When the bloom is on the rose ...

[Trius]

Do you remember how excited you were when you got your first "real" camera? Do you remember how good, even special some of the shots on that first roll were? On another thread where Mirror Face displayed a great shot from from his first roll from his M6 (indeed his first roll of film ever after being a digital shooter), Alkis posted this comment:

Congratulations Mirror Face on your new camera and a wonderful shot. I also remember my very first roll with my M2 and a rigid Cron (it was about this time, last year). Some of the photos from that first roll are among my all time favourites.

This got me to thinking ... while I can't remember my first roll, I do sometimes look at some of my old photos and see a different quality. While I may be technically more competent now, there is a often a freshness, a spontaneity and a "genuine" quality that seems to be harder to achieve now.

What do you think? I know I had a lot of technical "clunkers" early in my photo life, but when it comes to other photographic qualities, have you seen the same thing in your photo "career"? If so what do you think happens as time passes? What do you do to keep "fresh"?

I'm interested in all thoughts ... maybe I'm off base and am in a vast minority. This thought sort of dovetails with some of the "I'm done" posts where someone says they really want to stop focusing on gear, giving in to GAS and just shoot.

Let's hear your thoughts!

Earl

 

[Pherdinand]

My first "real" camera was a Polariod Zoom 900 point and shoot. I was so happy with it, i even thought I can do nude photography 😱
But that's a different story.
Whenever I get a new camera, I have a drive to use it and there's a good chance I get something i will like. One or two images from the first roll. (If it's technically well performing,of course).
I can see your point with the "freshness". Lurking on internet forums alot has an advantage that is also a disadvantage if I think about it. I can learn a lot and see many great images, but due to this I lose the feeling of creating something great, cos there are hardly any things that are not photographed yet. The more images I see the smaller the chance is, that I can be happy about one of my own images.
But this does not discourage me.

 

[bsdunek]

That brings back memories!
When I was eight (1947) my Grandfather gave me a Kodak Brownie Target-620 box camera. I was thrilled! First photos weren't very good. I was told to "get way back to get everything in". First photo was of their dog, Topper. He's a black speck in the center of the photo. Later my Dad gave me some advice about "filling the frame" and things got better.
When I was 12, Dad gave me a Voigtlander 'Baby' Bessa 66. Loved it! I took a lot of photos through high school and my first year of college, and they're pretty good. I have gone back and printed some of them to have fresh prints. Unfortunately, this camera met a bad end when my Brother used it, but it started me on using a camera for more than just family snapshots.
Even today, getting a new (to me) camera set something off. I have to 'prove' it can do a good job. It's still fun after all these years. 😎

 

[ray_g]

My first "real" camera was a Canon EOS slr and 28-80 kit lens. My wife gave this to me as a present. My first roll was crappy. She thought so, too.

Subsequent rolls were slightly better, but I could not figure out why my photos were not as I had wanted. For the next 9 or 10 years, I pretty much just took it out for vacations and birthdays.

Somehow, my interest in photography got rekindled, and I started to try to learn in earnest, mainly by reading and looking at photos on the web. Then I decided to try a rangefinder.

My first RF's were an Olympus 35SP and a Canonet GIII that came in the mail the same day. My first roll blew me away. Despite the age and simplicity of the cameras, my results were sharp, well-exposed, and most of all, I had a different sense of satisfaction - as if I had contributed more to making the picture in the absence of automation.

Soon, decided to remove the last vestige of camera automation (the meter) and moved on to a IIIF. I didn't even have a meter then, and I had an Olympus XA in my pocket to take readings.

True, the final results are most important. But to me, knowing that I MADE the photograph, rather than have the camera do it for me, is a very gratifying experience. And more often than not, since I slow down and think rather than blast away, I get better results.

 

[Bryce]

Earl, you're a brave or crazy man asking for my thoughts. Here they are.
When you're new to any art/ craft/ etc., you do the best you instinctively know how. The only influences you have are examples that have jumped out at you as especially good. Not having analyzed those examples to death, of course.
So there's the rub- as you develop habits and become more aware of your influences, more aware of your successes and failures, you lose your innocence as well. How can you truly be spontaneous at something you do all the time and have been doing for a long time?
We all struggle with it. I avoided formal training for a long time, and when I finally took some, I did my best to close my ears when the subject of composition came up. I needn't have feared, the standard explanations for composition are either balderdash or beyond my capacity...
I guess my advice is to keep trying things. Whatever your "rules" are, break them every now and then. If you blow five rolls a day, try slowing down. If you shoot one roll a month, try shooting more. Try new subject matter. Use a tripod if you don't, shoot from the hip if you don't, force yourself to shoot a roll of color film if you're a B+W junkie. Take a few macro shots of duck poop if you're a rangefinder guy, of people doing ordinary things if you're a nature shooter...
Like all of human experience, it's all connected in some way. What you accidentally learn from one effort will give you ideas to try on a completely different one.
Keep shooting. I will too.

 

[jan normandale]

Hey Earl, nice thread.

• I try and stay away from the information and history of photography. I deliberately avoid checking images of famous photographers. I’ll probably shoot what they did some day if I haven’t already. There are not a lot of things new to shoot so duplication is normal. Still I try and avoid big names in photography. Interestingly I like ‘non’ names work, people who put out images and are second or third tier in public name recognition. This is how I try and stay ‘fresh’. I’d be discouraged if I knew the shots I’ve taken had already been taken by someone far more well know. I’d think .. ‘what’s the point’ so my deliberate effort to stay in the dark is how I keep my enthusiasm
• Shooting with other people also keeps me upbeat about my photography. They see the same things I do however they end up with a totally different shot. Often I wish I’d taken the shot they did. This keeps me thinking about how to see things better or see things that might not be noticed. Often that’s where the ‘real’ photograph is to be seen

 

[Keith]

After going out with my digicam I would come home, eagerly download the files into the computer and usually wind up deleting 90% of what I had shot straight away! Not much satisfaction ... and I was really working on the principal that out of the 50 to 100 images I had taken at least a couple would have to be OK ..... wouldn't they?

My first roll of film came back from processing with some disasters ... some OK images ... and at least ten shots I was really proud of! Satisfaction ...........100%

😀

 

[SteveM(PA)]

I think because my first camera (Fed) was so cheap, I felt more non-commital and pure of heart. Plus I had more money in the bank and that felt good. 🙂

 

[fishtek]

My first "serious" camera was a Kalimar 35mm SLR. Visiting my wife's family in New jersey, we went into NYC to Willoughby's to buy the camera. You could look into the viewfinder and see the inside of the camera! A year later, I had come to NJ to go to school (1974), and upgraded to a (used) Spotmatic F from Pentax. Had 2 of those....

Amassed too much gear, decided to downsize. Bought a Kodak APS-C zoom, sold it off to buy a Canon APS-C SLR and a couple lenses. Sold that and bought a Fuji 1.9MP digital...sold that to buy a Oly 5060WZ....decided to go back to what started it all, but new tech. Bought a Canon 300D. Have been "adjusting" the lens inventory for a while...Found an old Kodak RF (Signet 40) I got at a flea market, and shot a few frames. HOOKED! Bought a Bessa R a week ago, and love it. Now begins the lens inventory "adjustment" again...

regards!
Don

 

[dadsm3]

It's like when you first start golfing...you always think of that par on the 18th rather than the 137 strokes you took before that.

 

[Terao]

My favourite photo is one I took of a peahen (female peacock) when I was 9 years old on my newly gifted Kodak Instamatic 126. I think its about the 8th shot I ever took on my own camera. It has great contrast, interesting composition, and the peahen fills the frame. All benefits of being a short-ish 9yo.
I also like very much a shot I took of my Mum and Dad flying a kite with my Dad's Agfa rangefinder but I only rediscovered that one last year. I would have been about 5 ot 6 when I took it...
Now I'm just waiting on the first roll of film I've shot for a couple of years 🙂

 

[Trius]

Mike: Isn't that the 19th hole you're thinking of? 😀

There are a lot of really good ideas, here. I'll comment more later. Keep 'em coming!

 

[DougK]

Oh man, I thought I was the bomb when I got my first 110 camera! I wish I still had some of the negatives so I could compare them with my recent photos.

I found the first roll I shot with my dad's old K1000 SLR a few years ago and aside from the crappy film I was using, some of the shots were pretty good. I read a couple of books on basic photography after that and then shot a couple of rolls at a drag race; much better. That's when the photography bug bit me hard and, well, here I am.

I like looking at the work of other photographers, particularly landscape photographers, but I don't consciously try to emulate any of them or try to use the same films or equipment they do. I try to just go with what I have and shoot what I see. It keeps me happy.

 

[PhotoMat]

It's like when you first start golfing...you always think of that par on the 18th rather than the 137 strokes you took before that.

I believe it was Groucho Marx who said "The best wood in the bag is the pencil."

Anyway, before I digress too far, I must say that Trius' comment hit the nail on the head. When I first became interested in photography, I was always borrowing my sister's Canon AE-1 -- up to that time, I had my trusty Kodak 110 Instamatic, comeplete with the obligatory Flipflash. Remember those? On my 16th birthday, I received a Canon AE-1 Program from my parents and embarked upon my photographic journey. Looking back upon my earlier images, there was definitely a creative "freshness" -- a new way of looking at my world. However, it wasn't until college before I really began to visually explore. The coursework and corresponding assignments pushed me to look beyond my own comfort zone. Some of the resultant images were ones that displayed the "freshness" and "innocence" that other posters have alluded to.

So, what does it boil down to? I think that we all need to have personal "assignments." We need homework! Professionals need homework even more. This can be as simple as allowing more time for personal work/exploration or we can actually give ourselves assignments. Whatever we choose to do, we need to step outside of our daily sphere of activity and again look at the world through the eyes of a novice. It is all to easy to get caught up in the day to day activity of the photography profession and not leave any time for personal development/reflection/exploration or whatever.

Professional or hobbyist, we all need to find a way to recharge our creative batteries. For me, it is self-assignments or projects. What about the rest of you -- what recharges your batteries?

 

[Avotius]

my first real camera was a canon ae1 with the great 50 1.8. I shot thousands upon thousands of rolls of film before thinking I needed to get a eos canon, I regret buying the eos stuff.