Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Fri, 17 November 2000, Nathan Wajsman wrote: > > Ted, > > For once I have to take issue with something you have written, to wit: > > > The truth is, if you don't have a theme you don't concentrate, nor do you find > > anything, well OK rarely something that is truly magical. By the way, this > > rarely happens in your home town, no matter where that is in the world do you > > find something right away . A home town is the worst place to have to shoot, > > you've seen it, been there a dozen times, everything looks the same and it all > > becomes bbbbbbbboooooorrrrrrriiiiiingggg! > > My own experience is exactly the opposite. When I look at the photos I have taken > in the past 15 years, I almost invariably find that the best ones all are from the > place I lived at the time, or at least a place close enough that I was able to > return to it again and again. My travel pictures, on the other hand, are ho-hum: > nice record shots, well exposed and all that, but really nothing special. I really > believe that in order to take good pictures of a place, you have to be intimate > with the environment. > > Nathan > Nathan, This is true for the wildlife photos I prefer. It takes time to learn where the animal densities are high enough to improve the chances of meeting one cooperative creature, to learn the subtleties of local light/climate/vegetation conditions and how individual animals respond to these enviornmental clues, and how to work with their behavior patterns to photographic advantage. I can't do this without numerous visits to the same area. I'll agree with Ted, too, since we often take for granted things we see every day, where the visitor sees everything as fresh and exciting. It works both ways. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/telyt - -------------------------------------------------- Stay in touch with Northwestern and the world. Click http://www.nualumni.com to get your FREE Northwestern StartPage. Customize your own collection of the latest news, sports, stock quotes, and more. Check it out today!