ku # 467

West Branch of the Au Sable • click to embiggenWhen last we spoke, Aaron mentioned that he doesn't really'think about composition AT ALL! ... I just like the way things "feel"...like deep down inside...it feels right...."

To which Ana added; "I think it takes time to learn to read your own work. My take on it, speaking only for myself, was that it did start out subconsciously. There were things that I was drawn to very strongly but I didn't know why and I didn't even have a mental framework with which to inspect what was going on. And a lot of my thinking about it was very vague and expressed in terms of just "having a feeling". But then after doing more and more work and being forced to confront it over and over again, I feel that I'm really starting to focus my own intentions. And a lot of my "revelations", as it were, are very clearly there in the earlier work it's just that it took time to be able to recognize them."

To which, Steve Durbin added; "... Some photographers seem to resist thinking about their work or trying to understand what they're doing. In my view, they're not only missing a lot that could be learned, but they're slowing their growth and diminishing their ability to make better photographs."

To which I would add, most amateurs seem to think think that the way to grow photographically is to 'learn' the rules, get the 'right' sharpening tool/RAW converter/software or camera/lenses/tripod/ball head, etc. - all the easy stuff. They pay little, if any attention to the 'mental framework with which to inspect what is going on' - they 'resist thinking about their work' in anything other than technical terms.

Which was why - back to Aaron - he grew very weary very quickly with online photo-site 'feedback' on his work. To quote Mike Lange, the NHL Hall-of-Fame voice of the Penguins, "How much fried chicken can you eat?". Or, to put a finer point on it, "How many times can you read, 'Wow. Love the colors. Nice choice of lens and post-processing.', without puking?

The point? Unless you're willing to dig deep inside yourself, all the How-To-Master-Landscape-Photography books in the world won't make you a better photographer.

Think about it.

urban ku # 48

Red truck on an early spring evening • click to embiggenSpring is trying to assert itself. It can definitely be felt 'in the air'. Even though there's still good skiing on Whiteface, snow is all but gone except in higher elevations. Nice.

Word has it that my hometown golf course here in Au Sable Forks, about 2 blocks from my house, is open. Nice.

I haven't beem able to answer any comments over the last 4-5 days (or check out if the golf course really is open) because I'm cramming - trying to get the Summer Guide out on schedule. I'm mere single-digit hours from mission accomplished. Nice.

Now, if they can just schedule the press run (in Pittsburgh, PA) to coincide with a Penguin home playoff game, everything will be even more Nice.

Tomorrow will bring a return to my regulary scheduled program. Should be Nice.