Photography As A Surrogate for Life

We all know the basic work-flow by now—take pictures, copy the memory cards, backup, process, print and deliver. Each of us has our own way of doing things and, as is said, any way that works for you is the right way.

However, if you dive beneath the surface, into the individual activities, you can begin to see some common threads. When on a shoot, you find you can't get the image you are after, but you can get something close enough to fix in post. Or, you get lazy and will not bend low enough or crawl on the ground to get a good perspective. I'm sure you can not only answer these, but provide a few of your own. Every photographer I've spoken with has admitted lapses, at one time or another.

When coming back from a shoot, do you put your gear down and relax for a while or just leave everything in the trunk of your car, thinking you will get it later? Look, I can go on and on, but you get where I'm coming from. I used to be the photographer that consistently did all of the above and much more.

As a matter of fact, if you were clandestinely watching me 24/7, you'd see the same lapses happening in other parts of my life. I'd would rush through tasks, believing I could correct any errors later, leave my bills lying on the kitchen table and forget one or more until I received dunning notices and telephone calls.

…you do in photography as you do in life.

Sometime, a long while back, I saw the similarities between my work life and the personal side. It was on a walk with a friend who brought it to my attention. I saw my life before that night, like beads on a string—incident after incident of thought inducing self-sabotage. In that single micro-second, I shifted. My friend asked what I was going to do and I said I didn't know what, but, no matter what, I wasn't going to repeat the past.

You see, you do in photography as you do in life. Change one and you change the other. After all, photography is but an extension of yourself and mimics what you are, even when you are not getting images.

As I write this, we are on the cusp of a new year, a new decade and it's time to do some cleaning, both on our photographic equipment and on ourselves. Take a minute, between now and January 1st to look at how you are as a photographer. Make it a point to expend some effort on making changes in your workflow, from beginning to end, and you will be affecting your entire life.

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The Decisive Moment – When Preparation Meets Anticipation

There has been a lot said about the decisive moment; the instant you press the shutter. But, when it comes to you, what exactly is that instance, what makes you press the shutter at the time you do?

Obviously, it's different for each of us. Some have that instinct, some plan for it and some just machine gun their camera, in the hope they capture the right moment (If you are shooting sports or other action photography--even wildlife--getting some well timed images overcomes the direct planning--but more on that later...).

Imagine yourself, looking through the viewfinder (or the LCD), with your finger poised on the shutter. Your eyes quickly scan the information superimposed in the viewfinder, maybe changing shutter speed or the aperture on the fly and waiting for that one moment, when it all comes together and you squeeze the shutter. That one moment is what we are after here. That one moment in time will stand still forever, if you capture it or, if you don't, disappear into history.

This is an area of photography you can't fake. The only way to be successful at getting the decisive moment is with lots of experience. Shooting thousands of images teaches you the art of anticipation. This art is the ability to know what to expect from your subject over time. Waiting for the light to change when shooting landscapes; waiting for the elusive Mona Lisa almost smile for a portrait; waiting for the quarterback to fall back into the pocket and get the image immediately before he releases the ball, with large defensive men charging him. The skill in this requires training your brain to recognize situations which happen just prior to the moment you press the shutter.

You have constructed an image in your mind of what you want. Years of practice leading up to this have taught you when the pre-moment arrives to get ready and then, when reality matches the image in your mind, you press the shutter.

Unless you are a novice, this sequence of events is not haphazard. You have probably spent years and taken thousands of images, which are subconsciously cataloged and, although you may think pressing the shutter is a spontaneous action, it really isn't. It comes about internally when there is confidence and all the variables are satisfied--exposure, framing and focus--and you can concentrate on the subject.

Once your planning and setup are complete, your thoughts are free to examine the only real variables left, your subject and what it is doing. If you are a novice or out of your element i.e., editorial instead of headshots, you can not put your full concentration on the subject as there are too many other items swirling in your head--the right shutter speed, exposure setting and or compensation--and, as long as you don't have your full concentration, you will miss the decisive moment.

Other times, in a new situation, your body memory takes over. If you've done your homework, then technically you are prepared and so, you trust your subconscious to move your shutter finger. You'll know, without chimping, without looking, without any physical evidence, that you got the shot. This is the cue to relax (as much as you can before backing up your images), knowing you have the image you wanted. Now you can be creative and try something new and trust you will know the decisive moment.

 

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Photography As A Gift – Dennis Hays

Those of us with cameras have a unique privilege in the way we see the world around us. Our trained eyes are able to selectively focus on what others do not. The result are the images in our collection.

However, photographers, as a whole, are cursed, as we look over the images just imported from the camera and see the flaws, the mistakes and the misfires. As trained as we think we are, we succumb to the critic. One of the results, however, is growth. By seeing our photographic flaws, we learn and apply techniques to do better the next time.

Then, at times, we become jaded in the selling of our creativity to make a living. We shoot to deliver and, once delivered, accept the money. Do this enough and you tend to see your images as a commodity. If your images are a commodity, what does that make you? The critic culling the last assignment is the same as the one in your head saying, "You suck!"

The more you allow the critic to speak, the worse you feel about yourself until it paralyzes you. The paralysis is one of putting down the camera, specifically for self-assignments. You continue to sell your craft and deliver the client's wants, but never satisfying the need within.

The feeling of non-acceptance can be mitigated by your clients’ unsolicited comments, "You nailed that one! These are great! These are better than I expected." (What exactly were they expecting?)

The notion you are a good photographer, not just a photographer, has to come from inside you and, to do that, you have to silence the critic.

There is nothing wrong with analyzing your images, but analysis is different from criticism. On one, you are looking for angle, exposure, your subjects facial expression, pose, eyes and so forth. Criticism, on the other hand, brings the "you" into the picture (pun intended) and denigrates the photographer for making a less than perfect shot.

You want to lay ownership on your images and you do so by checking bylines, using watermarks, tear sheets and the like. Your ego enjoys this. While your eye is good for picking out images, it is usually not so good at examining self. You see yourself through filtered eyes of your emotions and, anyway, only philosophers examine themselves from the inside out.

While you can't fully ignore your inner voice, you can do some things to quiet it. Use your gift to create gifts for others. When you give one of your images to a loved one, a favorite client, a friend, you are giving a part of yourself. Whether you are aware of it or not, people around you see you as an artist, able to produce what they can not. A gift of one of your prints brings something special into their life, something not mass produced and something not available to others. It's special.

The byproduct is their praise and thanks for a unique gift which, in turn, becomes a gift to you by making you feel good and silencing the critic. You can't go around giving everyone you know one of your images, as a strategy for your well being, as this devalues both the gift and any praise. Creating a strategy, by gift giving, is not giving gifts; it's self serving. Neither the gifts or your relationship to the receiver is honored.

While clients, who pay you, say some nice things about your work, it's not the same as someone close saying the same things and feeling special.

I enjoy going into friends and relatives home and seeing my work displayed; they have a part of me in their house. This holiday season, choose a few of your images and give a print from them as a gift. You'll be doing yourself a favor.

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[REVIEW:] LowePro Outback 300 AW Review by Dennis Hays

This is an intriguing bag which can carry an assortment of photography gear on day trips, vacations and for events. I say intriguing as it's a good-sized belt-pack made to wear around your waist. The bag sits either on your side, in back or, if you want, in front. I foubnd it somewhat distracting with the bag on my abdomen, but quite useful with it on either side. Of course, you can slide it to your back, out of the way, such as for hiking or getting into lower positions for a better angle.

The Outback 300 AW (the AW is for All Weather - the cover is included) is quite resourceful with the main bag, much like a small to medium "gadget" bag in the middle and two cylindrical lens cases on either side. These can be removed if necessary, or switched with other lens cases, etc. Each of the three LowePro, beltpack models come with two interchangeable lens/accessory cases attached by SlipLock™ loops and secured with sturdy, yet lightweight compression straps.

The main portion of the Outback has plenty of room and held my DSLR with grip, a Metz 54 flash and a few other lenses. There are pockets on the under side of the zipper lid for memory cards and a small pocket for manuals or similar material. On the front of the main compartment is a storage pocket, good for a small flash, extra batteries, and other goodies.

I really liked the overly large zipper pulls, which made getting into the bag  quickly, even with gloves. The lid, by the way, unzips around three sides and opens to the side of the bag, not the front or back. If you think about it, this is the best way to design a bag such as this as opening to the front or back is always questionable. Unzipped around three edges and opening it to the side and the generous width allows the lid to stay open until you flip it back.

When wearing the bag on either side, the total weight, when fully packed, can weigh down that side of you, putting a strain on your back. I should know as I had back surgery a couple of years ago and I really felt the weight one afternoon. Fortunately, the Outback comes with a clip on shoulder strap that you can put over the opposite shoulder, so the weight can be evenly distributed.

The Outback 300 AW is a nice addition to the world of photographic bags and is welcome, especially if you don't want to lug a backpack around with you (or, are already wearing a backpack) or have no need for a larger bag, but still want to move about with a modicum of equipment.

The only suggestion I have is I would like to see a similar bag as the Outback 300 AW, but with the ability to remove the waist straps and use it only with the shoulder straps.

Disclaimer: LowePro graciously supplied me with the Outback 300 AW for this review. In doing so, they acknowledged there is no quid pro quo or editorial oversight on their part. They expected no more than a fair evaluation of their product and I was free to draw my own conclusions as to the efficacy of the Outback 300 AW.

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Thinking About Your Next Camera?

For quite a few years, photographic manufactures released new cameras frequently to add more megapixels. Of course, we photographers followed, dumping our "old" cameras and buying new in the hopes the additional pixels made us better photographers and produced higher quality images.

As a golfer continually buys accessories, photographers also have this compulsive nature to add to their kit. No matter how much you have, there is always some new gadget catching the eye.

It's a wonder why we believe things make us better, as if the real magic of photography is captured by inanimate objects, rather than our own artistry. Photography is an expressive medium, requiring personal involvement, not relegating the capturing of a precious moment to some amount of plastic, metal and silicon.

In the past year, the megapixel race seems to have melted away, more or less, replaced now by adding video capture to our still cameras. Immediately upon seeing this addition, how many of you started conjuring some way to incorporate video into your workflow—presumably justifying the cost of purchase?

I can remember many years ago meeting an older photographer, while I was out shooting some personal work. While I had one of the latest single lens reflex cameras and a couple of lenses tucked away in my kit bag, he had a simple twin lens Yashica Mat-124 (uses 6x6 film) strapped around his neck. We talked for a while, swapped business cards and resumed our individual activities.

A month or so later, while making a deposit in my bank, I noticed some photographs on the wall. You guessed it, these were from the photographer I met and there, next to each enlargement, was a card with his name and camera.

I believe we all know the creativity comes from within, but there is some secret hope adding a new camera or lens causes our work to break through some transcendental "barrier" and suddenly we produce art.

The camera is, and always was to me, a tool. While today I use Canon equipment, it's only because many years ago, the Canon representative in South Florida, where I sold cameras, offered me any Canon camera for ½ off list price. I bought an FTb with a FD 50mm f/1.4 lens. It could have been the Minolta or Nikon rep with the same type of deal. I am devoutly brand agnostic.

I write all of this as there may be some photographers who are not out shooting images because they blame their lack of equipment—that is an excuse. Whether you have a decades old instamatic (providing you can still find the film) or the latest Nikon, there is no excuse not to get up, get out and shoot.

There are few photographers using 100% of their camera's ability. Most likely, it's the 80/20 rule: Eighty percent of the photographers use only 20% of their camera's features and twenty percent of the photographers use 80%.

If you are passionate about photography, you have to make images and you'll use anything, a pinhole camera, a Holga, old film, anything at all which will capture an image. Don't let what you don't have keep you stuck in excuse land.

I will guarantee you, when in the passion of shooting, any question of brand or what you don't have is replaced with composition, focus and exposure. Give a photographer any camera and they will produce a stunning picture. Sitting at home dreaming of what you could do, won't add one image to your collection.

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A Day of Service - The Photographers' Bounty

I've just spent a day with an amazing bunch of photographers and volunteers for the Help Portrait phenomena--phenomena, because of what we all did in service to those in need. At Schenectady's Christ Church there were six photographers of various capabilities. Normally, you would expect the testosterone level to be over the top, with each wanting to show off their abilities and hardware, but, instead, a group of comrades sharing accessories and war stories.

Starting many weeks ago, a core group met weekly at a diner in Albany, New York to discuss the organization and, as none of us had ever done anything like this previously, there was no way to know if the detailed plans we made would serve the needs of each of us and the community.

The Help Portrait day, starting with setting up at 8:00 and first subjects at 10:00, turned out to be special. All of our planning made the day run as if we had done it many times previously. At the very beginning, with barely enough coffee in our systems, we made magic. Photographers lent other photographers whatever was needed, be it accessories or encouragement and help setting up.

What was really special were the people coming through the front door to get photographed. Most were families, some large, and one, that I shot, included a Rottweiler—friendly, but intimidating at first. Buster, however, turned out to be a pussycat!

Those families I shot, to a one, thanked me and some hugged. One grandmother told me it had been over eight years since they had a family portrait and, since that time, another grandchild added to their number. In some instances I was asked to document three generations and in others, couples showed off their first child.

This is different than being hired to shoot assignments. Although none of us received any remuneration, it didn't matter. We brought all the artistry and technical skill we had to make each family's session special. It was their day. When time permitted, I took individual pictures of the children, knowing they were going to be included on the CD given to each family.

Why give away our talent and skill with no expectations of future business? All we had to do was look at the faces in front of us. Not one family could have afforded family portraits done with the skill of the six professional photographers using thousands of dollars of equipment. And that was what is really important here. We gave so others could have. We put away all ego and strategy and gave something which couldn't be bought. We gave ourselves to these people for one day. For this day, the families walking through the door of the church were honored guests.

Single mothers struggling to get by day after day... Fathers, looking tough but, when holding their children, put away all pretense and showed a sweet side few ever see. Mothers watching their kids reacting from the photographer's direction and smiling seeing this new relationship, between strangers, and families, dressed and ready for their time, waiting patiently.

This event had a life of its own and because of good planning and a little luck came off without a hitch. Restaurants and bakeries provided plenty of food and one of our volunteers make four pounds of ziti and pizza for the crew. I want to also thank Sigma Corporation of America, who loaned me a fantastic lens for the Help Portrait event. The 24-70mm f/2.8, I used, was absolutely perfect for the occasion.

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What Are Your Images Worth? – Dennis Hays

Let's face it, your collection of images is your inventory, not your camera equipment. Your cameras, lenses, filters, tripods and all of the accessories, including memory cards, are tools, much like the hammer and saws for a carpenter. What you produce using the cameras is what you sell.

Now that we have that straight, we can approach the questions of what to do with the images. Besides backing them up, your images are potential dollars, sitting and waiting to be sold (Yes, I know we're really talking about here is usage  and stock photography proceeds, not the actual sale of an image—transferring ownership for money. For the sake of this article, I'm using the expedient terminology of "sale").

As your images are your product, you need to protect them from loss and theft. Loss can be prevented through persistent backups and theft, by claiming your copyright as necessary and registering your collection with the appropriate authority (the United States Copyright Office in the U.S. and similar offices in other countries) and tracking down illegal use on the Internet and other media.

Once you are satisfied your inventory is safe, you can begin to determine its worth. This can be difficult as not every image in your collection will be sold and, those that do, probably return various amounts, depending on use.

It's only after considerable time has past, licensing usage rights in your type of photography and stock photography returns, that you can find the mean value of each image. This figure is a reference, but should give you an idea for planning and estimating purposes. You can determine the mean or average value by adding all the  fees you charged during the year (or other meaningful time) and dividing it by the number of images licensed—not all you own, just those actually licensed for use.

This, of course, does not include recoverable funds for travel, lodging or other expenses, nor does it include ancillary fees, such as post-processing, CD/DVD compilation and location scouting, for instance. This number represents a baseline amount an image produces; that's all.

Once you have ascertained the average dollar a single image produces, you can get the best use of this number as a guideline to raise it the next year, thereby increasing your rate of return. It's assumed of course, that you are getting better, as a photographer, and, as such, your images are worth more.

The cost of doing business increases every year and with the economy eating away at potential revenue sources (spiraling death throes of magazines, decreased ad revenue, lower budgets), it's important to generate more income to offset lost sales opportunities.

If you were to apply the average usage fee by the total images you have in your collection (potential sales whether for stock, fine art, etc.), you have an approximate value of your inventory. This number, again for reference purposes only, is the amount of potential sales available.

Okay, the down and dirty here is in finding what one image represents as a monetary amount. If in the next year you calculate the average again and the figure for one image rises, you could say you are becoming more efficient as you get a better return per image. That is the real value of an image; as a marker to determine your growth. Fewer images at higher sales produces a higher figure per image or, to put it another way… You take hundreds (thousands) of images per assignment and, if more images are sold, as a percentage, you can assume you are becoming better by making judicious choices with the shutter. After all, anyone can press the shutter but knowing when is the true mark.

This may all be so much tripe to some of you, but for others, it can be a marker of how you are progressing.

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Photo Rescue Software Review – There ain’t no free lunch!

I’m usually quite diligent with my memory cards; copying (not moving) the images from the card to the computer, doing a backup and then formatting the memory card back in the camera. I’ve really had no problems, until last night.

I was busy creating some blog postings and also working on a newsletter for my wife (she does a quarterly newsletter for a not-for-profit and I do the layout). There I was happily multi-tasking when she came into my office and wanted to add another picture to the newsletter.

She handed her camera to me and I put the memory card in a card reader, opened freeCommander (a dual-panel file manager) and started to copy the files to a folder on my computer, when freeCommander froze!

I tried everything I knew but couldn't get control back. So, using Windows Task manager, I aborted freeCommander and opened an Explore window. All the files were gone; nothing, nada, vapor. Politely, I told my wife to find something to do, while I worked to get the images back.

I started with Google and looked for an application to rescue her images. Three, that I downloaded and tried, found absolutely nothing on the memory card; no folders, no files. All of these programs were free and absolutely useless. Fearing downloading and trying any more would do more harm than good, I quit looking for any more free utilities.

I had known about PhotoRescue for a number of years, but didn’t really want to spend the $29.00. Furthermore, I didn’t want to risk the possibility that PhotoRescue wouldn’t be able to find and resurrect the lost images. However, PhotoRescue had a trial version I could use to see if it would work.

I downloaded the trial and started it up. PhotoRescue took some time to read through the sectors as I watched its green thermometer slowly move towards the right. Instead of sitting anxiously, I went upstairs and relaxed while my lovely wife asked if I found her pictures yet? What if they are really missing? Are you sure they are all gone? … and so forth. Maybe I was better off sitting at my desk watching PhotoRescue work. At least it would be quiet.

The trial version eventually completed, showing me it had, in fact, recovered the entire memory card’s volume of folders and images. A dialog popped up to let me know that if I paid for a license and entered the registration number, I could save the images. Since the other three programs didn’t find anything, I thought it prudent to spend the $29.00.

I went to PhotoRescue's web site and purchased a license. What I got back was an email letting me know where I could download a registered version of PhotoRescue (this version uses no registration numbers; it’s good to go when you install it).

This was somewhat annoying, as I had the trial version still opened on my desktop, waiting for the registration to be entered and save my images. Now, I had to download and install a registered version and start the entire process all over again; then wait for it to complete reading the memory card’s sectors (and continue to answer my wife’s worried questions).

I can report that PhotoRescue found and saved every image on that SD card and saved it in its original size and quality. It reconstructed the SD memory card folders and all and I could choose to save the image on my hard drive, which I did. After backing up the images, I formatted the SD card in the camera for its next use.

PhotoRescue has a good refund policy. Use the trial version first. If it can’t recover the images, the paid version won’t either. If the trial shows that it can recover your images, but the paid version won’t, PhotoRescue will issue a refund.

There is no doubt PhotoRescue is worth the $29.00. Sooner or later you will run into problems with a memory card and, if you are like me, with four people using digital cameras in the house…

As I said previously, the trial version suggests it can save your images to disk once you enter a registration code. There is no registration code. You have to download the registered version and start the process from scratch. Other than time lost, not a real problem; just annoying.

My advice to anyone using a digital camera … get a copy of PhotoRescue, put it in a safe place.

$29.00 is a small price for image recovery and peace of mind.

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When The Problem Is The Solution - Realizing Creativity

Sometimes we think of creativity as a new subject or shooting with a new lens or shooting from a new angle. There is truth to that and those elements can help us see our work in a new light (yes, pun intended - I can't help it; it's congenital).

Most photographers have a stable of clients and, for these, we get images similar to those shot over time for the same customers. That, in effect, is why they hire us--they want and sometimes demand consistency.

If suddenly you were asked to do something different; something completely out of your comfort zone, how would you handle it? Your ego may tell you it's no problem, while your subconscious is filled with anxiety. This concept is not uncommon; it happens to most people in similar circumstances.

How you handle these tests can determine your creative growth. If you normally turn down assignments out of your comfort zone, you probably do so because of this anxiety and your inner voice expressing reluctance.

If you have limited equipment, such as a non-pro camera or lower-tier lenses, you probably believe you cannot get a "money" shot with what you have. If you shoot landscapes and are asked to get some corporate headshots, you place yourself immediately in a vulnerable position. Anything taking you out of your tried and true areas of expertise, no matter what kind of photographer you are, sets you up for fear of failure.

Let's take the limited equipment problem (get your mind out of the gutter; we are discussing photography) and look at it in context with the title above. First, you state the problem: "I don't have the right equipment."

If the problem and the solution are one and the same, then the equipment you have <em>is</em> the solution. Rather than dismiss an opportunity by never considering using what you do have, you use this "dilemma" as a catalyst to forge a creative solution.

A photographer is never defined by the camera, but is defined by the images. Cameras are only the tools. As a magician would say, "It's not the wand that causes the magic, it's the way you wave it!"

Regarding the other example--taking an assignment out of your comfort zone--what is the solution? As you are coming into this assignment with no real experience, you have an opportunity to use your creativity. You already know about lighting from any other photography you do, so use what you do have to craft a lighting solution.

Let's not confuse using a client for on-the-job training with using your talent in a different manner. Using your existing talent in new ways is not the same as a novice photographer taking on a world-class client. The assumption here is you have taken shot thousands of images and have a solid photographic background.

The bottom line is you need to be aware of your inner processes when you feel uncomfortable. Stating out load the problem and using it as a solution is a powerful means to gain creative insight.

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The Charitable Photographer - A Question of Giving Back

Most of the year, photographers are busy marketing and shooting or, if you are a hobbyist, finding the time to take pictures. Along with the rest of our busy lives, photography can sometimes take a back seat.

If it seems to you that your life is hectic and you are running from one event to another, think of what you really are accomplishing. You have to answer that thought with how much of what you do is fulfilling. Certainly, the photography and/or your day job put money in your pocket and food on the table and those are needed. But we are not discussing your physical needs, but emotional.

Learning and growing in your personal photographic expedition is worthwhile and can provide a sense of accomplishment and wellbeing. Sometimes, however, you find it's just not enough.

You can use your photographic ability to help others and give back to your community and, by doing so, feed the other part of you; the part yet unfulfilled in your photography. Look around and you see people less fortunate than you, people having a tough time, especially in this holiday season.

Making just one of their days a little better--showing you care--can mean the difference between full-time despair and a moment of peace. Your gift of photography, that which you have studied and practiced, is also a gift to you.

This month (December 2009), Help Portrait is making a difference. Help Portrait is a movement of photographers giving their time and energy to those less fortunate. It may be to late for you to get involved, but here are some other ideas:

1. Become involved with your church, boys and girls club or scouts to teach a photography.
2. Volunteer at any not-for-profit event (look in the newspapers or online) to be the photographer of record.
3. If you know of a family having difficulties, financial or otherwise, volunteer to take a family portrait and provide the enlargements at no charge.
4. Get involved with animal rescue groups to document what they do and provide digital files for their publicity. Many of these organizations have little funds or are supported only by their volunteers. Helping them with photographic documentation has meaning.

Anything you do should be done without a strategy. Offering your services should not be a means by which you can hand out business cards and procure business. This act needs to come from your heart. Only by freely giving can you get back what may be missing in your life. Remember, a gift, not freely given, is an obligation.

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The Wannabe Photographer - A Question of Someday

Short of going out and buying a camera and other accessories, there has to be a desire and action to move on that desire. Or, it's possible you have a camera, but it's lying unused somewhere in your house. You may bring it out, from time to time, whenever a family member asks you to take some pictures, but rarely do you ever go out and shoot for yourself.

This happens to all of us in some form or another. It can manifest itself wheh trying to start an exercise program, learn a new hobby and so forth. The problem is quite like procrastination as we create excuses to stop from ever starting. With photography, the excuse can be lack of proper equipment, can't find the time, I could never be as good as... , I need to learn more about photography and a myriad of other excuses.

If you do this long enough, you'll never get started. And if you are doing this with photography, you are probably doing it in other endeavors, as well. During those times, when you are alone, you look through photography magazines and web sites, discovering other photographers and their work. You may even say, from time to time, "I could do that," but you don't.

So, why the paralysis? Usually the procrastination happens as a result of fear or anxiety of the unknown. If you don't take any pictures, you can be as good as you want in your head, and, after all, there is no failure if you don't try!

Experience is the best teacher. You can read all the photography books, visit all the photo web sites, speak to other photographers and not move a foot in your learning. You have to go out and get images. You can't get better until you have something to be better than. Therefore, to get to be a better photographer, you have to be a photographer first.

Here are your first steps:

1. Think of a subject [trains, trees, rocks, anything]
2. Schedule some time for yourself; at least a few hours. You can't break this schedule except in an emergency.
3. Go out and get some images. Weather is not an excuse with the exception of tornados, hurricanes and blizzards.
4. Transfer your images to the computer.
5. Make a back up!
6. Edit and evaluate.
7. Go back to step 1

“Do, or do not. There is no try” – Jedi Master Yoda

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