do you practice?

I didn't watch the video because my wife is right next to me watching a rerun or "Magnum PI" I came in late so I'm a bit lost, but I would say that I practice quite a lot. I practice with the mechanics of my camera and light metering, pre-focusing, bringing the camera to my eye, stance. I also spend time simply observing my environment and people watching. I think that it is kind of like fishing or hunting in that way; preparation and observation help quite a bit and increase my ability to catch what I see in a photograph. Of course there is always a bit of chance and being in the right place at the right time too. I suppose practice indicates a certain amount of intentionality and that is vital, in my opinion. A good question Joe, I shall enjoy following the thread.
 
Excellent video. I never really thought about it before, but that's probably why I get better photos from my Olympus digital or Fuji Natura than any other camera I have: because those are the cameras I've practiced with enough to "just know" how to use them without thinking to get the shot I want.
 
All the time. Last week I spent 20 minutes lying in bed at 1AM loading and reloading my M7 with an old roll of film. I've never been happy with how long it takes me to reload so I'm trying to get faster.
 
I think I need less practice now than I did 25 years ago, when I started, just by sheer repetition over the years. However, I actually find myself practicing more now than I ever did before (I didn't at all at the beginning).

The things I practice most often are guesstimating FOV. 50,35 and 21 are second nature to me, but 28 and 90 are harder because I use them less. I also like to practice guessing exposures. Often, even when I walk around with a camera without the intent of using it immediately, I still keep my finger on the shutter and flick it back and forward 2-3 stops as appropriate as a I move from sun to shadows.
 
noisycheese said:
Same here.

If there is a day when I have not exposed at least some frames of film or developed some rolls of film, I feel like I have wasted a day of my life.
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I feel much the same way. Storm or not, I go out and a camera comes with me. It's usually the Canon P, but if I should ever have to leave my main camera behind (which is almost never), there's always the Rollei 35 in my right pocket and my phone in the left.

I feel quite lost without a camera on me. I once had to check in my bag and main camera to go into a nightclub with some friends and my only comfort was the 2 cameras in my pockets. I swear my right hand was on my pocket almost the entire time I was there.
 
i try to shoot as often as i can. i sometimes 'play' with a camera while watching tv...getting to know the menu etc.
i used to practice loading film in the old days.
 
back alley said:
i try to shoot as often as i can. i sometimes 'play' with a camera while watching tv...getting to know the menu etc.
i used to practice loading film in the old days.
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I don't think a day goes by that I don't have a camera in my hands...just feel naked walking anywhere without one :) very risque :)
 
i carry a camera/bag everyday, everywhere i go.
being out of work now, i shoot most days...even if it's only a quick table top project.
 
Oh Cool. I love John Free and his video's. He is very blunt and to the point. I stumbled across his vids on youtube about a month ago and watched a whole bunch of them, he talks a LOT about practicing. Before hearing him talk about it, I had done a little practice, mainly with focusing, pre-focusing to be exact, and framing, I wanted to get quicker at it and proficient at doing it with each of my SLR's. of course, then I got a leica, and it was like having to re-learn all of that again! So, thanks for posting this video, I had seen it before like I said, but seeing it again has inspired me to take the roll of film out of my M4-P, go walk the neighborhood or stand in my yard for a few hours a day, and pretend to be walking up to a subject, get my rangefinder focusing times down to the lows I had previously achieved with an slr!

P.S. another cool thing John Free teaches about is the "3 things in every photo" mindset. His theory is that there must be at least 3 interesting elements to any good photograph, for him, if he doesn't see 3 things, he doesn't take the shot.... Adopting this mentality would no doubt save me film. I am trying, but sometimes I still find myself settling for just 2... ;)
 
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