In The Beginning

Profound wisdom. Eccentric viewpoints. Superfluous streams of thought. Maybe. Sometimes. Could be that you'll see these things here. After all... isn't that what you expect when you look on any blog or website where photography or art is posted? I tend, however, to be more of a realist and only venture into the philosophical when I can't think of anything else to say.

I think of photography as a bit more of a science than some around me do. The beauty of it is that creativity enhances it. Its fundamentals are built upon by vision and inspiration, which in turn bolster the fundamentals. Cyclical isn't it?

You can always tell a seasoned photographer in a crowd of shutter-bugs. They seem to be more focused (pardon the pun), confident, shooting the (fill in the blank) out of their subject to capture it in every possible alternative way. And when it comes to the final product, well, they are the ones sitting in the back of the room watching the faces of others as their work is oogled upon. And when someone approaches them about just how they captured this amazing image when the rest of them produced nothing more than a glorified snapshot of the same subject, the reaction is more of modesty and deflection than vain self-serving attitude.

I will never pretend to know how the "pros" do it. But it has been my experience that all of them impart, at least on some level, a little wisdom and clarity on what to do to produce similar results. The greatest compliment is emulation. I have many mentors in the photo world that I attempt to be in the same league as. Most of them will never know that I take their wisdom and put it to work in my products as often as possible. It's a rare breed that are inspired with something new every time they pick up the camera. I am not one of them. I need to be inspired.

You know a good photograph when you see it. It captures your attention immediately. Your eye wanders around the print taking in all the information through color, shape, composition, mood, etc.. A photograph can shape emotion, challenge perspective, shift perception.

Now that I have built this all up, I will share my sometimes less than remarkable work with anyone who cares to view it. I have the vision in my head of someday becoming a great professional photographer. Hopefully someday I can attain the lofty goal of never having to release the shutter until the image is perfectly composed in the viewfinder. Wouldn't that be sweet?!