Photography has stayed with me and allowed my expression of the world to be announced visually. I want to share my passion with you all and help you enjoy a the passion of photography also.
To enjoy anything is to get better at it. To get better at it you must do it. And to do it well is to feel the pleasure of a thing well done but also, well expressed. So with the inspiration of these photographs on my blog I will try to help you along on this visual journey, and passion, that is photography. By imparting to you, the reader, some of what I've learned and experienced over the many years I've enjoyed this art, this dynamic form of expression, I hope you too will experience the art of visual expression that photography is!
LESSON # 1:
GET A CAMERA, ANY KIND OF CAMERA, AND CARRY IT WITH YOU EVERYWHERE!
This doesn't have to be a fancy DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera, or a film camera, or this kind , or that. No, just find what you can afford, or borrow, that is comfortable for you. For instance, although I have been a film camera shooter for most of my photographic experience, I now carry a small Cannon digital point and shoot with me everywhere. My hands are smaller and my camera of choice for years as a commercial and fine art photographer was The Olympus OM-1 series of cameras, which are strictly film and very, very manual to operate. Shutter speed adjustments ( how fast the film plane travels across the film opening to let light in) and lens apertures ( the thing on the camera lens that lets light in, and like the iris in your eye, is adjustable to let a lot of light in, or not so much) and that's pretty much it. But the biggest draw to me of this camera is its size, small, lighter than other 35mm cameras, and silent when you press the button to take a picture.
You can see that camera choice is an individuals taste for what works for them. Given that, get what you feel is comfortable for you.
Once this is done, start shooting, develop, or upload your images to whatever electronic device you have. Start looking at what you have captured in your photographing and what you thought you had, or, wanted to capture. Is the image what you had envisioned when you tripped the shutter release button, turned on your camera to video, or shot on your digital camera? If so great! Do you feel the passion? Wonderful! Or, do you not like what you see, does it not meet your expectations? If this is the case, join the club, this is so common when you first began to shoot as much as when you have shot for years. Photography is an art as much as it is how much you know about manipulating the equipment. Don't be discouraged by the unexpected blunder or result. Learn from what you thought you where getting and what you actually got! (We will explore photographic blunders and how to correct them in my next blog composition, be patient!)
Sometimes those "blunders" in shooting turn out to be unexpected gems. That is another gift photographing can give you. So pick up that camera and start photographing wherever your heart, and eye, lead you. And remember to take that camera everywhere, shooting frequently. This is the key to reaching the experience of passion that photography can bring.
Hey Kasia, thanks so much for this article. I have a seven year old point and shoot Canon...I'd love to get a digital SLR but finances have been too rocky the past few years to get what I want. You have inspired me to take it out more often to play around - it's been a while.
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