Just wonderin' (so I decided to throw it out to ya all!) WHAT is it about this "art form" that grabbed you and took hold? WHAT do YOU personally get out of it? What do you wish to accomplish with your images/photos? Do you focus on a specific style (IE - Macro, Landscape)? If so why? What areas are your strengths and which ones do you feel are weaknesses. How are you going about improving those weaknesses? L8r Joe

Yes, I like specific things so as feathers, and snails, these are my favorites. Macro I like the most, and sometimes I make some shots for my poetry, I have a real weakness for feathers, if I see one from a distance I will always try to catch it.....lol

My main interest is nature and since i dont have any spectacular landscapes here i focus on animals. Im fascinated by the insectworld plus i dont have the equipment for shooting birds, so its macro for me :o) I think it must be my fascination with nature in general that got me to photograph but i really dont know, i guess i just like it ;o) What i get out of it is the hunt and the opportunity to see a lot of the macro world with my own eyes, it gives me an excuse to watch the little buggers for hours on end if you will LOL Ofcourse also satisfaction when a particular shot comes out really good :o)

Why....that's a good question. I have always loved all kinds of art, but I have never been good at drawing and such so I turned to the computer where I was a little better. I have always loved taking pics....to capture a good moment or a pretty piece of nature. So I put the comp with the photog and had a chance to get a medium digial camera....so I took the plunge. I love nature, so when I capture a pretty flower or something I feel that I have frozen its beauty and when it dies, I can still see the beauty it had. I like doing close up shots, but I don't have a good macro cam. It doesn't like to focus too well. So that makes me experiment with other things and I have some pretty good landscape shots, but my favorite is macro nature. As for strengths and weaknesses....I feel I have mostly weaknesses. So I try to practice and play with settings....don't have a lot of patience for reading (I know I should try though). I like to get out and do it and see the result right away. And there is my long paragraph. :) I am interested to see what other people have to say on this subject. :)

Less messy then painting & drawing with quicker results... have always luved computers, graphic design, art & photography.. combine 'em & there you go! A piece of me, trying for something a bit different... how to improve- better cam, better PS skills & keepin the creative juices flowin... :]

I have been thinking a lot about this question. Very glad you asked. What took Hold? I have always had the need to create, and constantly improve on my creations mostly which are woodworking, cooking, and photography.

I starting taking pictures before there were light meters in the camera. I can look at most scenes and calculate ASA, shutter speed, and aperture settings in my head. I was a military photographer, and was sent to a very good school. Then worked in the field for a few years while going to college doing medical photography for teaching purposes. The technical end comes very easy to me.

It is the artistic impression of an image that I always struggle with. I have no clue or sense of what will inspire someone to be moved by an image. I also refuse to take cheap shots. Yes it's my own hang-up, but unless I've put a lot of thought and work in the set-up of the image, or hours of postwork I will not post it in my gallery with a few unique exceptions

I am focusing on style at this point. There are about 20 artists here that I can look at a thumbnail and know who posted it. Cynlee, Michelle, and Tedz just to name a few. I plan to study surrealism, and impressionism an try to create my own style that will be recognized as my work. Went on way to long, but thanks Joe for the asking the question and a chance to think about it:}

i exaggerated... have not always luved PCs... art, design, photography then discovered puters... finding this place taught me how to combine them :] (thanks jim, didn't realize i had a style already... :0) yes... very interesting thread, getting to more about the person behind the images...

Why photography he asks...scratches head I have asked myself that question before and I really can't put my finger on what makes me tick other then it is a passion that burns deep within me at times, and at other times, it just needed rekindling... I do remember my first camera, I was 13 or 14 and had a part time summer job... I can remember being so excited, going to the store with my father, he helped me pick out my first baby (which I still have btw) A 35mm Minolta... I learned it inside and out and there was nothing automatic about it. I took pictures of my horses, my dog, cat, sisters, family and friends. I even took my camera on vacation with me to Florida and took the classic vacation pictures. I was fascinated that I could capture a "scene" and have a printout of this... I moved to Florida in the early 80's and kind of lost interest in photography until I had my children, my love for creating images was reborn when I received a simple gift upon the birth of my first child, it was a simple camera, a Canon Sure Shot, just point and shoot! And shoot I did! I lost interest once again, as my husband had purchased a 35mm and started taking pix of the kids. I became his teacher, Showing him how to do different things, but my shooting days were over for a while. I once again purchased a new "state of the art digital camera" 1.2 megapixels, it stored images on a 3.5" file disk and I basically carried it around waiting for a shot to jump out at me... Well I carried it around for about six months or so and didn't take a single picture until one morning I had stopped while on the job to let someone answer a call of nature, and looked up and saw the most awesome sky, and I wondered what that sky looked like on film? Well that was the beginning of my third love affair and it hasn't stopped yet, that passion still burns within me... I am on my third digital camera now and still shoot film on occassion, still shooting skies and landscapes like there is no tomorrow. I would have to say that Sunscapes are my specialty, they are what I shoot best, they are what produces an emotional reaction in people, but I have also come to love macro work, abstracts and landscapes. Portraits are my weakness because I don't shoot them very often, overcoming that weakness is pretty simple I think, I just have to make myself shoot more of them. Artistic ability was never an issue with me either as I have always had a love for drawing. My mother was a major influence in art, as she is a wonderful artist. And my father is responsible for my love of photography, he has a serious collection of gorgeous images all captured on slide film. I tend to take my weaknesses and run with them. I appologize for the long response, maybe I should edit it? Brenda :)

I like to do macros but I don't have a good lense fore it. I did discover that I can get a slightly closer with my telephoto lense than my standard lense(I have to stand back a few feet, though).

When I was a child I sat in my fathers garage darkroom and watched him for hours as he developed his photos. I was as eager as he was to see the outcome. I have no ability to paint nor draw but I am learning to share what I find beautiful, frightning, educational and comforting through photography. At this point, the only post work I know how to do is cropping, very little lighting and a bit of softening around the edges. I'm torn as to whether I should learn Photoshop or try to keep things a bit more traditional as I was taught. I'm trying my hand at everything, macro, animals, landscapes and people. I want to share the "other" Nevada with the world and Renderosity has provided that opportunity. Thanks for asking! Jackie

Geesh, I could write an essay on that topic. Let's see, short and sweet... I'm unsure of what it is about photography that makes it such a drive, but I think it is the immeadiate reward of digital photography combined with the drive to share how I experience the world with others. I wouldn't say I focus on a specific style...I like to stay open and have tried just about every type of photograhy. I'm sure I have plenty of weaknesses, but I hope through repetition, exploration, and everyone on ROs feedback, I'll keep improving.

For me, I'm no good at landscapes, buildings...I like macro but do prefer moving 'objects, ie, Nature and creature work. Still looking for that one in a million shot as in Nature and wildlife, its unrehearsed...thats what strives me :)...its the only good thing I think I'm good at...'tography :0)

My first foray into photography was as as a kid in the 70's! Had a Kodak 110 cam to take on school trips and take pics of friends and family! Mostly snapshots! I also got a kick out of the polariod cams (sort of the percursor to digital) with instant feedback (in a sense) In high school I borrowed my sisters Canon AE-1 and started experimenting with shots. Y'know writing all the settings down in a little notepad and then seeing the outcome later to see how HOW they impacted the shot! It was rewarding for awhile But then...I kinda lost interest. Other stuff came into view! Hangin with friends, Music...I was in a 80's Cover Band (think we were the only BAND to play...(DURAN DURAN, ADAM ANT and Ozzy!) LOL! I got back into photography (Digital) with my first cam a (TOSHIBA) 1.3 mp! Again capturing mostly family stuff...but occasionally would "TRY" to get creative! The cam was pretty limited! When I bought my Olympus...THAT is when photography really started to GET me! I like experimenting and trying different kinds of shots! Insects/bug have always fascinated me...so I'm drawn to this "genre" in particular! Still trying to improve here (now with my Canon g6) Lately I've been experimenting with studio "setup" images. I like arranging objects (toys & whatnot) in general and creating scenes in an attempt to tell a story! I get an IDEA in this head of mine...and try to roll with it! I'm inspired by my family,life, what I see, dreams and other artists! Geez...I;ve babbled enuff! L8r! Joe

The film: Blow Up

Weakness: Anything artistic :) Message edited on: 06/02/2005 06:03

Growing up with a photographing father, the movie "Blow Up" - yes - and it's also a kind of praise for God's creation - so no special area apart from people ;-)

Why? Such a good question and so hard to answer!

I don't know "why". I just enjoy it I guess. Thinking back though I can remember always being interested in my grandmothers "box brownie" style camera (wonder what happened to it?). I was also fasinated by my dads Minolta 35mm too, it wasnt an SLR but had an in built meter and manual controls for speed/aperture. But watching his slides bored me at the time...so back then it wasnt the pictures, more the gadgets themselves :). As I'm a bit of a gadget freak, perhaps it was the gadget geek part of me that first attracted me to cameras?

I've also always felt relatively creative - before I became an IT consultant I was a draughtsman (both pencil/pen and CAD). I also play the piano, have tried my hand at composing, played in a gigging band and used to paint minatures for figure gaming when I was younger. I've tried my hand at painting cartoon characters (mainly japanese), and have always dabbled with computer art packages - but truth be told, I'm not that good with a brush or drawing things from memory :D

I got my first SLR when I was about 15 I think. It was a Zenith from a mail order catalog. I remember always using it on holidays with the parents, playing with star and gradiated filters. IIRC I got some interesting results - wonder if any of those old pictures I took are in the loft - would be fun to see them again :)

Later I "upgraded" to a Minolta SLR with autofocus (wow! hi tech!) - and I used this up to about 1995 for holidays and outings. But still at this time my interest only extended to taking interesting pictures whilst being a tourist. Taking pictures as a hobby didnt interest me.

I then did nothing for 5 years :o - but in 2001 I decided it would be nice to have a digital camera to take on holidays as a 35mm SLR would be too bulky. And I found a kodak for 400 quid that came with a FULL copy of photoshop 6 (yes a 400 pound camera complete with a 400 pound art package!).

I enjoyed being a point and shooter for a few years, but around then my interest in the arty side of photography started to grow. I'm not sure why, but I think it could be because I'd stopped being a draughtsman at this time and I wasnt "creating" any thing arty in my new job. Coding is techincally creative, but I wouldnt call it an art (at least not in the traditional sense). So I upgraded in 2003 to a Sony 717 - and foolishly purchased a +4 close up filter.

Now as a kid I had a microscope. I remember I used to love using it to look at odd objects. Perhaps thats where my love of macros come from then, a childhood fasination with a microscope. Netherless I got some good results with that +4 lens - and I got some good landscapes too. I had found this site after trying out Bryce, which I found wasnt immediate enough for me, and I posted some of my images I got from the Sony, and your reaction and encouragement blew me away :) THANKS :) :)

Since then I've gotten more and more "into it", mostly due to encouragement from comments here and from family and friends. So now I've gone full circle, and have spent roughly 3000 quid on a Canon 20d, lenses and accessories (MUST remember to buy photography insurance!) - my latest lens, the Tamrom 180mm macro, arrived on Tuesday, and I'm itching to post some results with it (though I have 200 odd ebots to go comment on first - been rather busy recently :o ).

Again I'd like to stress that without the helpful and encouraging remarks from rosity members, I'm not sure I'd have got into it as much as I have. Sharing images with a community is addictive :)

why photography? when i'm behind the camera, i feel intense freedom. it's a natural high. i feel exhilirated! i feel so alive and vibrant! what do i want to accomplish? i just wanna express myself. I want to create poetry without words. specific style? i just always strive to be myself. i wanna EXPLORE and never stop! strengths? i have no idea. weaknesses? i'm weak in all areas. how to improve my weaknesses? PRACTICE! Study other images. Try to understand the technical aspects better. Push myself to always do my best. Pray for God to guide my cam... i love this thread, Joe. Thank you! and i so much have enjoyed reading all your responses and getting to know ya'all better!

WOW! Now this is a fascinating thread indeed! I've got hooked to photography when we bought the Sony f717 3 months ago! yep! I'm just loving it! But...to go backward...I wanted to study photography at one point when I was a teenager and my stupid father laughed at me and told me that photography was very mathematical and, knowing how hopeless I was and still am with everything mathematical, I just gave up the idea before I even started! Silly me! Oh well...as for the addiction, I agree with Kort about the immediate reward of digital photography! I'm not a patient person at all and digital is so perfect for me!! It feels like this is what I've been waiting for all these years! Yep!

Why photography? Because I can compose a shot through a viewfinder and press a button, a whole lot better than I can compose a painting or drawing. LOL! My 1st camera was a Kodak Instantmatic, that I got when I was 10. I shot many of 110 rolls of film. I loved it. Later on I got my Dad's old Pentax 500 SP 35 mm camera. This was a fully manual camera, but did have a built light meter. I loved this camera (still have it in storage), shot with this camera through college. Used it while shooting for the college yearbook. I had thoughts of changing my major from computer science to Art, but I could hear my Dad say how foolish that would be. Get a real job. After school I purchased a fully auto Pentax. After I moved out on my own, though money was tight and really could afford to shoot much, I thought again about becoming a photographer, enrolled in the NYIP course, but alas due to money had to drop out. At that point, I lost interest in photography. After I was married, I purcahsed a new 35 mm (Minolta) to take pictures of the kids and use on vacations. During this time is when I became enthralled with computer graphics. When the first 2meg digital cameras came out, I had to have one. I was lucky and got a bonus that year at work and purchased an Olyumpus 2000. This re-kindled my love of photography, which really was a 2nd love to 3D Graphics. Which is still a love, but has taken a back seat to photography. I still teach a class "Intro to 3D Modeling", but most of my time is now studying for the NYIP photography course which I am now taking. The DLSR really sparked my photography over 3D Graphics. I am able to shoot photos like I want, and make enlargements and crop and get beautiful prints. Because of this rekindled love, I have started a part-time Photography business, that is going better than I would have thought. I have entered 3 photographs for a show at the Art museum here in my hometown. All 3 were accepted and go on display this Sat (June 4). I have no expectations of placing in the show, but it was cool having my work accepted. Why Photography? I still don't have a good answer, other than I love recording images, I love sharing those images. I love the challenge of Nature photography, it has the thrill of a hunt, with out the blood. Strengths - ??? Weakness - Keeping that dang horizon level in the view finder. LOL!

Ok, I got my first pc, an old 266 that my then recently died brogther had at work..that pc was here in April 2000.
Got an aol(uggs!)thing going and got on the dial-up net. I somehow discovered "rosity by accident at about the same time I joined up some time after the pc was here.

My dad always did photos and had a makeshift darkroom in the old family home. I remember being there and the smells of the chemicals. He did lots of "tri-x" stuff. After that, I got my wife a Nikon "automatic" 35mm then a nice Pentax rangefinder after that. She did lots but I always wanted the camera in my hands. We have lots of shots and good ones from those times. I didn't know the difference in snapshot and "photo worth sharing" but somewhere inside there was a difference and I acted on that, as evidenced by the old images.

I suppose getting PSP and a Shutterfly image printing connect started lots of it. Then "rosity came in and I learned differences and more how to stuff. The viewing of images by the really good photogs here is the inspiration.

Summary of why? Maybe it is this: I am a creative person and a bit offbeat. The need to create has shown in my profession as a jewelry maker/designer'etc. but that is work. Privately this need has come out in woodwork, carving, small furniture making, and nutzo sculpture of any available items. These are items I like and not for the masses!

That all led me back to photography and the investment in more tools to do that work and be able to do it for the net, too.

Yes, I do like attention and good comments on images. I have learned to be more selective lately and do not accept "ratings" on gallery images, only comments. I know that improvement is always there as a goal..no particular genre of photography but "what is life around me" as it is presented and as I can capture it in memory and hopefully in image form to hold in these hands.

That is 'nuff said on this . I can talk too, too much.

Peace to all. This photography is a blessing to me. Tom.
Yes, it is a vibrant high and creative freedom while living in the world around me.

Message edited on: 06/02/2005 20:15