365 #140 - #141

Nothing real special about either of these.  I haven't really taken much pictures the last couple of days.  The self portrait below is just a shot I snapped up of myself to test the new battery grip I had just installed on my camera, and the pic of Alfie is just a quick snapshot I took of him while he was lying on the floor.  Not a lot of thought put into either one…

#141 – Alfie

#140 – Self

365 #139 - Classic

365 #136–#138

#138 - PBR Me ASAP

On second thought, don't. :) Anyone who knows me will appreciate the irony of this one, as I'm a total beer snob. I thought I'd save some $$ at lunch today, though, and get the beer of choice of my dear ol' dad, Pabst Blue Ribbon. Next time I'll either pay for the good stuff or just skip the beer. It was only $1.50, and I think I overpaid. :) You get another peek at Katelyn in the background here, too.

#137 - My Mom, by Katelyn

8 feet tall and only 6 pounds – Karen is such a beanpole!

#136 - Pikes Peak and Cameron Cone By Night (Sepia)

Other than a couple Instagram pics on my iPhone, I didn't take any pics today, so here's a sepia version of a landscape pic I posted in my "Rejects" album a couple weeks ago.

Photographers: Don't Worry About the Misconceptions

OK, so in this post I'm going to talk about one of my pet peeves with photographers, which, ironically is about a typical pet peeve of photographers...

Hang out with any group of photographers long enough, be it local photographers you actually see and talk with, or photographers around the world you converse with online, and you'll inevitably hear the complaint about how other people think they only take good pictures because of their good camera.  They'll naturally be indignant about this, because "hey, I'm an artist!"  You'll then hear/read a line like, "Do you think a chef only makes a fine meal because of the oven he uses?  Or a painter a fine painting because of his paint brush?"  And if a group is assembled, you'll hear everyone chime in enthusiastically to agree and pile on to the sentiment, all stroking their collective egos about what artists they are.

Is a proper photographer an artist?  Yes, of course.  However, I find it unproductive and self-congratulatory to go on and on in this manner, complaining about this misconception.  If a layman doesn't appreciate the vision and skill you bring to the craft and thinks your camera performs all the magic, so what?  Let them go blow their money on a fancy camera, and if they can't produce an image matching your quality, they'll soon find out the truth.

If Uncle Bob comments that you must have a nice camera because of your great pictures, politely agree, and then send him a killer photo you took with your iPhone or point & shoot camera.  Let your work do the talking.  And if you're in a group of fellow photographers, avoid that cliched conversation.  We all know it and have all heard it 100 times.  Let's just forget about it and focus on doing what we do.

Now, go take some pictures.  Be sure to take your nice camera. :)

365 #135 – Shadow Madeleine