I started taking photography seriously as a hobby in or around November 2012. At the time I got hold of Photomatix HDR software and was running every single photo through it. I just loved it and thought the results were just awesome. Dogs, cats, people, trees, taps, ornaments at any time of the day could not escape my Canon 550D and edgy trigger finger. I would “HDR” anything just because I could, thought it was necessary and always had to bracket 9 shots using Magic Lantern. Noise and uninteresting were my good friends. Ive been itching to post another one of my first few “HDR” photos I took and processed in December 2012 together with a current photo for a few reasons. Both photos were taken at the seaside. I often see people post something on the photography sites along the lines of “hey guys, your photos are so great and beautiful. I have just bought a camera and will post some photos when mine are a little better. I just wish I could take photos like you... your photos are so amazing… you must have been taking photos for a very long time… where did you study photography. I’m still learning a few things and will post some photos soon. I wish… I wish…” Could their photos be any worse than some of the processing I was doing back in December 2012? I doubt it as I can see what is out there now and my own example photo OMG THIS IS ROUGH by “anonymous” is a shocker (I really loved it back then, thought it was good and also thought what a wonderful creation). I would have to look very long and hard today on South African Amateur Photographers Facebook page or any other to find something worse. I also need to stay mindful of where I was back then and the road I had to follow to get to where I am today. This is important when teaching others, myself and looking at the current efforts of other photographers who are much “better” than or “worse” than me. One can perhaps become too critical, impatient or boastful / misguided about how good they really are (I thought I was a fairly accomplished HDR photographer back in December 2012, produced good work and was an authority on the associated processing – how wrong I was if I look back now). As much as I think Ive come a far way since then and currently post some good photos, this will surely be laughed at silently by some now and surely by myself in another two years if I keep improving i.e. my current photos are actually not as good as I presently think they are. I hope that any photographer who has just started out and is struggling will keep at it constantly / daily and stay positive, as improvement can come in little jumps and bumps up within weeks / months of each other. Before they know it, they will also be looking back in awe and having a good old chuckle at themselves. It’s all fun I promise. I hope that they will post their photos today and be proud of them; they might not be as good as another’s but they are good for the person posting them and that’s the important thing.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 07:53:49 +0000
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