reviewing

Hopefully I’ll be starting A-Levels in Photography and Film Studies next week, so I’ve been sifting through my photographs to find the best ones to show the photography tutor. Some pictures I used to like I’m not so keen on any more and some I didn’t used to think much of have grown on me.

The picture above is one that has grown on me. There is much that is “wrong” with it, e.g.:

    Objects are cut off at the edge of the frame,

    The horizon isn’t flat

    The lights in the distance are a little blurred

But I still like it. It was taken with a 7-second exposure when it was almost dark, and this has accentuated the different characteristics of the light sources visible, and has amplified what little light there was. This has given varied tones to the different areas of the picture which were lit by different sorts of light. I like that it’s “busy” too, with lots of  colours, lines and shapes to look at.

The most interesting thing for me though, as a totally amateur photographer hoping to improve, is that this was just an experiment: “ I wonder what will happen if I try and take a picture of this?”

I learned by experimenting.

Experimenting is very important in life to avoid stagnation. If no-one questioned the status quo, challenged accepted wisdom, tried different things, took risks or just asked “What happens if I try this?”, then where would we be?

We’d  probably be just another type of ape.

Cheers, Tom.