- he does what he can -- 90 days at the coalface
Today I posted my 90th consecutive daily image to my PAD blog
- he does what he can ... a project I started with encouragement from Brian Mosley more than 90 days ago of course, with an interruption due to a "mishap" with my E-P2, and I was able to pick up and start again because of Brian's support again ... so ... here are some thoughts ...
It's been good to make a commitment over something that's ultimately trivial, and stick to it. It's forced me to look at how I use a camera and what I look at. It's also allowed me to realise that 3 decades of looking at abstract art has changed what I see when I look at the world ... so thank you to all the Cornish artists living and dead, and the Blessed Rothko of course. Lots of thanks also to the owner of the Flickr moniker
the incredible how, who has also taught me (perhaps more than anyone in fact) a lot about how to see ...
What's been disappointing is how little company I've had along the way, and I suspect it's because Brian hasn't been around on the forum to whip up more enthusiasm for the PAD ... mauve and Briar (perhaps particularly Briar) have been very supportive ... still, could quite easily have started a "join me in the PAD project" thread so I'm not going to whine (much) ...
I think I am a better photographer for having to discipline myself to look
every day for an image to post ... someone on the forum has something like "If you can't see a photo you're not looking hard enough" in their signature, and I've had to look hard sometimes ... not always successfully, but what has been interesting and rewarding is how often, when I've really started to look (whether by narrowing my vision, or broadening it, or finding a theme, or a colour, or a shape), there has been
so much to see I could have burned my way through 3 batteries and 2 cards ...
I've also started to learn how to postprocess, even though I almost always forget to denoise, and it's less a workflow than a worklimp ... however, I do understand some basic methods of producing images that look like I imagined they would when I grabbed the shot
I kept a sort of "commonplace book" of snap-related thoughts over the months of the PAD, here's a selection:
The only person who cares if someone else sees me taking a photograph is me. Stop being so self-conscious.
Look properly - look at the frame, look at the left, the right., the foreground , the background and the subject; look through all those things as well; then look at the bits I haven't looked at. Then think about pressing the shutter release.
Not everything can be a masterpiece.
I am not Cartier-Bresson. Man Ray, Bill Brandt or Ansel Adams; They're just better than me, were or are more practiced, and were or are artists. So I need only be satisfied with what I produce.
Be patient.
Find out how the camera works properly. This takes time. It took me about two years to learn how to fool my Canon IXUS into taking the photographs I wanted, And my E-P2 is several orders more complex.
Make sure I have accidental damage insurance on my personal possessions.
I will not lose anything by taking 30 or 40 extra seconds to make sure nothing is going to leak all over my camera.
My eyes work differently to my camera.
Crop in the viewfinder, not in the editor
I will only have a few chances to go back; so make sure what I see gets recorded how I see it.
Not everything can be rescued by making it black & white
Stop rushing.
I can try the monkey-and-typewriter approach and at least some shots will be fabulous; however I will also take a lot of shitty photographs
Learn how to post process properly
Read something about composition and light and so on. I can't learn it all just by experience on my own at my age. Plus I have to sleep and go to work sometimes.
Light is a bugger. Sometimes there just isn't any. worse, sometimes there are no shadows
A snap is OK
A friend asked "How many photographs of a wave do you need?"; good question, wrong question
Just because someone else doesn't like my crops or compositions, it isn't a personal attack; ; alternatively give it a go and see if they're right. Mind you, no-one bugs John Hoyland or Luke Frost for having big flat areas of plain colour do they?
Buying another lens will not make me take better pictures; on the other hand, buying lenses is less harmful than crack cocaine, although no less addictive.
Go outside, the birds will not photograph themselves. And learn some more fieldcraft.
Decide what I want to do: I can't go birding and walking and photographing all at the same time; they're different activities and I won't enjoy any of them if I try to do them all at once. If I want to take photographs, go out and do that; watch birds? - do that; walk - just walk - if I want to take snaps of the landscape, keep the Canon on my belt
Look all the time, and always have the camera near; The more looking, the more seeing; the more seeing, the more better images.
I've really enjoyed using a variety of different lenses; I like the range of the 14-45mm; using a prime forces me to look differently. I admire the Lumix 20/1.7 ever so much but I just somehow want to use the 17mm pancake more, even though the images are less crisp ... I heart my 50/57mm Hexanons ever so much ...
Don't push, squeeze ...
Make an effort to get out of my pit and out of the door ... there is no substitute for morning light
Don't forget to denoise
I've learned such a lot from the other bloggers too. Their opinions on my own images and also reading their comments on each others photos has taught me to look at things I never would have previously. I've received much encouragement from Brian and others whenever I have flagged a little and I'm hoping to continue to post from time to time and also offer my own input to the next wave of bloggers whenever I can. 
) 
but its been fun!
