In just a little over 2 weeks, I will be turning...4...0. *gasp* Actually, I'm not really having a hard time with it but I will be using those 2 weeks to explore some of the good and the bad about me. A zero year birthday is worthy of some reflection. Feel free to skip the ramblings. I won't mind. :)
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Disclaimer #1 - I am not fishing for compliments.
Disclaimer #2 - I don't think I'm "all that and a bag of chips" when it comes to photography.
But...and this may sound arrogant...I do know my way around a camera. After more than a dozen years reading everything I can get my hands on about photography, I can say that, technically speaking, I'm confident in what I'm doing. I can use a digital camera or a camera from the 40s/50s and know that I will get the photograph. I know how to "see" light. And if something is in my photos, it's intentional. I know the photography "rules", I just choose to break them sometimes.
Having said THAT - being technically proficient does not a photographer make. On any given day, I can look here on photoblog or in a magazine or on photo.net or the Nikonians website and see photos that make me want to hang up my camera. We all go through that, right?
But I don't put my camera away. I keep taking photos because it's what I like to do. How I express myself. Still, every time you put your photos out there you risk rejection. And that is REALLY hard.
Did I tell you I joined a photo stock agency? I submitted an application to
Photoshelter in March and I was accepted. But they don't automatically accept all of your photos. Oh, no. They go through an approval process. Right now, my approval rate for my photos is about 65-66%. Which I find depressing. There are a lot of reasons they reject a photo - they have too much of a subject, it's not what they are looking for, it's not technically correct, etc. Sigh.
AND...I also submitted a photo to velonews early last month and it wasn't accepted either. SIGH.
At times like that, I think I have no business giving out advice since it doesn't appear to be working for me!
But I'll keep taking photos because I Love it and it brings me Joy. And I'll keep trying because I have to Believe that my Dreams will come true. My photos may not be for everyone, but that's okay. They are mine.
www.lmg-images.com
