To be you or to be me? That is the real question.

3n-out3n-out Registered Users Posts: 155 Major grins
edited January 16, 2008 in Finishing School
First off I want to add this first and foremost this is a topic that for some reason I can't get off my mind. By posting it I'm either gonna shot myself in the foot or make some sense And it is short of digital theropy for me so -heh - here goes.

First a little about myself and what I do - I'm a seasoned IT pro of 25 years. Yeah got into the biz of computers way back in 81' and have been in the industry for many years. You know, the kind that has all those capital letters after their name. LOL - like that ever meant anything. :)

I've been taking photo's since 78' since I got my first camera a Canon AE-1 - which I still own and still works like new. Shot for the high school news paper/yearbook. Spent my Highschool years growing up in England were my father was stationed in the Military at Lakenheath.

Got my first "Real" SLR a Canon T-90 in 80'-81'. I never developed wet, just used the corner drug store - or the cheapest place I could find back then for my prints. Never made a dime of my photo's until I shot a soccer game last year and some how managed to pocket about eleven bucks.

I've been lucky enough to have been around and had access to Photoshop since pretty much its inception. It always intrigued me and have used it for 15 years at least. I guess the point I'm getting to is the art of it all. And this is what is really urking me as I read all these forums.

The way I see it Photography is an Art - like Photoshop. With introduction of digital cameras came digital post processing. Photoshop was around way before the standard Joe could even afford a digital camera mind you. The "Pro's" if you will have been using digital cameras much longer then the standard Joes - therefore they are Photography Artists first and foremost. They had to learn and are still learning Photoshop.

Then on the other side of the spectrum we have the computer minded folks that got into Photoshop before they could afford a digital camera. You know then web orentied guys, that's where photoshop got it's kickstart IMO. These guys understand art - why? Because they were always striving for that differnt look.

What I see here and I see it a lot is we want to "copy" a look or have that look. There are some of Photog's here that I see that are very good at "Their" look. I like that there are some Dgrinners/smuggies that could care less what anyone thinks and are very content with what they produce and That is "Art".

Art is a very personal thing to me, to my photography and my post processing techniques. An artist does that, and that artist will have his spin on every piece he/she does. It eventually gets to the point that every piece you do has a piece of yourself. And hung side by side with millions of other shots you can "almost" see that in your art. And you know excactly what I mean by that don't you? There is something different about your shot as opposed to all the others.

It isn't that its bad or good - what you see is you in the picture! And that is the Art of it. So in my eyes it is vital that you learn the basics of the craft. Photography first then post processing. Because I assure you - if you can't take a picture post processing won't help and it sometimes makes it even worse. A bad singer will never sound good - even through the best PA system in the world - likewise with Photography.

So, if you take a minute and reflect on your art of photography first and foremost you will become better. I assure you that photography is much easier mastered than Photoshop. Once you work on the post processing work on adding your "own" spin to that. Once again yes it is important to understand the basics of photoshop. I would suggest working on your flow. What I mean by flow is - curves, highlights, sharpen (or) sharpen, curves, highlights. It matters you know! And that will put the stamp of Art and your personal signature on every post process you perform.

Well - I've got a tub to caulk! :) The joys of honey do's. Hopefully when I check in later I'll see some replies to this. I'm curious am I way out there or what?

I guess what I'm saying is "Dare to be Different". That's the art of it!
If you don't have creative enthusiasum all you have is a camera in your hands!

My Webpage - http://www.3n-out.com

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