A funny thing happened to me in the park the other day.... no this isn't the start of a corny joke but rather someone came up to me and started to talk about photography and made the throw away comment that '...got any good ones? of course you know right away now...' In one sense this is true you do get the immediate feedback as to whether a particular image is OK but to judge whether you have a good photograph is almost impossible to judge.
Take for example the photograph above, which I was making at the time the chap approached me. This is a blend of three different images. I shot a series of different exposures of the same image - perhaps a dozen in all and then choose the best three. I know this is HDR but I really am trying to keep well away from that title as this seems to involving the use of Photomatix and producing strange chromatic effects. I prefer to spend some time working out exactly which part of an image I want to blend with another to produce the final photograph. This takes time and effort but I feel it is worth it. I have total control of the process not some piece of software. So when the man made his comment about you know right away it is simply not the case. My photography is produced in the digital darkroom as much as out on the street. This takes time.
Taking time - now that is an interesting concept. I have found that that working with a tripod slows me down. I start to look and examine. I have started to switch off the auto focus as well as this makes me examine the image even more. The overall effect is that I am slowing down. Now it is worth noting that this is not the case when making natural history photographs as there is an immediacy that if not captured will not be repeated. Other images you have the time to contemplate.
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