Looking back while looking ahead....

Every once and awhile I like to go back into my photo files and look at some of the photos I've taken and compare them with the work I do today.  As with so many photographers (those of us who just like taking photos all the time) I think about where I was at and what I was doing when I took some of these photos.  I try to recreate the process (the what, when, where, how, and most important... why).  Many of my photos are just a matter of luck... the right weather, light, being at the right place at the right time and I still am surprised by what I have managed to capture.  I look at the photos that I created with controlled lighting, special effects, props, and staging and again I find myself smiling at what I've been able to create just "goofing" around.

Much of my photographic skills are just plain luck... I can live with that.  It seems I do just as well relying on "luck" as I do when I spend countless hours planning and prepping only to have nature do just the opposite of what I thought would happen (you can't always rely on the whether report or "someone said" when it comes to landscape photography.  So I just go with what happens and make the best of it.  That attitude has forced me to look beyond what I expect and has opened my eyes to looking at the world in all its variables.  A planned trip to the city only to find heavy fog...  just another opportunity to take photos and challenge myself to think more creatively.  Flat sky?  No longer a problem!  Hazy views....  there is a solution.

The point is....  with every photo experience there is a challenge... it's what you do with that challenge that enables you to be more creative.  Best advice I can give a person who is just starting out taking photographs is to not be discouraged... just go out and shoot.  In no time you'll start to find ways to capture great shots in spite of the conditions.