by Yvette Depaepe

As we grow up, our thoughts and views on photography change and will no doubt continue to change.  Our first camera was a tool to record what we love with little thought to composition, lighting or creativity - just press the shutter and go. While these snapshots stir memories of events and places, it's difficult to categorize them as photography. Looking back, they are really more records of that time.

 

Just a paparazzo in action by John Wilhelm

For many of us, photography became a passion firmly based around trying to craft images.
If you photograph for yourself, it gives you freedom to capture what you want regardless of how many times it has been photographed before. The challenge is to place your own interpretation upon it.

Making the transition from simply recording images to crafting a vision is both difficult and stimulating. Being able to 'see' an image not for what it appears in reality but as a series of lines, shapes, color, form and texture is the most fundamental characteristic of our photographic development. Besides technical skills, our goal in photography always should be to capture the things that make life beautiful or sweet, the things that are here today, gone tomorrow.  Photography is a lifelong learning process.

Keep in mind this wonderful quote from Ansel Adams:
“The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.” 

Take your photography to the next level...

And more from Ansel Adams:
“No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit”.

Find your inner photographer…