I guess I'm getting serious about photography now!
I've done photography for decades, with no formal training. Now that I've retired I've been taking a photography course a semester - so this fall will be my third. I just sent a note to the head of the photography department asking about the possibility of changing from non-degree to degree seeking/photography major. (It would be my 2nd bachelor's degree - and it looks like I'd have to do 30 hours of courses for the degree - but possibly more for the major (it has a lot of non-photography requirements as prerequisites I'd need to go back and pick up).)
I'm also doing more photography for others. I started with a project featuring my CSA (I posted some of those images here earlier). I just got done with a photo shoot for a new local theater group - and discovered one of the photos from the shoot in the local paper! They didn't credit me . . . but it's fun anyway. (I gave them a largely unlimited license to use my images and didn't require credit . . . and they are a bit disorganized so I'm guessing the person who passed the photo on didn't know my name, or didn't think about it.)
It's the second time I've had a photo featured in the BJ - the first was years ago when I took top prize in a contest of photos featuring pets.
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i tried to view your photo but the BJ website is for subscribers only. where can we see your work? do you have an instagram or flickr account? what kinds of photography are you drawn to (i.e. fine art, street photography, architectural, photojournalism, portraiture, etc)?
...and in honor of your DU name, here's a cane toad i photographed in my studio a couple years back:
I know I'm not supposed to, since she's invasive. But she can't help it if stupid humans transported her to places outside of south/central America.
I have pretty broad interests in photography - and haven't settled on a particular one yet. My Color III class, for example was mostly self-directed (it was small and combined with the final course for majors - and there were only two of us in Color III). My weekly projects were mastering color manipulation in Photoshop (correcting color in underwater images; I'm used to using Paintshop Pro), macro, event - focusing on spontaneous interactions, and story-telling ((1) fixed in place - focusing on the final resting place of an early community resident) and (2) getting ready for the 2023 farm season at my CSA).
At the end of my first critique, the instructor asked what I wanted to do next, and my response was "not people," and then I went to my nephew's baby shower and they wanted pictures but didn't have a photographer - and I had my camera - so that was my second project. What I hate are posed people photos - so from that aspect, what I'm drawn to is something close to street photography - spontaneous but focused around a specific event (lots of theater, very young children at church camp, my nephew's baby shower). In film/B&W - more landscapes, although I dabbled in less traditional portraits. Formal story-telling is new to me - I've previously looked at stand-alone photos (or themed collections of photos) rather than story-telling. I don't know where that is going yet - but if I go through with a major, the CSA project may end up being my senior project.
I have a good eye for composition and for taking/selecting photos that capture human interactions.
I don't yet have a place online where you can go to see my photos. I've been thinking about building one since I think some of my photos are marketable. I posted a couple of threads here earlier.
https://democraticunderground.com/1036108188 (Photo of a B&W film shot - so quality is much lower than the original)
https://democraticunderground.com/1036112182 (macro)
https://democraticunderground.com/1036113468 (story-telling - view from a fixed location (a grave) - there were 10 images in this collection)
https://democraticunderground.com/1036114380 (story-telling - preparing the farm for the annual CSA - the series includes images of people I don't have permission to share online)
Here's the image that was in the Beacon Journal. Some people seem to be able to see it - and others not. (They do have a pay-wall, so I'm not sure if it is timing.)
(It's a black-box theater, the series was taken in a single viewing with only natural lighting using a camera with a crop sensor - so I was pushing my camera, and my luck! I usually do these shoots over a series of days and know when the magic moments are, and what adjustments I need to make for lighting - and I've never shot in a black box theater before which really messes with exposure.)
i remember seeing the self portrait when you posted it.
i don't know where you're at, but i get back to the US every couple months....if i'm ever near your town, i'd like to do some shooting with you.
keep photographing people...it will grow on you. i don't do enough of it but i want to do more. here's an "environmental" portrait i did a few years ago. i call it "el viverista" which is "the nurseryman" in spanish. i wish i had gotten his arms and hands in the shot, but i'm so obsessed with detail and i really wanted his eyes to stand out and if i stood back for a wider view, i'm afraid that would have all been lost. i'm learning every day.
