Show and tell
This is a macro shot I recently discovered amongst some of my older negatives. Unlike the bulk of my macro photos, this one was taken with my 35mm Nikon SLR as opposed to my giant behemoth of a Pentax.
I just wrapped up a weekend of speaking at the Oregon State Fair, which I thought was both successful and quite enjoyable. Successful in that there seemed to be at least one person in every one of my lectures who seemed to take something from them. I like reaching out and being able to touch people like that. I like being able to share ideas and inspirations. I am in the relatively lucky position to be able to work in and around photography and photographers pretty much every day of the week. I get to see and experience quite a bit more than the average photo enthusiast. I realize this, so I like to try to pass along the knowledge I accumulate as often as I can.
I also try to do this because I meet a lot of photographers who have become seasoned and veteran, or professional, and suddenly they don't have the time or patience for what they feel are questions undeserving of their time. They get asked questions by people new to photography and they scoff or shrug or give a pat answer. Important questions like:
Is 1/60th more or less exposure than 1/125th?
What is an f-stop? How is that different from an aperture?
The rule of thirds? The Golden mean? Power points?
What does 5 megapixels mean?
They seem simple and obvious to many of us now. Sure, easy enough once you have learned the material. But I deal with photographers on a weekly basis who struggle with remembering the relationship between opening up your aperture, gaining more exposure and losing depth of field. It seems so second-nature that many of us forget how challenging this information was at first. I remember starting on a Pentax K1000 with absolutely no idea of how or what apertures were. My initial working knowledge was simply this: by rotating the aperture ring, I made the floating needle in the meter go up and down,and all I wanted to do was put it in the middle.
That was it. Stop. I had no concept of DoF. Or even of the numbers 1.8-22. They meant nothing to me. But I learned and now they do.
And this is what I try to remind myself daily. That at one point I was there. Every single one of you was too. I was asking these questions at one point myself, and relying on people with the willingness and patience to explain them to me. Sure I checked out a lot of books and did a lot of reading. I learned a lot on my own from experimenting. But at the same time I learned a lot from other photographers who were willing to share their knowledge too.
And I know a lot of others who are still generous with their time and energy. I know a lot who have forgotten their roots and hence cannot be bothered to help those beneath them.
I don't claim to know exactly why some people do this. I know some just don't have the patience for it (an odd thing for a photographer to claim, considering how important patience is in photography, at least good photography). Thankfully I meet very few people of this nature, because they get under my skin. Talking to them, you get the impression that they slipped out of the womb AP photographer of the year. Or the world's last master fine art landscape photographer.
I guess many of you will say it is an ego thing. And I agree. It is. Remembering one's humble beginnings and admitting to them is contradictory to mainting a topnotch ego.
I gave five lectures over two days this weekend. I did it for free, simply out of the enjoyment of it. It is one of the reasons I tend to write at such length here on Flickr. I enjoy the sharing. I realize that I have more to offer than just what my images encapsulate. As do many, if not most, other photographers out there. Another thing I realize though is that I am not as good as I can be. That photography is a voyage without any real end or pinnacle. At least I hope not. I like constantly striving to improve and expand my photography.
And one of the ways to make one's self better is by helping make all those around you better too.
By: Zeb Andrews (USA) ©2008
Photo: Nikon FM2, 100mm f2.8 with 50mm f1.8, reversed lenses
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright © Zeb Andrews. All rights reserved. This photo is not to be used as free stock.
Use without written consent by the author (Zeb Andrews) is illegal and punishable by law.
