In June or July 2000, I first started with my d-SLR and at that time I thought my photography was hot stuff. There I was with a big heavy (manual) Minolta camera and a detachable lens! Well let me tell you a secret.
Back then, I really had NO idea what I was doing. Even though I never used full auto (the green box), I was a fan of the “face symbol” (portrait) and “running man” (sport) icons. I let the camera decide most of what happened. For my first few months using the Minolta manual camera, I had no idea what ISO, Aperture, and Speed really meant. I read the manual, joined some photography workshops to understand their purpose, especially understanding exposure, I also did a little research online but most of the time I practiced and practiced some more. A lot of times, I was impatient because photo printing or having your photos developed took so long.
Recently, I was looking through old photos from year 2002. I thought I would try something and play with the lights and to see if I can come up with a theme. I cringed. Then I analyzed a few more. The biggest things I noticed were underexposure and lack of clarity. My photos were NOT sharp and one after another were dark. Remember, I was in a form of “auto” mode. The camera is smart, but not that smart.
In early 2003, I joined another photography workshop. The workshop helped me understand more about cameras and how to operate them. I learned about the sources of lights, time of the day and lots of basic rules including the rule of the thirds, etc. I was in full manual mode for exposure and things improved a lot. I got so excited to learn more and to improve myself, I joined different kinds of photography workshops.
Also, whenever I can afford, I upgraded my lenses. I donated my old Minolta camera and tried Nikon which made a huge difference. But the biggest difference, in hindsight was learning to select my focus points in the back of my camera. When I was first learning, everyone said “focus and recompose.” And so, I did. This led to one soft or blurry image after another. My depth of field was somehow, a “come what may…” They were just never crisp.
Later in 2003, I landed on my first project and that was the Street Photography.
I experimented with all the icons of my camera just to compare the differences of images. What is it like to use the “auto” symbol or the “M-S-P-A”? At first, I didn’t see any difference, but you can tell, most of them were not sharp, not crisp.
Now that I am looking at them, I am laughing because back then, I thought they were okay, but I can tell you honestly, they are not tack sharp. I remember I had to asked someone to help me with focusing and capturing the subject that I wanted, until I was told that, I had to keep taking photos and choose which image best describe the current event or emotions. Journalism.
I enjoyed doing that freelance gig and enjoyed describing the photos. Working with the street children and documenting their life stories gave me mix emotions. It both beautiful and sad. It was an honor to witness the happenings in their lives.
Today, I am not going to share those street children photos. I was looking through my old photos and came across of some images that were supposedly for my 2008 photo exhibit in Thailand. We ended up not using these images because we changed the theme for the exhibit. Now I have time to re-edit them and I thought it would be nice to share some of them here.
These images remind me of the last project I had about stripes, two tones color in the wild. It was exciting because it allowed me to walk around the park where I saw different animals and able to observe their natures.
To sum up my thoughts, I am happy to share my mistakes with the world of photography because I believe that it is important to track your own growth as a photographer. You should only compare your photography to your own past work. If you start looking at other photographers, you will always find someone better than you, and some worse. And you will never gain self-confidence.
I want you to learn from my mistakes. If even a few people look back at their old photos today and see how they have grown, it is so much worth it. If you come back to this post and share a tip in the comments on what was instrumental in improving your photography, others can learn from you too. I expect to look back at my current work someday and think “wow, in 2012, I had no clue…”
Here’s an “instant flashback” of mine. I did a quick re-edit, which helped, but I know if I was in this same location today the photo would be much improved in focused, lighting, composition and more. As the unknown authored quote goes, “Strive to be a better version of yourself.”
Thank you for taking the time to read my rather lengthy note about photography today. Be passionate in what you do. Motivation and inspiration have always a way of coming to you.
Be well and stay safe, hopefully this global pandemic will soon be behind us! 🙏🌹
