 #
Recent photo trips have run about the same as film for me. Though, I used both film and digital during those trips. During the last trip, I shot three digital images. They are all framed and hanging on walls somewhere. Last weekend, I tested a new, for me, camera. 10 photographs were taken, each could be printed if I wanted. I'm definitely not in the spray and pray crowd.
--Bob
--Bob
catchlight.. wrote:
I was thinking back to my first SLR, a Fuji AX1 ba... (show quote)
Jul 23, 2019 09:09:38 #
I'd have to admit I'm tending to veer towards the shotgun approach. Actually thinking about the particulars of a shot, composition, DOF, shutter speed and ISO can easily get overlooked with these modern cameras that people think "do everything" for you. The "I can fix that with Photoshop" is yet another excuse not to set the shot up correctly the first time. When I do take the time to get it right in the camera or, as close as I can, that's a good feeling.
Jul 23, 2019 09:25:48 #
catchlight..
Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway
What I find, especially when it comes to expression, is to wait and think about what is there, what enters the frame, and if it is worth the effort. I hate posed images, so i tend to trigger in between. More thought on composition skills, instead of 16fps are my latest and earliest thoughts.
Jul 23, 2019 09:30:33 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
I totally agree. I struggle with this concept all the time, to take a photo or make a photo. I have to force myself to "work the scene" as they say. In the film days, you were forced to do just that and you had to have a pretty good handle on how the resulting photo would turn out.
Jul 23, 2019 10:43:59 #
In my way of thinking, it depends on the subject you are photographing. If it is a landscape or a flower in the garden you have time to work the scene to find the best pov. And you have time to fiddle with your settings to get the look you want. If it's a bird in flight or a group of dancers I set my camera controls for optimal results where I think the action will be happening then fire off multiple shots which I go over later to see if I actually captured one or two good ones.
Jul 23, 2019 11:00:57 #
I'm with saxman71 on this one. I do both approaches. For stationary objects I carefully survey the scene and compose and try different variations to get exactly what I want. For BIF, when I can, I do compose, but often I'll simply wait for the bird to take off and then shoot the entire sequence, assuming that one will be better than the rest.
Jul 23, 2019 11:25:54 #
I still follow the habits I cultivated as a Kodachrome user. My annual shutter count is lower, because I no longer have to take five bracketed shots to guarantee that one will have correct exposure.
Jul 24, 2019 05:46:26 #
Jul 24, 2019 07:17:14 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
catchlight.. wrote:
I was thinking back to my first SLR, a Fuji AX1 ba... (show quote)
While a student in college we were given one 4X5 neg. by the professor, he marked that neg. so we could only use his. We had our assignment and given one shot to get it right.
I still remember those days each and every time I lift the camera to my eye.
Jul 24, 2019 07:18:26 #
Yeah, I know what you mean. The thing with FB is getting pictures posted. It's not a photography site. Anything goes. It's not the quality that counts; it's the picture itself. When I shoot a scene, I generally take shots from a lot of angles. One of the instructors on lynda.com had an instructional video about "Working the Scene." Take a dozen shots of a scene, and your chances of getting a good one increase.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.