15 May 2010

#164/365 - rose swirl II


#164/365 - rose swirl II
Originally uploaded by riebhoff
A few days back, a fellow teacher at my school saw me photographing some wildflowers on the hill behind our school. I don't know this guy very well, but he proceeded to tell me that he was somewhat of a "photo snob" and one of his great pet peeves was photographs of flowers. "So cliche," he said, "You know, find something interesting to shoot."

I think what bugs me most is that I let his comment affect me so much. I don't know if this guy even owns a camera, but I have been in a funk over the past four or five days. I began to question every shot and was quickly losing the love for this 365 project.

Honestly, if the comment had come from my photo teacher, an art teacher, or one of my flickr contacts, at least it would have come from someone whose opinion I respected. I need criticism to get better, for sure, but it really was not cool hearing it from this guy...

Driving to work today, however, I started my comeback. I resolved to start shooting even more "cliche" flower shots. Yes, I know every amateur photographer has taken that shot above, but there is a reason why they take it. IT LOOKS GREAT! Plus, while taking this shot, I had to think about controlling the depth of field with shutter speed and aperture adjustments, composition and lighting.

So to my colleague...Thanks! Perhaps shooting cliche will help me become the photographer I really want to be.

1 comment:

  1. You have taken some beautiful shots of flowers and I really enjoy them. Don't listen to that guy. He probably isn't even a photographer!
    Love 'Ya, Mom

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