i agree jerren. but i am super encouraged to see so many 'first posts' coming about...several even reference this thread! so thats cool!
BUT, I still want to see some early work!
So I am calling some MFers out...i mean FMers out!
Braeden, I remember your early posts...now you rock.
Tmronin, you are a rockstar...show your early stuff!
Frank, the lighting guru, surely you werent born with a camera and strobes in hand?
Mark Pelleteir, master of natural light...sure you are busy saving the world, but surely you could find time to dig up some early work?
Timhpark, early stuff please!
Pfiltz...your senior portraits are awesome...were they always?
Serg, i know you started like yesterday, but how about some images from when you first picked up a camera? I know you work your ass off at getting better, so show us all where you came from.
liamh, come on you ol' brit.
ryan hawthorne...where you at?
and to all the other rockin photogs...show the newbs your early stuff to let them all know we all sucked at one point.
I owe a lot to this community of photographers. Like others, I feel I have learned an incredible amount, from experienced professionals and amateurs alike. I too really would encourage all those lurkers afraid to post to take that step. It's damn scary, and can be a crushing experience, but it's for the most part very constructive.
I started taking photography more seriously at the beginning of 2007, when I discovered what a wonderful respite to a blinkered and stressful professional life. At the time I was living in Nairobi, Kenya and desperately wanted to find a photography school or club. Unfortunately these do not exist in Kenya, so I took several betterphoto on-line courses. What a waste of time and some very serious money!
I then posted my first photos, got squashed, and went into a brief depression. Funny thing is, I woke up the next day with an impulse to take more photos, and show all of you that maybe I could do a bit better. I started a project to document the elections and then violent crisis in Kenya, regularly posting to this forum. I was amazed and deeply grateful for the constructive criticism, which helped me improve every aspect of my skills. Two things above all I like the best:
1. A lot of people remembered me, and commented on my progress over time, while at the same time pointing out the room for improvement. This has been extremely useful and given me incredibly useful feedback - both from professionals and amateurs, who shared with me gut-felt impressions and with whom I was able to connect in this learning experience.
2. I was taking photos in the middle of a violent and disturbing chapter of Kenyan history, which was emotionally and physically risky. I did it because I wanted, in my own clumsy way, to help put out the story of what was happening. What kept me going and returning every day were the deeply moving words of encouragement and support from FM members - they made me feel it was worthwhile in more ways than one.
I've since moved from Nairobi and am now in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I'm in something of a 7 day a week job so it's difficult to dedicate time to photography, but I'm starting to develop a concept for a project that I hope to start soon. I look at the camera on the edge of my desk every day. You can bet I'll be posting here again.
@Spyros
I am quite looking forward to seeing some posts from DCR.
Also working, living and photographic conditions as compared to Kenya.
Where you are - must be something of an undiscovered country
And tremendous photographic opportunity
freespirit wrote:
@Spyros
I am quite looking forward to seeing some posts from DCR.
Also working, living and photographic conditions as compared to Kenya.
Where you are - must be something of an undiscovered country
And tremendous photographic opportunity
Thanks freespirit. I definitely hope to post soon. I've taken a small step forward and found a fixer who can show me around. I'm going to have to be very careful and selective, as this not a place where you wander about with a DSLR - I think i would last for a about five minutes. That said, Congo is going to be very interesting - rebels all over the place, an active volcano on the horizon, and the most amazingly beautiful countryside I have ever seen. All the best, Spyros
K... so yall wanna see my first post on OSP. Get ready its ammazing... lol. I did however realized that I liked my sun shots even then... so here we go.
So whats my advice? Figure out what / how you want to shoot and don't stop shooting. Shooting more and more is the only way to get better. And ya know posting them on occasion to get some critique is probably a good idea too . But remember to take it with a grain of salt. Anyways there is the very early me awesome huh?? lol....
Yeah, this could be a great thread ... let's keep it going. I've picked up a lot from FM, mainly in the people section, but also in the wedding one too. There are some great shooters and some great processors, some inflated egos and some that should be. It's a community and it takes all kinds to make it work. If we all posted here and everybody said everything we did was wonderful what good would it do. I love the back and forth and even a few personal jabs here and there ... such is life on the internet. You can't throw yourself out there without the good and bad coming back at you. OK blah blah, here's two photos I took on my first week in Philadelphia 1980. I had tried the academic world and actually got through two years of college, but my heart was not in it. I grew up on the beach in NJ and when I hit the city and just started making photos on the street my head felt like it was going to explode. I couldn't afford enough film or find the darkroom time to get it all in. The homeless guy was in the neighborhood and having come from fairly whitebread world it was amazing to me. I was young. The girl in the second photo, I met in the elevator while moving in. Twenty five years later and I'm still taking her photo. http://www.tomspaderphotography.com/2005xx.jpg http://www.tomspaderphotography.com/d9x.jpg
Jerren wrote:
What a shame this thread didn't take off.
love those shots of yours..sometimes I think a persons older stuff is somewhat better because they arnt influenced so much of other photo styles...
I would post my early stuff but well it's all my early stuff ... hopefully I'll see some progress in my work like I do with others here.
This place can be very inspirational.
Unfortunately I AM in my early days of shooting. As a newbie starting just starting out I've learned a tremendous amount from this forum. It's nice to get real feedback, from a real professional.
Sure, you will come in here with a photo you just love, because up to that point, it's your best work. But getting it crushed just means that you can go back and make something even better.
I'm sure I'm not the only one that gets a real high from being just so damn proud of a photo.
Here is the photo that made me fall in love with photography:
I try to share photos with friends and family through my website, which posts them in chronological order. You can clearly see the "phases" I went through. http://www.eltongjata.com
PS: Carmina, your stuff is seriously jawdropping. Seriously. I wish I had a fraction of your talent.
When I first started it was back it 2004. The first camera I bought was a Canon powershot a300, the moved on to a g2, Digital Rebel, and Finally a MK II.
My how my skills have grown since then. I am not saying I am an amazing photographer or anything but I know I have learned a bunch from this place,
Thanks for posting this thread. I had been watching the forums for almost a year and just recently got the courage together to post. I have gotten some great feedback and I am very grateful for it. I look forward to posting more and learning more.
. But remember to take it with a grain of salt. Anyways there is the very early me awesome huh?? lol....
