Taking Stock of Life and other things...
I have had over the last month some serious health-related setbacks. Many tests, Physician visits, and too many needles stuck in me. The prognosis after all the tests is not good. At first I was scared, worried, and then this turned to indignation "Why me?", and finally to resignation "Now that I have been diagnosed, and am on chronic medication for the foreseeable future, I can finally get on with trying to fix the mess". One sore point stood out for me: I am not the bullet-proof, tough, 350Km/month bike-riding individual I through I was. OK, I am still that bike-riding individual, I hope. Don't take anything for granted. Ever.
I am continuing my photographic career with renewed enthusiasm, but with a number of drastic changes to my lifestyle. I will still train students, and take on new work, whilst maintaining my existing clients and contracts. This will definitely be done at a slower pace than before, as I am not going to run the risk of jeopardising my health any further.
I have already noticed a change in my photographic technique...I have started to slow everything down, and this has in turn done wonders for my imagery. I am learning to really "see" and not just look, or rattle off 20 clicks of the shutter in 3mins. I can spend 30 mins. or more looking at a scene from all conceivable angles, low down, high up, wide angle, telephoto, moving around, until I eventually "see" what I like. It is like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle falling into place...all of a sudden I say "There it is!" and the image with all of its compositional, lighting and aesthetic elements falls into place. If necessary I even mark the spot and go back when the lighting is better, or there is more mood and feel to the scene under different weather conditions.
My post-processing time has been cut drastically, as I don't need to play around in Photoshop, as the image is usually right on the money. Convert the RAW file in Lightroom, then do Clarity, Vibrance, Levels, maybe Curves, Unsharp Mask, and maybe a crop, and the image is done. I may blend a few images and use Masks to reveal or conceal what I want or don't want.
Now it is all about the time spent "seeing" what I should have seen before, if I had taken the time to become immersed in the scene. Then comes the visualisation in my mind of what I want out of the scene. If it is not what I visualise, I will wait, or come back another day.
I want the viewer of my image to see it as I intended it to be, as if looking at it through my eyes.
I am continuing my photographic career with renewed enthusiasm, but with a number of drastic changes to my lifestyle. I will still train students, and take on new work, whilst maintaining my existing clients and contracts. This will definitely be done at a slower pace than before, as I am not going to run the risk of jeopardising my health any further.
I have already noticed a change in my photographic technique...I have started to slow everything down, and this has in turn done wonders for my imagery. I am learning to really "see" and not just look, or rattle off 20 clicks of the shutter in 3mins. I can spend 30 mins. or more looking at a scene from all conceivable angles, low down, high up, wide angle, telephoto, moving around, until I eventually "see" what I like. It is like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle falling into place...all of a sudden I say "There it is!" and the image with all of its compositional, lighting and aesthetic elements falls into place. If necessary I even mark the spot and go back when the lighting is better, or there is more mood and feel to the scene under different weather conditions.
My post-processing time has been cut drastically, as I don't need to play around in Photoshop, as the image is usually right on the money. Convert the RAW file in Lightroom, then do Clarity, Vibrance, Levels, maybe Curves, Unsharp Mask, and maybe a crop, and the image is done. I may blend a few images and use Masks to reveal or conceal what I want or don't want.
Now it is all about the time spent "seeing" what I should have seen before, if I had taken the time to become immersed in the scene. Then comes the visualisation in my mind of what I want out of the scene. If it is not what I visualise, I will wait, or come back another day.
I want the viewer of my image to see it as I intended it to be, as if looking at it through my eyes.
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