Things I love...

Photography.

I took thins in a church in Italy of my friend Mel. She is sitting in the sun light beaming through one of the stain glass windows in the dome of this church.

It's no secret that I take a lot of pictures. Probably, too many. Maybe, not enough. I just love photographs so much, that I think, why not shoot away.

I struggle with the process, though. I went to art school to learn the process of taking a great photograph and what I came out with was that a great photograph happens because its full of great content. That kind of messed me up. It more or less made me not want to share or show pictures to anyone because they were not full of deep meaning. Then the process of learning about lighting, which is what makes for a good looking photo, became something I didn't care about. So, something that I loved to do became something hard for me to do.

I didn't stop taking photos because of this. I came to the conclusion that I would take snapshots to capture a moment and they will just live for me and my family. Then, I decided to share my blog with you all which means you see some of my photos. I still just thought of my pictures as snapshots until I saw this. A video about how people look at art and think I can do that and most likely they probably can't.

This video made me think that all art is about the artist's experience in making it. That should be the approach that I take. I take photos to remember an experience and by doing so I am working on the process of making a great photo. Sometimes they will be about getting the prefect lighting, other times they will capture great emotion, there will be times when a full story can be told in a 4x6 format and then there will be times where it is about nothing at all.

Taken with my DSLR while in Yosemite National Park.

Taken with iPhone while in Glacier National Park.

So, while I'm working on the content side of making a great photo I am also working on the technical side. This is another struggle because it comes down to what type of camera should I use. Truth, I use my iPhone more, mostly because it fits in my pocket, it isn't heavy and I usually have it pretty close by. Not to mention, that Apple has developed a pretty good point and shoot camera. When you compare the two pictures above that have very similar content, look at the quality. Yes, there is a difference but if these are just snapshots then the difference doesn't matter because they are close enough.

iPhone, home grown tomatoes.

iPhone, the boys playing hot lava.

iPhone, working on focus.

I want to use my DSLR because I do have more control over what happens in the camera and post processing which is important. Even knowing that, I still don't choose it as my first option. I just tend to not choose it because it is heavy and bulky, it takes a second to get the settings where I need them and the moment could have already passed me by.

DSLR, photo shoot for head shoots for Muscles and Munchkins

DSLR, end of the year classroom photos for the boys school.

As I struggle with my process and decided where I want to fit in the photography world, I now know that I want to fall back in love with the process of taking photographs. The past couple of weeks have lead me to this point of wanting my photography to be more than just something that lives for me and my family.

My goal is to start choosing my "good camera" over my iPhone and to continue to study lighting. I want to work on my process and continue to learn how to take a great photo.