Hi there and welcome to a place that I, or
a guest, can state some personal opinions without backtalk! {LOL} Actually you can talk
back through email and I will most likely post your legitimate comments, but this is not a
discussion forum, and I don't intend to let it become one! If the need arises,
another page can be added to site for that sort of thing. That was the first
editorial comment, so lets get this one way show on the road. {VBG}
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Written by: Greyhawk
Being as this is the first editorial on a new site, I am going to throw out a potpourri of thoughts. That word is written on a spray can of smelly stuff in my bathroom, so it must be appropriate for an editorial page.{g} With no subject, as well as no soap box, no bandwagon, no ax to grind or no belligerent mind set for guidance, it could be interesting to see just where and what all these no's lead to.
| PSA
... What is it, Now ? You know, I just wrote a whole editorial on the PSA and the unbreakable "no hands of man" rule passed down by the purest nature photographers for many generations. {VBG} Well it is now in the place of all deleted items, floating around in the ether waves, and this old hawk is also floating there, making lazy circles in the sky, trying to clear his head. People, the rules, they have changed! See for yourself. An editorial on the "purest" point of view will be written sometime in the future by Chris Varner or myself, or maybe both if there is very much disagreement.{vbg}
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 Read about this image |
They talk the talk, but do they walk the walk ? Many of you have heard or read the technical or artistic jargon thrown around by many self proclaimed photography artist and so called experts. (in their own mind) I hear or read all this technical data of the only proper way to make good artistic images which becomes a real crusade by the author. This is particularly true with a few of the "B&W is the only way to go" group. After hearing all this talk, being old fashioned, I am really looking forward to seeing and admiring the end results. Damn! I can't seem to find their great images posted anywhere. Greyhawk is going to have a lot to say about walking the walk on this page as time goes by. {VBG}
Old, & tired, but still hot issues ... Like photography as an art form. You know, ...if my 12 year old grandson trips over a root, depressing the shutter release and ends up with the nature image of the year award, does that make him an artist? How about a polar bear chasing a mountain goat into a beautiful Hawaiian sunset? Or maybe out of focus blurs of something with wings on it is your cup of tea. Of course you will never be an artist, unless you own a certain brand & type of over priced equipment!{bg} Yep, there's a lot of hash still on the stove, and I intend to do some stirring on this page.
"Photography is knowing, seeing, and controlling light." Thats the signature tag I have always put on my post to photography related NG's or email. I noticed that suddenly almost every photography publication this month has articles or references to seeing the light. Of course learning how to read and use light has always been a big thing in photography. But, now everyone is finally realizing it takes more than just the mechanics or technical skills. The modern automatic everything cameras have eliminated the learning of the technical end for many people. You must be able to see the light, along with the knowing and controlling of it, if you want to excel in photography. Even with these automatic technical wizards controlling it, you must first understand and "see" the light or you will have many more disappointing images than the "hey everybody look at what I did" type. And thats what it is all about folks. For your ego's sake, you want a good record shot or an artistic image. Knowing and seeing the light will help you eliminate that undesired 3rd alternative.
Why do we do it? Another topic
deserving a complete page and this may happen sometime in the future. With the top pros in
Nature photography having to get commercial sponsorships, write books, give lectures and
conduct seminars to make ends meet, this could be a very broad and interesting subject.
Not now, because I'm just leading into an answer written by a very good friend of mine and
I want to share it with you in closing.
Yes, I do find it fun, exciting,
in fact, exhilarating, to get up before dawn and try to find a good seat
before the curtain rises and the lights come up and nature puts on her show. I
don't want to miss any of it and yet with a theater in the round and a seat in the center
of the stage, it is impossible to see every character that enter and exits; every change
of the backdrop; every shift of the lighting. I try not to think about what I
miss. I try to hold on to what for a moment was real.
...Chris Varner
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