Comments on: Becoming a Better Photographer

By: wolfnowl

wolfnowl — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:18:12 +0000

Hi Folks: Someone on the Luminous Landscape forum suggested I add Thomas Broening to this list - he's a photographer out of California. His website is: http://www.thomasbroening.com/ Mike.

By: wolfnowl

wolfnowl — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:01:34 +0000

Hi Tim, and thanks for dropping by! You are correct, of course. Perception is a very personal thing, and as our knowledge of photography grows and changes, so do our renderings of what we see.

Mike.

By: Tim Campbell

Tim Campbell — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:05:27 +0000

A great list Mike, I am always blown away by people who see things differently than me. I look back 5 years and how I see the world as a result of photography has greatly changed. I always think of photography as seeing and capturing. There are times when I have a blast seeing but am disappointed by my ability to capture what I saw and how I felt. I guess that is what keeps me trying.

Now that I found you musing I will be watching for new posts.

By: wolfnowl

wolfnowl — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:59:55 +0000

Hi Tim: Apparently my reply to your comment didn't get posted! Let's try this again. As I said originally, I certainly didn't leave you out on purpose. As I mentioned in the article, there was no way I could list all of the photographers that I have bookmarked, so I did my best to provide a wide cross section of work from landscape/ nature photographers to fashion photographers to wedding photographers, etc. After all, different people have differing tastes.

Nonetheless, I appreciate your stopping by and adding your URL to this page!

Mike.

By: wolfnowl

wolfnowl — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:59:05 +0000

Nonetheless, I appreciate your stopping by and adding your URL to this page!

Mike.

By: Tim Wolcott

Tim Wolcott — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:56:25 +0000

Mike I believe you have left out my name. As you have been commenting on my postings in Luminous Landscapes. I have been showing my work in major museums and galleries throughout the world since the age of 18. As you may or may not know, but I helped invent the Evercolor process. I also made the very first pigment inkjet and directed the movement of Pigment Inkjet process in the world. Anyway you cn see some of the things on my website and see the articles on there. Thanks Tim Wolcott www.galleryoftheamericanlandscape.com

By: wolfnowl

wolfnowl — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:16:26 +0000

Hi Kathy, and thanks for stopping by! Yes, we and our cameras do see quite differently… one of the big differences is that our brains filter what our eyes provide as input, so we see subjectively. The camera on the other hand sees objectively. You might not notice the tree growing out of the back of your subject's head, but your camera will record it without judgment.

Our eyes have a much higher dynamic range than can be captured with a camera so we automatically see details in the shadows and tone down the highlights so everything 'looks right'. Then there's depth of field, framing… the list goes on. Used judiciously, I think post-processing (Photoshop, Lightroom and the like) can help us to recreate what we saw in our minds from what the camera saw and recorded for us. Used with abandon, these same tools can help us create images that never occurred in the 'real' world at all.

BTW, George Barr posted an article on the Luminous Landscape today on 'Learning From the Best Images'. I highly recommend it.

Mike.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:00:47 +0000

Wow this post will keep me busy for quite awhile! I'm a very amateur photographer, but I love taking photos and always have. It helps me see the world, to notice what I otherwise might not notice. One thing I noticed while capturing fungi in the woods the other day (with the camera) was how differently the camera and I see. I won't go into the details here. I will say, I got a new appreciation for the difference and I think that may lead me somewhere. Thanks for this!