Teach me something - C&C please

f3nr15 wrote:

To round out the discussion, here is another shot taken at the same time, this time of the figure standing atop the war monument. I thought that the figure against the cloudy sky would make for a nice shot. I added a sepia effect to enhance the drama, but I wonder how it would have looked with a ND filter and tripod! Next investment - a tripod.

For King and Country

First - I don't see the need for a ND filter here or basically anyplace. If you want to make the sky more dramatic you might get some help from a circular polarizer, depending on which direction the light is coming from.

Avoid the trap of shooting B&W just 'because'. Too many people think anything shot in B&W suddenly becomes art. It doesn't. Sometimes B&w works really well but so often it is overused and misused for the wrong reason. I've seen B&W shots of food, of custom-painted motorcycles, of too many things where the color makes for the beauty of the subject. Go ahead and shoot B&W or better yet convert a color shot to B&W in post processing if you like, but don't fall for the idea that B&W automatically makes a photo into art. It can make for a strong character study, it can work well with a really dramatic sky / outdoor scene, but lots of people just jump straight to B&W for no discernible reason.

You did well to make sure the 'for king and country' was showing in the photo, but to be honest I find photos of statues, monuments, paintings, street graffiti and other 'pictures of others' artwork' to be pretty dull stuff. There's usually little to no real composition involved, just 'here is a picture of someone else's work'. Now if you were at a war memorial and there was an old soldier with his uniform or cap, maybe sitting in a wheelchair looking at the monument, that could make for a powerful photo because it captures a moment. Just imagining what the is going through the old vet's mind right then is compelling to me - he might be remembering a battle where his buddy died, or just thinking back on what his life was like when he was sixty years younger and in uniform.

I guess that's going to be my point. I know everyone's taste is different but I much prefer a photo that captures a moment, or makes me think or smile -not because it's pretty like a picture of a flower, but because there is something going on in it that touches my heart or mind. Those to me are the special photos, the ones that are hardest to spot even though they are often right before us.

Lots of people would disagree with me but 'clinical' photos of things - flowers, birds, statues, etc - may be very pretty but they are all simply not special. All they say to me is 'here is a flower, here is a bird, here is a statue'. They are generic and forgettable. My favorite photos are the ones I look back on over and over because they make a connection inside me. Learn to spot the photo ops that are unique or unusual and then you'll be really taking photos you can be proud of. When I'm not 'inspired' or don't know what I want to take photos of, I don't just get out my camera and start pointing it at flowers in the yard. Lots of people do that and those kinds of photos are (to ME) a waste of time to take, or to view.

Your mileage may vary.