I love photography although I never did before the advent of digital cameras. In the old days it was very much TC's domain. We had a nice SLR camera and he was the expert at twiddling the knobs. We have a bookshelf creaking under the weight of family photo albums compiled from the successful snaps of our early years together and the children growing up. Under the spare bed is a large box of pictures from later years when we realised the albums were unmanageable. It was always a significant expense after a holiday to get the films developed and often something of a disappointment with blurred shots, slightly mistimed shots with people caught pulling strange faces and scenes that turned out not to be photogenic at all.
Digital photography was so liberating for me - I'm a point and shoot photographer and taking half a dozen shots most of which can be easily deleted is perfect for me. As my eyesight is not what it used to be I can wait until the pictures are on the large computer screen before I do anything with them - little adjustments to the composition with some judicious cropping, tinkering with the lighting and contrast has been a new creative outlet, plus I can take hundreds of photos a week without breaking the bank. It is also a hobby which combines perfectly with our other pastimes, gardening and walking especially. We live in such a beautiful area there is never a shortage of subject matter.
The only downside is the lack of actual photos to carry around or to share in a group. One of my childhood memories is looking through a biscuit tin which contained my parents' old photos whenever I was ill in bed. Those albums of our early years as a family are full of great memories. It's not so easy to share the computer screen - even when you do eventually find the file!
Sharing photos on the internet has also been exciting. For several years I posted regularly on Flickr and the feedback from other enthusiasts was a real boost. I started to believe that my pictures had some small merit and I was able to learn more about composition and in particular macro photography. Then a few years ago I posted a photo in a competition on a facebook page La Vie en France. The photo was to depict life in France.
There were not many entries but mine was the winner - woopeeeee. I was so chuffed. I carried on entering the next competitions enjoying the challenge of trying to find an original slant on some common themes. My entries have always done well so I must have been doing something right.
Yesterday having be banned from entering photo competition no 7 I spent the afternoon trying to pretend I was qualified to judge the entries of others - a very difficult task taking me back to "another life" for several hours.The worst few minutes were when I "saved" my scores and then couldn't find the file and thought I would have to start all over again. I'm not sure how the other judges will regard my scoring - it was really difficult with over 80 entries and the standard has certainly improved since the first competition - and I really am no expert especially when it comes to technical merit.
I 'll keep on snapping though - this morning a hard frost sent me scurrying outside before breakfast looking for photo opportunities.
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