I know for some of you I might seem like a good photographer. While I’ve won my share of photo-battles over the years I would never self-assign that title. Doing so just feels wrong. I started my career in journalism where the 35mm ruled the day, and rightly so. The life of a news photographer is unpredictable on a good day. But over time I began to see the work of other photographers I respected and began to wonder why they chose to work in varying formats, like 6×6 for example. This prompted me to begin to explore. And again, I won a few battles but lost many more. What happens when it doesn’t work? Do we cry and quit or factor in the defiance and start anew? There are several takeaways from this film. One, things don’t always work. Two, there might be other options. Three, you have to make YOUR image or over time your love of this game will diminish. (I’ve seen this happen countless times.) So keep plugging.
Comments 8
35 outta the box is the only way… the rest is BS… I guess 50 or some other fixed focal length is justified… if digital, go jpeg or go home.
Author
Tadpole,
BS is my middle name.
“Finding a voice is hard.” Awesome. And reassuring. That’s why I don’t dislike any of those images. Seems clear that there’s a pursuit here, a pursuit of one’s voice. Ugh that sounds cheesy. Who cares. I really liked the photo with the sand in the foreground and the person blurry in the background. Reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode – there’s a planet of little people in those sand mountains, and they’re terrified of the giant (and the giant’s spaceship) in the background. Also reminded me of Cappadocia in Turkey. Man, that was a long time ago, I’ve forgotten how to spell it.
Author
Scott,
Thats the odd thing. What doesn’t work for me might work just fine for someone else.
I spent a few years in the late 2000s/early 2010s trying to be come a pro – working as a back up wedding photographer, assisting to an architecture photographer, even pet photography (I made decent money doing that!) etc. etc. but my heart was never really in it. I was fooling myself and believed all the hype at the time when everybody thought they could be a pro. One day I just sold all my gear and bought an M6. I think that old Smogranch post on shooting film in a digital age played a part.
I’m so glad I backed away. Now I just photograph for myself (digital and film) and all I want out of it is the sense of adventure I felt in the 1990s when I was backpacking around the world, going to new places with a tiny Pentax point and shoot, and just shooting for myself.
Author
Sean,
I love your mode. Always have. The M6, film, travel and cycling. Keeping it light and meaningful. I’m coming to Japan. Get ready.
HA! HA! No man, you’re a cool straight shooter… think I was just pissed because I don’t have my fixed-lens 35mm box anymore… and it was always JPEG or no way for me.
Author
TP,
The jpg is a risky thing, at least for me, and a lossy file type. With clients it was RAW only or no $.