What's your holy grail in photography?

elven

We're all constantly battlinng to get better and better at this stuff. Or so it would seem anyway... :rolleyes:

So, how do you judge what's better? What would you have to accomplish, to say you've satisfied yourself that you've achieved the absolute best of your ability?

Taking into account, and completely disregarding, of course, the fact that by our own nature as human beings we couldn't ever get to that stage because we keep shifting the goalposts - but even so, what is it we're actually striving for?

In a technical sense, I'd love to be at the stage where I know when I've nailed the exposure and the focus without having to get it on the monitor to check. To not have to think about what settings to use, just to know.

Creatively/artistically, I'd love to manage to create something that was uniquely mine, and not directly influenced by fashions or trends in photography, and also something that I do in a non pre-emptive way - I'm not deciding how the picture *should* look and trying to make the subject behave that way, I'm capturing something gorgeous in its own right... anyway, that's my waffle over...

rymus

I'll consider myself a success when I can justify hiring someone to do all my post processing for me

elven

Can I get first dibs on that job?

Fajitas!

I'll take second dibs on that. Wages better be ruddy good.

Hmmm, I'm not sure where my goalpost is at at the moment.

I guess making some big bucks from it.

I feel I'm doing pretty well at the moment considering I'm 20, and have been published a lotta times, being hired for a lot of various jobs etc...

elven

Aren't you even 21 yet, ffs?

I think your advantage, as well as generally being good at photography, is having the balls to go for it and actually do the jobs. I'd be left in the corner going 'ooh, well, not sure if I'd be able to manage that, you know...'

Eirebear

Thats a tough question, I think forging my own style and pulling off top class results is the main aim for me.

That in itself is a constant battle between my photographer self, and my normal everyday self though.
I dont in general care what other people think of me or what i do, but in order to confirm (or deny) wether i am on the right path (or not) it seems i need the help, and criticism of my peers.

Photography in itself is a fairly lonely hobby/occupation/obsession or whatever you want to call it, but yet to better yourself you need to surround yourself by other like minded people, which in any other walk of life wouldnt make any sense really would it?

Hmm i think i ramble....hopefully you get my point.

FreeAnd..

to be honest, ill be happy the day i take a shot or a series of shots, look at them and im actually happy with the results...has yet to happen, sometimes looking back or after i get some feedback they grow on me but i dont think i have ever been happy with my shots.. I often feel they are better than they actually are when i take them but ultimately i am dissapointed when i look at them..sometimes strange things put me off shots and i delete them immediately without giving them the chance to grow on me

its a wonder i havent packed it all in at this stage but im looking forward to spending some serious time at it over the next few months/years then maybe i might plant some real goalposts

Calina

What's my holy grail in photography?

There are different holy grails and different aspects. One nice one would be enough cash for a 1D for the added fps that will take the pressure off me in terms of nailing the timing on a shot like this one:



a microsecond later and his legs would have been straight, for example.

__________ In other terms, I'm at the stage where I generally don't have to worry about exposure too much unless the light is truly awful. My bete noir tends to be depth of field + woolly subjects as a result. Admittedly I work in the horrendous condition of not having full freedom in setting up a shot (when the kitesurfer jumps, he doesn't hang in the air indefinitely).

__________ also want to get published in one of the big international kite magazines. Aer Lingus was nice but it's given me a taste for more.

_________________________

The issue, I suspect, lies in identifying "what is better". When I went digital, I thought I'd do some landscape, not much processing because I came from the fully manual background. In a year, I've gone from landscape to mostly sports photography, my view on equipment has changed, my view on life has changed...and I've learned a lot. The key thing I've learned is that you never stop learning...and the minute you think you have it all...something goes wrong, your eye goes awry or whatever.

So I guess, the big thing for me is to always know where my limits lie and work at pushing past them. I think that means I'll have to make a start on macro photography soon.

GristlyEnd

I can't say I have a holy grail as photography is still a hobby to me and I'm pretty sure will always be. Now in saying that, nailing exposure would be one for me as well.

Calina

Eirebear wrote:

Photography in itself is a fairly lonely hobby/occupation/obsession or whatever you want to call it,....

it doesn't really have to be that way.

rymus

elven wrote:

Can I get first dibs on that job?

You're both provisionally hired. Love taking the photos, hate doing the processing.

Eirebear

Calina wrote:

it doesn't really have to be that way.

Thats what im trying to get at calina, as i said i ramble a little bit...

In its essence it is a fairly loneley way of life, who else wants to get up at 4 AM to catch the sunrise with you (unless illicit substances are involved!).
The camera cuts you off from the people in front of you, its a barrier for many people.

I think most of us have a little of the loner in us, but yet we are aiming to create something that needs the appraisal of others in order to be deemed "worthy".
So in order to take away from that self imposed solitude we tend to gravitate towards other people who are into photography, which in turn creates a strange dynamic, almost a pecking order among photographers from the general snappers up to the top pro's.

I'm not sure if ive gone off topic here, if i have then i apologise, but my holy grail in photography is to ultimately create a style and product that pleases me and gains that little bit of recognition from others.

Fajitas!

I love nothing more than coming home to relax myself in Lightroom & Photoshop... Especially after a stressful days shooting!

RCNPhotos

To go on tour with the stones and take that "one" pic that defines music photogrpahy for the next million years. But really, would love to get a shot that in years to come is talked about and always referenced to. Shots like that one of the clash from the side of stage, an iconic shot

gandalf

Hmmm my holy grail is simple, is to capture the shot as I see it in my head consistantly. At the moment sometimes I get it but othertimes I think I have a good photo just to see it come up on the screen here just out of focus or flawed in some other way and extremely disappointed that I have missed that moment of time.

ThOnda

I would like to have an exhibition hosted or opened by some of my favourite photographers. And pictures from three or four documentary projects. And absolutely oragstic would be having all sets done from one visit. Like one year here in Ireland: Ballinasloe horse market, St. Paddy's parade, burning wood, Sandbank horse races, surfing, Spraoi...
Having exhibit-able set of 15-20 pictures from each occasion, that would be great. And compose exhibition from it, ohwww.... wet dreams :-)

abelard

[cheese]I think my ultimate purpose for attempting photography is expression. My holy grail at the moment is to conceive a "project", an artistic "something" that I can achieve through photography, and feel I've expressed something important.[/cheese]

More realistically and short term, I just want to get the "photographer's eye", learn through experience what makes an interesting and appealing shot and the use of design principles etc. Also, grasp more than the very basics of Photoshop.

Trogdor

Until a few weeks ago, my goal was to get a really good lightning shot, but anyone who saw my swiss thunderstorm thread saw that i did. Well i thought they were really good anyway:p. I remember looking at them on my laptop in the car and thinking...it's gonna be a long time before i can beat these pics. I suppose i'd consider it a goal to earn money for a picture. Must feel good to know that someone's actually paying money for your pictures. I should have plenty of time to try and get to that stage though, considering i only sat the Junior cert this June

Glowing

I want to get one of those perfect shots, you know the ones that you just can't stop looking at? Perfectly balanced, perfectly exposed, interesting and satisfying to look at.

I love capturing the moment too - catching people in the act....

Funnily enough, haven't quite got there yet!

rahtkennades

I'm with gandalf, I'd just like what I see in my head to be reproduced on screen/paper.
But I suppose everybody wants that.
For me as a relative noob, it'd be to get consistent. I think everybody can take some outstanding shots, but to consistently take half-decent or reasonable shots takes a lot of work.

thebaz

the holy grail for me is Henri Cartier ... i wonder why i wanted to quit ?

elven

One of the things I was interested to see, was whether people would measure success on their own judgement of their achievement, on other people's judgement, or on monetary reward

Do you think, even if you got paid sh1tloads of cash for it and everyone thought you were fantastic but you had a niggling feeling that you just weren't up to scratch, you'd still be content? At the same time, even if I was completely happy with my stuff, if nobody else liked it I'd probably be pretty hacked off

Eirebear, about the solitary nature of the thing - I think shooting, itself, is usually best done alone because (personally speaking) you need to get into 'the zone' and that's not easy done when you're with people and may be slightly more self conscious. Also, as you say, there's the 4am rise, and also the physical barrier that the camera itself can create between you and your friends which gets them rapidly hacked off...

But, then you have the social element of this place, sharing your photos, and sometimes meeting up for a group shoot as well. It helps, though, when you're not in Donegal!

rymus

elven wrote:

It helps, though, when you're not in Donegal!

Or Cork even... That's what I've been getting at for a while. I'm / We're (speaking for Southern and non-Pale boards users in general) missing out on much of the social aspect of this place and it ticks me off greatly.

Eirebear

Hehe yes it would help not being in Donegal.....come to think of it, do you know of any decent clubs/groups in the glasgow area?

As for your initial question, i dont think ill ever be completely happy with the shots i take, simply because i think once you settle for what youve got youll never improve again

Fajitas!

elven wrote:

Do you think, even if you got paid sh1tloads of cash for it and everyone thought you were fantastic but you had a niggling feeling that you just weren't up to scratch, you'd still be content?

No, but I'd be trying to find out why. No matter how many people are saying your photos are great, there's gonna be just as many, if not more saying they're sh*te!

elven

Eirebear wrote:

Hehe yes it would help not being in Donegal.....come to think of it, do you know of any decent clubs/groups in the glasgow area?

Keep an eye on the flickr glasgow/scotland discussion threads for glasgow meets I'd say. They have also started a UK boards, but not sure how that's getting on.

gandalf

Actually what others think doesn't really matter to me at all. The sheer pleasure I get from seeing that a photo has been captured exactly as I saw is what drives me. The same as the extreme frustration I feel when I know my technical limitations have caused me to miss a wonderful image.

Having people commend your photos is nice but as Fajitas said just as many if not more will probably not like your shots.

Eirebear

gandalf wrote:

Actually what others think doesn't really matter to me at all. The sheer pleasure I get from seeing that a photo has been captured exactly as I saw is what drives me. The same as the extreme frustration I feel when I know my technical limitations have caused me to miss a wonderful image.

Having people commend your photos is nice but as Fajitas said just as many if not more will probably not like your shots.

But if what people say doesnt bother you in any way shape or form, then how do you learn and progress as a photographer?

I'm pretty sure you dont take photos pureley for your own pleasure, whats the point if no one else sees them?

gandalf

LOL I do listen to what others say as I do want to learn and I put them up to get tips on what to do better. As I said my technique is still that of a learner. But what I probably meant is I don't take it personally if someone hates what I have done or thinks the "masterpiece in my own mind" is a jumped up holiday photo

Fionn

heres the crazy thing....i love just taking the photograph

the post processing and stuff - seems like work to me at times,
even sometimes taking time out to upload them to the computer!!

but i love editing/altering/playing with images too

although i do perform when i've an immediate task ahead, i think i perform a little better under some preassure or theres a deadline. I've often noticed this while doing a website or a layout project - the closer it came to publishing the more productive i'd become, the same occurs in my photography.
Another thing i've noticed at times is the camera seems like it's almost invisable or well i don't really notice it much if i'm making photographs that i'm enjoying making!!
if that makes any sense

nilhg

When I got my first "proper" camera it was really to have a decent photographic record of the family growing up, and on that score I think, its so far so good. Still a work in progress though and likely to be for a good while yet. Something for many of you to look forward to maybe.

As for the rest of my photography I have one or two projects in mind, and if I can summon the persistence to do them properly it would be great.

mikeanywhere

rymus wrote:

...missing out on much of the social aspect of this place and it ticks me off greatly.

Join the line mate, you aint the only one!!

leinsterman

rymus wrote:

Or Cork even... That's what I've been getting at for a while. I'm / We're (speaking for Southern and non-Pale boards users in general) missing out on much of the social aspect of this place and it ticks me off greatly.

Well I'd be up for a road trip some time ... so can someone please suggest as non pale meet ...

...bearing in mind I'll be seeing both you and Valentia this weekend well outside the pale ... and last weekend we went on a trip (albeit through the pale) with two of our Galway bretheren ...


Hmmmm ... a holy grail ... As strange as it sounds ... I aspire to a single defining image ... where I nail the decisive moment ... As some of you know I've done quite a bit of travel in my time ... one of the things that attracts me to travel are those "perfect moments" ... where you reach a level of contentment which is almost impossible to surpass ... for me the majority of these moments have happened when taking in some element of nature ... so I guess my holy grail is to capture a perfect moment on film ... one that your can hang in you home somewhere and when times get a tough you can use it as a source of strength ...

leinsterman

By the way Jools ... it is really good having you back ... there are far to many what camera threads these past few weeks ... not that I have any problem with it ... but it helps to talk about something else now and again!!

elven

I've been reading a lot, so I might be sprouting a few of these

Benster

Late coming to the thread as usual...

For me, this has always been a question, what am I aiming for?
Sometimes I'd be happy if a few of my pictures made it on my own wall at home (cos I'm terrible at finishing that sort of thing), other times I'd like them to be on other folks' walls as there would be kudos in knowing that others liked my pics.
Often I've thought that if I could make at least a half a living out of it, to supplement my own income or enable me to pull back from IT work as a main source of income, that might sate me. Dunno if going totally pro would appeal to me.

But the money-making aspect is not always secondary to the opinion of people. If someone wants to pay me a shedload of cash for a few pics that I think are of dubious quality, hell, lemme at it! I can always invoke the first rule of art being in the eye of the beholder, and who am I to dismiss anyone else's tastes, etc, etc :-D

And it's hard to shake that feeling I got at People's Photography when some folk handed over cash for a few of my pics.

Let me put a further question on the topic to all those gathered:
Would you be happy with having one of your pics hanging in every house in the country if you didn't get paid for it? Or would the money to be made in such a situation be your ultimate goal / grail?

rymus

mikeanywhere wrote:

Join the line mate, you aint the only one!!

C'mon so Mike, we'll form a support group

elven

Benster wrote:

Let me put a further question on the topic to all those gathered:
Would you be happy with having one of your pics hanging in every house in the country if you didn't get paid for it? Or would the money to be made in such a situation be your ultimate goal / grail?

It depends how it were to get into the houses

Seriously, though, I would be hugely happy to win a competition or have my photography otherwise chosen by a large amount of people, no matter if there wasn't a monetary reward of some kind.

But at the same time - every time I get some kind of recognition for a picture, I manage to disregard it one way or another by saying 'they are just saying that to be nice' or 'it's cheesy and they don't know any better' or stuff like that. Then, annoyingly, when I find a shot that I really really like, that I'm so proud of, no bugger seems to like it :rolleyes:

Calina

Benster wrote:

Let me put a further question on the topic to all those gathered:
Would you be happy with having one of your pics hanging in every house in the country if you didn't get paid for it? Or would the money to be made in such a situation be your ultimate goal / grail?

That's not a simple question to answer. For example, in pure terms, if it gave them pleasure, then yes, I'd be happy. If, on the other hand, somebody other than me, got paid for it (say a publisher) then I think that would leave a slightly sour taste in my mouth if someone got all the financial benefit and I got zero.

Paulw

For me, photography has never been about money. People have asked me to do projects for them - capture a theme, an image, a scene etc and I will gladly go and do it. I have never charged and never been paid for my photography, and so I am an amateur. I wouldn't be bothered if I never earned a single cent from my photography.

What I want - is an image. Just one photography that captures something. An image that is recognised and appreciated by others.

I consider myself a beginner. I have a number of images that I really like. I have some images that others like, but I continue to strive for that one image.

It's like in the film "City Slickers". It's that one thing I'm looking for, and until I actually find it, I won't even know just what that one thing is.

Benster

I'd say 95% of people on this forum would agree that they photograph more for the experience/love of the hobby rather than money. If it was for the latter, I doubt there'd be many even able to read the posts as they wouldn't have the money to pay for the DSL link!

PaulW - I hear what you say, the one image. I sort of have one/couple that I'm proud of but I'm always looking to trumph it with a better one :-)

Muineach

elven wrote:

But at the same time - every time I get some kind of recognition for a picture, I manage to disregard it one way or another by saying 'they are just saying that to be nice' or 'it's cheesy and they don't know any better' or stuff like that. Then, annoyingly, when I find a shot that I really really like, that I'm so proud of, no bugger seems to like it :rolleyes:

It just means you've got good taste , I know what you mean, I just tend to have different tastes than other people.


My holy grail, I'll try to describe it, it involves Andrea Coor (from the year 2000), a hotel room, large double bed, me and a mirrored ceiling, either that or taking a picture of the real holy grail

Oh yea one other one, getting a crappy, soppy photo into a picture frame that will be sold worldwide, you know the pictures that come in the frame as long as you had a secret meaning in the photo :rolleyes: