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On Making Images article

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Jack,

I just wanted to congratulate you on a great article. As I read it from top to bottom I found myself nodding and saying aha, yep, couldn't agree more, etc etc. As you recall, I probably epitomize the take it all guy when I can but actually I also 100% agree with the sentiment that less gear, and in particular when traveling, frees you up to be more creative. I know, I know, that probably sounds ironic from me but it is true. If I fly I generally travel these days with just my Alpa and a couple of lenses and/or a fixed lens camera (RX1 or X100s).

As I’ve aged, I’ve learned a couple of basic truths about photography. One is that when it comes to gear, less can be more; less forces me to create images with what I have with me, and that spurs my personal creativity.
:thumbs:

Another is that most lenses are better than most images I take with them. In other words, what counts most is image content, not line-pairs per millimeter or test score points on somebody’s gear performance scale.
:thumbup:

Agreed - unless it's a pebble without artistic merit I'd actually probably say that ALL lenses are good enough or better than most of the images we take with them most of the time.

My final point is this: it isn’t so important what you shoot with, as it is to how you shoot with what you have.
I'd add also that it's important to shoot what you see at the time that you see it too. Your image #3 at the Salton Sea yacht club pool is a case in point because you can't shoot that image again. Aside from one off boarder opportunity, that location is now gone forever and restored as a visitor center and lost almost every ounce of it's original character. Likewise almost everything around that place including the old hotel and docks etc etc. This happens all the time. Likewise, scenes can be gone literally seconds/minutes later with the weather and certainly overnight for more static subjects - I think that most of us, certainly I can personally, can attest to missing plenty of those opportunities.
 
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Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
@ Graham,

One small admission: I did actually recall your first workshop with me when I wrote the "bring everything" comment :ROTFL:

Your comment about things disappearing is very true. It happens with structures often as quickly as moving clouds can change the light. I learned this lesson very early on while traveling in Greece several years back with film gear. There was a particularly gorgeous white fence and typical Greek gate with a full-bloom Bougainvillea bracketing it. As I walked past in the early afternoon, I made a mental note to come back early the next morning when the light would be better. To be sure, it wasn't horrible then, just high and not as interesting as it would be in the softer early AM light -- remember, I was shooting film and we "saved" it back then. Anyway, I got up early the next morning and walked the 3/4 mile to the gate. Imagine my utter shock to see the fence and gate covered in fresh black oil as they had re-oild the road sometime between my two visits the afternoon before and that next morning. Lesson learned, and even though it's no big deal with digital, I always take the shot regardless now and come back later as desired.

@ Ben,

Be sure to post some images and let us know how you;re getting on with it!
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
The front page has been tweaked to permit comments.
Please feel free to comment there as well as here in the site talk area.
-bob
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I have no idea what this is all about! :eek:

All I see on top of the forum page is about a bag article by Jono Slack.

Anyone has a link?
 

jlm

Workshop Member
For the sake of argument, i would add that it is not only the proliferation and glut of gear that is problematic, but also due to the ease of taking, and therefore the overshooting, of the digital image, one is distracted from the true imaging process.

in some cases, of course, one needs to be sure of getting the shot, so bracketing, etc makes sense. But I for one will never switch my shutter from single to continuous, hoping that a good one will be in the 20 or 30 shots collected. I tend to not use the larger and ever more and more gigbyte CD cards which encourage bringing home massive collections of shots.

point being, along with Jack's, that you can take too many shots, just like having too much gear.

for me the lesson is to trim down and refine your approach; that includes gear and the shutter finger. get your eyes to pre-visualize the shot.

in the olde days. I would shoot 4x5 film, that format requiring a method in complete accord with the above. bringing five or six film holders meant conservative shooting; the darkroom time alone meant the number of prints had to be limited.

now we see medium format shooters posting and producing what must be hundreds and hundreds of images. I certainly understand the appeal and love of making the image, but what on earth can one do with all that output? how many sunsets, beaches, woodland and mountain shots do you need?
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I have no idea what this is all about! :eek:

All I see on top of the forum page is about a bag article by Jono Slack.

Anyone has a link?
You may need to refresh your browser. What browser are you using? If you click on the "GetDPI Home" button on the top navbar from anywhere in the main forum section, you'll get there too.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Vivek, that's just the notices section you're seeing at top. As soon as you read it, you can dismiss it by clicking the red X and it goes away -- BUT you have to be logged in :). Logging in here also logs you in to the new Article and B&S sides. And then your top navbar has a link to the GetDPI Home which is where all articles reside.

Finally, your url is an older one that has forum.getdpi.com/forum, and the new one no longer has the forum. in front, so is just getdpi.com/forum, so probably best to re-save a new bookmark ;)
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Thank you, Jack! :)

I apologize for the OT comments here.

I glanced through your article (my habit) and will visit it often. I am with most of the comments posted here on your article.

The message appears simple (for the uninitiated it may even be irksome) but very potent. Thank you! :)
 
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