Everyone knows that a picture speaks a thousand words but what no one talks about is that a perfect picture takes a thousand clicks. Photography has been my passion since the time I’ve known cameras. It all started with my dad’s first camera and every opportunity I had to get my hands on it. His camera was a Japanese make called Ricoh that operated in the traditional film roll mechanism. If I remember correctly, one film roll allowed you to take around 32 pictures and a little more lengthier rolls with around 50-60 pictures came out afterwards. The famous Kodaks and Konicas were the film roll makers back in the days.
Photography is definitely a skill and one needs to know some of the basics of a camera, its features and usage, however for most part I believe that a photographer needs to have an eye for great pictures such as the right colours, how much must a subject be captured in a frame, bringing emotions into a picture etc. These qualities are immanent for a talented photographer and marks the difference between someone who is learnt photography as a skill and someone who possesses it naturally.
I owned my first camera (picture below) at the age of 14. It was a departing gift from a cousin. Ever since then, Canon has stuck with me. I think during those days one was a much better photographer than what one is today – technology has really spoilt us. Back in the days, it was an investment to get yourself a film roll that allowed you to click anywhere between 30 – 50 pictures and those were your most precious and perfect clicks, you got better and better with each click. Whereas today, the digital era allows you to click unlimited pictures and edit them whichever way you want them to look like. A real photographer’s eye is no longer existent, the only real photographer that exists today is called ‘Photoshop’ and/or similar tools.
To all my readers who click out there, think about how many times you click before you get to a perfect picture. How many times have you thought about clicking now and editing later. How many of you use RAW format so that you are always safe with getting the right settings even after the picture is clicked. Think about it ! Whilst technology has advanced in the world of photography for good, it also took away the natural and inherent talent that we had in us and not allowing us to use them anymore by providing insurance protection to all our clicks with editing features. Once in a while, I use nature as my canvas to get the best out of my imagination. What also helps me is using less of ‘Auto’ features and using more ‘Manual’ options.
To sum it up… Try not to let technology take over your skills. The best combination is to put your creativity on top rather than thinking if the camera is capable of taking the picture. Once your idea is ready then do everything that is needed to make your mental image a reality !
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