Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” ― Henri Cartier-Bresson
May 13, 2018 13:15:13 #
I hit 10,001 shots this morning, and tomorrow I am going to apply for a photojournalist job at Life Magazine!
May 13, 2018 13:39:59 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
nison777 wrote:
Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
― Henri Cartier-Bresson
― Henri Cartier-Bresson
Well, HCB was shooting film with cameras that didn't have any sort of auto setting... and most photographers were pretty careful because of the on-going cost of both film and processing.
With digital it's probably more like "your first 100,000 photographs"... maybe even more in some cases. Folks today just set the camera to auto and start blazing away. If they just take enough photos, hey at least a few are gonna be good, right?
May 13, 2018 13:42:02 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
boberic wrote:
I don't think that I have taken 10,000 pics in my entiire life...
Hmmmm... I took 9000 shots last Saturday and Sunday.
May 13, 2018 13:51:13 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
nison777 wrote:
Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
― Henri Cartier-Bresson
If this is true and I believe it is...
Some may think that shutter count over this number in today's digital cameras may make them appear to have arrived at photographer greatness...
Just for fun
― Henri Cartier-Bresson
If this is true and I believe it is...
Some may think that shutter count over this number in today's digital cameras may make them appear to have arrived at photographer greatness...
Just for fun
Since I started out with a 4X5 speed graphic, that would be a trick.
May 13, 2018 14:26:21 #
lsupremo
Loc: Palm Desert, CA
10000 images in the film days of Mr. Bresson who was primarily a Street Photographer equates to maybe about 100,000 images in our stacking, HDR, point and shoot, world we live in nowadays.
May 13, 2018 14:36:01 #
Still working on my 10,000. LOL! Back in the day wouldn't that have been about 300 roles of 36 exposures...at least? But, in today's digital age...
He may have been referring to not just learning about photography...but also learning about and developing your own style. Even within the first 10,000 frames/shots there are probably some "keepers" that become starting points for future photographic journeys. Nice little exercise to have such a goal though.
He may have been referring to not just learning about photography...but also learning about and developing your own style. Even within the first 10,000 frames/shots there are probably some "keepers" that become starting points for future photographic journeys. Nice little exercise to have such a goal though.
May 13, 2018 16:13:41 #
I am living proof, although it didn't take me 10,000 photographs to understand most of my shortcomings. I look back at a lot of old shots and wonder "what were you thinking/seeing." But in this mass of mediocrity were some shots I still value highly and I found a line of maturation that finally convinced me that I am not totally hopeless. I started trying to be a photographer in the late 60s, but it really wasn't until the late 80s that the good shots weren't just a happy accident. I had to learn to slow down, look, wait and look again. I think I have gotten better and slowing down and looking thoughtfully was a huge part of it. Digital work, since 2012 has been a great help. Now, I am long in the tooth, but, hopefully somewhat wiser. I figure that if I can mature, then there is hope for a whole lot of folks behind a camera.
May 13, 2018 16:18:44 #
Another photographer, Minor White, said it takes ten years to learn photography. This observation compliments the one by HCB.
Because a craft, photography requires application and practice over time. This fact explains and gives meaning to both these observations.
These two photographers, of course, worked in the film era. They had to wait hours if not days to review their photographic negatives, to find if they took anything worthy and to learn from their mistakes and successes.
Digital photography may shorten the time to learn photography and to improve at it because of the immediate feedback while shooting.
Happy Mother's Day!
Because a craft, photography requires application and practice over time. This fact explains and gives meaning to both these observations.
These two photographers, of course, worked in the film era. They had to wait hours if not days to review their photographic negatives, to find if they took anything worthy and to learn from their mistakes and successes.
Digital photography may shorten the time to learn photography and to improve at it because of the immediate feedback while shooting.
Happy Mother's Day!
nison777 wrote:
Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
― Henri Cartier-Bresson
If this is true and I believe it is...
Some may think that shutter count over this number in today's digital cameras may make them appear to have arrived at photographer greatness...
Just for fun
― Henri Cartier-Bresson
If this is true and I believe it is...
Some may think that shutter count over this number in today's digital cameras may make them appear to have arrived at photographer greatness...
Just for fun
May 13, 2018 17:24:58 #
srt101fan wrote:
I agree; there is a difference.
Gene - Thanks for the link; very interesting.
Gene - Thanks for the link; very interesting.
My pleasure!
May 13, 2018 17:34:26 #
GGerard wrote:
Your take from that article is that the photos were "staged"? I think there is a difference between "working the scene" and something being "staged".
To a degree. Bit not like this guy:
http://www.davehillphoto.com/work/15768/composites
But in terms of his "in the moment" concept - he created that moment more often than not. Either by waiting or by manipulating some of the scene to make it look as if it was a random-looking capture. "Working the scene" is not all that different from staging a scene - it's what makeup artists do, or people who are paid to 'stage" a house for real estate - staging, at least for me, is creating an impression that is different than what would normally be the case - working the scene falls into that category.
I still think HC-B's work was brilliant, btw. Staging and all . . .
May 13, 2018 18:38:26 #
AlfredU
Loc: Mooresville, NC
GGerard wrote:
Your take from that article is that the photos were "staged"? I think there is a difference between "working the scene" and something being "staged".
Agreed. I didn't see anything about staging in that article. I tell all my students when they see something that interests them to explore it fully, or work the scene. Great article, great photographer. You also have to remember Bresson's role in history. He was a pioneer in our field.
May 13, 2018 19:39:46 #
lsupremo
Loc: Palm Desert, CA
anotherview wrote:
Another photographer, Minor White, said it takes t... (show quote)
I took a class from Minor White in 1972, he was a very detailed man and an expert of the zone system and cracked a big whip.
May 13, 2018 19:55:53 #
I couldn't agree more. Sometimes I have to ask myself "when does the fun begin?"
May 13, 2018 20:54:55 #
May 13, 2018 21:14:46 #
amfoto1 wrote:
Hmmmm... I took 9000 shots last Saturday and Sunday.
If you go through them and spend 5 seconds on each one and do nothing else, it will take 12 1/2 hours just for that, not counting coffee and pee breaks!!! LoL
SS
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