Ten Years Ago This Month (January)

[radiophoto]

It was around this time that I was surfing the internet in search of vacuum tubes for my antique radio, and discovered a Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model (with flash) for sale.  I bought it and the rest is the history of my decade-long obsession.  Countless dollars spent on countless rolls of film, cameras, gadgets, processing, prints, frames, doodads, and what-have-you.

And what do I have to show for it?  Sometimes I ask myself that very question.

Anyway, here I am, 10 years after it all started, looking at something I shot back then, and I wonder if I've learned anything new, or if what I was producing back then was beginner's luck:





You be the judge!

[flatop222]

Some people just know how to take pictures - especially nice looking ladies.

George

[BillyBob]

[and] I wonder if I've learned anything new, or if what I was producing back then was beginner's luck:

Pete, I've asked myself the same question.  I look at shots I took 10 years ago with my old manual-focus Canon FTb - (no split screen focus - and my eyes aren't very good) and they seem so much sharper - and more interesting - than a lot of my newer stuff.

Overall though I've found that on average I'm doing better; a higher percentage of 'keepers' - and you probably are too.  Don't forget how many frames you shot to get those great ten-year-old frames.

cheers!
Bill

[Santiago Montenegro]

Same here. I often look at my pics from 30 years ago and I think I haven't learnt a thing since.
And then it dawns on me: you really never learn anything but a few technical tricks. The rest is vision and (sometimes) luck.

[Greg M]

  You've got to love what you're doing.  We wade through the cameras, the film, and the technique and then discover our vision.  That vision seems to deepen as we grow into the hobby.
  I have concentrated all my life on photographing the family.  Now they are gone and my primary subjects have left.  I am discovering new subjects and am figuring out where to go next.  Good or bad I know that I just like to take photos and develop film, I enjoy what I do, and if nobody sees them and judges them, that's o.k.
   By the way, I have always enjoyed seeing your photos.  Nice ladies.

[radiophoto]

  You've got to love what you're doing.  We wade through the cameras, the film, and the technique and then discover our vision.  That vision seems to deepen as we grow into the hobby.
  I have concentrated all my life on photographing the family.  Now they are gone and my primary subjects have left.  I am discovering new subjects and am figuring out where to go next.  Good or bad I know that I just like to take photos and develop film, I enjoy what I do, and if nobody sees them and judges them, that's o.k.
   By the way, I have always enjoyed seeing your photos.  Nice ladies.

Greg, that's a good philosophy, and thanks for the kind words.

Pete, I've asked myself the same question.  I look at shots I took 10 years ago with my old manual-focus Canon FTb - (no split screen focus - and my eyes aren't very good) and they seem so much sharper - and more interesting - than a lot of my newer stuff.

Overall though I've found that on average I'm doing better; a higher percentage of 'keepers' - and you probably are too.  Don't forget how many frames you shot to get those great ten-year-old frames.

cheers!
Bill

Well, Bill, I don't wanna seem like I'm braggin', but I shot two frames on the girl in the chair, and two for the other blonde -- I was shooting medium format and doing my best to save film.  Beginner's luck, like I said.

Thanks to the rest of you -- I was going through a funk where I hadn't done any shooting in a while, but that weekend in Denver, where I shot three rolls of film, helped get a spark back somewhat.