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I gave what will probably be my last free beginner’s photography lessons this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet/re-meet a cool group of people. Hanging out in the Lower East Side is always a good time too.

I’ve really enjoyed teaching people about photography in the past year. It’s been great to witness the moment when people finally understand how to take manual control over their cameras. It’s like this epiphany for them (or at least for some of them). Some of my ’students’ learned entirely from scratch. Others just needed a push in the right direction. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do in the future.

But it’s been a bit hectic too. Been doing one or two workshops per month since October. About time I refocus on my own projects and gigs.

So, no lessons or photo trips planned for the near future. But that could always change. In any case, I’ll be posting about all future workshop and photo trip opportunities when they come up.

For now…it’s back to a whole lotta retouching…and a vow exchange / tea ceremony next weekend!

No comments for the last post? No need for you all to be shy now!

Well, you can be shy if you want. I’ll just go ahead and share something that I learned.

After covering a few music shows, I started to realize that I liked photos that used a lot of contrast. But it wasn’t until I started watching the third season of Battlestar Galactica that it really sunk in.

A lot of people learning about digital photography learn not to blow out their images. Blowing out means that some of the elements in the photo render as pure white. The way digital photography works, if something is pure white, there is no image data. People learn not to blow out or overexpose because there’s no way to regain the detail in the areas that are rendered as pure white.

As I was sitting in my living room, watching these shots of Colonel Tigh, I realized that I often times like things blowing out. There’s no problem in losing data in those areas if it produces a photo you like.

But I think the overall lesson is much more important. Learning about photography and developing as a photographer doesn’t have to happen only when dealing with photos. You can learn things from a bus ride, or playing a musical instrument, or talking with your family…or in my case, while relaxing in front of the TV. And that really goes for anything in life. Learning about something doesn’t have to be confined to where you think you’ll learn about that something. Sometimes lessons just come out of no where. You just have to be open and ready for it.

I’m a bit of a hound. I admit it. A gear hound, that is.

Yes, one of my RSS feeds is from NikonRumors.com, so I can get clues as to what new gear Nikon might be coming out within the next few months. I’ve spent more money than I care to think about on photography equipment. I love giving advice about things to buy or issues to consider. I love talking shop. Would Broncs be better than Profotos in certain situations? Which lenses should you use for music shows? Why do I prefer Nikon over Canon? What kind of budget camera should you get?

Having gear on my mind started a long time ago though. Before I was really into photography, I was lusting over guitar gear. I researched guitar equipment like nobody’s business. Towards the end of it, I was only interested in handmade amps and pedals. Even though I didn’t play that much, I kept getting newer and better things (if anyone’s interested in buying a Mesa traditional 4×12 slanted cab, please email me).

So, as I got into photography, I was able to keep in mind one of the lessons I learned from all my years of guitar gear hording. Make the most of what you have. If you aren’t using what you have to its fullest potential, buying more might just be a wasting your money. You just end up with more stuff that you’re not using to its fullest potential.

This can be a great motivator…in more than one way. On one hand, this mentality can force you to really see how far you can push your gear. Can your gear do justice to music shows? Is it possible to cover weddings? How about portraits when the sun is the backlight? (I’ll cover this in a future post.)
And once you hit your gear’s limitations, you’re forced to become creative. I don’t have a zoom that frames the photo the way I first imagined! How can you make it work? I don’t have flashes powerful enough to deal with the sun! Can you capture the feeling with silhouettes?

The mentality of using your gear to its fullest potential can also help motivate you if the desire for the coolest new gear pushes you to become prolific. Not that quantity trumps quality…but quantity can definitely teach you a whole lot and help develop better quality. Especially when you’re trying to push the limits of your gear…since that usually means you’re pushing your own limits too.

Maybe that means trying a new style of photography. Or maybe that means working on a project you’ve been putting off. But ownership of of a dSLR isn’t the first step in the process. (Though if you have one, this might be the time to take a more serious look at it.) If you want to become a better photographer, you can start with any point-and-shoot. It can even start with your camera phone.

During my years studying poetry, one piece of advice that always came up is that if you want to become a better writer, you have to be a better reader. Read. A lot.
And the same goes for photography. If you want to take better pics with whatever camera you have, start by looking at lots of pictures. What do you like about them? What catches your eye? Where is the subject placed? Is there some kind of action going on in them? How do items line up in the photos? Are there lines that go in a certain direction?

So, I’ll throw that out to you. Find some pics you like and comment with the link. What do you like? Why do you like it? You don’t have to know the answers yet…but it’s a good start to ask the questions.