How do you learn new skills in the easiest way? (Page 4): if you can find a volume "The Craft of Photography" by the late great David Vestal - there is no finer or more difficult, but...

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

Magical bill wrote:

Hi everyone, br br I'm still unsure if this is in... (show quote)

if you can find a volume "The Craft of Photography" by the late great David Vestal - there is no finer or more difficult, but it sure as heck make you a good photographer.

PellixPete Loc: Lincoln, NE

Bill, this is rather old school but Ansel Adams wrote 3 how to books, the Camera, the Negative and the Print. While these all delt with black and white film cameras I think all of the information is sound basic information that still applies today. The books are short good reads.

jackare

how do I get to Carnegie hall? Practice, Practice, Practice!!

amehta Loc: Boston

Magical bill wrote:

Where as Photoshop leaves me over whelmed. There is so much information and skills to learn. The problem is really more one of what do I need to know and which junk can I leave out?

How do you deal with this your self?

If you're looking for someone to say, "you don't need photoshop", I'll say it. You can concentrate on getting the best jpegs out of your camera, and that will make you a better photographer.

I have never used PS, rarely use Lightroom. The most I want to do with post processing is adjust the light a little because I didn't get it right the first time. But that's not about learning photography, it's about producing the best image for something like a wedding, where I can't go back to do it again.

As an example, of the 50 shots selected by the couple from my last wedding, 3 will benefit significantly from exposure adjustment. One was a grab shot when the bride was getting ready, and the other two were outside as they were driving off in the bright sunlight, but I didn't turn the flash off. Oops!

dalematt Loc: Goderich, Ontario, Canada

amehta wrote:

If you're looking for someone to say, "you don't need photoshop", I'll say it. You can concentrate on getting the best jpegs out of your camera, and that will make you a better photographer.

You can start to learn pp'ing with something simple like Picasa (which is free). If you enjoy that and want to move on to something better, then do so. Personally, I use and prefer PaintShop Pro Ultimate (Ultimate is about $10 more than the basic) which is significantly cheaper and almost as powerfy as Photoshop.

amehta Loc: Boston

jackare wrote:

how do I get to Carnegie hall? Practice, Practice, Practice!!

You can practice all you want, but if you don't have any way to actually learn, you'll still never get there. That's what teachers and coaches are for.

dalematt Loc: Goderich, Ontario, Canada

dalematt wrote:

You can start to learn pp'ing with something simple like Picasa (which is free). If you enjoy that and want to move on to something better, then do so. Personally, I use and prefer PaintShop Pro Ultimate (Ultimate is about $10 more than the basic) which is significantly cheaper and almost as powerfy as Photoshop.

That's supposed to say "powerful". I love my tablet except for typing.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

stan0301 wrote:

There was a fellow named Malcom Gladwell (look him up) who said that to do something well (play the flute--throw a baseball--take a picture) you will need to practice about 10,000 times. I think this is pretty close--when I studied with Ansel Adams (in the era of sheet film) he would toss several thousand images for each one he kept.
Stan

Gladwell's obervation was 10,000 hours not times. Or just under 5 years based on a 40 hour work week.

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

PellixPete wrote:

Bill, this is rather old school but Ansel Adams wrote 3 how to books, the Camera, the Negative and the Print. While these all delt with black and white film cameras I think all of the information is sound basic information that still applies today. The books are short good reads.

absolutely! and whip me with a roll of panatomic x for neglecting Ansel. as far as old school, though, light, composition, shadow detail, the nasty vanishing point and physical practice have been with us since the first cave painting. the fundamentals never change, in my very snobby observation. (heeee)

billjohdoittoday Loc: Arkansas

dsmeltz wrote:

Gladwell's obervation was 10,000 hours not times. Or just under 5 years based on a 40 hour work week.

That sounds a bit extreme. I perform (as an amateur) music in church. My own rule is, "Before I perform any piece in public, I perform it for 50 hours." 5 years, though, doesn't strike me as reasonable.

Bill

amehta Loc: Boston

stan0301 wrote:

There was a fellow named Malcom Gladwell (look him up) who said that to do something well (play the flute--throw a baseball--take a picture) you will need to practice about 10,000 times. I think this is pretty close--when I studied with Ansel Adams (in the era of sheet film) he would toss several thousand images for each one he kept.
Stan

I think you win "Name Drop of the Year" award for 2014. Even though it's only Jan 6th, the contest may be over. :lol:

amehta Loc: Boston

billjohdoittoday wrote:

dsmeltz wrote:

Gladwell's obervation was 10,000 hours not times. Or just under 5 years based on a 40 hour work week.

That sounds a bit extreme. I perform (as an amateur) music in church. My own rule is, "Before I perform any piece in public, I perform it for 50 hours." 5 years, though, doesn't strike me as reasonable.

Bill

I believe Gladwell meant 10,000 hours to do something at an "expert" level.

How many hours have you spent learning to produce music in your life? If you add it all up, you may find it's quite a bit over 10,000 hours.

If a kid practices the piano 2 hours a week, plus a 1 hour lesson and 2 hours of music class in school, that's about 250 hours a year. But if they want to get really good, let's increase it to 5 hours practice a week, 2 hours of lessons, and 3 hours of music class in school, plus extra time during vacations, we're getting to 500+ hours a year. Do it for 10 years, and the're half way to 10,000 hours.

billjohdoittoday Loc: Arkansas

amehta wrote:

I believe Gladwell meant 10,000 hours to do something at an "expert" level.

How many hours have you spent learning to produce music in your life? If you add it all up, you may find it's quite a bit over 10,000 hours.

Well, now you're getting personal. When I'm being truthful (it happens occasionally), I tell people, "I don't have 50 years experience on guitar; I have two years experience 25 times." :-D

Bill

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Magical bill wrote:

Hi everyone, br br I'm still unsure if this is in... (show quote)

There is no right or wrong answer. It comes down to what ever works. Above all. it's the same for any Art form. Practice Practice Practice.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

billjohdoittoday wrote:

That sounds a bit extreme. I perform (as an amateur) music in church. My own rule is, "Before I perform any piece in public, I perform it for 50 hours." 5 years, though, doesn't strike me as reasonable.

Bill

That is 10,000 hours to become an expert at something, like playing the violin well enough to be a concert soloist or skating well enough to be a NHL player. Not to be an expert at playing one piece or getting around the ice rink without falling. . :wink: