When I first started taking photographs, I used to focus on the quality of my camera and lens and marvel at the beautiful colors and subtlety of the images, but eventually I became more intentional and creative in my photography, thinking about composition, light direction, and shadows.
Two weeks ago, I went to a cape and spent four hours there. I took two cameras, a telephoto lens called “Bazooka” and my favorite Batis 40mm. It was a 2 hour and 45 minute train ride from home. After all the walking around, I came back exhausted, and when I looked at the photos I had taken, none of them were bad, but they were not satisfactory from my point of view. I could have gone to the same place again the next weekend, but I decided not to. I decided to go to a different cape the next weekend because I felt that it was no use going there before I had a clear idea of what was the reason for the poor photos or what kind of description I wanted. This time, however, I didn’t reach my destination and just wandered around the area and took some random photos for my purpose. I checked the pictures I took after I got home, and they were terrible.
As expected, I could only feel self-loathing at having failed two weeks in a row, and I knew I needed to reflect on what had gone wrong.
The first thing I realized was that I had not sufficiently imagined what kind of pictures I wanted to take. This may be the only reason. If you don’t have a clear idea of what kind of pictures you want to take, you end up just walking around taking pictures. Walking around taking pictures is not a bad thing in itself, but unless you are actively involved in the process of developing your own image, you will probably end up with pictures that convey nothing at all.
I don’t know if this is right or wrong.