Down & Dirty

Today it seems every would-be photographer, is a photographer.
We had a guy at work who was a photographer. He was the real deal. The photo’s in his calendars are amazing. He knew all about shooting RAW. Not shooting in the raw, but RAW. RAW is a photo’s most primitive data. Photos can be manipulated at that level. It sure helps to know what you are doing. I can only dream of taking pictures like that. The good thing for me though is, I will not stop trying.
I must admit when I take a good shot I am probably more surprised than anyone. I have noticed though, that those who take pictures invariably get better.
Ok confession time. I am not averse to using the multitude of aids available today. So much is just point and shoot, and the results can be amazing. The camera does all the work. Just set it on say Portrait and the pictures come out really well. The camera has pre-set the f stops, colour, shutter speed etc. Then pictures can be enhanced. More than once, what could have been a great shot has been turned into one, because of enhancements.
I have nothing but admiration for the photographers of yesteryear. There was a time when what you took, you lived with. You really did not know how something had turned out until you got your pictures back. After having paid for all of them, there maybe one or two shots really worth keeping. The others may have been off centre and out of focus. These days we can see in an instant if something is any good. Those that are not, we can delete and move on.
Merril and I did a photography course. We sat in a class room for a number of weeks, and nodded our heads sagely at the appropriate time. One thing we have both found though, is that the best way to learn, is to be out doing. We learned how to take night shots of car lights in a line. Time lapse photography. Merril got a great shot. In fact, the teacher had it up on a screen for all to see. Another thing we learned at that time, is the quality of the appearance of the photograph depends a lot on the quality of what it is being shown on. Originally it did not look that great. It was only in changing a setting we could all see how good it really was.
In the last week we went to the botanic gardens. The subject matter was great there. What was most memorable for me was getting some good shots when darkness fell. It was an eye opener for both me and the lens.
Much of what I learned did not stick. I really need to learn it again. I do remember though the rule of thirds, and that to take quality pics it is often necessary to get down and dirty.