"That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
{poet}
"It's not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it's what you put into the practice."
- Eric Lindros
{pro hockey player}
No matter who you are or what you do it's evident that practice will improve your skills.
Period.
During the years of 2009 and 2010 I participated in a 365 Project, where I took one photograph every single day.
{ok, there were a handful of days I missed.}
And thanks mainly to frequent practice I dramatically improved my skills.
Here's one of my first photos:
{it's ok to laugh}
And here is one of my last:
I'd say I got a bit better, wouldn't you?
365 days in a row of practice isn't for everyone, though.
So do what works with your schedule! Just be sure it's a regular occurrence.
As Eric says, it's not always about quantity so much as quality.
Well, your tomato shot is really stunning! but that first one could be used as a texture :)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I want your strawberry patch. Second, Wow! what difference it style. I love this 31 days series.
ReplyDelete"In style", not "it style".
ReplyDeleteI love that tomato shot!
ReplyDeleteit's so much fun to see how we improve by looking back! i know i have improved, just by having a blog and forcing myself to push my skills farther, even if i don't really know what i am doing.
ReplyDeletethe main reason i stopped by today was to share a couple links with you... because i read your recent interview on life with kaishon, and the couple things i discovered today made me think back to that interview and what you said about not having an iPhone {which i don't have either}.
anyway, i know you made that photoshop action to get an instagram-like effect. so i thought you might like these two sites/tools...
http://dbox.tumblr.com/post/5426249009/instagram-filters-as-photoshop-actions
http://www.photowalkthrough.com/photowalkthrough/2011/6/20/pw168-flare-app-review.html
i know i will be using them! thought you might be interested, too.
p.s
LOVE the tomato shot!
It's always fun to see how far you've come. I admit I cringe at some of my first photographs. ;) And I remember how great I thought they were. Haha. Love those quotes!
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo! Wow! Look at that change. I ain't laughing... I'm sure you'd find some of those same shots in my archive. :) I can't do a 365 I've tried 3 times and failed. :) this year I decided to just go with things, no "laws" or rules or anything. And not only have I shot something almost every day, but I've also almost made it through a year long "photography class" posting weekly (just 11 weeks left!) And feel like I've really grown and improved, both with my sooc shots and my editing. I've found "me" and embraced my nitch... Stopped trying to be some photographer I'm not... I'm thinking next year I'm gonna keep everything loose and relaxed, give myself just one or two attainable goals and continue to grow and love it!
ReplyDelete