Week 11 - 2018 in Photographs

Day 75

One of my favorite photographer stories is from a National Geographic employee I had the pleasure to meet and have as a cabin guest for a week. At the time serious cameras were film. Rolls of standard film had 36 images, but if you loaded carefully you could squeeze out 37. You had no idea of what you had captured on that film until after it was "processed" or developed.

I asked my new friend how many keepers he got out of a roll of film. And he told me sometimes none. I was shocked. I occasionally wasted a whole roll of film but he worked for National Geographic. 

"You are a very good photographer if you get one keeper out of a roll," he said. "And as you get better you may get less."

I was sure it was the tequila talking. But I have come to know the truth of what he said. And even if we are now in a digital image I still hold the one good photograph out of 36 measure in my mind. And even be thrilled when I upload 243 images from my camera to the computer and find one which blows me away.

Some days are diamonds and some days are stone. Some days the magic works and some days it doesn't. This has not been a stellar week of photographs. I am still trying to capture a great image of my yellow orchid, and reminding myself that yellow is a difficult color. And holding on to that other bit of advice he handed out, "But you will never get that one out of 36 if you don't take any pictures." 

On this particular "roll" of photographs there is Day 81. It works for me.

Day 74

Day 73

Day 76

Day 72

Day 77

Day 71

And as to why do you get fewer "keepers" as you become a better photographer? I only have guesses. My lead reason is you take more risks but that could just be a function of digital technology where every click of the camera does not have a price sign. But it also is true that as your skills mature you become more critical of every photograph you upload. 

As I go back through my photo files from time to time I find myself more often asking myself, "what was so special about that one?"