A Waiting Game

I'm always learning new ideas and re-discovering old ones. Over the last week, we have been down south near the little country town of Pingrup. On our way home, storms were brewing all over the place and the skies were simply majestic.

Unfortunately, the car we were driving had no headlights and we were in a race against the sun to make it before dusk. We stopped a number of times on the way home for photographs. However, one particular spot outside Nyabing we encountered one of the numerous salt lakes. I jumped out of the car and ran to the lake. As you can imagine, the beautiful but fleeting light on the pink lake faded as I approached. I felt impatient and was keen to get back on the road. However, after making a quick judgement on the cloud situation I forced myself to wait out for almost 10 minutes (which seems MUCH longer when in a rush). To my delight, the sun began slowly to creep out from amidst the clouds. Once the lake was again lit up beautifully, I took my shot. Eager to get back on the road, I departed as did the light once more.

It was a great reminder for me to WAIT [and potentially wait and wait and wait] especially on those days when light might seem to be doing all the wrong things. Although I'll leave that particular salt lake photo for my next exhibition, the photo I took from our backyard that evening demonstrates the same principle for the light leaves as quickly as it first came.

Achievable and Visible Goals

This post may be more of a reminder and a blog to me than to anybody else. However, I'm sure it will be helpful to you also if you are currently working on a project or two.

The feeling of succeeding at a task is very rewarding. It is often that the VERY important tasks have little to help you visualise that success. For example, it is almost beyond our field of view to experience the long term benefits of building a stronger relationship with a close friend or a spouse. Alternatively, from a teaching perspective it is rare joy (even for those teachers who have been educating for many years) to see a struggling student showing REAL value for important things.

Some simple but effective advice I was once given divulges the idea of goal structuring. Rather than creating one ominous mountain of an end point, one should instead break that goal into many PRACTICAL parts each of which are achievable and visible in themselves. Mastering photography can appear an insurmountable goal at times. Do not lose the vision. I have three helpful hints (all of which are useful to remember in many situations) that I have found to be effective in dismantling such a goal:

1. DEFINE your goals. Do your best to describe exactly what it is about your photography you would like to achieve. Be as specific as possible. Ask yourself (and answer) a million questions about where you want your photography to be in 10 years. Do you want to have X number family photo albums every year? do you want to have taken X number of GOOD portrait shots (you'll know which ones fit that category)? Do you want a full-time job in the industry? What photography field do you want to exploit?

What is the NEXT step you need to take in order to get there?
What is the one after THAT?

Remember, to begin with at least, keep targets TANGIBLE.

2. GET active. Use practical, affordable, and viable methods to further motivate your photography. Enter competitions, volunteer your skills, join a photography club, apply for paid photographic work, share your work with others. Here are a few links for some clubs and competitions:

Competitions

Foto Freo

Better Digital Camera

The York Society

River Guardians 

Perth Centre for Photography 

City of Stirling

Clubs

WAPF

Workshop Camera Club - Riverton

Links to other Metro Camera Clubs

3. PERSEVERE. The capacity for a person to achieve success does not lie in their natural and developed skills, but rather in their ability to push themselves beyond their comfort zone in order to achieve their goal. Practically speaking, once you reach one of your mini targets, take it further than you had initially planned. Instead of doing your scheduled weekly photo-shoot, throw in an extra shoot on a whim (even if you don't feel like it) or shoot for 20 minutes longer than planned. Idea: take 10 photos in situations where you feel UNcomfortable in doing so.

All the best!!

"...You Must Have A Great Camera"

I guess I don't usually like to talk about this very much as I'm fairly limited in this department. However, it strikes me as something which people often seem to comment about. For example, I again received the comment from a bystander whilst removing artwork from the walls of my recent exhibition:

                               "I love your photography! ... You must have a great camera."

I have decided to take this sort of comment as a compliment rather than an insult as I think the former was the desired intent. It does, however, raise the question about what photographic gear is required in order to get the images you would like to have.

Whilst every photographer would dream of having a limitless budget for the equipment they require, those people who actually do are in a very small minority. There are usually at least two or three things (either accessories or major gear items) that one COULD purchase given the finances. Yes, I'm still working with the DSLR I bought when I left school, however there are a few tips here which may contribute to the topic.

1. Obviously, you want to get stuff that is going to last and is also suitable for the task. When shooting for a particular purpose, do make sure you have the ESSENTIAL gear to go with you. For landscapers, that might simply be: camera, tripod, computer/software. For portrait artists/wedding photographers, this could include: camera, Even if this item is not the best on the market, it is FAR better than nothing. I've seen some decent deals on gumtree and eBay for second hand goods that would suffice.

2. If possible when purchasing gear, find pieces of equipment that will be TRANSFERABLE. Two examples here. First example: I recently upgraded my tripod to one I am very happy with. The old [6 years] was cheap, light, and rather wobbly. The new cost more, but weighs almost 3 kg and is quite solid. Specs aside, it can be transferred to ANY camera I own in the future. Second example: Although sometimes expensive, you may choose to purchase a good filter or set of filters. You could buy the shown filter specific for your lens size - without an adapter, it will remain limited to THAT filter size.

OR, you could purchase a filter SYSTEM which allows you to transfer filters from lens to lens and hence from camera to camera. I use one similar to this.

Cokin Filter System

3. Work with the gear you already have. Especially if you are limited financially, it is far more cost efficient to simply use the equipment you already own. As frustrating as this may be, sometimes reality must play some role in the decisions you make. On the positive side of this, have a look at this previous post to see that sometimes your limitations make your photography stronger.

Photography On A Theme

     
           While sometimes it feel if I don't know what to shoot or simply feel the need to get some photos, I have stumbled on something that works for me. The idea of this is to develop a theme around which to shoot. It is a simple idea that can involve endless possibilities if you are willing to give it a go. I currently have a few themes on the go, which means if I get the camera itch at any time, I can find something quickly to shoot. It also helps to make the most of every opportunity - in most situations, there would be SOMETHING to fit into one of my themes. The final benefit I have found regarding this idea is that it gives more variation to my photography. It broadens the way I view things around me and allows me to pay attention to things I may otherwise pass by.
                Additional ideas I think about as I go about these various themed shots are the basic things such as compositions, subject matter, and perspective. By practising the thought processes, they will become more second nature in future photography.

India Update No. 4

In advance, my apologies for the long post. It includes a range of photos from our recent trip to India.

Returning from India was quite a relief in a few ways. I had slowly built up an irritation towards to chaos which seems to surround the country. I was getting fairly frustrated with the lack of regulations in every industry. So, it was good to back home. However, being thrust back into a country with myriad regulations on every action can also be a bit of a shock to the system. 

There were lots of unique flowers and plants, but also found LOTS of eucalypts in the hill country. 

The cities are pretty crazy, with motorbikes the norm. Rickshaws are a very common way to get around in the towns and cities. However, you MUST be aware for many of the drivers will try their best to scam as much money as they can - in any way possible.

 The train system is well developed and a great way to get around especially if you take the overnight sleeper trains. I've heard that the sleeper buses are also quite good. It is a nice way to view sunrise and sunset by leaning out the open doors of the carriages - safely of course.

Although there seems to be much animal life, most of the animals are either tame or domesticated. The cow is sacred to the many Hindu people - hence the reason why cows roam the streets and countryside. 

We found the hill country to be the nicest. This particular house is of the Lincolns who pastor the local church close to the town of Ooty. 

These are some snapshots of a pretty typical market. It doesn't do justice to the noise and mayhem of the marketplaces there. Crowded. Loud. Colourful. Vivacious. Zoetic. Bounteous. Everyone there is putting there best into making a rupee or two, including the snake charmer who whipped out his [illegal] cobra as we passed by.

The backwaters in the state of Kerala are definitely worth the visit. It was a peaceful way to spend the day, yet it remained impossible to escape the ubiquitous clutter and pollution.

Although I had a fairly disappointing experience in losing about half of my photos on a dodgy thumb drive, I thought I would move on and upload some of the photos which I have enjoyed from the trip. India is an interesting country, but is not one that has a surplus of untouched natural beauties. Keep Australia beautiful!

Less Than 5 More Days!

Since it is now January, the last chance to head down and view the exhibition at Fidel's Bar and Cafe will be Monday the 9th of January.

If you haven't yet been down to see it, feel free to go have a look in the next couple of days or on the weekend. These are the works on display. After the 9th, they will be relocated to various places around the South-West, including Tanglefoot Winery.

A note on the NEXT EXHIBITION: Over the past month or so, I have been very pleased with the response from this first exhibition.This blog will be updated with any news of future exhibitions. Each of the works on display will be photographs that have neither been displayed on the internet nor have been previously exhibited. It will be entirely NEW.