How has 2016 started for you ?
As we approach the fourth month I have to confess that this year has started a little slow for me, I'm happy with a couple of my captures but 2 pix in three months is not prolific although I think its a fare reflection of the effort and time I have invested.
The problem I find is that the more I shoot the harder it becomes to find the illusive "Buzz" that for me is the driving force behind my picture making. Let me explain what the "Buzz" is for those who have not read my rantings before, every now and then I capture a scenario that genuinely surprises me and defies the law of averages. The last one was my "Time Traveler" effort as this shot was actually nothing more than an idea as I framed up the vintage street photo background with no one in sight, as I was considering how the perspective of the photo compared to the lens I was using, my frame was broken by a jogger running through my viewfinder, I could not of wished for a more suitable foreground subject !
Sometimes these pictures arrive like gifts !
I recorded about 15 other views that day but none of them made the cut which is okay as I believe successful street pix are minor miracles that are formed by a combination of luck, coincidence, talent and the all important hard graft ! (I can't over state the importance of the hard graft).
The acceptance of failure within the photographic process is important and one of the hardest lessons to learn, I am not ashamed of my less than 5% success rate, I know that most captures will end up on the editing floor but at the time of capture I am unaware of which ones are which ? I should make it clear these failures are based on content, aesthetics or miss timing, thankfully I rarely drop shots for technical reasons nowadays .
Today's take-away point is that weeding out your weaker shots will make the others stronger, with experience you will start to edit at the capture stage although I would be cautious about advising others to shoot less, preferring to advise togs to become more selective of subject and lighting scenarios.
Failure is part of the preparation for success ?
Keep it real !
