General Advice Thread

Brian Schmidt · Apr 11, 2016

Hello.

I am college-aged. I would like to know some things you have been thankful that you have done and some regrets. I am looking for anything, really. I should have done more/less of X, I should have photographed more of X and less of Y, I should have kept X, should have tried X, or anything you think I should hear. I’m not after technique related things as much as more general coulda-shoulda-woulda’s. Mostly general advice to open my eyes to things I may or may not be doing, maybe I can avoid some regrets in the future. There is plenty of experience here and any advice would help. It would be a waste not to ask such a group.

My main cameras are a folding Zeiss Contina and a 6.5X9 Voigtländer Avus, if makes any difference. I usually used Arista/Foma film from Freestyle or Xray film with the plate holders. I am also goofing with regular 8mm a bit. I have a processing tank on the way.

Thanks

Brian Schmidt

Sirius Glass · Apr 11, 2016

I am sure that you can get your money's worth of advice at APUG.

Theo Sulphate · Apr 11, 2016

Hello - welcome to APUG.

I'm thankful that even as a kid with a cheap camera, I photographed everyday things - family, neighborhood, took my camera to school, college (UCLA) and, later, to work.

I have 8mm movies (Kodachrome II) that look good even today. Best wishes to you with cine film; shooting a good movie story requires good planning.

Regrets? Maybe I should've taken more photos of friends and family.

Tis Himself · Apr 11, 2016

20/20 hindsight: should have kept every film camera that I have owned, including a Nikon S, my first "real" camera (bought it used when I was 15), and many others that were either trad, or given away. Wish I would have shot a lot more film and spent at least a little bit more time in the darkroom.

winger · Apr 11, 2016

I wish I had more pictures of the now-gone members of my family. I also wish I'd tried and grasped the technical parts of exposing and developing much sooner.

removed account4 · Apr 12, 2016

hi brian

the best piece of advice i could give you would be
keep your eyes open you don't need to go anywhere exotic to make great photographs, they are usually
right under your nose if you open your eyes.

have fun !
john

Jim Jones · Apr 12, 2016

jnanian said:
hi brian

the best piece of advice i could give you would be
keep your eyes open you don't need to go anywhere exotic to make great photographs, they are usually
right under your nose if you open your eyes.

have fun !
john

Yes, indeed! I've had the opportunity to travel to exotic and very scenic locations, but usually found them less rewarding than whatever is at hand. Always carry a camera. Always watch for potential subjects. Unlike the great photographic attractions of the World, what is before you can usually be captured only by you. It's the photographer, not the camera, that makes a successful photograph. At least one Pulitzer prize image was captured with the most basic of cameras. Learn enough technique to make the most of whatever camera you choose, and then always concentrate on capturing most technically and artistically perfect photograph possible. That is the beginning. Snapshots are captured; fine photographs are made. The best of your captures deserve the best analog or digital finishing. Study those photographs that most move you. Analyze how the photographer made them. Compare them to your own photos. Post your photos on APUG and ask for criticism. You'll get both good and poor advice. We might spot details that you haven't noticed. You can disregard advice that is contrary to your approach to photography.

TheFlyingCamera · Apr 12, 2016

Get through your gear acquisition syndrome phase as quickly as possible, and use it to find your muse camera - the one that just speaks to you. You'll know it when you find it - there will be a camera out there that syncs with the way you think, gets out of your way and lets you take the pictures you want to take. Once you find it, use it until it collapses beyond reasonable repair in your hands. It might be a 35mm SLR, it might be a medium format TLR, it might be an 11x14 view camera.

Try disciplining yourself with a single camera and a single lens. This greatly accelerates the "get out of your way" process - if you're not concentrating on changing lenses or switching bodies/formats/aspect ratios, you're spending more time concentrating on composition and content (which is what any photographer who aspires to do more than happy snaps of the family on vacation should do).

Peter Schrager · Apr 12, 2016

go to museums and see great photographs by great photographers; then borrow cheat and steal and make it your own!!

Theo Sulphate · Apr 12, 2016

Count me in for the museum heist.

removed account4 · Apr 12, 2016

Peter Schrager said:
go to museums and see great photographs by great photographers; then borrow cheat and steal and make it your own!!

yeah, that too !

jerrybro · Apr 12, 2016

Focused on the ends and not the means.

eddie · Apr 12, 2016

Bear in mind that one person's regret is another person's epiphany. Errors are good learning tools, if you take the time to analyze them. Some of my best, and most enjoyable, work are the result of mistakes. In examining them, they started to look less like blunders and more like new directions.
Have fun. Take chances. And, follow your work wherever it leads.

wiltw · Apr 12, 2016

I have tried, more than once, to think up something I regretted in photography. I can't come up with anything, apart from the fact that I had not given in to desire and purchased an Olympus OM-3 for no rational reason while they were made. I lusted for a $420 top-of-line world's-first-TTL SLR when I was 15, but I bought one -- in working Good cosmetic condition -- for $25 just a few years ago!

HiHoSilver · Apr 13, 2016

TheFlyingCamera said:
Get through your gear acquisition syndrome phase as quickly as possible, and use it to find your muse camera - the one that just speaks to you. You'll know it when you find it - there will be a camera out there that syncs with the way you think, gets out of your way and lets you take the pictures you want to take. Once you find it, use it until it collapses beyond reasonable repair in your hands. It might be a 35mm SLR, it might be a medium format TLR, it might be an 11x14 view camera.

Try disciplining yourself with a single camera and a single lens. This greatly accelerates the "get out of your way" process - if you're not concentrating on changing lenses or switching bodies/formats/aspect ratios, you're spending more time concentrating on composition and content (which is what any photographer who aspires to do more than happy snaps of the family on vacation should do).

TFC - this really is beautiful. Bravo.

frank · Apr 13, 2016

20/20 hindsight: take pictures of all your girlfriends over the years.

Europan · Apr 13, 2016

Brian Schmidt said:
I am also goofing with regular 8mm a bit. I have a processing tank on the way.

That sounds interesting to me because I am a cinema man.
If you could agree to having related subjects discussed with the ACUG section, we might have enlightening exchanges there.

DWThomas · Apr 13, 2016

A little background: I turn 75 this July and bought my first new camera at the end of 1957 -- an Argus C-3 which I still have, and after a CLA a while back, still works. I had a box camera for a number of years before that, a gift from my parents -- it still works too!

One thing that tends to escape us when we are young is that life and our surroundings are constantly changing. From my current (ancient!) perspective, I can look back in my mind's eye and see many structures in my home town and elsewhere that were unique enough to remember after all these years, yet I have no pictures of them and today they are either gone altogether or remodeled beyond recognition. Pictures of community events, parades, unusual highway intersections, bridges and all sorts of things will give later generations a visual perspective on their history (and may even be fun to look back at when we are in rocking chairs at the old folks home!)

Another approach I am taking lately is to include more "artistic" work. As an example, I might (try to) make an interesting composition emphasizing light and shadow, straight lines and curves, textures, or a combination of all. A recent example was in photographing a steel railroad trestle, one of the best shots was of about the bottom two feet of a tower that was over 200 feet tall. In essence an abstract, but it captured some detail of footing and mounting hardware. There are some examples in my gallery here.

The main thing is that we can learn from our mistakes. So the more we do, the more mistakes we make, and the more we learn!

HiHoSilver · Apr 13, 2016

Reading this is a treat. Goodwill & incredible perspective drip from this page.

Alan W · Apr 13, 2016

Photograph,your surroundings-everything,especially your friends and family.Dogs,cats and homes or places you live in.Carry a camera everywhere you can-people will get used to seeing you with it and won't be bothered by it in time.Don't worry if the "light isn't right",don't worry if the composition is being compromised by something.Just take the shot.Sometimes the opportunity is fleeting.Film is still relatively cheap.You don't have to print every negative or enlarge every shot.Your photos are your photos.Look at every photo magazine,exhibit etc that you can,but don't become discouraged and don't throw away any negatives,what looks mediocre today may look great in time-Keep shooting.

4season · Apr 13, 2016

Don't overlook the seemingly mundane and trivial stuff: Places you frequent on Friday nights, people you hang out with, the aisles of the supermarket (need to be stealthy because most malls and shops discourage photography), fast-food places (and the food!). Expect to hear a lot of "Why are you photographing that?" sorts of comments. Sure, go ahead and take photos of the Official Points of Interest, but chances are those aren't going to change nearly as much over time as say, women's fashions or popular trends, like the current obsession with "smartphones".

removed account4 · Apr 13, 2016

eddie said:
Bear in mind that one person's regret is another person's epiphany. Errors are good learning tools, if you take the time to analyze them. Some of my best, and most enjoyable, work are the result of mistakes. In examining them, they started to look less like blunders and more like new directions.
Have fun. Take chances. And, follow your work wherever it leads.

i couldn't agree more with this !
don't be unable to make mistakes
some of the best things ever done,
ever invented and discovered were because of mistakes.

Brian Schmidt · Apr 14, 2016

Hello and thanks for the insight. I really appreciate the time and thought you have put into this. The main things I have heard so far seem to be along the lines of:

-Find a camera you like and get good use from it.
-Don't worry about taking too many photos. Be concerned about taking too few. Have you ever wished you didn't have an image of something?
-Your life story is unique and constantly changing. You are the only person who can adequately capture this story.
-There are zillions of pictures of Mt. Rushmore, but there are very few of the old warehouse down the street. Everybody has seen Mt. Rushmore.
-Some gadgets are useful but don't get too crazy about it.

Many of these things I agree with. I never have been one to spend a lot of money on anything. The main reason I got into photography is to record the life story you speak of. It started when I began to look at the earliest photographs and realized that today will be the past eventually, and mediums are questionable for many images. Many will lose their pictures as their phones die but I will be able to keep negatives and prints practically indefinitely. I also have a 40's 4X5 Speed Graphic I have the shutter torn apart on but will try out within the next few weeks.

Cine PUG doesn't seem to be working. I am clicking on the link on the front page. Is it working for others at this time?

Thanks for all the insight, everybody.

-Brian

RalphLambrecht · Apr 15, 2016

Brian Schmidt said:
Hello.

I am college-aged. I would like to know some things you have been thankful that you have done and some regrets. I am looking for anything, really. I should have done more/less of X, I should have photographed more of X and less of Y, I should have kept X, should have tried X, or anything you think I should hear. I’m not after technique related things as much as more general coulda-shoulda-woulda’s. Mostly general advice to open my eyes to things I may or may not be doing, maybe I can avoid some regrets in the future. There is plenty of experience here and any advice would help. It would be a waste not to ask such a group.

My main cameras are a folding Zeiss Contina and a 6.5X9 Voigtländer Avus, if makes any difference. I usually used Arista/Foma film from Freestyle or Xray film with the plate holders. I am also goofing with regular 8mm a bit. I have a processing tank on the way.

Thanks

Brian Schmidt

I should have started developing my owb film earlier.Iwas scared of it for no reason and I can do a better job of it now than any lab I know.

mr rusty · Apr 15, 2016

My advice. Whilst all photos record memories, unless you turn in to an iconic landscape photog or similar, the most interesting photos to look back on in future years are the ones of people.

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