Photography and deliberate practice
Tuesday, 12 May, 2009 — photography
As I edited photos from our April DC trip, I realized I haven’t spent enough time out taking pictures, reviewing my own work or looking at the work of other photographers. While I got some shots I was absolutely ecstatic about – see above, taken from the Metro as we pulled out of Washington National – I found I’d missed angles and made cropping decisions I wanted to reconsider.
I ended up with a lot of blurry shots, even at higher shutter speeds. It was windy, but not so windy I should have ended up with that much jitter. I also noticed I should have gotten closer to waist level or grass level better, just to adjust the shot and make the angle more interesting. I stand about six feet tall, and, after a while, I need to remember to change up what I’m doing. This is where having two shooting sessions separated by editing, helps. I can see what I kept doing – putting the Washington Monument in my photos, for instance – and where I was missing opportunity.
Rushing my shot looms large as my shortcoming. There was so much to try and see, and not much time to photograph it in. I was pressing when I should have just let things flow. I was worried about time, when I need to enjoy the time I had available. A musician develops muscle memory playing scales. It gets good when it’s not thinking about hitting the right notes, just playing. Many other creative pursuits seem to have the same benefit of frequent play. Photography and writing to name two.
One of the notions I’ve been reading about recently, in a variety of forums is the necessity of deliberate practice to improve skill. My photography gets the short end of this a lot of time. I’m sensitive about it not being something that owns me 1. What I’m missing is the practice – I don’t make enough time for photography. A lot of times, grabbing my camera is an afterthought for whatever we’re heading out to do, and I don’t deliberately put photography at the top of my to-do list frequently. It’s been ages since I’ve been on a shoot with other Raleigh-area photographers.
I have three passions. Programming, photography and cycling. Lately, I’ve been neglecting the last two in favor of the first (and starting a business). It’s my responsibility and this is an accounting of facts to myself, not a lament. I’ve noticed earlier when I’ve stopped looking at other photographer’s work and stopped producing my own, my “eye” dulls a bit. I revert back to compositions I’m tired of. In a sense, my eye has to reboot into what I want it to be.
- Oddly enough, I don’t have this limitation with programming. ↺