Everybody with a camera is a photographer... right?

I've been "taking pictures" for about 35 years or so now. I have literally taken tens of thousands of photos over the years. The thing is that, like a lot of people, even though I keep trying and keep trying to figure out why my photos don't look professional, I haven't been able to quite get it right. NOW, I am starting to get there. I've been reading different books, blogs, and taking classes on photography and there are many common threads in the photography world. I would like to share them publicly. I just want to document my journey for a couple of purposes 1) Maybe it will help somebody else learn along with me and to become better photographer and 2) It helps to solidify things for myself.

So, to be blunt I will state that just because you have a camera doesn't make you a photographer. Just because you have a GOOD camera - a professional camera - does NOT make you a photographer! It's like saying that anybody with a set of surgical tools is a surgeon or anybody with carpentry tools is a carpenter. Photography is a skill that takes not only practice, but it requires some form of education. I had had years of practice, but little education. I was ignorant or "vaguely familiar" at best with the NECESSARY elements of photography. I was just like any other person wielding a camera: the photos that I took were hit-and-miss as far as quality and aesthetics goes. I did not understand what went into making a good photograph. One thing to understand from the beginning is that the camera doesn't make the picture. It is the photographer that makes the picture. Your photo is a reflection of your artistic nature, much in the same way a painting is a reflection of a painter. My ultimate goal is to reach the level of professional photographer - where my photos are consistently the way I envision them to be in my head. That's what it's all about - taking what you see or what you envision and "painting" exactly what is in your mind.

I will post on many different subjects relating to photography. I will cover the technical as well as the artistic sides as these work together to make the skill of photography. There is a lot to cover... so let's get started!

photo courtesy of Julie Drake