The image matters most

Just read a post on Scott Bourne's photography blog, Photofocus, and I would like to expand upon what he wrote.

He says that in photography, the image matters most. I totally agree. It's not the photographer, not the gear, not the amount of image views on Flickr, not whether you earn money from your photos or not, or how much time and effort you put into getting the shot.

What the viewer cares about is THE WORK. If it's not good, then it's not good and nothing will change that. I don't care if you might have risked your life getting the shot, or spent thousands of dollars on that expensive lens, or camped in the jungle for days, because the simple fact is that people judge the final work. Keep in mind that no amount of effort you put into creating the work will change the work if it's bad. :)

Shooting what you love... or not?

Image copyright Ian Ho 2009

An issue that all photographers have to deal with is about how to stay constantly motivated and passionate about photography. We all get a bit jaded once in a while and lose our creative direction. And perhaps my answer to that is simply 'shoot what you love!'

If you love wildlife, birds, animals, then go out and shoot them! If you are like me and love beautiful landscapes, then go out there and just shoot them! The idea here is that by shooting what truly makes you happy, you will really enjoy your craft as it is something you can relate too.

But I also realised that this attitude of 'only shooting what you like' can be a dangerous one. Although specialising in a genre of photography and exploring it in-depth is good, I feel we should not do this at the expense of being versatile with different types of photography. In other words, breadth and depth is needed for us to experience fully what photography is. Although we are to shoot what we love, I feel that occasionally it is good to shoot what we do not quite like too. And the main reason for doing so is to improve ourselves to become more all-rounded photographers.

For me personally, I love landscape and nature. I HATE sports and to a lesser extent portraits/people photography. I spend most of my photography time on landscapes, BUT I also try hard to improve my sports photography and learn the ropes whenever opportunity comes.

Just sharing with you some of my thoughts... yes it is true to shoot what makes you happy, but once in a blue moon get in touch with what you dislike too :)

Canon 500D

About half a month ago, I upgraded from the Canon 400D to the new 500D/T1i SLR. I was actually contemplating between the 40D and the 500D, but found that the 500D would be sufficient for my shooting needs since I do not need the 6.5fps. Furthermore, the 500D had higher ISO speeds, shoots video, has a gorgeous screen, and as a boon has more megapixels too.

In the short time I have been using it, I am really impressed with the 500D. Although it is an entry level, 'low-end' body, I must say that it is pretty much sufficient for most amateur shooters. Roughly two years ago I bought my 400D for S$1300, but today, I am paying two hundred bucks less and I am getting features I could not imagine possible in entry level bodies 2 years ago. I am amazed at how fast technology has progressed. I mean, two years ago it could only be my dream to shoot at ISO 3200 and get a usable image. But today, with the 500D, it is reality. Two years ago, getting full 15 megapixels of resolution could only be something the higher-end bodies could offer, but today, I have it right in my thousand dollar camera. In this respect, I must really say that the 500D is a phenomenal camera. Great image quality, great features, all at a compelling price.

I'm happy shooting 500D. Although it may not be as good as the high-end 5D mark II, it is sufficient. I would prefer spending the money on better lenses. So if any of you are considering an SLR, whether you are a beginner or an advanced amateur, the 500D has a lot to offer, and doesn't burn your pocket. Highly recommended!