When I was younger and took my first driving lesson, the instructor explained to me what was happening with gearbox and engine when changing the gear, and how did I control the speed of the vehicle. I learned in a manual (stick shift) car. We all then returned to Britain.
I learned things like the importance of converting a lower gear when I go under a hill to avoid using the brake. This gave me more control of the vehicle and hence it was also safe. Years later, automated gearbox became more popular and overcome some efforts required to drive. Jump forward for the current – the cars are so full of technology that they can run themselves, and you don’t have to do much. We have reached the point where people do not know what the car is really doing and does not know how it is controlled when they run into a problem. Photography went away in the same way.
Recently I received a collection of cameras and lenses from around 2012. A person had collected them, became ill, and died sadly. His daughter sold them to me. I personally placed them on Facebook marketplace to sell them and made hundreds of inquiries. I sold camera and kit lens combo for canon, Sony, etc. for a very reasonable price. He was purchased by people on a budget to get into photography.
A big feeling of talking to a lot of people – no one knew anything about photography, and they did not want to know. They just wanted to press the shutter and get a photo. I was asked by many people if I would teach them. Do not teach them photography – how to use the camera to get the results.
With modern cameras, you do not need to understand the principles of photography. And this, I believe that is a big problem for beginners. A camera shoots for you with AI view detection, smart exposure algorithm, subject tracking and autofocus mode.
Modern cameras are very complex. I do not use 90% of the technology in my cameras or also understand how it works. Do you? But I understand photography. I know what different shutter speed and aperture can do for me. I know where to focus and focus for different situations. I am completely under control, using my camera in manual mode, often with manual focus. Whatever I do with my camera is focused around my creativity. What if a initial intentional intentionally wants to shoot something in the silhouette or to use motion blur technology? A beginning has no knowledge to stay under control, so there is a large disability, which cannot improve its photography through creative experiment.
Solution
This is very simple. Get an old film camera and learn how to use it.
If you want to become a pilot, you learn in a simple cess 172 Sky
I learned photography on a Nikon EL2, which was built in the late 1970s, and I bought it a second hand. I put the film inside and set the ISO. From there, I replaced a dial to change the shutter speed and replaced the aperture ring to change the depth of the field. It was a manual focus, so I replaced the focus ring to get the focus. Easy to understand. Manually setting those three things became another nature in no time, so from there I did not need to think about the camera. I just focused on looking for interesting things for the picture and looking for great light. I was under control, and everything was about communicating an idea, sharing a story and creating a beautiful art.
‘The dark side is not strong; It is sharp, easy, more seductive. ,
The wise word from the master Yoda, and he is a spot-on, because today with digital photography, there are many quick hack and easy ways to do things. We have become lazy.
Can’t focus properly and your photo is a bit soft? Do not worry about focusing on to improve – an app to fix it instead!
Photography should be difficult. This must require efforts to develop skills and years of practice and use, from lighting setup to image editing. If we do not need to learn anything or develop skills and do technology for us, what is the matter?
In addition, technology in all modern cameras performs the same work and gives equal results to all. This is why so many pictures we all look similar. We are just sheep when we allow technology to work for us, stand at the same popular places that all others do, and then apply the same trending color preset.
For client work, it can be used by having techniques to help improve my workflow. But from an individual point of view, as someone is someone who loves the craft of photography and enjoys the process of being in full control of its creative vision and process, I am on the platform where I have dusted my old film camera and loaded some HP5+ like good old days. The fun factor is very big.
There is an impressively large resurrection for an analog experience, and the old film cameras cannot be given away a few years ago. Despite this, you can still find a completely good film camera and lens for less than $ 100 – a great starting point to learn photography.
I encourage anyone for photography to learn crafts, not hack.
You must be committed to learning. “do or do not there is no try.”
You should believe to make your intentions. You should believe in your creative vision and expression. If not, “That’s why you fail.”
We will all screw often, but do not be afraid of it. “The greatest teacher, failure.”
I am sure you did not know that Yoda was a photographer.
“Pass what you have learned.” This is why I write pieces of these opinions. Thanks for reading.
