Just before Christmas I got two messages through Flickr, one from an online travel guide asking for permission to post one of my Paris photos on their website and another from an NGO wanting to use one of my Vancouver photos for their website.
I was so pleased to get the emails, and they reminded me of how much I love photography. It’s not really possible for me to take it up again right now, but it is definitely going to be one of my goals for this summer.
Jan 15, 2008, 01:46PM PST | 2 cheers | 4 comments
The quality of the photos posted on Flickr just amazes me. I added this goal knowing I could probably never mark it truthfully done – I always thought that the only people who could really take fantastic photographs were people who did it as a full-time job, or at the very least people who could dedicate a lot of time to photography.
Flickr has changed my mind. The vast majority of my favourite photos were taken by “regular” people, not professionals. Lots of the pictures were taken on holidays, just like the holidays I take, and others are just pictures of scenes from everyday life. There are of course some really extraordinary shots in there too, the kind of ones where you happen to be in the right place at the right time with your camera.
My very favourite photographers on Flickr are the ones who know what they are really passionate about and who photograph it. So I think the key to becoming a good (or in the case of this goal, fantastic!) photographer isn’t years of experience and a fancy camera, but a passion for what you’re photographing, the willingness to experiment and, as with any challenge, persistence.
Sep 21, 2006, 03:10AM PDT | 9 cheers | 6 comments
