A curve ball to the Pro's

Not really a curve ball to the pro's on this forum, but a request from a keen learning photographer.

Would it be possible to have a discussion on the making of one of your photographs. Maybe a photo or two to show the wider or bigger picture and then the "killer" shot with your thought process making that "killer" shot. A newby to photography would learn a tremendous amount from such a discussion (and other's comments on what they would have done)

A thought only,
Geurt

Geurt,

If/when we implement the "chat" feature then we plan on having such discussions on a scheduled basis. Perhaps one of us can post a pair of images in one of the galleries to discuss.

All that being said by far the best way to get into the head of a pro is to take a workshop with them. I know this costs money, but there are some reasonable workshops out there. I can tell you this was the springboard for my own photography.

For what it's worth, I'll be happy to share the stories behind any of my images. Can't guarantee they'll always be interesting, but feel free to ask about any image on my site (if you pick one, I can post a larger version to the Landscape forum along with my notes).

Guy

Guy Tal wrote:For what it's worth, I'll be happy to share the stories behind any of my images. Can't guarantee they'll always be interesting, but feel free to ask about any image on my site (if you pick one, I can post a larger version to the Landscape forum along with my notes).

Guy

Same goes for me, but not sure if you are a bird shooter or otherwise

Guy, I'd love to take you up on your offer, thanks.

Greg, I'm a little far from your neck of the woods to attend a workshop there.

Thanks for considering,
Geurt

I like this idea alot. I brought this up myself once on another forum but it went nowhere. I think alot could be learned.

Agree with the point about workshops providing a real boost in capability, and I plan on taking one as soon as the time and $$ allow.

Question for those who do run workshops: How far along in the photo learning journey should one be to really benefit from a workshop? As for me, I guess I don't feel my work is ready yet to benefit enough, although my wife tells me it is

This is is my road map to try to obtain good pictures of birds:

EDUCATION PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BIRDS:

1. Carry all the time your camera and gear on the trunk of your car (secured by steel chain).

2. Take notes about your mistakes and different peculiarities of photographic locations (kind of birds, better light, seasonal changes etc). With digital pictures make a habit of always look at the metafiles and the histograms.

3. Take a lot of pictures, experiment with different films,ISO settings and lenses. Trow away any unsharp, dull poorly composed pictures. Make a collection of "jewels" have a good file system.

4. Take a ornithology course.

5. Read the section of birds in the Britannica Enciclopedia.

6. Take a photography class at a community college.

7. Read bird and nature photography books by good authors: Morris, McDonald, Shaw, Lepp, Fitzharris, Lanting, Vezo. Freeman Patterson.

8. Subscribe and read magazines. (birds world, Bird and blooms, Texas parks and Wild Life. Wildbirds).

9. Join a camera club.

10. Send free submissions of bird photographies to magazines.

11. Participate en a wild life photo contest.

12. Join local birders club.

13. Give lectures in elementary schools or senior citizens groups about birds.

14. Attend bird photography workshops with Mr. A. Morris, Joe McDonald, Charles Melton (Hummingbirds). Charles Glatzer, Greg et.

15. Attend photo safaries.

16. Travel to bird spot destinations. (Costa Rica, Galapagos etc).

17. Visit Zoos especially aviaries.

18. Surf the net, book mark: photonet, nature photographer. narurescapes.net. Web pages of nature photographers. Johnshawphoto.com naturalexposures.com
camerahunter.com
unep-photo.com
hoothollow.com
rmsp.com
flash.net/~proslide
naturetl.com
skoury.com
ethanmeleg.com
wildflorida.net
luminous Landscape. etc.


19-Push the envelope; try new techniques or expand on old ones. This might mean trying very slow shutter speeds, or using stacked 2X TCs.

20: Take a walk down a beach with only a hand-holdable intermediate telephoto.

21: Try new perspectives. Many folks simply do not understand that changing perspective is a way to control the juxtaposition of the various design elements in an image. By moving left or right, or up or down, you are able to re-design the image that you are trying to create.

22: Move your tripod. Too many folks put their tripod in one spot and do not move it for hours.

23: Get up early. Stay out late.

24: Go to the same spots year after year. Learn the subjects. Learn the light. Connect with the soul of the place.

25: Go to new spots. Your creative juices may just get a jolt from the new subjects that you encounter.

26 Look at as many great images as is humanly possible, including and especially each year's BG/BBC Portfolio and the Inner Reflections calendar. Often grab a concept or a technique from a macro or scenic photographer or photograph and apply it to bird photography.

29 Use flash more in difficult or seemingly impossible situations (a la Franz Lanting).

30: Look at the world and then ask, "What exactly is it that excites me?" Then use a long lens to capture just that on film.

31: Observe others and learn from what they are doing.

32: Be afield with a good friend, or better yet, with someone you love.

33: Be with others if that is your style, be by yourself it that is you or fits your needs on a given day.

34. Master Photoshop.

33. Create a web page and encourage criticism from others

Ken Kovak wrote:I like this idea alot. I brought this up myself once on another forum but it went nowhere. I think alot could be learned.

Agree with the point about workshops providing a real boost in capability, and I plan on taking one as soon as the time and $$ allow.

Question for those who do run workshops: How far along in the photo learning journey should one be to really benefit from a workshop? As for me, I guess I don't feel my work is ready yet to benefit enough, although my wife tells me it is

Some folks, myself included, cater to beginner/intermediate photographers on some workshops. I would contact specific workshop instructors that you are interested in for more information about what they offer and what the requirements are (if any).

Ken,

The benefits of taking a workshop really depend upon your style of learning. For me, I took my first workshop one year into photography. I will be the first to admit that I was very much a novice on all fronts: artistic considerations, understanding the technicals, using my gear, everything.

The instructor held us all to a high standard and taking the workshop was one of the most pivotal moments in my photography. I learned from the instructor as well as from the other participants. I began to look at my images more objectively from the critiques.

I learn very well by example and interaction with other photographers, but my ability to retain information is helped by being able to draw on a little bit of experience first. For example, I had to post a number of images with a slight green color cast to them for me to understand the importance of white balance. For someone to explain it to me beforehand it might have been lost on me (or maybe not). When I had real life experience to connect the information with it helped.

Hope this perspective is helpful to you.