Quotes, Thoughts on Photography

"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst."

Henri Cartier Bresson

 

I've been feeling a little low on inspiration lately. Maybe it's the winter coming on.

 

 

Anyway, when I feel this way, one thing I like to do is refer back to photographs by the masters. Today, I looked for quotes instead of pictures.

 

(Click Here) for 70 inspirational quotes on PetaPixel.

 

I chose the HCB quote above, since I have recently realized how many near-misses and just plain useless images I'm storing on my hard drives. I try to be careful in my shooting, rather than essentially taking videos and picking frames later on. That said, I need to be ever more careful. It's all worth it when I get a shot I love. But, being careful and taking fewer pictures actually leads to more keepers, at least for me.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Easy Post Today - Inspiration - Thanks to Evan Leavitt

I've been struggling for a subject today. Tired of reading about new digital gadgets, I wanted something with feeling. Here it is:

Image Source: http://evanleavittphotography.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/in-tune/

 

Man, I LOVE this. Just look at it for thirty seconds.

 

And shot with a Minolta Autocord, too!

 

(Click Here) to go to Evan's blog.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Skeletons From The Closet Supplement - Inspiring Blog About Minolta Autocord

 

Image Source: http://www.autocord.com/about/

 

While searching for some inspiration for getting out to shoot my Skeletons From The Closet camera for May, the Minolta Autocord, I came across an interesting blog by Agust Olafsson, specifically focused on using the Autocord.

 

(Click Here) to see my post introducing my Autocord.

 

 

 

Agust has a couple of interesting features on his blog.

 

(Click Here) to read about why he's chosen to commit a lot of time to using an Autocord.

 

Agust has also started a series of interviews with other photographers who use the Minolta Autocord.

 

(Click Here) to read the Autocord Interviews.

 

The last interview seems to have been posted back at the end of 2010. I wonder if I can revive Agust's series by offering to do an interview with him once I've produced some nice images with my Autocord? I may just have to give it a try.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Snow Flakes - Nice Winter Theme - No Excuses

 

Image Source: http://drawandshoot.me/2012/12/24/no-one-alike/

 

I am constantly on the lookout for inspiration. Sometimes, winter, even a relatively mild one, makes me feel devoid of good outdoor subject material for photography.

 

I found this great blog, "Draw and Shoot," run by Karen McRae of Ottawa, Canada that makes me feel like a whiner.

 

(Click Here) to go to Karen's blog.

 

If she can find so much inspiration in the Great White North (where they have real cold winters), then I have no excuses. Sometimes that message alone is enough to get me out searching again.

 

The moon and stars come out, even in winter...

 

The Moon and Stars, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF 28mm f2.8 Lens

iso 3200, f4, 1/15 sec.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Inspiration Requires Patience

 
I just read an excellent piece on Kirk Tuck's Visual Science Lab regarding how patience leads to inspiration in photography. His example is a commercial shoot of water treatment facilities.
 
(Click Here) to read Kirk's thoughts on the subject.
 
I once found a very sad and interesting place, a Mennonite Cemetery in Oklahoma,on the site where their church used to stand. It is now an open field, with only a few headstones, and the old church stairs.
 
 

Mennonite Church Stairs, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24mm f2.8D Lens

iso 400, f2.8, 1/100 sec

 
It is a sad place, in my opinion. These people were buried near their church, a place that felt like home to them. The church has been moved and restored, which is nice, I suppose. But, the graves are now left in this desolate place.
 
Anyway, this was an example of when it took me a good hour on the site to begin to capture pictures that I hope share how I feel about the place. This was no "swoop in, shoot it, be gone" situation. My tripod was a necessity to allow me to think and compose. Somehow in the end, it worked.
 

Sunset Over Mennonite Cemetery, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24mm f2.8D Lens

iso 400, f2.8, 1/2000 sec

 
 

Unknown Mennonite Grave Marker, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS Manual Focus Lens

iso 400, f2, 1/500 sec

 
DMC-365.blogspot.com