Lots of things are fun about a digital camera. For instance, they're so tiny and cute, without all that paraphernalia of my 15-year-old Pentax. Some, like mine, are even programmed with cute electronic sound effects. But by far the most mesmerizing thing about them is--you can SEE what your pictures look like now. NOW! Not 10 days and a stint at the photo shop--NOW!
This is a huge plus. But it's also a drawback. With every photo, I'm instantly in greedy instant replay mode--and am almost always reminded how difficult photography is for me.
My problem is I see too many things at once, usually in moving panorama. I get dazzled by the big picture and the details at the same time. I also want sound, wind, and dappled light effects. But when I try to capture the things that stop me in my tracks, I'm not selective enough and the picture becomes a big indiscriminate mess.
The thing is, I already know this. In college in my photojournalism classes I had the same problem. I would roam the campus trying to catch quirky candid shots and end up with lots of clutter. My photos never made it into the weekly slide show critiques, unless they were bad examples. It's no wonder I became an editor--words are easier to edit than pictures.
Finally I got fed up. Took a really nice shot of a single Granny Smith apple on a white sheet, lit on one side by an open window. It was simple, clean, and utterly staged.
Last week of class, it made it into the slide show.
I have to keep telling myself: Look at one thing at a time. Try to see only one thing at a time.
Much easier to do in writing than in pictures.
