The Photographic Journey

I have been thinking about what a friend of mine said when commenting on our growth when we practice our photography.  He spurred thoughts in my mind of the journey we experience through photography. To me photography is a perfect blend of technical/scientific knowledge and skills with artistic presentation/interpretation.  These two aspects of our passion make us pay attention to many small details in the natural world that others are not even aware are there.  They look at the large scenes in front of them but miss the smaller details that make what they are looking at special.

That said, it is the journey we, as photographers, travel to get to a point that we are true observers.  We start off excited about just being in an iconic location or seeing that polar bear for the first time.  We have learned all about the exposure triangle and exposure compensation. We work hard to apply the technical things we have learned in recording what we see in front of us.  However, did we really “see” the details?  Did we really capture images that truly express the message that “nature” is sending us?

I often find that I learn a lot about what I photographed after I get home and process the images on the computer. I re-live the entire experience, concentrating on details, some of which I “saw” during the photo session and others I didn’t “see” until looking at my monitor.  This tells me that I still have a long way to go in the journey. Of course, it is the journey that is the most fun and most treasured. I hope that for all of us we never feel we have completed it.

Thanks for reading this.
Ed

Well said!

I like it!

I am definitely "more in the moment" when I am looking at my subject throuth the viewfinder and selecting which moment and composition to capture than ever I was when wildlife viewing up close or through binoculars, before I could afford the big lens and expensive camera bodies.

Phil Shaw wrote:I am definitely "more in the moment" when I am looking at my subject throuth the viewfinder and selecting which moment and composition to capture than ever I was when wildlife viewing up close or through binoculars, before I could afford the big lens and expensive camera bodies.

Same here.  In the moment.