The Photo Stars of this week's @photogames have challenged us (all the photographers of Steemit! Join us!) to select two pictures (per Photo Star) that shows your photography skills 'then & now': a picture from when you started and a picture of 'now' that shows how you've evolved as a photographer.
Now, this is a very vulnerable challenge to accept, because... Don't we all sort of want to forget how we started? Don’t we all want to think we were born brilliant? But well: isn’t the way we learn and develop ourselves even cooler?
Says the developmental behavioural scientist.
HOW I STARTED
I was 18 years old when I tried to take a picture with the new camera of my parents. DAMN, that felt good! I needed to have one too. I bought the same as they had bought, so I didn't have to do all the research: A Canon Powershot A520 point and shoot with a whopping 4 megapixels!
I had no idea what things like light and white balance meant, and didn't really have tools for editing yet. But I just 'took the shots' and somehow had my first exhibition after a year of shooting all the things!. That's when I bought my first DSLR: this was becoming serious!
The very very beginning
Now, in order to keep this as much 'then' as possible I've selected ’then' pictures only from my first year of photography. The ’now' photos are from the last three years. Enjoy this painful post! :-)
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
THEN: I've always loved doing street photography, observing people, capturing those simple seemingly meaningless moments for eternity.
This is problably my first ever (!) street photo. I loved it! It was so scary to take this picture! But this was, I thought, what photography was about: creating very romantic sepia coloured pictures of a postcard pretty elderly couple.
[The picture wasn't even sharp. But I spent hours trying to get that real romantic look and it was my favourite picture for a long long time :-)]
NOW: Well, I'm not going to say this is my best street photo, but I picked it because it was actually taken in the same city and it's the same 'kind' of picture. I couldn’t let that nice coincidence slide. Since I’m less afraid to show people I'm taking pictures of them now it's actually sharp. Plus I've let go of the low-contrast and boring sepia look ;-)
[She has such a lovely smile!]
GEOMETRY
THEN: I've always loved geometry and architecture. Most people on my blog know my 'through a window' shots by heart now, and this must have been the first I ever made. I liked the black silhouette framing the city scape behind it. Oh, would I have done that one differently now! That awful perspective! And what is the subject? The black frame itself? Because what you see through the geometry is not - interesting - at - all.
NOW: I recently re-discovered my love for geometry in photography, even though this theme has never really left my photography I might start looking for more geometry again soon.
STREET ART
THEN: I've always loved street art. Anything that show creativity, really. So when I found these masks hanging in a little village in France I had to take pictures of them. I could have thought a bit more about exposure and composition :-)
NOW: I'm always thinking about what the value is of taking pictures of the creative work of others. But if I see street art I just can't resist making series of them, which I've done on this blog many times too. I always try to get the best out of any street art I take pictures of by thinking about composition, or show a bit of the surroundings, and/or light and shadow that can totally make or break the end result!
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
THEN One of my first travel shots, very close to a place I went to when I was a child, but now for the first time I was able to create 'permanent memories'! Well, the place is gorgeous, the picture...
[White balance, anyone?]
NOW I take a bit more into consideration while shooting landscape pictures and the mood I want to add to the composition.
PEOPLE IN MUSEUMS
THEN I have a series of people looking at art on my website, and I hope to be able to expand that series soon! The fascination started quite early in my photo career: museums are almost always photogenic places, and people within photogenic places... well, create a perfect photo opportunity. I felt that combination could work quite early, but had no idea of composition.
NOW Now I have a better eye for composition plus try to avoid uninteresting moments. I was triggered by the man almost touching the wall with his nose, so close he is standing to it. How is he experiencing this museum, the art?
TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
THEN I just took random shots of random things that were in my view ‘out of the ordinary'.
NOW I create series. The individual photographs together tell a story. This photo doesn't tell a story, but once I'll upload the full series including the travel adventures and why everything looks so yellow (no filter, just smoke from fires all over this place) it's something I feel is worth sharing.
I didn’t know then: anyone can probably take a single good picture, only a photographer can take a few good ones consistently.
OVERVIEW
And an overview of all six, then:
…and now:
All photography on steemit.com/@soyrosa is created and edited by me, Rosanne Dubbeld, 2005-2018. Contact me if you want to discuss licensing or collaborations on creative projects :-)
Return from Want to see how I've grown as a photographer? One time only: pictures from 'Then' and 'Now'! to Rosanne's Web3 Blog
