Looking back............

Last night I started thinking about what this camera thing is all about. I've learned so much, yet still have so very far to go. I started thinking about what I've learned and how I learned it. So far my photographs have not been the product of my own independent thought. My photos are the mimicry of photographs and portions of photographs that I have seen before. I am slowly getting to a point where I can appreciate the light in my own special way, but my thought patterns regarding light have not weened themselves of the ideas already planted in my mind. My vision of a beautiful sunset has been handed down to me by other photographers. Their best ideas and end results are my assignments.

When I first purchased my camera, I had sooooo many questions. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to start. So many people recommended so many books. I studied, studied some more and then studied. Education via osmosis was preferred, but improbable.

Nothing made sense until I started taking my camera everywhere. It's almost like I started figuring things out as I developed a need to know. I developed my need to know by watching others. As I looked at photographs produced by others, I no longer asked for EXIF information, I would take a guess and try to reproduce (not always successfully) their creations.