Learning New Things and Findng Vision

Alan Olson — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:42:43 +0000

Up to this point, photography has been a hobby that I’ve enjoyed a great deal. I’ve learned a little, made a few good images (or so was told) and even made a little money on the side. Recently though, I’ve been wondering and thinking “Is this it?” Shoot a few pictures of the kids, family, nature, whatever and then store it on a hard drive or show a few images on this blog (or heaven forbid, actually use Flickr)? Is that photography? It seems like it should be so much more.

I’ve started reading Visioneering by Andy Stanley as well as the Craft & Vision books written by David duChemin and have really started to look at what I feel are some visions for me in photography. Right now I’m in the investigating phase and am trying to be very patience and not be hasty about jumping into to anything too soon (as is my habit). In addition, I’ve been reading Light:Science & Magic and have just got involved in a new site that has some amazing potential on helping me (and others) learn about photography and to shoot better (more on that later ). Knowledge wise, I feel I’ve learned more in the past month then in the prior couple of years.

I’m not sure where this will end up but I’ve dusted off some lenses I haven’t used in awhile and will be running through some “assignments” from the various books I’m reading in order to gain more experience and to start seeing things a bit differently then in the past. I’m hoping to post a few more images here in addition to the 52 Week Project.

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Where in the World is ???

Alan Olson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:59:33 +0000

Yes, the blog has been silent for way too long and no new images on top of that. I have images ready to go and will get those up.

As for the lack of anything on the blog, perhaps the easiest way to describe it is a change in workflow. Or more importantly, a change in life’s workflow. I’ve been reading quite a bit lately about vision and realized that I had none. Okay, not quite none but not a lot. If you asked me “What do you want to do when you grow up” or “Where do you see yourself in five years” I couldn’t give you a decent answer and that includes my photography. I’m in the process of jettisoning the things that aren’t important or are time-wasters and focusing on the things that are.

So what changed? This post by David duChemin was pretty much the catalyst to make some moves in my photography. What that led to was a change in everything, work, family, etc. Everyone has the same amount of time in one’s day to get stuff done. We complain we never have enough time yet there are many people who use their time effectively and enjoy life rather than bumbling along in the rat-race.

As it pertains to photography, I’m setting aside time everyday to practice. Practice taking pictures, practice in editing, spending time looking at other people’s pictures for inspiration and to gain knowledge, and following blogs and using Twitter to find articles that will help me get better as a photographer. As for the blog, I’ll be posting more, not daily but several times/week with articles, links and images as I feel the blog allows (and sometimes forces) me to focus on what’s important with my photography.

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AGO Photography » Photography

Learning New Things and Findng Vision

Where in the World is ???