Taking photos
When I bought Frankie in November, I knew this year was going to bring me a lot of photos. I knew that I was going to take more photos, that most would be crappy, but that in time they will be better. Sadly though, I have not been using Frankie as much as I want to. I guess I am too much of a sucker for instant gratification that having to wait for the photos to be processed (and bringing the film for processing) just isn’t working well for me. The functions of the camera are just not making much sense for me because I don’t see the results right away. Even if I see the photos after processing, I don’t know the settings I used anymore. There’s probably a method to it, but I don’t have that method as of yet.
So am I giving up on Frankie? No no no. If anything, I want to find more time and opportunity to use her and learn her secrets.
Doing Project365 this year was a very good decision. I find myself putting thought into photos I take. I don’t just point and shoot anymore. Okay, that’s a lie, I still do. But I think of ways to make a photo look better without resorting to post-editing them with software that’s always readily available to me. I think about the pros and cons of using flash, and I try to adjust ISO on my digicam too. With a digicam, it’s so easy to do this. To shoot, check, adjust, re-shoot. With Frankie, it’s impossible.
When I’m using the digicam instead of my camera phone to shoot a photo for the day, I usually take so many shots before I decide on the best one to use. It’s like kissing so many frogs before finding my prince charming. Surprisingly, I don’t get frustrated with the whole process. I don’t mind re-shooting. I guess that’s because most of my subjects are inanimate. So if I’d have to take photos of moving and breathing stuff – that would probably kill me. Haha.
*Background paper is from Valorie Brown’s Ture Colors Kit
Project 365 – The {Newbie} Photographer
January 19, 2010 @ 6:54 pm
[…] What is Project 365? Started in 2004 by a certain Taylor McKnight, Project 365 is all about capturing one photo a day for 365 straight days. Although he started on the first of January, there is no strict rule that says you can’t start at any other day of the year. Others start their project the day after the birth of a baby, or perhaps the day after their own birthdays. It doesn’t really matter when you decide to start your Day One, for as long as you faithfully take a photo for each day since. What do you do with your photos? If you have an existing blog, a daily photo ensures that you never have to think of a blog topic again. However, you may also want to start a separate Photo Blog just for your P365 photos. I have setup one over at this wonderful service that I just recently discovered: Aminus3. Checkout my 2010 Project 365 there. With a photoblog like that on Aminus3, you can be assured that your photo becomes the center of your post. You can also find WordPress and Blogger themes that would work just as well for this purpose. You might also want to join the Project 365 Flickr group. I think Mr. McKnight continues to participate there. I chose to join a smaller group though, Shutter Sisters’ Project 365 Flickr Pool. If you start the project with some of your friends, then you can go ahead and start your on pool at Flickr, or even setup a group blog. Multiply is also a good social networking site that makes it so easy to share photos and order prints. Consider sharing your photos there too. A friend of mine posts her photos on her blog, and on her Facebook wall. It’s really up to you what you do with your photos, but P365 gets more exciting when you share it with others Why take a photo each day? It’s a way to document your daily life. Someday you might have the need to look back and reflect on your previous life, and having these photos as prompts may prove to be useful. It’s also a wonderful way of reminding ourselves that life is filled with moments – happy, sad, triumphant – moments of many different emotions. Taking daily photos also pushes you creatively. You will eventually look for something new in your own photographs. You will demand something different. So even if you don’t set out to improve your photography through Project 365, you may just find that by the end of the project, you will see progress. Early in the project last year, I observed this. […]
Project 365 – The {Newbie} Photographer
January 19, 2010 @ 6:54 pm
[…] What is Project 365? Started in 2004 by a certain Taylor McKnight, Project 365 is all about capturing one photo a day for 365 straight days. Although he started on the first of January, there is no strict rule that says you can’t start at any other day of the year. Others start their project the day after the birth of a baby, or perhaps the day after their own birthdays. It doesn’t really matter when you decide to start your Day One, for as long as you faithfully take a photo for each day since. What do you do with your photos? If you have an existing blog, a daily photo ensures that you never have to think of a blog topic again. However, you may also want to start a separate Photo Blog just for your P365 photos. I have setup one over at this wonderful service that I just recently discovered: Aminus3. Checkout my 2010 Project 365 there. With a photoblog like that on Aminus3, you can be assured that your photo becomes the center of your post. You can also find WordPress and Blogger themes that would work just as well for this purpose. You might also want to join the Project 365 Flickr group. I think Mr. McKnight continues to participate there. I chose to join a smaller group though, Shutter Sisters’ Project 365 Flickr Pool. If you start the project with some of your friends, then you can go ahead and start your on pool at Flickr, or even setup a group blog. Multiply is also a good social networking site that makes it so easy to share photos and order prints. Consider sharing your photos there too. A friend of mine posts her photos on her blog, and on her Facebook wall. It’s really up to you what you do with your photos, but P365 gets more exciting when you share it with others Why take a photo each day? It’s a way to document your daily life. Someday you might have the need to look back and reflect on your previous life, and having these photos as prompts may prove to be useful. It’s also a wonderful way of reminding ourselves that life is filled with moments – happy, sad, triumphant – moments of many different emotions. Taking daily photos also pushes you creatively. You will eventually look for something new in your own photographs. You will demand something different. So even if you don’t set out to improve your photography through Project 365, you may just find that by the end of the project, you will see progress. Early in the project last year, I observed this. […]