Photographic Journey
Albert Pedrosa
Photo Mania
TWO weeks ago we conducted a photography workshop for Landbank staff. It was part of their employee development program. There were so many who enrolled that we had to divide the workshop into three schedules.
Our contact informed us that not everybody who enrolled owns a DSLR, as some just wanted to understand photography in general. To my surprise, many attended with the latest model cameras having multiple lenses.
When I started photography in the early 90s, few owned an SLR camera. They were not only heavy cameras back then, but only those who were serious about photography could understand and operate the camera. There was also this fear that every time you click, you’re wasting a frame of film already.
If you want to learn photography today, access to information is within your reach. There’s Youtube, workshops and photography blogs. Operating the camera is definitely much easier with the user interface given much attention by the camera manufacturers.
However, the thing that I like about photography is its mix with technical and art. You can probably get the most sophisticated camera you can buy and match it with the most expensive glass and you’ll still end up getting point and shoot outputs if you don’t understand the art of photography.
Photography is a marriage of technical aspects and art. There’s a lot of problem solving when it comes to light. Just like in math, there are constants and variables that you have to consider when trying to achieve a particular effect or capturing not only the scene but also the experience.
Unfortunately, no matter how technically advanced we are today, when it comes to photography, what you see is not what you’re going to get.
There’s so much you have to simulate and consider in capturing what you see and feel and record it in your camera.
A scene might look really engaging but when you point your camera and take the shot, you’ll realize that our eyes are more dynamic when it comes to shades. We can see dark and light shades at the same time and at a wider range more than our cameras. The perspective is also an issue, since lenses give us a different compression of field of view.
It’s the complexity of the many variables and limitations of the recording device that keeps my interest in photography. From these variables, constants and limitation is where you create and let you imagination play. The possibilities are endless. This is where the journey begins.
Owning a camera is just the beginning. There’s so much more for you to experience and learn. The idea in photography is not the destination but the journey of discovery and creativity. Keep on shooting, everyone!
(photomanio.sunstar@gmail.com / www.grp.ph)
