Technical > Digital Imaging > Any photographic "new year resolutions" out there?

Any photographic "new year resolutions" out there?

reply to Bryon
You know you're on the right path when you can stop yourself and come to this realization.

I always give myself a bit of a "splash of cold water" to bring myself back to the reality that it's not all about the technicalities...

Snap on the 50mm prime, pitch the flash somewhere where I can't find it. Hide the tripod, and go out for a hike, swimming, snow-fort-building, whatever, with the kids for the day and shoot some stuff on the side.

Forces you to think out of the box, and by limiting yourself technically, you tend to be a little more "casual" shooting. Gets me back into the mood of composition and just plain having fun as opposed to thinking about light and stop numbers and focal this and aperture that. Just point the damn thing and fire

reply to Bryon
I just wish I could find the time to enjoy my hobby like I used to. With my 3 year old grandson living with us and a busy work schedule, I just don't take many pictures anymore.

I have accumulated some nice equipment over the last few years, and do find that the few shots that I do have time for do tend to be far better than past years, but I just don't have the time to shoot like I used to.

I guess I just miss shooting pictures the way I used to. I never seem to "experiment" or try anything new anymore.

Perhaps that will be my resolution this year. To shoot "outside" my comfort zone, and try to bring the passion back into my photography.

reply to Bryon
LOL, to get in better shape so when I am hauling my camera gear tonage I don't get winded!

reply to richdelb

reply to Bryon
Just to get out there and take some photographs.Didn't take a single one throughout 2011

reply to Stacy

reply to Bryon
Whatever your resolutions for the New Year, it seems to me that the only really important thing is to post those images which meet your own internal criteria for excellence. Anything else is really a work-in-progress.

reply to Bryon
I spent the 30th taking video of my wife's only brother's wedding. This was after spending two hours trying to locate a hot-shoe mount shotgun microphone. (Pro Photo Supply in Portland, OR has a fantastic store by the way. Their staff is wonderful as well.)

It was exceptionally nerve wracking trying to capture this wonderful couple's ceremony and the reception afterwards. It was also rewarding when I got the video from two cameras dumped onto a travel drive and finally (last night) onto my desktop for editing. I haven't produced a final product yet (or even close to one), but it's something I've never done and I believe I've done a decent job for someone with NO experience.

I had been slated to photograph the wedding but a sibling of the bride had a good professional photographer friend offer to do the photos free. After dropping $400 on the 580EXII, this was slightly disappointing, but I am THRILLED that they'll get a better quality product than I would have been able to deliver.

What this has to do with the topic, you ask? I need to put myself into challenging situations with my work. Get out of my comfort zone. You learn by doing. Yeah, there's a chance you'll bomb and something will go wrong. But personally, I'll trust in God and we'll get through it, one way or another, together.

That being said, I still very much love the technical side of photography. It's what drew me into the hobby in the first place. It satiates my need for being a "gear head" (it'd happen with computer parts if it wasn't for photography) and provides me with a way to learn to be creative.

tl;dr: challenge myself.
--
flickr | Of faith, power and glory

reply to Bryon
I vowed to take at least one picture everyday in my yard. I even started a photoblog to keep track of it all. We will see if I can keep it up. I expect a lot of browns, due to the woods out back.

reply to Bryon
To get out and shoot more... I'm in the middle of a 52week project (one pic a week for a year)...

reply to Bryon
Take pictures for me with my vision and not because someone is paying me to even if they are paying me to. If the image doesn't have "me" in it then I'm doing it wrong.
--
»www.jrslaterphotography.com/

reply to Bryon
Scan at least 10 photos a week from my archive.
Get more organized.

reply to Bryon
To hope to get better at what I do for my entertainment and to keep my hands and eyes from worsening in doing so. My work will always be a work in progress due to never meeting my own standards, but I will continue doing photography and hope some measure of success and improvement along the way before arthritis and my health take over even more than now.

I hope to continue breaking the (so called) rules and ending with a result of something I enjoy.

To continue doing work that others in my circle of relationships enjoy to some extent since art is always in the eye of the beholder. I want to continue to pass on what I've seen in a way others can delight in what I have, simple as it may be.
--
JKK

Age is a very high price to pay for my maturity. If I can't stay young, I can at least stay immature!

»www.pbase.com/jaykaykay

reply to Stacy

Most of the film I have is from the late '70s, '80s and '90s which, fortunately, I put in archival pages right after processing. Roles of B&W film left in cardboard boxes seem to have survived OK. It was all processed to archival standards back in the day. Color neg, shot in the late 90s and early 2000s run through film processors and left in plastic wrapping hasn't fared quite as well. Some of my slides have fallen out of the mounts but my Kodachomes look as good as I remember them.

It's really hit and miss. 30 year old Tri-X seems as clean and flexible as it was days after it was processed. Most require some ICE or a lot of clean-up in PhotoShop. A few are damaged beyond restoration.

reply to jaykaykay

reply to Bryon
I have photos from my parents and grandparents from around 1907-1960, including the 1913 and 1937 floods. I hope to digitize them.

reply to Bryon
Just saw this article and thought of this thread.
»www.catherinehall.net/blog/2012/···raphers/