My first REAL thought...

I want to be a pro photographer.......again.......

I have been thinking about this for some time now and finally decided to put it down on paper (sorry, computer). I will give some background first, so you get the feel from where I come.

I started photography in high school, around 1974. After school, I kept most of my 35mm gear, Nikon FM and a few lenses but did not do that much, just things for my personal use. In 1981, having worked many jobs that just did not feel “right”, I put all my effort into a photo business. I started with myself and my girlfriend, she worked with a local photographer. She quit him and decided to go along for the ride and see where it would take us. We both worked very hard and after a couple of hard years, we were doing 75-100 weddings a year and 300-400 seniors, 7 days a week, 5am till, somedays, midnight. It was great!!! NOT!!! After 4 years I felt burnt out and wanted to slow down. She did not. We split everything, she when her way and me mine.

Well, here it is, 2009 and I am still doing photography. Not as much, but enough to keep me happy. I made the switch to digital about 4 years ago after shooting Hasselblad for about 16 years.

Here is where I want to talk about my heading, “I want to be a pro photographer....again.....” I find that when I was shooting film, I knew that everytime I hit the shutter, a little voice would go off in my head saying “ that is costing you $1.50”. I found myself making sure every shot was right, lighting, eyes open, everyone looking at me. Everything was just as it should be. Back in the 90’s, I would shoot about 200 proofs at a wedding and give the couple 180-200 proofs. There was a very small amount of “throw outs”.

I find now, with digital, I will take 300-500 shots and give 250-350 shots. Loads of “throw outs”. I believe this comes from the thinking that anything can be fixed in PS so why worry about problems. I am not printing everything as I can edit them out. Other than knowing about lighting, Composition and knowing how to time photos, are we becoming just a little bit better than “uncle harry”? Firing off 5-6 shots of the same thing, knowing that one of them has to be good, but when shooting film with the $1.50 a shot running through my head, I would take more time, think more and get that great shot in 1 or 2, and both were great!

I am not condemning digital, just trying to understand it. Is it making us better photographers, or less thinking photographers. There is more to think about setting wise with digital, but less in the taking of photographs. I remember days when shooting landscapes that I would wait hours for the lighting to be right, the clouds to look right, and everything would come together in a photo that took no burning or dodging, just a great photo, right out of the camera. It was like the best sex of my life.

So what I am saying, with regards to my heading is, was I a better, more thinking photographer when I shot film, taking time to understand all the elements of taking the photo over just taking a series of photos with the hopes of getting the one I want?

That is it, just had to get that off my mind. I still have my Hassey gear and use it when I can. It feels so right in my hands. My Nikon D300 is great for work and those quick times when I need it now, but the Hassey is my love and will be forever. I would never sell it. It takes great photos today, just as it did new over 16 years ago.

This I am adding after reading this over and over. I just finished a 5 day hike into the Cascade Mountains and decided to carry my old Nikon FM2 loaded with the new Kodak Ektar 100 film. It was such a great time, thinking about every shot I took, manual focusing each shot, thinking about the light. It made me think so much that when I came back I went out and took my D300 set in manual mode, set my SB 600 to manual and started re-thinking everything. WOW, what a difference. It has given my digital photos that feel I was wanting. The feel I had when shooting film.

So, maybe I am a “pro photographer....again”, I just had to pick up the film camera and re-live the past to bring me into the future......

Randy