Musings from a Hobbyist

Boise is a small city with a lot of potential. I have lived in big cities like Los Angeles, flashy places like Las Vegas and even in mountain surrrounded Denver. I don’t venture too far towards the east coast, but the west I know pretty well. In my time venturing out and about, I have taken quite a few pictures. Most recently, I have been taking them of Boise and working on some editing.

Me? A Professional?

I didn’t go to school for photography. I want even an art major or anything that creative. I have had a camera for as long as I can remember and pictures have always been a form of both creative expression and a crutch for me to be able to manage my social anxiety.

“You live your life behind the lens”, my mother used to tell me. My ex-husband said that I didn’t enjoy life. They didn’t get that I just liked to see the world from as many angles as I could. It is funny to me because at the end of the day it was perspective that I have always been seeking. That didn’t always make for good images.

But I still enjoy the process...

These aren't professional quality or edited though.

I have been told that I take decent pictures and I have even sold a few. But what makes a professional picture and is it true that technology has ruined photography?

I have heard this complaint a number of times and have been told that unless you sell something, you can't call yourself a professional. I have heard people say that without a real or expensive camera that you can't truly consider yourself a photographer.

Expensive Equipment a Photographer Does Not Make

I whole heartedly disagree that an expensive camera is needed. For starters, when I got into photography in 1996 they didn’t have a camera that was technically better than I can get today. The camera in my iPhone 7 or the one I use on our Samsung S6 is better than many I could get if I went out and bought an actual camera.

I wouldn’t do a photo shoot with them specifically, and claim to be a “professional” photographer. I have used it for people shots and the environment as well... generally with positive results.

These were taken a few weeks ago with my iPhone, for example.

I tend to prefer nature and city shots. I have spent a long time watching and learning shadows, direction and things like shutter speed and light control. You can’t just spray and pray, hoping to land a good shot. Especially when the landscape doesn’t change other than the subtle changes caused by wind or loss / increase of lighting that happens over the course of the day.

Ultimately, these kinds of shots rely on angle and knowing what you want to view, then how you want your scene viewed by an audience.

When you consider the angle and the environment, no matter what camera you have, you still have to have an eye for imagery.

In the modern era, editing doesn’t hurt either. Though for the next few, other than taking black and white images, I have not actually processed them at all.

Comparisons Needed

So, I was curious to see what differentiates cameras would see. I have been working on a comparison of cameras. I plan on posting those over the next few days as I explore this topic more.