I wish that taking a photo helped, but it does not. Regardless of the circumstances which put this couple out on this corner on this day, this must be nothing but a humbling experience. It also makes me think…
Tag: killeen
One of the fun parts of the Worldwide Photo Walk is the contest. That is not why we go, but it seems wherever photographers gather there is sure to be a contest to follow. I always love browsing the photographs Scott Kelby picks as the winners. He also does something a little out of the ordinary with the contest, though: he posts an extra set of photos that do not technically win anything, but were just photos that left an impression on him.
Well, the winner of our Belton photo walk, Hylas Kessler, was featured in this extra set of photos, and it well deserves such recognition. In this extra set of photos, Scott Kelby picks photos in a witty set of categories, such as “Best Shot of a Bird Crying” or “Best Shot That’s So Obviously Seattle, but Still Really Good.” Among such outlandish pseudo-categories, the category for this photo was what I would consider core to the art of photography: “Best Simple Composition (and use of color).”
The time for this year’s photo walk has arrived! If you are local to Belton, including Temple, Killeen, or Salado, this is your closest opportunity to join the Worldwide Photo Walk. We will be a nicely mixed group of local amateur photographers, high schoolers who heard in their photography class, readers of Scott Kelby’s books, local camera club members, and some totally unknown to me who just appeared on the sign up list. The list has actually grown by several more walkers just this morning. If you want to sign up and join us tomorrow morning, go to the Belton photo walk page. Hope to see you there.
I just love the photo walk idea: getting together with other lovers of photography, going out, and having fun doing what we love doing. It is not talking about photography; it is doing photography. It is not really meant to learn, yet we usually learn something just by watching others and thinking about a different approach to a particular shot. It is not passive, but directly active. Last year, our Temple, Belton, Killeen, Salado area photo walk was in Temple. This year, we are going to switch things up a bit and try out a new downtown, Belton. Last year was a bit difficult to organize, because initially, our location was rejected because we were too close to other walks, in Austin and (I think) Waco. They finally gave in, but we had lost a lot of time that could have been used getting the word out to interested photographers.…
There is a difference. The workshop I am starting up today is not “basic photography”, in the sense of photography for just beginners. Rather, if the word “basic” must be used to describe it, it is the “basics of photography”, in the sense that we may already be highly creative, have an excellent eye for the image we want, and take beautiful photographs on a regular basis, but we still have a weakness in the technical aspects of how photography works.
Photography is intriguing in that way: it is both highly creative and highly technical. You have to have a feel for the image, and eye for what to capture, but you also have to have a solid understanding of the technical aspects of how cameras and lenses work. That technical understanding will unlock knew realms of creativity, or, at the very least, help you mess-up fewer photos.
Do you see good photo ops, but just cannot seem to make the camera capture it like you see it? Photography is half creativity and half technique, and without a firm grasp on the technical side of how our cameras capture photographs, we can only hope our cameras take the photo we want. We will learn about light, how our cameras capture it, and the limitations and creative potential unique to photography.
Pumping diesel for heavy machinery, sporting a hardhat and safety goggles, using a unique but most likely purposeful grip, and even providing shipping containers for a background: this is the kind of photo I throroughly enjoy finding. I see them a lot more than I have a chance to capture them.