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Giving up photography (1 Viewer)

Tannin

Tannin

Common; sedentary.
Last week I got home from my eight-week, 13,000 kilometre bird photography trip., feelin pretty pleased with myself and delighted with some pretty darn good shots.

Today I happened to drive past a second-hand bookshop and picked up a copy of Michael Morecombe's Birds of Australia (1971).

After a half-hour of flipping through it, I put it down and walked away shaking my head in wonder. I've taken my own photos of quite a few of the birds he had pictures of now, and I've searched in vain for opportunities to get quite a few of the other species ..... and I (a) have a rough idea how hard it is, and (b) a very clear idea of how much, of how incomprably better Morecombe's shots are than mine.

Call it a reality check.

No, I'm not giving bird photography up. But I'm going to have to think long and hard about ways to lift my standards. I have a long, long way to go, and I doubt that I'll reach his standard in my lifetime. If you should happen to have a copy, look (for example) at his Red-backed Fairy-wren or his chats. I cannot imagine seeing better wildlife pictures than those.

(No real point to this thread, bar what is obvious above. I'm just thinking aloud.)
 
Yeah, I know what you mean - I get the occasional good shot that I'm pleased with until I see the work of someone who's really spent time at it. The difference tells.

I'm sure it's the dedication and sheer professionalism that makes the difference. Probably a combination of really getting to understand the species concerned together with checking the usual photographic things like direction of lighting, backgrounds, etc.

And of course knowing your equipment inside out so that you're not fumbling around at the decisive moment.
 
I am a strict amateur at photography, but I derive a certain satisfaction of a bird picture that turns out relatively well that I have taken. I once took a shot of a Bald Eagle sitting in a sycamore tree during light snow fall. I thought it turned out pretty well. I had it blown up and framed and it is hanging on our living room wall. Even though some professional people have commented on how it could have been done better, it is still one of my favorite photographs. I think taking your own photo of a bird gives one a certain "bond" with that bird.

I guess I am rambling too.

Larry
 
When I get round to it, I'm sure any acceptable photo I have taken of a bird that I have discovered will mean far more to me than any perfect image taken by an unknown person in an unfamiliar place.

I'll still enjoy seeing photos of birds I'm never likely to see, let alone photograph, myself.
 
I think half the pleasure is getting home & uploading your images,looking at them & learning from any mistakes you`ve made.It`s always satisfying when you get a good image.The thing I`ve found is when looking in my photo album at images taken when I started out & comparing them with recent ones I can see my most recent ones are better.I wouldn`t count myself as an expert photographer but seeing I am making progress is what spurs me on.
Regards Steve.
 
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I have to admit to being an amateur digiscoper. Every now and again I hit on a really good shot but for the most part my shots are very average. What spurs me on is to better the best shot I have of the species I already have, plus any new ones I am likely to take.

I know in myself that I haven't the aptitude to be as good as all those good phtographers and digiscopers but in the end I am getting photos I never thought I would ever get. If I was to try and compete on a level of, say, Nigel Blake, Andy Bright and many more I would haver thrown my camera away by now through sheer frustration.

I am taking things one step at a time. It will be a long haul but maybe, every now and again, I will come up with a better shot than usual. That's all the spur I need.
 
The amount you pay for your equipment counts. For myself the prices you need to pay for some equipment is way out of my reach. I don't discount that experience has a big role to play in taking a good picture. It also helps if you can find a good film developer. I agree with Larry its myself I am trying to satisfy, I am never going to compete with the professionals, so why worry about it.
 
I have to agree with the other sentiments posted above.

Tannin, don't be discouraged by what others have achieved. I derive far more pleasure from a half way decent shot that I have taken rather than what I have seen in a book. Even more pleasing is that occasionally I get a better shot than seen in some bird books.

You're right though that it is always nice to have a decent publication to compare your efforts with!
 
Hi Tannin, found you through Mudlark. When I left Australia, All that I owned was in a suitcase and the bulk of my belongings were the photoes of wildlife that I had taken over the years in Australia, some bad and unrecognisabl but treasures to me.
You and other Aussies are keeping me in touch with my lost homeland.
I thank you, Tanny
 
Hi Tannin,

I sometimes feel the same way about my paintings. I do something I'm pretty pleased with then see the same subject painted by one of the artists I admire and think 'I'll get my coat...'

But then it dawns on me that all artists are different and none are really 'better' than others. What counts is that you are happy with your creations for themselves, not in relation to anything else or anybody elses vision.

If you take a photograph you are pleased with then enjoy it while you can because pretty soon you'll take another and feel that the new one is 'better' than the old and you wont care for the old one as much.

Art is a journey, but no artist will ever arrive at their destination.

"Just keep swimming!" as Dory would say!

Woody
 
I do agree with Bolton45 that equipment plays a considerable part in bird photography. Yes experience (knowing when and where the birds are, and their habits), and yes patience (sitting in a hide for hours on end), but almost all of the bird photos I have seen that have the 'wow' factor have been taken with very expensive cameras and lenses - eg the Canon Image Stabilising lens which would set you back around 5 grand (UK) at least. Although I hope to get the occasional pleasing shot I have also given up trying to regularly reach a standard that would give me a lot of satisfaction - sob, sob!

Alan Hill
 
Everyone seems to be saying what I have been telling myself all along.One takes a picture to please oneself.If I find one pic from a 100 which I like ,and I have achieved with the pic what I set out to do I am happy.I was looking through my album of photos,mostly digiscoping,and can see myself how I have improved.I have the first digiscoping pic I ever took,and some truly terrible Heron pics which I submitted to the Forum,cringe ,cringe,but the one thing about this Forum is that nobody is very harsh in thier criticism and comments,so it does spur one on to keep going.
Tannin,I have a copy of all the info you submitted re the Swar adaptor.Do you remember?.I still could not get to grips with it,and only a couple of weeks ago reading other peoples comments realised why.I did not understand how to operate it with the lenses I was using.But again on reading through the threads re adaptors have now found a compatible set up .So thankyou BF members.
 
Where did your 13,000km take you to? Are you going to post a report of the trip? Did you find the Letter-winged Kite?
 
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I once saw a slide show of a guy's years on the road. All with an almost disposable fixed focus camera. It was still worth watching. It was not about birds but a Dane reporting on America.
 
I keep persevering. After seeing George McCarthy's photographs at the last Rutland Water Bird Fair I realise that I have a very long long way to go yet to be even half as good as he is!!
 
When I see a great photograph, I do not get discouraged that I have so far to go in order to get similar results. Instead I am encouraged to rediscover that there are always new and fascinating images out there waiting to be captured.

On a different note, while I find equipment interesting and important, it is all too easy to give credit to equipment rather than the photographer. I was retaught this lesson this Christmas. My wife and I had chipped in with our nephew's parents to buy him a little Nikon 2MP camera. He had shown a genuine interest and aptitude with photography (I had let him snap away with my CP995 during Thanksgiving). So even though he is only 7, we figured it would be interesting to see what happened.

Now I have a 3MP and a 5MP camera and a number of scopes, eyepieces and adapters. And I've tested the heck out of all of it. I use this wonderful stuff to "get close" to my bird subjects. But what did our nephew do when he got his little 3x Nikon. He promptly walked outside and stood two feet from the hummingbird feeder. In a matter of minutes a Costas flew in and he snapped a few very nice and in focus images. He had tighter framing than I had achieved even with a 3X converter on my 4x CP995.

Equipment is important, but it isn't "all important".
 
Personally, I like the fact that there are others out there who are far better at it than me. It's one of the things, I think, that has me hooked on bird photography. It's all about the challenge. You come home, thinking you've got the sharpest, most well composed shot possible... then you look at someone else's, and it's just plain better than yours. So you analyse your shot, and determine what you could have done better. To steal a buzz phrase from my working life, it's all about "continual improvement" for me. So long as that's happening, I'm happy. How boring would it be if every time we went out, we came back with the absolutely, undeniably, most perfect shot we could ever get? I'd give it up within a month.

Sometimes, I go out with just a pair of binoculars, and I pretend they're a camera. I stalk the bird just like I would with the camera, focus, compose, crop, and say to myself "yup, that's the image I would have taken". Why? The (eyeballed) images are SO much sharper than possible with a camera, the birds seems to be calmer and allow you more time to compose. So I take a mental shot, and realize how far I have to go. When I get the "actual" image that matches the one in my head, I'll stop photographing that bird. I don't expect that to ever happen. And yes, I'm sure people do think I'm a nut-job when they see me doing that :)
 
I'm a nut job too!

My memories of specific birds and places will always be 100% better than any photographic image I could take....
I realised this 20 odd years ago as I lugged around a 10x8 format Camera...
What you remember, will always be better than what you can print.
I'm sure Ansell Adams felt the same...and NO...I am not in his league.....in a zillion images!!!...hahaha
BUT...don't stop trying...If you can surprise yourself...great.

Dave.
 
Tannin, don't give up on it yet. As we in here all know... besides skills and all, it also takes some "luck" to find the birds... and when you've found them.. to find them in a nice position for you to take the shot. I of course have'nt seen his pics an I haven't seen yours... so I can't say much. But but but... although I don't know you as of yet hehe, I'm sure you've gotten better at taking pics, everytime you walk out there with your camera. So keep on at it... It is a damn costly habit to take up though, that's for sure hehe.

Btw, you have a lot of equipment as well? Equipment also helps.....

Post some of the pics that you've taken. They really can't be that bad... :). Come on:).
 
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