MetaChat - My lessons in photography

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17 September 2010

My lessons in photography I've picked a dozen of my favorite photos, and tried to write a bit on how or why I made them, or what I learned while shooting them. I'd like to know if you find this useful, or would like to see more, or if I seem like a fatuous, pretentious prick for thinking I'm any good at all :)

post by: pjern at: 03:57 | 17 comments

No modesty required. These are great photos. I've been shooting for 20 years now, and I still learned some things from your explanations. Thanks.

posted by ColdChef 17 September | 07:48

These are wonderful. And I don't think you're being pretentious at all.

I really like the "lesson" parts and wish more photos on flicker had them. Any insight you have into the process is welcome by me.

posted by MonkeyButter 17 September | 07:50

What they said. More insight is always a good thing, and one thing I like about photography as a hobby is how willing most folks are to share knowledge with others. So, thanks!

posted by BoringPostcards 17 September | 08:06

Thank you! I love photography. My son seems to have a natural eye but needs some lessons. This will be great for him. If you feel like doing more, well, bring it!

posted by toastedbeagle 17 September | 08:13

This is great! (And added as a flickr contact.) I've been having a hard time finding photo classes beyond "how to use your digital camera" anymore.

posted by JoanArkham 17 September | 10:09

I would like to see more, please. :-)

posted by initapplette 17 September | 10:58

These are awesome, pjern! Really like them.

posted by mygothlaundry 17 September | 11:45

Yep. Contact added. Thanks.

posted by rainbaby 17 September | 11:51

I love explanations - it makes me look at the photo more closely. Thanks for sharing your insights!

posted by flex 17 September | 14:04

You are seriously talented. Let yo' head swell!

posted by bearwife 17 September | 15:42

Regardless of the creation and the skill of the artist, I always love reading this kind of information. This was a fantastic, thought-provoking series.

posted by Ardiril 17 September | 16:01

Thank you all! I'll try to do some more this weekend!

posted by pjern 17 September | 16:46

I really liked this. So much of my stuff seems completely haphazard as to why things work or don't, so the explanations were really thought-provoking. Thanks so much!

posted by ninazer0 17 September | 17:38

I liked these a lot. My favorites were the ones with dramatic lighting. I appreciated the notes on how you lit them. Probably my number one favorite was New Growth. Could you add a note on how you lit that one or was it just natural sunlight? And I really loved the portrait of Jessamyn also.

posted by marsha56 17 September | 21:39

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and support! I've added a second dozen photos and explanations. I want to encourage people to comment in the photo threads on Flickr, so that the discussion will benefit everyone.

I'll be out on the road this weekend, so my Internet access will be spotty, If you're anywhere near Easton or Harrisburg, PA, my # is in my Metafilter profile. I love to talk to internet people!

posted by pjern 17 September | 23:03

I love the Berlin pictures. Any historical, slice of life pictures, really. I love the Airlift Memorial and the Schloss Charlottenburg. And this one! And this! I'll stop, but they're all lovely.

And, hey, I'd love to hear more about shooting with film. I know it seems backwards, but I've just started getting into it (all toy cameras at this point, 35mm and 120).

posted by gc 18 September | 08:38

Just went through all of them. These really are wonderful, pjern, they make me want to take a workshop! If you ever want to give one, let me know.

posted by mygothlaundry 18 September | 09:44

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