If we view photographs regularly, we probably resonate with a type of photography done by particular photographers.
And maybe their work inspires us to do our work.
If a specific photographer's
photographs inspire us, chances are good that their words will inspire us, too.
A Photographer's Quote: Dorothea Lange
“To know ahead of time what you’re looking for means you’re then only photographing your own preconceptions, which is very limiting, and often false.”— Dorothea Lange
Hello ,
This quote by Dorothea Lange reinforces what yesterday's email to you from me was about.
I'm repeating the sentiment because yesterday's email was kinda lengthy.
So, if you didn't get through yesterday's email, Dorothea Lange's words say it much more succinctly than I did.
But if you wanna reread
yesterday's email, the link's above.
And, at the risk of getting a bit philosophical, aren't all preconceptions limiting and often false? Especially those we put on ourselves or others?
One of my limiting preconceptions was that photography was too difficult for me to learn and get good at. Granted, at the time, I was a 16 or 17-year-old kid, but if the kids in the camera club could do photography, so could I.
But, I was frustrated by my mistakes and lacked the patience to learn photography. So, I gave up and sold the camera.
A turn of events in my mid-twenties wound up putting a SLR camera in my hands, and I remembered my interest in photography.
But
this time, despite my memories of preconceptions of my inability to learn photography, I took a class, learned to understand what I was doing when it came to camera operation, composition, and light—and started enjoying photography and getting good at it.
And when anyone asks me about the difficulty of learning photography, I answer, "If I can do this stuff, anyone can."
September's Introduction To Photography classes are scheduled. I keep class sizes limited to five participants because you'll get more attention with four other people in the class than with 24 other people in a class.
And remember, we learn and improve by
doing, so practice making at least one picture today.
That’s all for now; thanks for reading!
Sam
Be a better photographer; study and practice photography with me.
If the timing doesn't work for you in any of my scheduled group classes, we can schedule a one-time lesson or a series of in-person or online one-on-one private instruction that covers the same things as any of my group classes.
Ways to work with me are below.
