Unbounded
I teach photography from a technical perspective as I believe that once you understand the technical side of any art or craft, your creativity can emerge unbounded. That goes for many things like knitting to cooking to photography.
I also view photography from that same perspective. If a photo is technically off I tend to dismiss it. It’s just the way I’m wired. Plus I see hundreds of photos every day so I’m really saturated with imagery.
Same goes with writing. My writing isn’t perfect, and I may not always put commas in the right spots, or have perfect tenses, but I am a stickler for a few things:
There and their.
It’s and its.
We’re, were, and where.
The misuse of these words bugs me a lot!
Some things just jump out at me when they are wrong. I have no problem with slangy, highly stylized writing, in fact I really think it brings out people’s personalities and voice. However, I can’t stand it if people don’t even use a spell checker! Okay, back to the topic at hand.
But what if you are new to photography or another highly technical endeavor?
Where do you start? All those menus on your sDLR camera . . . How do you get the guts to show anyone your photos, let alone me, your teacher? How about that class critique at the end of the course? I know that my students are usually petrified by this public process, yet the most common question I get asked, is “Can you tell me what you think of my photos?“
A good place to start is by learning basic composition.
As Edward Weston said, “Good composition is the strongest way of seeing.” And here’s the kicker, it doesn’t matter what kind of camera you have or what settings you use to be able to produce good composition. Once you are relieved of that pressure you can start to work on your technical skills, and that’s where I come in. I have simple ways to teach complicated concepts to a diverse range of people with varying skill sets. At least that what’s my students and workshop clients tell me.
So start today by checking out my presentation on basic composition. Then, put your camera in “Program mode” and let your creative energy start to flow unbounded.
