R J Smith is passionate about her work (which isn’t work at all) as she is about everything in her life.  She loves being one with nature and her mind.  Taking her camera with her is as second nature as carrying her purse.  Many of her images are from the local parks, ponds and Historical sites near her home in New England, which offers many different views of the same subject in all seasons.

As a moderator of the forum she dedicates her free time to help others to become proficient in their work as well.  She loves to give back from her experiences and if that helps anyone else to aspire to become better, it is all the reward she seeks.

Join our friendly community of budding photographers at the The Real Dot In Dot Com to shoot, share and learn!

Now, over to R J...

The Passion of Photography

From the time I acquired my first camera which was a Pentax K1000 in 1975,  I knew I loved photography.   This was my first image that I was pleased with (left).

Film made it more challenging over digital because you either got it right or lost a lot of film in the process.  Today if the image does not produce the result you are after, you can always delete it and start all over (providing you haven't lost your light).

As time rolled on, I ventured into my 1st digital camera in the year 2000, HP215 1.3 MP Point and Shoot. During that  time I found myself capturing many different subjects from landscapes, flowers, rocks, inanimate objects and so on.  I had not found my niche yet, but knew without realizing, that my haphazard way of looking through the lens would someday show me the way.   In 2004 I stepped up to a Canon A-60, 2.0 MG Point and Shoot.  I was enjoying this camera for quite some time  and started to develop a love of nature images especially flower.  Having 2.0 MP was an amazing feeling at the time until I found I wanted to get closer and closer to my subject.  In 2006 comes an upgrade (do you see a repetitive theme forming here?) to the Nikon 8800 8. MP with 35 M/M capabilities which was taking me back to my film days but with a new learning curve for me.  By that time I had all the basics down and was ready for the next level.  Then I progressed even more and next thing I know it is 2007 and I wanted another camera.  I continued to hedge until one day, I finally bought the Canon 20D (which is my current camera) and found so many more things to discover.  My Nikon 8800 is still a favorite of mine, as it is always a great backup for certain situations.

I found my ability to look at things even closer was a plus for me, but I was becoming frustrated that I couldn’t get my Bouquet the way I wanted it.  So, I decided to take loads of images from many different angles until I found something that worked for me.   This can be different for each individual, depending on the type of camera you own.  You might have to get closer or further away.  Don’t think because you have a point and shoot, that you can’t take acceptable images.  See these images from my early days to the current using all four of these cameras: HP 215 / 1.3 MP P&S - Canon A60- 3MP P&S - Nikon8800 / 8MP SLR - Canon 20D / 8.1 MP SLR                                                         

Believe me, you too, will upgrade as time allows , but mostly because you will challenge yourself every step of the way for creating better images. 

Remember you must be knowledgeable (read all you can) practice at it every chance you have, be diligent, patient and always ready with that camera at hand.  Take it with you wherever you go because,  you may have  a missed opportunity for that great sunrise or sunset, animal appearing alongside a road, a great landscape opens before you, children at a party in one of those rare moments.  You get the idea and the list goes on.  Eventually you will also find yourself favoring one topic over another.  Practice it over and over until it is second nature to you.  That’s when you can instinctively know which buttons to press, settings to choose and white balance to set, amongst other things).

Although I don’t shoot as many images as I used to, I have conditioned myself to hone into that one topic which is mostly what I post to the forum. For me it is landscapes, flowers and close-ups.  I find it intriguing to see the finer details of a subject, be it a flower petal, leaf, buds, insects etc.  I do shoot other subjects and post them, but I will always love nature’s palette waiting to be captured in all its beauty.  For someone else it might be Aircraft, Landscapes, Musical Instrument, Animals, Macro or Portraits. It doesn't matter the subject as long as it is what you love doing and you are happy with the end result.  Everyone will have opinions about what he or she may like but, in the end it is your image and if  it leaves you with a sense of accomplishment and pride that is what should matter.

Most of all remember it's not the camera, it's the person behind it.  Happy shooting , everyone.

Sincerely,

R J Smith