As you will know I am a keen amateur (very amateur) photographer. It's something that has always interested me and finally, in the last year or so, I have gotten to grips with trying to actually be good at taking pictures.
I have my Canon450D with standard 18-55 kit lens, a couple of weeks ago I purchased a Canon Speedlite 430EX ll flash and last week I got myself a Canon EF 70-300 IS USM lens. Great I thought, now I'm all set to take awesome (yes America I'm stealing that word back for a while) photos.
So there I was at the weekend, visiting some good friends of ours, when I whipped it out (steady missus keep your curlers in I'm talking about the camera) and started clicking away with the big one. I got some good shots, while wandering around between the garden and the house, but as I tried to get a nice picture of their new born baby girl as she lay in her basket, I hit upon a problem. With my 18-55 lens I couldn't get a good enough frame without going so close that I blocked out most of the light (I didn't want to use the flash so close to the baby as she was sleeping) and with the 70-300 lens I couldn't get in focus without stepping so far back the basket obscured half of her face. I had a problem, yes indeed, I had a problem. And so it was that when I got home I explained to my lovely wife exactly why I would have to get another lens. (You can imagine the reaction) I don't think she was convinced. That is until she tried to take a picture of a meal she had made to put on her blog. Once again, using the small lens she had to go too close and the big lens too far away. Now she understood.
So I've been looking for a lens (I already had the Canon 100mm Macro lens on my list) and yea so it was that I found one, in the shape of the Canon (I'm consistent aren't I) 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS USM. The perfect solution. All I have to do is wait for one to come in stock at the suppliers that I have started using. MPBPhotgraphic, I highly recommend them. Dealers in used but high quality equipment, their prices usually beat just about everywhere else I have looked.
But this led me to thinking, when does it stop? I mean at what point do you actually have all that you need. I have 2 lenses (3 if I include the great lensbaby kit I have) and an external flash, I have a tripod and a kit bag. I want a macro lens and now I know I need another lens as well. I know that at some point I will have to get a reflector or 2 for taking good portraits both indoors and out. then later down the line I may discover that I need a second (of camera) flash or some other kind of studio lighting. And I'm sure a few years down the line the need for an updated camera will pop up. And then I'll have my tea pot and my tea cup, all I'll need is a tea bag. Hmmm, a tea bag, is that something that might interest you my friend? A tea bag.... Sorry I became possessed by Stewie Griffin there for a second. Where was I, oh yes. Photography.
Anyway, I decided to shake myself free of the vices of needing more kit and thought I would see if there were any local camera clubs or something of the like. Just to mix it up with other, slightly less amateurish than me, photographers out there. And what do you know, I found one. Yipee I thought. A chance to get in with some peeps and suck their brains dry (to quote Michael Ironside in Scanners) Clicking on the link that google threw up I found my self immersed in their website. Noooooo, the home page hadn't been updated since 2010. What does this mean, I thought to myself, have they ceased to be. A quick click on the events tab put my worries to rest. They still had things planned for the rest of this year. Ah, excellent I thought. And then it happened, as I knew it would. The great spanner that always makes an appearance at these times made its appearance and threw itself right into the centre of the works. You see, I had decided to check out the galleries on the site created by some of the clubs members. I don't know who these people are or how long they have been taking photographs but the club leader, treasurer, head honcho, the big man, what ever name you want to give him, was there. His gallery was at the top. Good, good, I thought in my most sinister manner, let me see what kind of photo graphical trickery I can pick from their minds. I delved into his gallery.
Now let me just remind you that I am in no way a professional photographer, not even a semi professional, not even an almost semi professional. I am an amature, about as amature as you can get. If there is a scale that has the most Uber Professional at the top of it then you will find me right down (keep going, that's it, further, just a little bit more) somewhere beyond what you can see with the naked eye, there you will find me. So as you can see I make no claims to be a good photographer. Lets face it, we've all done it haven't we. We lift up a camera (thinking, how hard can it be) we point and click. Then we pat our selves on the back thinking, see I knew it was easy. But then we get to look at what we shot and it's at that point we realise, there just might be more to it than we thought. And that's why I attending a photography course last year and why I am still reading, experimenting and seeking advice. I may not be a great photographer but I like to think I am getting better and improving all the time. Hopefully. So now I've cleared that up let me get back to what I was saying.
I checked out these galleries by the members of this club. There was, I think, 2 photos that impressed me. The rest ranged from average to just down right dull and some were bordering on awful, just awful. And yet these were the guys that went out together, clicking away at this that and the other. They should be bouncing ideas off each other all the time, pushing each other to improve and try new things. And yet here were these pictures that they obviously thought were good enough to display on line. So I clicked away from their website, disappointed and frustrated. Thinking I'll just try to find some peeps my self that are into photography and start my own Photography (and beer. After all it is me) group. Watch this space, you could be watching a long time though.....
One last thing. Just because you make a picture black and white doesn't immediately make it a good picture. It just becomes a bad picture, in black and white.
Does this post make me sound bad, do I come off as a bit of a photography snob. Believe me I'm not. I just want to learn. But I want to learn from people who actually have something to teach and ideas to share. Not a bunch of folks who just go out and click away without any kind of personal critique. I may sound a little harsh but I'm harsh on my own work so I'm not going to be anything less on other peoples.
One day I will be UBER but for now I'm just a little bit better than crap :o)
Till next time.....
The Voice has spoken
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